PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Marcus Dantes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Melo Deng (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Dantes
vs
Deng

200 cm
18
250 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

206 cm
19
218 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Marcus Dantes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Melo Deng!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Konstantin Menshow and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dantes throws a right and a left that both miss.
A big right from Dantes misses.
Dantes misses with a wild combination.
Deng has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Deng there as he acknowledges the shot.
Nice jab there from Dantes.
Deng avoids a punch combination nicely.
Deng is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Dantes avoids the head kick by Deng.
Dantes swings widly with a right hand

and Deng counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Deng is trying to break the clinch but Dantes is controlling him.

Deng manages to break the clinch.
Dantes rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Deng moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Deng throws a head kick but Dantes moves out of range.
Dantes lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
A slow jab from Dantes misses its intended target.
Dantes is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Deng.
Deng throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Sloppy strikes from Dantes. Those never looked like landing.
Some wild striking there from Dantes.
Dantes throws a series of punches but Deng moves out of range.
Deng goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Dantes will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Deng lands with a slapping head kick.

Dantes tries to keep at a distance but Deng has taken the fight into the clinch.
Deng has had enough of the clinch but Dantes keeps him there for the moment.
Dantes works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.

Deng breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Dantes just misses with a punch to the body.
A nice combination there by Dantes.
Dantes thows a body shot but no joy.
Dantes lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head kick from Deng lands but Dantes takes it in his stride.
Deng takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Dantes tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Deng was well out of range. Poor timing from Dantes.
Deng takes a swing at Dantes's ribcage but misses.
Dantes misses with an uppercut.

Deng drives through and clinches with Dantes against the ropes.

Deng manages to break the clinch.
Dantes throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Dantes throws a good cross that connects.
Dantes is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Deng.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dantes misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Dantes thows a body shot but no joy.
Dantes just misses with a punch to the body.
Sloppy strikes from Dantes. Those never looked like landing.
Deng bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Good shot there by Dantes.
Dantes avoids the head kick by Deng.

Dantes tries to keep at a distance but Deng has taken the fight into the clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Deng breaks the clinch.
Dantes moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Dantes dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Deng takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Dantes thows a body shot but no joy.
Dantes throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Deng.
Deng tries a head kick but it misses.
Dantes throws a body punch but Deng moves out of range.
Marcus Dantes is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Dantes rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Deng moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Deng uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Dantes.
Deng pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Dantes moves into range and connects with a jab.
Dantes misses the shot to the body.
Deng misses with a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Deng is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Dantes.
Dantes misses with a body shot.
Dantes slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Dantes misses with a wild combination.
Dantes looks to land a right hand but Deng moved out of range.
Dantes will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Deng throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Dantes staying out of range there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dantes just misses with a punch to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Dantes. Deng does a little dance to reset his feet.
Deng keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Dantes fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Deng manages to avoid it.
Dantes throws a series of punches but Deng avoids them all with ease.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Dantes misses with a wild body shot.
Dantes blocks a head kick by Deng.
Dantes tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Deng was well out of range. Poor timing from Dantes.
Deng uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Dantes.
Dantes scores with a punch to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dantes fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Deng looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
A decent looking cross lands there for Dantes.
Dantes looks to throw the jab but Deng is out of range.
Dantes scores with a decent looking hook.
Deng lands a head kick. Dantes smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Dantes misses the shot to the body.
Dantes throws a jab when Deng was well out of range.
Dantes blocks a head kick by Deng.
Deng showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Dantes.
A nice combination there by Dantes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Deng throws a push kick but Dantes slaps the foot to one side.
Deng tries to clinch but Dantes moves out of range.
Deng throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Dantes lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Dantes throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Dantes takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Dantes throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Deng.
Deng avoids the body shot from Dantes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Dantes dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Deng lands a high kick!
Deng is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Dantes.
Deng bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Marcus Dantes is winning the standup battle so far.
Deng avoids a punch combination nicely.
Nice uppercut there from Dantes.
A shot to the liver by Dantes. Beautiful body shot.
Dantes swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Deng walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Decent striking displayed by Dantes there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dantes throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Dantes thows a body shot but no joy.
Deng pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Deng keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Deng ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Deng tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Deng lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
A jab from Dantes misses.
Dantes misses with a two punch combination.
Deng on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dantes misses with a straight left.
Dantes takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Dantes lands with a nice body punch.
Deng throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Deng keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Marcus Dantes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dantes pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Dantes ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Deng moves away.
Deng tries a head kick but it misses.
Dantes throws a big shot that misses.
Dantes misses with an uppercut. Deng saw that one coming.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dantes throws a shot from downtown. Deng moves away and avoids it.
Dantes with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Deng tries a head kick but it misses.
Deng on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Dantes digs a good hook to Deng's body.
Dantes throws a lazy right hand but Deng sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Dantes throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Dantes throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Dantes dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dantes misses with a jab, cross combination.
Dantes misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Deng.
Dantes looks to throw the jab but Deng is out of range.
Dantes swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Sloppy strikes from Dantes. Those never looked like landing.
Deng lands a head kick. Dantes smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Deng pulls out of a head kick attempt.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Deng lands with a kick to the temple. Dantes shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Dantes avoids the head kick by Deng.
Melo Deng has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Marcus Dantes is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Dantes looks to land a combination but Deng avoids it well.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marcus Dantes showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Dantes, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:27
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marcus Dantes!