PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Curtis Sharp (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Damian Nitschke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Sharp
vs
Nitschke

178 cm
34
176 lbs
25 - 16 - 1

181 cm
30
184 lbs
22 - 17 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

//buriedALIVE// Fight Gear
Merciless Gladiators

BeastMode

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 25 - 16 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Curtis Sharp!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 17 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Damian Nitschke!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Hugh Johnson and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A telegraphed right hand from Nitschke misses the target.
Sharp slips under a jab from Nitschke.
Sharp lands a nice shot that snaps Nitschke's head back.
Curtis Sharp seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sharp lands the left hand.
Sharp wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Sharp defending well as Nitschke loads up on a big left hand.
Sharp fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Nitschke takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Sharp tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Nitschke was well out of range. Poor timing from Sharp.
Nitschke moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sharp throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nitschke lets loose with a powerful body kick. Sharp will feel that in the morning.
The fighters circle momentarily. Nitschke darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Sharp jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nitschke scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Nitschke goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

Nitschke forces Sharp back against the cage and clinches.
Sharp lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sharp is trying to force a seperation but Nitschke has the dominant position.
Sharp misses with a knee to the head.
A short right from Nitschke on the inside.
Sharp blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Nitschke has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Sharp avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Sharp misses with a short punch on the inside.

Nitschke turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Nitschke manages to end up in side control.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Nitschke trying to control the position but Sharp is working away.
Nitschke misses with the ground and pound.
Sharp is looking for a sweep.
Sharp can't do much from the bottom here.

Nitschke tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Nitschke controlling the position from side mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nitschke creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sharp is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Nitschke's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Nitschke moves nicely into side control.
Nitschke trying to control the action but Sharp is working from the bottom.
Sharp is looking to reverse the position.
Nitschke working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Nitschke misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Nitschke has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Sharp wants to control but Nitschke postures up.
My spies in Blunt Force Training inform me that Nitschke has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Nitschke looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Sharp is avoiding damage well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nitschke misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Sharp is trying to control Nitschke's posture but Nitschke avoids it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nitschke creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Sharp on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Nitschke trying to control the action but Sharp is working from the bottom.
Sharp is trying to control Nitschke's posture but Nitschke avoids it.
Sharp is looking to regain half guard here but Nitschke keeps moving and retains side control.
Sharp defending against the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nitschke controlling from side mount.
Nitschke misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sharp wants to control but Nitschke postures up.
Sharp is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Sharp takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Nitschke tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nitschke controls the position.
Sharp sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Nitschke controlling the pace.
Nitschke working Sharp over with strikes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nitschke missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Nitschke is trying to control the action in half guard but Sharp is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Nitschke drops an elbow to the side of Sharp's head.
Nitschke throwing shots but Sharp is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damian Nitschke dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Nitschke dips to his left and cracks Sharp with an uppercut!
Sharp throws a head kick but Nitschke moves out of range.
Nitschke on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Nitschke scores with a body shot.
Sharp misses with a jab, cross combination.
Sharp lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Sharp is looking to wear down Nitschke with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Nitschke cracks Sharp with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Nitschke takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sharp keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Nitschke.
Nitschke lands a jab to the nose.
Sharp throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nitschke avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Sharp comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Nice shot lands for Sharp.
Nitschke scores with a decent looking hook.
Some bone on bone action there as Nitschke checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nitschke thows a left - swing and a miss!
Nitschke jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nitschke feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Sharp's calf.
Nitschke throws an overhand right that lands on Sharp's shoulder, as Sharp tries to avoid the shot.
Sharp throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Nitschke avoids the body shot from Sharp.
A jab lands there for Nitschke.
Damian Nitschke seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Nitschke scores with a sloppy right hand. Sharp should have avoided that one.
Sharp scores with a jab to the body.
Sharp thuds his right hand into Nitschke's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nitschke throws an overhand right that lands on Sharp's shoulder, as Sharp tries to avoid the shot.
A big left from Nitschke misses.
Nitschke looks to land a left hand but Sharp moved out of range nicely.
Nitschke will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Sharp wants to slow Nitschke down by chopping away at his legs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sharp takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Curtis Sharp is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sharp misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Nitschke.
We've been told by Sharp's head coaches at Madz that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Nitschke waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Sharp.
Sharp throws out a loose jab but Nitschke uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sharp lands a jab to Nitschke's midsection.
Sharp takes one to the chin there.
Sharp slips a jab from Nitschke.
Sharp moves out of range of the strikes.
A jab from Nitschke finds it's way through Sharp's defenses.
Nitschke darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Sharp on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.

Sharp is rocked!
A shot to the liver by Sharp. Beautiful body shot.
A lazy left from Nitschke finds it's target.
Oh Sharp is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
A looping hook to the body misses from Sharp. Nitschke does a little dance to reset his feet.
Sharp seems to have got his legs back now.
Sharp blocks the body kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Sharp finds it's way through Nitschke's defenses.
Sharp fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Nitschke manages to avoid it.
Sharp scores with the left hand. Nitschke knows he should have avoided that one.
Nitschke on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Nitschke takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Sharp misses with a body shot.
Sharp misses with a two punch combination.
Sharp scores with a nice right hand.
Sharp bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Nitschke's head.
Sharp swings for the body but Nitschke moves out of range.
Sharp ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Nitschke moves away.
Sharp is looking to chop away at Nitschke's legs.
Sharp ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Sharp lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Nitschke at a distance.
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!
Sharp cracks Nitschke with an open hand slap.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sharp gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Sharp steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Nitschke.
Sharp blocks the body kick.
Nitschke missing with a left hand there. Sharp was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Nitschke misses with a right hand
and Sharp counters with a nice uppercut.
Sharp swings for the body but Nitschke moves out of range.
Sharp scores with a jab to the head.
Sharp looks to score with a jab to the body but Nitschke is just out of range.
Nitschke throws a jab but it's blocked by Sharp.
Sharp lands a nice hook to Nitschke's body. Nitschke takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Nitschke displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Sharp throws out the jab.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sharp slips a straight right by Nitschke.
Sharp lands a really nice looking cross but Nitschke seems unphased.
Nitschke throws a shot from downtown. Sharp moves away and avoids it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Damian Nitschke will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Sharp scores with a leg kick.
Sharp throws an overhand right that lands on Nitschke's shoulder, as Nitschke tries to avoid the shot.
Nitschke scores with a jab.
Nitschke thows a left - swing and a miss!
Sharp lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.

It looks like Damian Nitschke has been cut.
A telegraphed right hand from Nitschke misses the target.
Sharp throws a right and a left that Nitschke avoids nicely.
Sharp thows a body shot but no joy.
Sharp uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Nitschke.
A nice inside leg kick there by Sharp. That's going to slow Nitschke down.
A low kick from Sharp misses
letting Nitschke counter with a right hand.
Sharp throws a nice outside leg kick.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nitschke throws out a loose jab but Sharp uses good head movement to avoid it.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sharp. Nitschke does a little dance to reset his feet.
Sharp takes one on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nitschke getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Sharp moves away from the strike by Nitschke.
Sharp lands with a shot to the body.
Sharp scores with a jab. Nitschke acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Sharp thows a body shot but no joy.
Sharp getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Nitschke misses with an uppercut. Sharp saw that one coming.
Nitschke lands a jab to the nose.
Nitschke misses with an uppercut.
A slow jab from Nitschke misses its intended target.
Sharp throws a hook to the side of Nitschke's head but Nitschke sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nitschke lands with a good body shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nitschke swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Nitschke tries to clinch but Sharp is having none of it.
Nitschke thuds a left hand into Sharp's body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nitschke bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Sharp uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Nitschke.
Sharp ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Nitschke moves away.
Sharp gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Nitschke.
Nitschke throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Nitschke takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Nice defenses there by Sharp.
Curtis Sharp has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nitschke scores with a crisp jab that stopped Sharp in his tracks.
Nitschke bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Sharp's head.
Nitschke throws a body punch but Sharp moves out of range.
Sharp blocks a low kick nicely.
Nitschke takes a swing at Sharp's ribcage but misses.
A jab from Sharp does it's job there.
Sharp lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sharp missing with a left hand there. Nitschke was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sharp lands a two punch combo.
Sharp ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Nitschke blocks a leg kick.
Nitschke moves out of range of the body kick from Sharp.
Nitschke feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Sharps jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Sharp looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Nitschke wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Nitschke fails in his attempt to clinch.
Sharp looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Some wild striking there from Sharp.
Nitschke lands with a nice body punch.
Nitschke moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Nitschke connects with a right hand. Sharp shakes it off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Nitschke closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Sharp quickly recovers to half guard.
Nitschke throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Sharp has hold of Nitschke's hands but Nitschke slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Sharp looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Sharp trying to control from the bottom.
Nitschke trying to control from half guard but Sharp is working away.
Nitschke takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nitschke wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sharp keeps working.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Nitschke thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Sharp blocking the ground and pound attempt from Nitschke.

And that's the end of the fight!
Damian Nitschke comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Nitschke has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Steve Erwin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 27:30
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Damian Nitschke!
In his post fight interview, Damian Nitschke gave a big smile as he said 'Thanks to everyone that supported me when I was going through rough times. I'm back, baby!'.