PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Damian Nitschke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sven Dufva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sven Dufva has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Nitschke
vs
Dufva

181 cm
42
184 lbs
38 - 27 - 1

189 cm
39
177 lbs
33 - 16 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Hellbent
Tokyo United Fightwear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 38 - 27 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Damian Nitschke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 33 - 16 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Sven Dufva!
The judges for this bout are Summer Carpenter, John Mangel and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dufva misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Nitschke.
Nitschke stuns Dufva with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Nitschke throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
A bone on bone clash there as Nitschke blocks the leg kick.
Nitschke misses with a series of wild punches.
Dufva misses with a series of wild punches.
Damian Nitschke seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dufva throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Dufva misses with a low kick.
Dufva is looking to score with low kicks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nitschke throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Dufva tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Nitschke tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
It seemed like Dufva was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Dufva connects with a jab.
Jab, jab by Dufva - just one landing.
Nitschke with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dufva motions for Nitschke to come forward. Dufva throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Nitschke lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Dufva circles away quickly and effectively.
Dufva attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Nitschke misses the shot to the body.
Dufva lands an overhand right.
Nitschke throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Dufva.
Nitschke looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Nitschke connects with an inside leg kick.
Nitschke defending well as Dufva loads up on a big left hand.
Nitschke looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Dufva is fending him off so far but Nitschke persists. Nope, Dufva circles away and we're back to standing.
Dufva with a jab.
Dufva lands with a thumping leg kick.
Nitschke takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Nitschke with a nice cross.
Dufva ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Dufva misses the shot to the body.
Nitschke's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Dufva connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Nitschke scrambles back to his feet.
Nitschke misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dufva tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Nitschke was well out of range. Poor timing from Dufva.
Nitschke uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Dufva.
Nitschke changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Nitschke throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Dufva connects with a jab.
Dufva lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Nitschke at a distance.
Dufva throws a sloppy head kick and Nitschke moves out of range easily.
Nitschke takes one on the button.
A head kick misses from Nitschke.
Nitschke misses with a straight right.
Dufva throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Dufva looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Nitschke scores with a head kick.
Nitschke tries to clinch
and Dufva counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Dufva lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
A solid leg kick lands there for Nitschke.
Nitschke looks to land a left hand but Dufva moved out of range nicely.
Dufva is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Nitschke had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nitschke connects with a body shot that sends Dufva's belly button to the back.
Nitschke moves forwards but Dufva connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Dufva swings for the body but Nitschke moves out of range.

Nitschke closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Dufva quickly recovers to half guard.
Nitschke keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Nitschke looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Dufva controlling the position for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nitschke misses with a head shot. Dufva uses the momentum to regain guard.
Dufva controlling the position.
Nitschke throws a big right hand that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dufva seems keen to control Nitschke's posture.
Dufva looking to control.
Nitschke throws a big right hand that misses.
Dufva has Nitschke pulled in close to control his posture.
Nitschke connects with a couple of short punches.
Nitschke throwing strikes from guard but Dufva blocks nicely.
Nitschke loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Dufva seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Nitschke throws a big elbow that misses.
Dufva keeping moving, preventing Nitschke from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sven Dufva dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Dufva swats away the attempt to clinch by Nitschke.
Nitschke shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Dufva pinned against the cage. Dufva gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Nitschke tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Dufva was well out of range. Poor timing from Nitschke.
Nitschke lands a body shot.
Dufva feints and then cracks Nitschke's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Nitschke down.
Dufva misses with a body shot.
Sven Dufva seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Dufva ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Nitschke avoids the body shot from Dufva.
Nitschke throws a sloppy head kick and Dufva moves out of range easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dufva misses with a series of wild punches.
Nitschke misses with a body shot.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Dufva! But no joy.
Nitschke fails to land the takedown.
Dufva has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Dufva throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Nitschke drops down looking for a counter takedown but Dufva sprawls and moves away.
Nitschke misses with a head kick.
Nitschke doesn't manage to clinch there - Dufva circles away.
Dufva throws a leg kick but Nitschke checks it.
A slapping leg kick lands for Dufva.
Nitschke is looking to wear down Dufva with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Dufva tries a head kick but it misses.
Nitschke throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Dufva on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Dufva dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Nitschke. That did some damage!
Good work by Nitschke as he checks the leg kick.
Dufva lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Nitschke checks a low kick from Dufva.
A slapping leg kick lands for Dufva.
Dufva connects with a nice looking jab.
Dufva lands with a nice body punch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nitschke throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Dufva stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Dufva does it's job there.
Nitschke throws a big shot that misses.
Dufva looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Dufva with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Nitschke misses with a head kick.
Nitschke feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Dufvas jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Dufva scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Dufva tries to land a front kick but Nitschke steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Nitschke throws a shot to the body.
Dufva slips under a jab.
Nitschke darts in looking for a takedown but Dufva gets double underhooks and turns Nitschke into the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Damian Nitschke. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A telegraphed right hand from Dufva misses the target.
A looping hook to the body misses from Dufva. Nitschke does a little dance to reset his feet.
A head kick misses from Nitschke.
Dufva throws a jab when Nitschke was well out of range.
Dufva changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dufva throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nice body kick there by Dufva.
Dufva misses with a wild combination.
Dufva slips a jab and a cross from Nitschke.
Dufva looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Dufva checks the leg kick.
Dufva scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Nitschke takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Nitschke is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Dufva fails to land with a series of punches.
Nitschke feinted with a counter takedown.
Dufva connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Good work by Dufva as he checks the leg kick.
Nitschke moves out of range of the body kick.
Nitschke attempts a counter takedown but Dufva avoids it well and moves away.
Nitschke throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Nitschke throws a head kick that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nitschke shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Dufva but Dufva pushes him off and we're back to square one.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nitschke pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Dufva throws a jab but it's blocked by Nitschke.
Nitschke fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Dufva misses with a low kick.
Nitschke takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Dufva moves away from the strike by Nitschke.
Good leg kick by Dufva there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Some bone on bone action there as Nitschke checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Nitschke walks forward, straight into a front kick from Dufva.
Dufva jabs Nitschke to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Dufva throws a leg kick which misses Nitschke's front leg but catches the back leg as Nitschke tries to avoid it.
Dufva lands with a hook. Nitschke tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Dufva slaps away a takedown attempt from Nitschke, before circling back to the center of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sven Dufva showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Nitschke swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nitschke throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nitschke takes a swing at Dufva's ribcage but misses.
Dufva raises up his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
An inside leg kick from Dufva misses.
Nitschke moves out of range of the leg kick from Dufva.
Nitschke tries to counter with a takedown but Dufva is quick to defend against it.
Nitschke scores with a body shot.
Nitschke takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Nitschke gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Dufva counters with a leg kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Nitschke. Dufva does a little dance to reset his feet.
Dufva lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Nitschke misses with a body shot
and Nitschke takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dufva throws the kick towards the body but Nitschke avoids it.
Nitschke ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dufva moves away.
Nitschke fails with the takedown.
Dufva steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
Nitschke avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nitschke takes one to the chin there.
Nitschke throws the left hand but Dufva avoids the punch easily.
Dufva appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Dufva on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Nitschke. Nitschke obviously looking to wear him down.
Nitschke tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Dufva was well out of range. Poor timing from Nitschke.
Nitschke stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Dufva.
Nitschke with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Dufva avoids the head kick by Nitschke.
Dufva misses the shot to the body.
Nitschke tries to counter with a takedown but Dufva is quick to defend against it.
Dufva throws a quick inside leg kick.
Dufva lands a leg kick that knocks Nitschke off balance momentarily.
Dufva takes a swing at Nitschke's ribcage but misses.
Nitschke misses the shot to the body.
Nitschke drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Damian Nitschke has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nitschke walks into a jab.
Dufva throws a low kick but Nitschke avoids it.
Nitschke feinted with a counter takedown.
Sven Dufva is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Dufva throws a solid leg kick but Nitschke takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Dufva.
Dufva has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Dufva lands with a nice body punch.
Dufva throws a body punch but Nitschke moves out of range.
Nitschke misses with a kick to the body.
Dufva unleashes a big counter combination but Nitschke bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Dufva dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Nitschke throws a body punch but Dufva moves out of range.
Nitschke misses with a wild body shot.
Dufva feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Nitschke's calf.
A looping hook to the body misses from Dufva. Nitschke does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nitschke lands a head kick!
Dufva lunges at Nitschke with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Nitschke's hand.
A good leg kick by Dufva.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jab, jab by Dufva - just one landing.
Dufva throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Dufva throws a solid leg kick but Nitschke takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Dufva.
Dufva looks for the body kick but Nitschke saw that one coming.
Nitschke pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Dufva lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Nitschke circles away quickly and effectively.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Dufva. Nitschke shrugs it off though.
Dufva throws a nice outside leg kick.
Nitschke takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Dufva connects with a body shot.
Dufva avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Nitschke fails in his attempt to clinch.
Dufva throws a good cross that connects.
Nitschke is trying hard to land a takedown here. Dufva sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Dufva tries a low kick but Nitschke avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Dufva, right into the meat.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Dufva throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Dufva fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Dufva blocks a head kick by Nitschke.
Nitschke takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Nitschke smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Dufva moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Nitschke has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Dufva.
Nitschke throws a head kick that misses.
Dufva uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Nitschke.
Dufva avoids the head kick by Nitschke.
Dufva lands a nice shot to the body.
Dufva throws a leg kick

and Nitschke counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Sven Dufva is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Dufva is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sven Dufva comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Dufva winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Summer Carpenter scores the fight 27:30
Judge John Mangel scores the fight 27:30
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sven Dufva!
An out of breath Sven Dufva thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.
Damian Nitschke spoke after the fight, saying 'He was a tough opponent and was the better man tonight. Best of luck to him in his future fights.'.