PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Eddie Fatu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ivan Ko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fatu comes into the arena with Umaga blaring out of the sound system. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Fatu
vs
Ko

187 cm
25
278 lbs
17 - 5 - 0

225 cm
37
200 lbs
28 - 23 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

VIRAL COMBAT

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Eddie Fatu!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 28 - 23 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Ivan Ko!
The judges for this bout are Paul Gruel, Jeff Smith and Ryoma Takatsuka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Fatu shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Ko is trying to defend but Fatu finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Ko is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Ko is trying to stand.

Ko is defending against the submission attempts here by Fatu.
Ko is trying to stand up here but Fatu is controlling him well.
Fatu is looking to take a break and control but Ko is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Fatu content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Ko is trying to stand.
Fatu tries to pass to full mount but Ko defends it.
Ko has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ko is trying to stand.
Fatu works his way into side control.
Fatu lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Ko regains half guard, as Fatu was trying to land strikes.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Fatu lands a nice short elbow.
Fatu working Ko over with strikes.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Fatu is trying to control. Ko wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Fatu is working for a submission of some sort.
Fatu wants to take a breather but Ko is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ko is looking to escape.
Fatu throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Fatu working Ko over with strikes.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Fatu lands a nice short elbow.

Fatu is looking for a kimura but Ko is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Fatu to get the leverage.
Ko is trying to stand back up but Fatu is controlling him

Ko kicks Fatu off and gets back to his feet.
Ko looks winded!
Fatu looks to land a right hand but Ko moved out of range.
Ivan Ko is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Fatu gets a double leg takedown into Ko's guard.
Ko has momentary wrist control but Fatu slips an elbow through the middle.

Ko is rocked!
Fatu trying to control the position from guard on top but Ko is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ko wants to get back to his feet but Fatu is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Fatu is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fatu trying to control the position from guard on top but Ko is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Fatu 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.
Fatu working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Fatu wants to control from the top but Ko keeps moving.
Fatu won't allow Ko to get back to his feet.
Fatu works over Ko with some ground and pound from guard.
Fatu looking to sit in guard and control but Ko gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Fatu trying to control the position.
Fatu seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.

Fatu pushes Ko off and gets back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ko fails to land with a series of punches.
Ko keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Fatu shoots for a double leg takedown but Ko sprawls well. He's pushed Fatu's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Fatu.
Ko wants to get back to his feet.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Fatu wants to control but Ko is keeping him busy.
Fatu scoring with punches from side control.

Fatu is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Ko has escaped the position, nice work there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eddie Fatu dominated that round.
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.

Fatu throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Ko counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Fatu misses with a hook
enabling Ko to counter with a crisp jab.
Ko tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Fatu was well out of range. Poor timing from Ko.
Nice takedown defense from Ko. No joy for Fatu on that attempt.
Ko throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Fatu throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Ko's waist but Ko gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Fatu off to one side.

Fatu looking to score a takedown here. Ko is defending well but Fatu drives through and ends up in Ko's guard.
Fatu wants to control from the top but Ko keeps moving.
Fatu is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ko can do to turn this around?
Fatu working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Fatu stops Ko from standing up.
Fatu postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Fatu engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fatu forces his way into half guard.
Ko is breathing heavily.
Fatu wants to free his trapped foot but Ko is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Fatu seems to be looking for submissions.
Ko won't allow Fatu to pass to mount.
Fatu content to control rather than advance.
Eddie Fatu overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Fatu not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Fatu is looking to take a break and control but Ko is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Fatu not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fatu is trying to control. Ko wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Fatu lands a nice short elbow.
Fatu moves into full mount! Ko won't be happy about that!
Fatu looking to finish Ko with some ground and pound. This is bad for Ko!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Fatu working Ko over with strikes here.
Ko is still in real trouble! Can Fatu finish him?
Fatu postures up and throws a massive shot that knocks Ko out cold! Two more strikes to his unconscious opponent for good luck and this one is all over! Fatu goes absolutely crazy with his corner! Wow, you can see how much that win means to him!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:50 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Eddie Fatu!
Eddie Fatu retains his heavyweight title!
A relieved looking Eddie Fatu thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.