PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Diego English (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ashin Sukumaran (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

English
vs
Sukumaran

192 cm
18
161 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

175 cm
26
155 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Good takedowns
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Diego English!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Ashin Sukumaran!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, James Glass and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sukumaran feints and as English raises his hands in defense, Sukumaran changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sukumaran looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Sukumaran prevents English from getting back to his feet.
Sukumaran postures up.
Sukumaran postures up in English's guard and throws a big left but English blocks it.
Sukumaran trying to control but English is working from the bottom.
English wants to sweep but no luck.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sukumaran tries to free his leg and advance position but English is retaining full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Sukumaran has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.

Sukumaran drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
English prevents Sukumaran from improving position.
English is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
English is working hard here to advance position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Sukumaran in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Sukumaran throws an elbow but English slips to the side and avoids it well.
Sukumaran is looking to take a break and control but English is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Sukumaran wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by English, who protects the arm well.
Sukumaran tries to stand but English is controlling his head.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sukumaran clinches up against the cage.
English is trying to break free.

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

Sukumaran gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Sukumaran is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
English wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Sukumaran has him pressed against the cage.
English stalling in the clinch.
Sukumaran tries to pull guard but English forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
English wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

English manages to break the clinch.
A looping hook to the body misses from English. Sukumaran does a little dance to reset his feet.
Sukumaran tries to land a front kick but English steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
As Sukumaran looks to move away, English throws a big counter combo bu Sukumaran just gets out of the way.
English tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Sukumaran swivels and escapes.
Sukumaran shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Sukumaran just manages to avoid a counter high kick fromEnglish.
Diego English has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ashin Sukumaran.
English throws the kick towards the body but Sukumaran avoids it.

English throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Sukumaran tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. English is in Sukumaran's guard.
English has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
English content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
English landing some decent shots from guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as English accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ashin Sukumaran 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.

English misses with an attempted mid kick.

Sukumaran has closed the distance and engaged English in a clinch.
Sukumaran throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
English has had enough of the clinch but Sukumaran keeps him there for the moment.
English really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

English manages to break the clinch.
Sukumaran slaps away a takedown attempt from English, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Diego English is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Sukumaran clinches with his opponent.
Sukumaran is breathing heavily.
Sukumaran drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sukumaran keeps the fight in the clinch, despite English's efforts to push away.

English breaks from the clinch.

Sukumaran rushes English and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
English is trying to push Sukumaran away but Sukumaran has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Sukumaran is stalling here.
English wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

English jumps guard and drags Sukumaran to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Sukumaran trying to stand up but can't free himself from English's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sukumaran stops English from standing up.
Sukumaran looking to pass the guard.
English throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
English trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Sukumaran stops English from standing up.
Ashin Sukumaran has got the better of the ground game so far.
Sukumaran stopping the sweep attempt from English.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sukumaran fails with the takedown.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from English is defended easily by Sukumaran.

English scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
English not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sukumaran wants to improve his position but English is controlling well.
Sukumaran avoiding damage under a succession of punches from English.
English throwing shots but Sukumaran is blocking nicely.
English lands strikes from half guard.
English drops an elbow to the side of Sukumaran's head.
English not landing any meaningful shots this time.
English is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
English is nestled in close to Sukumaran, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
English throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Sukumaran is looking to control English's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Sukumaran avoid being mounted?
English lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Diego English dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

English shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Sukumaran but Sukumaran pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Sukumaran clinches up against the cage.
English jumps guard but Sukumaran stands there with English around his waist. English gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Sukumaran slows down the pace here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sukumaran is looking to take this one to the mat.
Sukumaran takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
English stalling in the clinch but Sukumaran improves position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
English jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Sukumaran walks away with a smile on his face. English gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Diego English. That's going to take a lot out of him.
English looking to land some kicks to the body here.

English bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
English misses with the ground and pound.
English connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Sukumaran some visible discomfort.
English working the ground and pound.
English landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Sukumaran is looking for a sweep.
English is putting a hurting on Sukumaran here, landing some big shots from side control.
English sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Sukumaran is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
English knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Sukumaran on the ground.
Sukumaran struggling a bit here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sukumaran is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Sukumaran struggling a bit here.
English lands a decent elbow from side control.
English creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sukumaran takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Sukumaran takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
English scores with a couple of short elbows.
English will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
You can see the frustration on Sukumaran's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
English tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
English in side control, throwing shots but Sukumaran defends.
English in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
English working the ground and pound.
Sukumaran can't do much from the bottom here.
The strikes coming from English are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Sukumaran is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
English in side control lands a decent elbow.
Sukumaran takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Sukumaran wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sukumaran is trying to control English's posture but English avoids it.
Sukumaran might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control English haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Check out the look on English's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
English landing a few strikes.
Sukumaran on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
You can see the frustration on Sukumaran's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sukumaran tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but English wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
English creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Sukumaran sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

And that's the end of the fight!
Diego English showed his dominance in that final round.
I think English has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Glass scores the fight 29:28
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Diego English!
Ashin Sukumaran spoke after the fight, saying 'Next Time...'.