PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between John Fadden (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marco Polo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Fadden might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Judgement Night by ONYX & BIOHAZARD . Polo has chosen On The Floor as his entrance music. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Marco Polo was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Fadden
vs
Polo

170 cm
33
168 lbs
20 - 12 - 0

178 cm
30
153 lbs
11 - 13 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

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 20 - 12 - 0, fighting out of New York, John Fadden!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Marco Polo!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fray, Ryoma Takatsuka and Micheangelo Fripello.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Fadden scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.

It looks like Marco Polo has been cut.
Polo on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Fadden throws a hook to the side of Polo's head but Polo sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Fadden ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Fadden misses with a looping left.
Fadden thows a left - swing and a miss!
Polo shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Polo steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Fadden.

Polo shoots in and gets a takedown into Fadden's guard.
Fadden working a defensive guard here.
Polo stopping the sweep attempt from Fadden.
Fadden knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Polo on the ground.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Fadden keeping moving, preventing Polo from controlling successfully.
Fadden trying to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fadden wants to control but Polo passes easily into half guard.
Polo slows the pace down in half guard.
Polo passes the guard and advances to mount!

Polo looking to secure an arm triangle but Fadden defends it well.
Fadden working to try and regain half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Polo trying to control but Fadden is having none of it.
Fadden is in all sorts of trouble here.
Fadden looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!
Polo trying to control.
Fadden rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Polo tries to pass to full mount but Fadden defends it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fadden wants to get back to full guard.
Still in half guard, Polo seems content to control.
Fadden wants to control but Polo is keeping busy.
Fadden is looking to escape.
Polo not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Polo wants to control but Fadden is keeping him busy.
Polo is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Polo is looking to advance position but Fadden won't allow it.
Polo sitting and controlling from the half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Polo is keen to just control but Fadden is a slippery customer.
Polo is looking to advance position but Fadden won't allow it.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Fadden trying to hold on to Polo's head to control him but Polo postures up.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Fadden takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Polo defending well as Fadden loads up on a big left hand.
Fadden misses with a hook.
Fadden looks to land a left hand but Polo moved out of range nicely.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A punch lands to the side of Polo 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Polo takes one on the chin but keeps coming.

Polo is rocked!
Fadden swings widly with a right hand

so Polo counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Polo is still in real trouble! Can Fadden finish him?
Polo throws a big right hand that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that John Fadden will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Marco Polo's cut.
That's time! Fadden's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Polo looks for a takedown but Fadden sprawls well.
Polo seems to have recovered his senses.
Fadden is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Fadden misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Polo.

Polo throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Fadden tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Polo is in Fadden's guard.
Fadden keeping moving, preventing Polo from controlling successfully.
Fadden 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.
Fadden keeping moving, preventing Polo from controlling successfully.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Polo advances to half guard.
Polo not doing much here.
Fadden tries to kick Polo off in order to stand up. Polo Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fadden is not content to let Polo control the position.
Polo cracks Fadden with a big elbow.
Fadden seems a little lost for a moment, as Polo dominates the positioning.

Polo looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Marco Polo has got the better of the ground game so far.
An elbow from Polo crashes against the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Polo just content to control the position.
Fadden is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Polo is controlling him well.
Polo working away.
Polo tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Fadden avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Polo.
Fadden manages to work his way to half guard, despite Polo's best efforts.
Fadden tries to get to full guard but Polo has control of the leg.
Fadden trying to control from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Polo trying to control from half guard but Fadden is working away.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Polo seems to be looking for submissions.
Polo is controlling the pace.

Polo is looking for a kimura but Fadden is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Polo to get the leverage.
Polo prevents Fadden from improving his position.
Fadden looks like he's trying to stand up.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Fadden lands a lovely overhand right.
Fadden displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Polo.
Fadden swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Polo moves out of range as Fadden strikes.
Fadden throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Polo.
Polo's coach down at Death Valley Training Facility was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Polo's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
John Fadden is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Polo fails with the takedown.
John Fadden has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marco Polo.
Fadden throws a hook but Polo avoids it easily.

Fadden gets caught napping as Polo dives in and scores a takedown. Fadden manages to retain guard.

Fadden pushes Polo off and scrambles back to his feet.
Polo misses with the combination.
It looked like Fadden wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Polo steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Fadden.
Fadden finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Polo lands a high kick!
Fadden throws a hook but Polo avoids it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Marco Polo will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Marco Polo's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Polo shoots in for a takedown but Fadden shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
John Fadden seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Fadden pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Polo feints the counter takedown.
Fadden stuffs the takedown.
Fadden is looking to counter punch.
Nice defenses there by Polo.
Fadden closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Fadden misses with a hook.

Polo gets a takedown into half guard.

Polo is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Fadden doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Polo.
Fadden is concentrating on defense, preventing Polo from advancing position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Polo wants to lay and pray for a moment but Fadden keeps working.
Fadden has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Polo is working away from the top position though.
Polo lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Fadden is staying active underneath Polo, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Fadden tries to kick Polo off but Polo keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Fadden is trying to get back to full guard.
Fadden tries to kick Polo off but Polo keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Polo trying to control from half guard but Fadden is working away.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Fadden misses with a looping left.
Polo tries to counter by closing the distance.
Fadden tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.

Polo gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Fadden presses Polo against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Polo taking a breather.

Fadden escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Fadden throws a combination that misses

and Polo counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Fadden wants to get back to full guard.
Polo keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Fadden wants to get back to full guard but Polo has mounted him!
Fadden in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fadden is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Polo postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Fadden looks a forlorn figure.
Polo looking to control but Fadden is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Fadden is just holding on here. Polo manages to take his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Polo has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Fadden's body.
Polo has the hooks in. Fadden is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Well, with Polo on his back, surely it's only a matter of time before Fadden is tapping out... Can he escape the position?
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marco Polo comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Polo has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Fray scores the fight 29:29
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 29:28
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!