PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Dan Hardy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Luther Doherty (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Doherty's choice of entrance music: Evil Boy. Luther Doherty has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hardy
vs
Doherty

182 cm
26
253 lbs
8 - 2 - 1

187 cm
28
245 lbs
6 - 3 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 8 - 2 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Dan Hardy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 1, fighting out of London, Luther Doherty!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, William Gold and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A jab from Doherty misses.
Doherty throws a lazy uppercut
and Hardy counters with a big head kick but Doherty shrugs it off.
A shot to the body from Doherty misses
and Hardy counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Doherty rushes Hardy and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Hardy letting Doherty take a breather here.
Doherty goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Doherty lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Hardy backwards.
Hardy is trying to push Doherty away but Doherty has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Hardy wants a takedown but no success here.
Doherty has a couple of punches blocked by Hardy.
Doherty lands a right hand.
Doherty swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A short right from Doherty.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Doherty effectively controlling the action here.
Doherty trying to land knees to the body.
Doherty tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Doherty using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Doherty just leaning against Hardy, taking a breather.
Hardy swings wildly with an uppercut but Doherty uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hardy on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Hardy looking for a takedown.
Doherty landing knees to the head.

It looks like Dan Hardy has been cut.
Hardy is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dan Hardy. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardy is trying to drag Doherty to the mat but Doherty just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Doherty misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hardy.
Doherty tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Doherty is trying to stall.
Doherty misses with a short punch on the inside.
Doherty is defending well against a takedown attempt.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Doherty misses with some punches.
Doherty lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Doherty obliges.
Doherty connects with a nasty looking knee right to Hardy's face.
Hardy is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Doherty working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Stalling in the clinch from Doherty.
Doherty misses with the head strike.
Doherty scores with a shot to the side of Hardy's head.
Doherty lands with a right to the head.
Doherty with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Doherty tries to land knees in the clinch but Hardy avoids the damage to the body.
Hardy drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Doherty trying to land knees to the body.
Hardy wants to take the fight to the mat but Doherty manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A short right from Doherty.
Doherty manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Hardy.
Hardy takes a shot to the head.
Hardy looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Doherty tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Doherty tries to land a knee to the head but Hardy blocks with his arms.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hardy is working for takedown but Doherty is calmly controlling the position for now.
Doherty will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Hardy up against the cage.
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!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luther Doherty dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Dan Hardy's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

The crowd cheers as Doherty lands an impressive looking overhand right. Hardy doesn't seem phased though.
Doherty tries to clinch but Hardy moves out of range.
Doherty throws a lazy uppercut
and Hardy counters with a flying knee. Nice.

Doherty clinches with his opponent.
Doherty scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Doherty is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Hardy is defending well for now.
Doherty slows down the pace here.
A head punch on the inside from Doherty fails to land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Doherty slowing the pace effectively.
Hardy blocks an uppercut.
Doherty unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Doherty leaning his opponent against the cage.
Doherty tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hardy's elbow.
Hardy blocking some punches.
Hardy blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Hardy is trying to push Doherty away but Doherty has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Doherty with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Doherty goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Doherty swings wildly with an uppercut but Hardy uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hardy changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Doherty fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Doherty's corner calls for a 1-2. Doherty obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Hardy ducks under a wild hook from Doherty.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Doherty misses with a double jab
and Hardy counters with a two punch combo.
Hardy swats away the attempt to clinch by Doherty.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Doherty misses the shot to the body.
Hardy displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Doherty throws out the jab.
Doherty throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Doherty tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hardy paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Hardy slips under a jab.
Doherty tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Hardy manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Doherty fails to land with a series of punches.
Doherty is looking to clinch.

Doherty has managed to clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Doherty fails to land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Doherty stalling in the clinch but Hardy improves position.
Doherty is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Hardy is defending well for now.
Doherty misses with a punch on the inside.
Doherty tries a knee to the head but Hardy blocks it.
Doherty misses with some punches.
Doherty has a couple of punches blocked by Hardy.
Doherty goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Doherty misses with a hook from the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hardy misses with a hook from the clinch.
Doherty throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Hardys head.
Doherty stalls.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luther Doherty showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Dan Hardy's cut.
That's time! Hardy's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Doherty is looking to clinch.
Doherty fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Doherty throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Hardy counters with a two punch combo.
Doherty tries to close the distance and clinch up but Hardy swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Doherty misses with an uppercut
and Doherty takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Doherty throws a body punch but Hardy moves out of range.
Doherty has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Doherty tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Hardy counters with a left and a right that stings Doherty.

Doherty gets in close and instigates a clinch.
A left hand lands to the body for Doherty.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Doherty holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Doherty trying to land knees to the body.
Doherty pushes Hardy back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Doherty tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Doherty digs a right hand into Hardy's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Hardy's gas tank.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Doherty lands a right hand.
A nice right hand lands inside from Doherty.
Hardy's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Hardy gets through Doherty's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Doherty is pressed up against the cage. Hardy has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Doherty down to the mat. Doherty avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Dan Hardy has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Doherty misses with an uppercut.
Doherty swings widly with a right hand
and Hardy counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Doherty is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Doherty throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Hardy sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Dan Hardy is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nice defenses there by Hardy.
Doherty loads up on a big right hand but Hardy slips the punch.
Luther Doherty seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Doherty jabs Hardy to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Doherty fails in his attempt to clinch.
Doherty lunges at Hardy with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Hardy's hand.
Luther Doherty seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hardy uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Doherty.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Doherty missing with a left hand there. Hardy was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Hardy takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Doherty throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Hardy.
Doherty looks to land a combination but Hardy avoids it well.
Doherty is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Hardy.
Doherty cracks Hardy with a big right hand that sees him stumbling back against the cage! Hardy falls to his knees and Doherty doesn't need a second invitatation - he rushes in and fires off several unanswered shots that force the referee to stop the fight! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:39 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Luther Doherty!
In his post fight interview, Luther Doherty started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.