PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Conor McDonald (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pepe Lopez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). McDonald comes into the arena with Hamburger blaring out of the sound system. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

McDonald
vs
Lopez

183 cm
29
182 lbs
14 - 11 - 1

179 cm
27
202 lbs
11 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Conor McDonald!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Pepe Lopez!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Kenichi Hosakawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lopez throws a body shot but no joy.
McDonald throwing a counter right hand but Lopez manages to avoid it.
McDonald throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Lopez sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Lopez tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Lopez lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.

It looks like Conor McDonald has been cut.
McDonald throws out a leg kick but Lopez moves out of range and McDonald only half commits.
McDonald takes a swing at Lopez's ribcage but misses.
Lopez drops down looking to force a counter takedown but McDonald defends it well.
McDonald bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
McDonald misses with an uppercut. Lopez saw that one coming.
Lopez drops down looking to force a counter takedown but McDonald defends it well.
McDonald misses with a straight right.
A little jabbing left from Lopez on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
McDonald is looking to slow Lopez down with leg kicks.
Lopez tries to land a body kick
and McDonald counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
McDonald displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Lopez.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McDonald connects with a looping right hand.
Lopez is looking to slow McDonald down with leg kicks.
Lopez avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
It seemed like Lopez was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
McDonald missing with a left hand there. Lopez was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Conor McDonald seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
McDonald lands a jab to Lopez's midsection.
Lopez throws a right hand that misses
and McDonald counters with a lovely shot to the body.
McDonald connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Lopez momentarily.
Lopez misses with a looping left.
Lopez throws a nice looking combination but McDonald bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Lopez cracks McDonald with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from McDonald lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Lopez has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Lopez and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Nice takedown defense from McDonald. No joy for Lopez on that attempt.
McDonald takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
McDonald looks to land a right hand but Lopez moved out of range.
McDonald cracks Lopez with a good jab.

Lopez dives in and scores a takedown into McDonald's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
McDonald tries to land a sweep but no joy.
McDonald trying to control the position here.
McDonald wants to sweep here but Lopez controlling him for the moment.
McDonald avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lopez throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as McDonald works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Lopez is in close to McDonald's body, working some short punches and elbows.
McDonald is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

McDonald not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
McDonald is nestled in close to Lopez, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
McDonald throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Lopez is looking for a sweep. McDonald is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Lopez has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Lopez works his way to full guard. Good work.

Lopez has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but McDonald can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
McDonald advances position into side control!
Lopez manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McDonald is not content to let Lopez control the position.
Lopez slows the pace down in half guard.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Lopez working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Lopez tries to pass the half guard into mount. McDonald knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
McDonald is trying to get back to full guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. McDonald manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
McDonald tries to land a sweep but no joy.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Lopez throws a big elbow that misses.
Lopez trying to control the position from guard on top but McDonald is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
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 Conor McDonald will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Conor McDonald's cut.
That's time! McDonald's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

A slow jab from McDonald misses its intended target.
McDonald throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Lopez jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Jab from McDonald.
Lopez on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by McDonald. McDonald obviously looking to wear him down.
McDonald takes one to the side of the head.
Lopez scores with a nice right hand.
Lopez paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
McDonald swings for the body but Lopez moves out of range.
McDonald takes a swing at Lopez's ribcage but misses.
Lopez shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lopez scores with a nice head shot.
Lopez staying out of range there.
Lopez will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Lopez smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Lopez dives in for a single leg takedown but McDonald sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Lopez doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

Lopez closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Lopez performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Lopez looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks McDonald with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Lopez is trying to control the action in half guard but McDonald is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McDonald is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Lopez working over McDonald with some ground and pound. McDonald looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
This has been an exciting period of action!
McDonald is looking to improve his position.
Lopez thows a huge punch but McDonald dodges it nicely.
Lopez lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
McDonald is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Lopez scores with a couple of nice shots.
Lopez passes to side control.
Lopez wants to lay and pray for a moment but McDonald keeps working.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McDonald tries to improve position but can't.
Lopez wants to lay and pray for a moment but McDonald keeps working.
Lopez lands a few punches from side control.
McDonald is looking for a sweep.

Lopez is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. McDonald knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Lopez scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at McDonald to see if he's OK.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McDonald wants to control but Lopez postures up.
Lopez working the ground and pound.
Lopez lands an elbow.
Lopez trying to control the position but McDonald is working away.
McDonald is looking for a sweep.
McDonald is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Lopez takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

McDonald is rocked!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pepe Lopez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Conor McDonald's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

McDonald fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Lopez.
A looping hook to the body misses from McDonald. Lopez does a little dance to reset his feet.
A clash of legs there as Lopez blocks the low kick.
And Lopez tries to counter it with a takedown but McDonald pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Lopez bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps McDonald's head backwards.
Oh McDonald is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

Conor McDonald's cut is getting worse.
McDonald fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Lopez manages to avoid it.
McDonald seems to have got his legs back now.
Lopez clobbers McDonald with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
McDonald showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Lopez.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lopez misses with a combination
and McDonald counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Lopez misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A cross from Lopez lands.
Conor McDonald is winning the standup battle so far.
Lopez with a poor takedown
and McDonald counters with a nice uppercut.
McDonald throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Lopez sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Lopez on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by McDonald. McDonald obviously looking to wear him down.
McDonald misses with a kick to the body.
McDonald misses with a lunging right hand
and Lopez connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Lopez's hands are dropping dangerously low here and McDonald connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Lopez scrambles back to his feet.
McDonald scores with a jab. Lopez acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
McDonald has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Lopez slips under a jab from McDonald.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lopez scores with a hook.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lopez is looking to slow McDonald down with leg kicks.
Lopez takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Lopez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
As Lopez backs away, McDonald returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Lopez scores with a body shot.
That kick from Lopez tenderised McDonald's leg. McDonald is trying to keep his angry face on.
Lopez fails with the takedown.
A quick step to the side and McDonald tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
McDonald misses with a low kick as Lopez jumps back.
McDonald tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Lopez is able to avoid easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lopez on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Lopez shoots in and drives through. McDonald sprawls well.
Conor McDonald has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pepe Lopez.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Lopez.
McDonald looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Lopez scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
McDonald fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Lopez looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
A big right from McDonald misses.
McDonald fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Lopez has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Lopez misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from McDonald.
McDonald throws a quick counter kick to the body but Lopez avoids it.
McDonald throws the kick towards the body but Lopez avoids it.
McDonald swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Good shot there by McDonald.
Lopez fakes high and swings low for a body shot but McDonald manages to avoid it.
Lopez on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
McDonald throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
McDonald scores with a crisp jab that stopped Lopez in his tracks.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
McDonald moves out of range of the strikes.
McDonald fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Lopez manages to avoid it.
Lopez checks a leg kick.
McDonald throws a leg kick but Lopez checks it.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Conor McDonald.
I think McDonald 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 29:28
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Conor McDonald!
Conor McDonald thanked the fans post fight for their support.