PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jan Pope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Iker Dedal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Pope
vs
Dedal

181 cm
22
153 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

170 cm
25
147 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Big Bear Nutrition 160Q
Zipp Zapp

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Jan Pope!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Iker Dedal!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Mauricio Rocha and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dedal throws a hook to the side of Pope's head but Pope sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Dedal misses with a wild combination.
The crowd cheers as Pope lands an impressive looking overhand right. Dedal doesn't seem phased though.

Pope gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Pope stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Pope tries to land knees in the clinch but Dedal avoids the damage to the body.
Pope content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Pope lands a body punch in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pope lands a knee to the head.

Pope manages to break the clinch.
Pope tests Dedal's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Dedal slips under a jab.
Dedal swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Pope darts in and clinches Dedal up against the ropes.
Dedal blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Dedal is working for a takedown up against the ropes. He can't get it on this occasion though.

Pope pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Pope showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Dedal.
Pope slips a jab and a cross from Dedal.
Dedal waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Pope.
Pope seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
A combination from Dedal does no damage.
Iker Dedal is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Pope throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Dedal.

Pope closes the distance and pushes Dedal back into the ropes.
Dedal is working for takedown but Pope is calmly controlling the position for now.
Pope lands a body punch.
Pope is working Dedal over against the ropes.
Pope lands a good knee to the midsection. Dedal won't want to take too many of those.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Pope.
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!

Pope's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Pope has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Dedal falls off balance throwing a combination
letting Pope counter with a right hand.
Dedal shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Pope eats them both and turns towards Dedal to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Dedal looks winded!
Dedal drops his hands momentarily and Pope takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.

Pope has managed to clinch.
Pope tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Dedal blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Pope is pushing Dedal up against the ropes, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Pope putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Dedal in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Dedal has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Pope avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Jan Pope has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Iker Dedal.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pope unloads a knee to the mid-section. Dedal lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Pope slows down the pace here.
Pope trying to land knees to the body.

Pope breaks from the clinch.

Pope gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Pope breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Dedal throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Dedal looks to land a combination but Pope avoids it well.
Dedal misses with the combination.
Dedal misses with a double jab
and Pope counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pope scores with a decent looking hook.
Dedal throws a predictable looking body shot
and Dedal takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
The fighters circling - Dedal throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Dedal walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Dedal throws a right and a left that both miss.
Pope scores with the left hand. Dedal knows he should have avoided that one.
Dedal lands a jab.
Dedal will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Dedal swings widly with a right hand
and Pope counters with a one-two to the body.
Pope swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Dedal.
Pope fails to land with a series of punches.
Dedal is looking for the big counter here.
Pope throws a right hand that Dedal ducks under and follows up with a left that Dedal also avoids with ease.
Pope thuds his right hand into Dedal's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

Dedal is rocked!
Dedal falls off balance throwing a combination
and Pope counters with a stiff right hand.
Dedal is still on wobbly legs! Can Pope finish him?
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pope scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Dedal is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Dedal misses with an uppercut. Pope saw that one coming.

Pope cracks Dedal with a big right hand that sends him to the floor! Dedal looks wobbly but he's sprung back up to his feet straight away… can Pope finish him?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jan Pope dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Dedal fails to land with a series of punches.
Pope is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Dedal misses with a jab, cross combination.
Pope is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.

Pope gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Pope landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Pope scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Pope misses with a hook to the ribs.
Pope lands an elbow just above Dedal 's eye.
Pope tries a body shot but Dedal blocks it.
Dedal takes a shot to the head.
Pope lands a nice knee to the body.
Jan Pope has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Pope misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Pope lands a nice knee to the body.
Pope just leaning against Dedal, taking a breather.
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!
Dedal blocks a body shot from Pope.
Dedal seems to have recovered his senses.
Pope digs a right hand into Dedal's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Dedal's gas tank.
Nice body punch from Pope.
Pope utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Pope softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Dedal is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pope misses with a punch to the body.
Dedal on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Pope breaks from the clinch.
Dedal throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Pope slips a jab and a cross from Dedal.

Pope closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
Pope avoiding damage.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.

Pope pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pope slips under a jab from Dedal.
Jab by Pope.
A swing and a miss from Dedal.
Dedal misses with a wild combination.
Dedal throws a combination that misses

and Pope moves into the clinch.
Dedal has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Pope is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Pope breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Pope has taken the fight to the clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pope lands a nice uppercut.
Pope scores a nice knee to the body.
Pope missing with knees to the body.
Dedal jumps guard but Pope turns him against the ropes and keeps the fight standing.
Pope tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pope lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Dedal backwards.
Pope is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Pope takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Pope is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Dedal can do to turn this around?
Pope doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Pope manages to break the clinch.
Pope blocks a jab.
Pope swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Pope scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Some wild striking there from Dedal.
Jan Pope is winning the standup battle so far.

Pope rushes Dedal and presses him up against the ropes.
Pope lands a good knee to the midsection. Dedal won't want to take too many of those.
Pope lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Dedal backwards.
Knees to the body from Pope.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pope is struggling to control the position.
Pope softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Pope lands with a short head shot on the inside.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Pope has Dedal pressed against the ropes.
Pope missing with knees to the body.
Dedal avoiding damage as Pope throws knees to the body.
Nice body punch from Pope - that landed with a thud.

Pope breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Both fighters circling a little - Pope finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Dedal looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jan Pope dominated that second round.
That's time! Pope's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Pope moves into range and clinches up with Dedal.
Dedal has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Pope is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Pope landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Pope works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Pope misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Dedal.

Pope pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Pope moves out of range as Dedal strikes.
Pope throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Dedal misses with a few strikes there.

Pope clinches with his opponent.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A left hand lands to the body for Pope.
Dedal letting Pope take a breather here.
Dedal takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Pope leaning his opponent against the ropes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Good body shot from Pope.
A nice left hand lands by Pope.
Pope misses with a short punch on the inside.
Dedal blocks a body shot from Pope.
Dedal is trying to drag Pope to the mat but Pope just about manages to keep his footing. He used the ropes to his advantage there.
A body shot lands from Pope.
Pope works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Pope escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Pope fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Dedal looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.

Pope has Dedal up against the ropes in a clinch.
Dedal blocks a body shot from Pope.
Pope lands a hook to the side of the head.
Dedal tries to pull guard but Pope forces him back to his feet, against the ropes.
Jan Pope has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Iker Dedal.
Dedal blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A bit of stalling here from Pope.
Pope leaning his opponent against the ropes.
A hook to the body from Pope.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pope misses with a body punch.
Pope missing with knees to the body.
Pope misses with a body punch.
Dedal wants a takedown.
Pope goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Pope can't find room to land a body shot as Dedal controls the action.

Pope escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Dedal throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Pope counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Dedal takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Pope lands a nice shot that snaps Dedal's head back.
Pope closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Pope scores with a hook to the body. Dedal takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dedal misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Pope counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Jan Pope is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pope using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Dedal has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Pope looking to throw knees to the head but Dedal is blocking nicely.

Pope escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Pope uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Dedal has time to react.
Dedal throws a hook but Pope avoids it easily.
Pope's jab looks to have found its range, popping Dedal under the eye.
Dedal misses with an uppercut. Pope saw that one coming.
Dedal lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Pope circles away quickly and effectively.
Jan Pope is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pope lands with a right hand.
Iker Dedal seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pope lands with a cross.
Pope misses with a few strikes there.
Iker Dedal has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Pope scores with a hook to the body. Dedal takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jan Pope showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Pope has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:26
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jan Pope!