PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Lonny Payne (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Benjamin Kovacevic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Benjamin Kovacevic will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Payne
vs
Kovacevic

167 cm
18
278 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

211 cm
19
250 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Lonny Payne!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Benjamin Kovacevic!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Shirou Masuda and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kovacevic tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Payne defends well and Kovacevic ends up having to push Payne into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Kovacevic wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Payne has him pressed against the cage.
Kovacevic pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Payne stalling in the clinch but Kovacevic improves position.

Kovacevic pulls guard effortlessly.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Kovacevic has control of Payne's left arm, preventing Payne from doing any damage.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Kovacevic is on top in guard.
Kovacevic is looking to stand up but Payne won't let him.
Payne wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Kovacevic manages to pass to side control.
Kovacevic stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovacevic trying to mount his opponent but Payne defends it.
Payne could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Payne blocking the ground and pound attempt from Kovacevic.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Kovacevic keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

Kovacevic is working for a kimura here but Payne manages to reverse the position and he's now in Kovacevic's guard.
Payne working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Kovacevic not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Kovacevic is trying to hold Payne in close to prevent damage but Payne has managed to pass into half guard.
Payne not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are battling for position here. Kovacevic manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Kovacevic is trying to control the position but Payne postures up.
Payne is looking to work some ground and pound but Kovacevic has wrist control.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Kovacevic can do anything to dispel that myth.
Kovacevic 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.
Payne prevents Kovacevic from getting back to his feet.
Kovacevic avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Kovacevic looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Payne is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Payne throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Kovacevic is pulling down on Payne's head. It's preventing any offense from Payne, at least for the moment.
Payne throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Kovacevic working for submissions but it's allowed Payne to get to half guard.
Kovacevic looks winded!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kovacevic trying to control here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Benjamin Kovacevic dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Kovacevic shoots in looking for a takedown. Payne tries to sprawl out of it but Kovacevic keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Payne manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Benjamin Kovacevic seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Payne tries to clinch but Kovacevic moves out of range.
A lazy body kick from Kovacevic

and Payne counters by moving into the clinch.
Payne struggles to land a body shot inside as Kovacevic controls his hands.

Kovacevic jumps into guard, dragging Payne to the mat.
Kovacevic wants to hit a switch here but Payne passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Kovacevic there!
Benjamin Kovacevic has got the better of the ground game so far.
Payne throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovacevic keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Kovacevic tries to hold on but Payne pushes him away.
Payne punching from mount but Kovacevic doing a good job of avoiding damage.

Payne has hold of Kovacevic's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Kovacevic manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Payne avoids the attempt from Kovacevic to control.

Payne is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Kovacevic has managed to escape the submission attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kovacevic tries to control the position but Payne now has his back.
Kovacevic tries to escape the position.
Payne has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Kovacevic trying to control the hands but Payne won't let him.

Payne working for a choke but Kovacevic is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Payne has the hooks in. Kovacevic is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Kovacevic just trying to survive but Payne is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.

Payne is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Kovacevic defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
I really don't envy Kovacevic right now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
What can Kovacevic do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

Kovacevic is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
Kovacevic trying to control the position but Payne manages to sink in the hooks.
Kovacevic is really stuck here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lonny Payne dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Kovacevic moves into the clinch.
Kovacevic controlling the action here for a moment.
Kovacevic tries to pull guard but Payne won't allow it.
Kovacevic looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Payne misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Kovacevic.

Kovacevic's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Payne has Kovacevic up against the cage in a clinch.
Kovacevic avoiding damage as Payne throws knees to the body.
Payne looking to slow down the pace here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kovacevic has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Payne is trying to keep an underhook but Kovacevic manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Kovacevic controlling the action here.
Payne looks like he's trying to stand up.
Payne might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Payne is refusing to be controlled, as Kovacevic sits in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Payne is defending against the submission attempts here by Kovacevic.
Kovacevic moves nicely into side control.
Kovacevic cracks Payne with a big right hand but Payne just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kovacevic tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Payne stops Kovacevic from passing to mount.
Kovacevic tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Payne is not content to let Kovacevic control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Payne is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Kovacevic is controlling him well.
Kovacevic is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Payne will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

Kovacevic tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

And that's the end of the fight!
Benjamin Kovacevic comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Kovacevic 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 Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 28:29
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight 28:29
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Benjamin Kovacevic!