PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Suleman Pokong (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Johnny Luca (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Johnny Luca struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 171.6lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Pokong
vs
Luca

175 cm
21
170 lbs
4 - 6 - 0

180 cm
19
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

Namunamu Clothing

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 4 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Suleman Pokong!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Johnny Luca!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Josh West and Colin Fray.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pokong tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Luca was well out of range. Poor timing from Pokong.

Pokong gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Our sources have told us that Pokong has been working on his elbows in the gym.
Luca swings wildly with an uppercut but Pokong uses good head movement to avoid it.
Pokong is looking to break free of the clinch but Luca has double underhooks.
Luca is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.
Pokong wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Luca goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Luca swings wildly with an uppercut but Pokong uses good head movement to avoid it.
Pokong is looking to break free of the clinch but Luca has double underhooks.
Luca taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Luca prevents Pokong from breaking the clinch.
Luca working aggressively here.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Luca working aggressively here.

Pokong's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Pokong lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Pokong.

It looks like Johnny Luca has been cut.
Pokong tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Luca was well out of range. Poor timing from Pokong.

Pokong closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Pokong wants to break the clinch but can't.

Pokong escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Luca throws a head kick that misses.

Pokong clinches with his opponent.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Pokong.
Luca makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Luca pushes Pokong back against the ropes and unloads with a body punch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Pokong is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Luca lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Luca is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Pokong is keeping busy.
Pokong looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Luca stalling.
Pokong is looking to break free of the clinch but Luca has double underhooks.
Luca has a couple of punches blocked by Pokong.
Luca throws a head punch that misses.
Luca throws a punch but it's blocked by Pokong.
Pokong tries to break free but Luca pushes him back against the ropes.
Luca misses with the head strike.
A short uppercut from Luca.
Luca keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Pokong's efforts to push away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Luca trying to stall but Pokong improves his position.
Luca misses with a short punch on the inside.

Pokong decides to pull guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Pokong is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Pokong is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Luca is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Pokong looking for a sweep. Not yet Pokong, not yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Luca stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Pokong swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Johnny Luca wasn't active enough on the ground.
Pokong throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Luca.
Pokong throws an overhand right that lands on Luca's shoulder, as Luca tries to avoid the shot.
Pokong misses with a few strikes there.
Pokong misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Pokong shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Pokong was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Pokong tries to stand but Luca is controlling his head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Luca is holding Pokong down, trying to stall.
Luca is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Suleman Pokong dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Johnny Luca's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Pokong swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Pokong takes a swing at Luca's ribcage but misses.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Luca in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Pokong scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Luca throws a head kick that misses.
Pokong misses with a jab to the body
and Luca counters with a nice uppercut.
Pokong throws a solid leg kick but Luca takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Pokong.
Luca takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Pokong is looking to wear down Luca with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Pokong misses the shot to the body.
Pokong misses with a body shot.
Pokong fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Pokong throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Luca.

Luca gets tackled into the ropes by Pokong. Pokong maintains the clinch.
Luca working aggressively here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Luca trying to control the position but instead, Pokong has worked for underhooks and has pushed Luca into the ropes.
Pokong is trying to break the clinch but Luca has him pressed against the ropes.
Luca throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Pokongs head.
A short left from Luca.
Pokong is trying to force a seperation but Luca has the dominant position.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Luca.
Luca lands a right hand.
Pokong prevents a body shot from Luca.
Pokong tries to circle away but Luca has him pinned against the ropes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Luca.
Luca misses with a punch on the inside.
Luca lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Luca slows down the pace here.
Luca keeps control of Pokong as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Luca is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Pokong blocking some punches.
Johnny Luca seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Pokong has had enough of the clinch but Luca keeps him there for the moment.
Luca working aggressively here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pokong wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Pokong blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Luca scores with a nice hook to the head.
Luca misses with some punches.
Luca misses with some punches.
Pokong wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Luca pushes Pokong back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Luca throws a punch but it's blocked by Pokong.
Luca stalling the fight.

Pokong has hold of one of Luca's legs. Luca is fighting the takedown attempt but Pokong gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Luca wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Pokong wants to control from the top but Luca keeps moving.
Pokong preventing the sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Pokong drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Pokong jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Pokong has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Luca looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Luca bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Pokong's guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Luca preventing the sweep.
Luca looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Luca looking to pass the guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Johnny Luca will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Johnny Luca's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Pokong looks to score with a jab to the body but Luca is just out of range.
Pokong looks for the body kick but Luca saw that one coming.
Pokong just misses with a punch to the body.
Pokong throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Pokong throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Pokong misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Luca.

Pokong clinches.
Luca softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Luca misses with some punches.
Luca is trying to stall.
Luca lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Luca prevents Pokong from breaking the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pokong is trying to break the clinch but Luca is controlling him.
Pokong blocking some punches.
Pokong blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Luca tries to work over Pokong's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A right hand to the body from Luca.
Luca working aggressively here.
A head punch on the inside from Luca fails to land.
Luca holding his opponent close, against the ropes.
A nice right hand lands inside from Luca.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Luca throws a punch but it's blocked by Pokong.
Pokong can't break the clinch.
Pokong is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
A head punch on the inside from Luca fails to land.
Luca swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Pokong can't break the clinch.
Luca manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Luca tries to stall but Pokong uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Luca misses with a hook from the clinch.
Luca effectively controlling the action here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Luca has a couple of punches blocked by Pokong.

Pokong breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Luca throws a head kick that misses.
Suleman Pokong seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pokong misses with a jab, cross combination.
Pokong ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Pokong lands a nice hook to Luca's body. Luca takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Pokong comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Luca takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Pokong gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Luca throws a head punch that misses.
Pokong being controlled against the ropes.
Luca fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Luca tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Pokong looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Luca tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Luca misses with the head strike.
Luca misses with a punch on the inside.
Pokong blocks a body shot from Luca.
Pokong tries to circle away but Luca has him pinned against the ropes.
Pokong blocks a punch to the side of the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pokong is trying to force a seperation but Luca has the dominant position.
A head punch on the inside from Luca fails to land.
Luca can't find room to land a body shot as Pokong controls the action.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Johnny Luca.
I think Luca has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Jeff Smith scores the fight as a draw!
Judge Josh West scores the fight for Suleman Pokong!
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight as a draw!

The fight ends as a draw!