PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Klein East (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Van Damme (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). East kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Cold as Ice- M.O.P.. Damme has chosen Fight to Survive as his entrance music. Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

East
vs
Damme

182 cm
34
205 lbs
38 - 20 - 1

186 cm
31
199 lbs
20 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
World class MT
Good gas tank

Firebird Designs

Convicted Trap House
Vandal Fight Boutique & Laundry

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 38 - 20 - 1, fighting out of New York, Klein East!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Van Damme!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Anthony Taglia and Eddie Farnsworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Damme chopping away at his opponent's legs.
That kick from East tenderised Damme's leg. Damme is trying to keep his angry face on.
Damme uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by East.
Damme misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Damme tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Damme connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Damme takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Damme walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

East shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Damme manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
East passes Damme's left leg - he's now in half guard.
East is stalling here. Damme is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! East seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Damme has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
East is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Damme is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
East keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damme wants to get back to his feet but East is holding on tight.
East is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
East tries to improve his position but instead Damme has taken his back!
Damme keeps control of the position as East tries to break free.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
East just trying to survive but Damme is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
East tries to roll but Damme sticks to his back.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Damme has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of East's body.
Damme is trying to stand.
Damme keeps control of the position as East tries to break free.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
East is working hard here to advance position.
Damme is trying to stick to East's back but East is turning into Damme. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Damme's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by East.
East tries to free his leg and advance position but Damme is retaining full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Damme is looking to stand up but East isn't so interested in that idea.
East trying to control but Damme is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Damme tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Damme tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
East ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Damme scores with a nice head shot.
East throws a right hand that misses
and Damme counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
East misses with a straight right.
East looks to land a right hand but Damme moved out of range.
East circles away from the clinch attempt.
Damme motions for East to come forward. Damme throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
A slapping leg kick lands for Damme.
East with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Damme tries to close the distance and clinch but East swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Damme moves in looking to clinch but East pushes him off.
East's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Damme connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! East scrambles back to his feet.
Damme takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Damme throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
East throws a body punch but Damme moves out of range.
East thows a left - swing and a miss!
Damme buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice jab there from East.
East tries to close the distance and clinch up but Damme swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Klein East seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Damme lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
East takes a swing at Damme's ribcage but misses.
Damme tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but East paws at him with a jab and circles away.
A head kick misses from East.
Good leg kick by East there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Damme is looking to clinch but East is avoiding it.
Damme staying out of range there.
Damme fakes a jab and throws a low kick but East checks it well.
East fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
East connects with a looping right hand.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Damme fails in his attempt to clinch.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Damme.
Damme connects with an inside leg kick.
East keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Damme uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by East.
Damme moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
East takes a swing at Damme's ribcage but misses.
East misses with a low kick.
East blocks a low kick nicely.
Damme blocks a leg kick.
Damme keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
East throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
East just misses with a punch to the body.
Damme misses with a straight left.
Damme moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Damme fails in his attempt to clinch.
A looping hook to the body misses from East. Damme does a little dance to reset his feet.
Damme throws a nice inside leg kick.
East missing with a left hand there. Damme was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
East ducks under a wild hook from Damme.
East is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
East avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Damme fails with an attempt to clinch.
East lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Damme throws a push kick but East slaps the foot to one side.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
East moves out of range of the leg kick from Damme.
East thows a body shot but no joy.
East circles away from the clinch attempt.
Damme is looking to clinch but East is avoiding it.
A looping hook to the body misses from East. Damme does a little dance to reset his feet.
East throws out a loose jab but Damme uses good head movement to avoid it.
East tries a head kick but it misses.
Damme uses good head movement to avoid the hook from East.
East lands a jab to Damme's midsection.
Damme wants to slow East down by chopping away at his legs.
East's jab looks to have found its range, popping Damme under the eye.
East misses with a lunging right hand
and East takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Van Damme is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Damme uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from East.

Damme moves into the clinch.
A right handed body shot lands from East.

Damme breaks the clinch.
East throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Damme counters with a stiff right hand.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Damme misses with a looping right.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damme looks for the body kick but East saw that one coming.
Damme throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
East bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Damme's head backwards.
Damme misses with a low kick.
Damme tried to score with a low kick but East checks it.
Nice shot by East.
A leg kick checked by Damme.
Damme tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
East blocks a jab.
East connects with a crisp jab.
Damme throws a quick head kick that skims the top of East's head.
Damme tries to clinch but East moves out of range.
Damme tries to close the distance and clinch up but East swats him away and circles back towards the center.
East circles away from the clinch attempt.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
East tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Damme swivels and escapes.
Damme is looking to clinch.
Damme connects with a leg kick. East looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Damme ducks under a wild hook from East.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Klein East dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

East throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Damme counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Damme scoring well with a low kick there.
The fighters circling - East throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Damme dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on East. That did some damage!
Damme walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. East checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.

East fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Damme, pushing him back against the cage.

East breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Damme smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
East throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Damme counters with an outside leg kick.
Damme takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
East takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

Damme closes the distance and clinches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Damme trying to land knees to the body.

East breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
East throws a half hearted mid kick.
Damme fails with an attempt to clinch.
East fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Damme manages to avoid it.
East throws a body punch but Damme moves out of range.
Damme throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damme misses with a low kick.
Damme wants to clinch up but East keeps it at a distance.
Damme moves away from the strike by East.
Damme displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as East throws out the jab.
East swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
East tries to move into range but Damme moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Damme shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Damme misses with a body kick.
Damme scores with a head kick. East tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
A head kick misses from Damme.
Damme on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
East connects with a single shot there.
East misses with a shot to the body

and Damme counters by clinching up.
Damme blocks a body shot from East.
Damme goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Damme lands a body shot in the clinch.
Damme can't break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

East manages to break the clinch.
East misses with a lunging right hand
and Damme counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
East keeps the fight on the outside.
Klein East is winning the standup battle so far.
East throws a lazy uppercut
and Damme counters with a nice kick to the body.
East on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
East just misses with a punch to the body.
Damme fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
East scoring well with a low kick there.
East misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Damme.
East misses with a wild body shot.
East bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Damme lands a nice leg kick that just misses East's sensitive parts.
East scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
East misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Damme.
East lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Jab by Damme.
Damme turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
East checks a leg kick nicely.
A slapping leg kick lands for East.
East connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Damme lands with a thumping leg kick.
Damme throws a front kick aimed at East's knee but East avoids it well.
East throws a sloppy body shot
and East takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
East throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Damme avoids the body shot from East.
A leg kick checked by East.
East avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
East on the wrong end of a nice hook.
East misses with a straight right.
A nice inside leg kick there by East. That's going to slow Damme down.
East throws out a leg kick but Damme moves out of range and East only half commits.
East checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Damme throws a quick inside leg kick.
East misses with an uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damme getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
East attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Damme attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
East throws the left hand but Damme avoids the punch easily.
East looks to score with a jab to the body but Damme is just out of range.
East lands a body shot.
East shoots in but no luck this time.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
East is looking to score with low kicks.
East throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
East misses with a straight left.
East throws a hook to the side of Damme's head but Damme sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
East misses with a hook. Damme ducked under it nicely.
Damme with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
East lands a glancing blow to the side of Damme's head.
Damme throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.

Damme has taken the fight to the clinch.

East manages to break the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but Klein East did the better work so I'd imagine he'll take it.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Damme wants to clinch up but East keeps it at a distance.
East throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Damme sees it coming and avoids it easily.
East lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Damme defending well as East loads up on a big left hand.
East throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Damme.
Damme is looking to clinch.
East lands a jab to the head.
East misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
East throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Damme throws a leg kick but East moved away.
Damme tests East's chin there with a solid looking shot.
East checks the leg kick nicely there.
East circles away from the clinch attempt.
East rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Damme counters with an inside leg kick.
East takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Damme throws an overhand right that lands on East's shoulder, as East tries to avoid the shot.
East throws a leg kick that is checked
and Damme counters with a good low kick that East was not able to check.

That's one minute gone in the round.
East throws a big shot that misses.
East throws out a leg kick but Damme moves out of range and East only half commits.
Damme with a hook.
East does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Damme lands with an overhand left.
East goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Damme scores with a jab.
East thows a body shot but no joy.
East keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
East shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
East throws a lazy head kick
and Damme counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Damme is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A big left from East misses.
A slapping leg kick lands for Damme.
East blocks a low kick nicely.
Damme slips a jab from East.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

East gets tackled into the cage by Damme. Damme maintains the clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by East.
East working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
East blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Damme breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
East looks to land a left hand but Damme moved out of range nicely.
Nice defenses there by East.
East throws a chopping leg kick but Damme manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
East throws out a loose jab but Damme uses good head movement to avoid it.
Damme throws a one two combo.
East swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Damme throws a body kick that misses.
Damme gets cracked with a nice right hand there by East.

Damme moves into the clinch.
A short right from East on the inside.
East misses with a hook to the ribs.

East drags the fight down to the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
East is trying to hold Damme in close to prevent damage but Damme has managed to pass into half guard.
East wants to get back to full guard.
It looks like Damme is going to stand back up.
East is looking to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
East misses with some strikes from the bottom.
East moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
East looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Damme wants to get up but he can't break East's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close fourth round but Van Damme will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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.

East swats away the attempt to clinch by Damme.
East throws the left hand but Damme avoids the punch easily.
East checks a leg kick.
East checks a leg kick.
East misses with a straight left.
Damme throws a front kick that sends East stumbling back into the cage.
East misses with a low kick.
East is looking to land body kicks.
East looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Damme uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by East.
Damme wants to clinch.
Damme lands with a kick to the temple. East shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Damme connects with a solid leg kick.
A decent looking cross lands there for East.
East misses with a low kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
East on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Good work by Damme as he checks the leg kick.
East takes a swing at Damme's ribcage but misses.
Damme gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
A shot to the body from East misses
and Damme counters with a low kick, right behind East 's knee.
East shoots in for a takedown but Damme shows good takedown defense.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
East circles away from the clinch attempt.
East tries to move into range but Damme moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Damme lands a nice leg kick that just misses East's sensitive parts.
Jab by Damme.
Damme throws a half hearted mid kick.
East misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Damme.
Damme wants to clinch up but East keeps it at a distance.
Damme lands with a thumping leg kick.
Damme blocks the body kick.
East tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Damme was well out of range. Poor timing from East.
East thows a body shot but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
East lands with a straight right. Damme didn't see that one coming.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Damme, right into the meat.
Damme fails with an attempt to clinch.
Damme connects with a solid leg kick.
Damme scores with a jab to the jaw.

Damme takes the fight into the clinch.
Still in the clinch, East scores with a nice short uppercut.
Damme trying to land knees to the body.
A short right from Damme on the inside.
Damme throws a head punch that misses.
East is trying to pull guard but Damme turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
East looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.

East escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Damme rushes East and presses him up against the cage.
East throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
East tries a body shot but Damme blocks it.

East breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
East on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
East displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Damme throws out the jab.
East throws a wild body kick that Damme sees coming a mile off.
East throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A big left from East misses.
Damme moves out of range of the leg kick from East.
East throws a leg kick which misses Damme's front leg but catches the back leg as Damme tries to avoid it.
Klein East is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Damme, right into the meat.
Van Damme has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
East misses with a low kick.
East pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
East looks to throw the jab but Damme is out of range.
East ducks under a wild hook from Damme.
Damme keeps the fight on the outside.
A jab lands there for Damme.
Damme is looking to score with low kicks.
East misses the shot to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
East checks a leg kick nicely.
East gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Damme.
East checks the leg kick nicely there.
Damme tries to clinch up.
East lands with a kick to the ribs.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A swing and a miss from Damme.
East buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
East slips a jab from Damme.
The fight stays on the outside here - Damme looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Damme shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Damme wants to clinch.
Damme throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
East with a body punch. A glancing blow.
East moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Van Damme.
I think East has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 47:48
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 50:47
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 49:48

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Klein East!
Klein East retains his middleweight title!
Klein East managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, Firebird Designs, into his post fight interview.