PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Conrad Clarke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Darko Markovic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Conrad Clarke has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Clarke
vs
Markovic

225 cm
19
178 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

175 cm
25
175 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

Powerful takedowns
Counter fighter
Granite chin

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 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Conrad Clarke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Darko Markovic!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Chris Downing and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Markovic gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Clarke wants to take the fight to the mat but Markovic manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Markovic is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Clarke is defending well.
Markovic wants a takedown.
Clarke is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Clarke escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Good work by Markovic as he checks the leg kick.
Clarke slips a straight right by Markovic.
Markovic misses with a straight right.
Clarke fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Markovic is out of range.
Clarke fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Markovic leaves Clarke with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Clarke with a poor takedown
and Markovic counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Conrad Clarke. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clarke wants to clinch.
Clarke looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Conrad Clarke seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Markovic shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Clarke as he jumps to the side.
Clarke tries to clinch up

and Markovic counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Clarke's guard now.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Markovic advances to half guard.
Markovic takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Markovic not doing much here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Darko Markovic wasn't active enough on the ground.

Clarke gets caught flat footed, as Markovic shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Clarke has control of Markovic's left arm, preventing Markovic from doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Markovic not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Markovic stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Clarke swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Markovic slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Clarke really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Darko Markovic wasn't active enough on the ground.
Clarke misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Markovic shoots for a double leg takedown but Clarke sprawls well. He's pushed Markovic's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Markovic closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Markovic looks winded!

Markovic seems to be looking for submissions.
Markovic prevents Clarke from standing back up.
Clarke keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Markovic is keen to just control but Clarke is a slippery customer.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Markovic trying to control the pace.
Markovic is thwarting Clarke's attempts to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Darko Markovic dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Markovic moves out of range of the body kick from Clarke.
Clarke changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Markovic tries to avoid it but Clarke manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Markovic to the ground. Markovic escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Clarke rushes Markovic and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Clarke jumps guard but Markovic stands there with Clarke around his waist. Clarke gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Clarke changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Markovic fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Conrad Clarke. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Clarke tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Markovic defends well and Clarke ends up having to push Markovic into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Clarke tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Markovic goes for a takedown in the clinch but Clarke prevents it.

Markovic has Clarke pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Markovic pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Clarke tumbling to the mat - Markovic dives into Clarke's guard.
Markovic passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Markovic scores with punches from side control.
Clarke tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Markovic wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Markovic is staying tight to Clarke's torso, preventing him from escaping.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Let's hope that Markovic has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Markovic trying to control the position but Clarke is working away.
Clarke tries to get back to half guard but can't.
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!

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Darko Markovic wasn't active enough on the ground.
Clarke tries to clinch but Markovic moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke tries to clinch

and Markovic counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Clarke looking to control.
Clarke can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Markovic controls the pace.
Markovic wants to pass the guard but Clarke is keeping the position.
Clarke looking to hit a scissor sweep but Markovic is one step ahead there.
Markovic slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Markovic shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Markovic is breathing heavily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Markovic with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Clarke wants to get back to full guard.
Markovic stalling.
Clarke is controlling Markovic's position as best he can from this difficult position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Markovic takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Darko Markovic showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Clarke closes this distance looking for a takedown but Markovic circles away.

Markovic clinches up against the cage.
Markovic drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A frustrated look appears on Clarke's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Clarke fails to pull guard.

Markovic escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Clarke tries to clinch up.

Markovic is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Clarke's half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Markovic has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

Markovic with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Markovic can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Clarke is looking to escape.
Markovic looking to control and managing it successfully.
The referee warns Clarke that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Markovic can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Clarke is looking to escape.
Clarke is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Markovic sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Markovic lands a couple of good shots and Clarke has given up his back, trying to escape the position!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Markovic controlling from the back.
Clarke is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Markovic slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Markovic takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Darko Markovic has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Markovic changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Clarke tries to avoid it but Markovic manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Clarke to the ground. Clarke escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Darko Markovic is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Clarke throws a head kick but Markovic moves out of range.
Markovic keeps the fight on the outside.
Clarke throws a body kick that misses.

Clarke gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Markovic to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Markovic postures up.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Clarke looking for a sweep. Not yet Clarke, not yet.
Conrad Clarke has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Clarke throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.

And that's the end of the fight!
Darko Markovic comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Markovic winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Robert Twigg scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 27:30
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Darko Markovic!
A less than humble Darko Markovic misjudged his post fight interview somewhat and came across a little too arrogant whilst trying to hype up his own abilities.