PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Rupert Whiston (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marco Macotti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Macotti has chosen Drown - Theory of a Deadman as his entrance music. Marco Macotti struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 186.1lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. 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.

Whiston
vs
Macotti

175 cm
30
202 lbs
12 - 9 - 0

190 cm
31
205 lbs
22 - 14 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Good elbows
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 12 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Rupert Whiston!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 14 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Marco Macotti!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Frank Antenori and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Whiston misses with a straight left.
Macotti fails in his attempt to clinch.
Macotti misses the shot to the body.
Macotti looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Donk. Macotti catches Whiston right on the button with a cross.
Macotti tries to clinch but Whiston moves out of range.
Macotti is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Macotti drives through and clinches with Whiston against the cage.
Whiston has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Macotti avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Whiston blocks the elbow strike.

Whiston pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Whiston definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whiston swings for the body but Macotti moves out of range.
Macotti looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Whiston went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Whiston rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Macotti moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Macotti takes the fight into the clinch.
Macotti stalling in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Whiston breaks the clinch.
Whiston misses with a jab, cross combination.
Whiston thows a leg kick but Macotti checks it
and Macotti counters with a nice body shot.
Whiston misses with a jab, cross combination.
Macotti is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Macotti connects with a body shot.
Macotti tries to close the distance and clinch up but Whiston swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Whiston misses with a few strikes there.
Macotti tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Whiston manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Whiston throws a big shot that misses.
Whiston scores with a decent looking hook.
Macotti misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Whiston.

Macotti moves into the clinch.
Whiston avoids a wild elbow strike from Macotti.
Macotti lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

It looks like Rupert Whiston has been cut.

Whiston jumps into guard, dragging Macotti to the mat.
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!
Whiston wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Macotti passes Whiston's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whiston is looking to improve his position.
Whiston gets full guard.
Whiston pulls Macotti in to control the position.
Whiston lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Whiston controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Whiston trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Whiston controls from within his opponent's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Macotti looking to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whiston content to stall in guard here.
Whiston trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Macotti is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Whiston stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Macotti swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Whiston is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Whiston has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Macotti is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

Macotti looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Whiston looking to pass the guard.
Whiston engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Whiston on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Macotti wants to clinch up but Whiston keeps it at a distance.
Macotti is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Whiston rather than just go for the knockout.
Macotti misses with a body shot.
Macotti avoids a punch combination nicely.
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 Rupert Whiston will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Rupert Whiston's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Macotti wants to clinch.
Whiston keeps the fight on the outside.
Whiston listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Whiston is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Macotti.
Whiston swats away the attempt to clinch by Macotti.
Whiston misses with a shot to the body
and Macotti counters with a stiff right hand.
Macotti cracks Whiston with an open hand slap.
Macotti will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Macotti cracks Whiston with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Whiston scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Macotti.
Rupert Whiston seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whiston throws a jab but it's blocked by Macotti.
Whiston throws a sloppy body shot
and Macotti counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Macotti avoids the body shot from Whiston.
Whiston lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Macotti circles away quickly and effectively.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Macotti! But no joy.
Whiston misses the jab.
Macotti lands with a right hand.
Whiston uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Macotti.
Macotti walks into a left hand.
Whiston misses with a few strikes there.
Macotti is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Whiston misses with a hook. Macotti ducked under it nicely.
Macotti misses with a straight right.
The crowd cheers as Whiston lands an impressive looking overhand right. Macotti doesn't seem phased though.
Macotti has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.

Macotti has Whiston up against the cage in a clinch.
Macotti misses with a short punch on the inside.
Macotti keeps control of Whiston as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whiston jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Macotti walks away with a smile on his face. Whiston gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Macotti scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Whiston doesn't seem bothered though.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Whiston misses with a wild body shot.
Whiston throws a body shot but no joy.
Whiston sets himself, and Macotti steps forward looking for the clinch! Whiston avoids it this time.
Macotti fails to land with a series of punches.
Whiston looks to land a left hand but Macotti moved out of range nicely.
Whiston keeps the fight on the outside.
Whiston misses with a left hand
and Macotti counters with a left to the body.

Macotti takes the fight into the clinch.
Whiston is trying to pull guard but Macotti has him pressed against the cage.
Macotti tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Macotti misses with a short punch on the inside.
Macotti is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Whiston.
Macotti misses with an elbow over the top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whiston blocks an elbow strike.
Macotti throws an elbow but it misses.
Macotti doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Macotti lands with a left to the head.
Macotti prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rupert Whiston. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Macotti pushes Whiston back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Whiston is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Macotti pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Whiston looking for a takedown.

Whiston escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Whiston misses with a shot to the body

and Macotti counters with a takedown into side control.
Macotti in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.

Macotti working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
You can see the frustration on Whiston's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Whiston defending against the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whiston takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Whiston is looking to reverse the position.
Whiston can't do much from the bottom here.
Whiston is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Macotti is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Whiston is looking to get to half guard.

Macotti jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Whiston is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Whiston and Macotti has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Macotti working the head with strikes.
Whiston parries the strikes from Macotti easily there. Macotti is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Whiston to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marco Macotti showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Rupert Whiston's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Whiston throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Macotti doesn't manage to clinch there - Whiston circles away.
Macotti uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Macotti tries to clinch but Whiston moves away
and Whiston counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Whiston throws a body shot but no joy.
Whiston connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Macotti's hands.
Macotti tries to close the distance and clinch but Whiston swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Macotti just misses with a punch to the body.
Whiston thows a left - swing and a miss!
Macotti throws a lazy uppercut
and Whiston counters with a lovely shot to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A left and a right from Whiston both land. Nice combination.
Whiston misses with a looping left.
Whiston attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A nice combination there by Whiston.
Macotti tries to clinch up
and Whiston connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Macotti in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whiston throws a jab when Macotti was well out of range.
Whiston misses with a straight right.
Whiston takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Macotti throws a jab when Whiston was well out of range.
Rupert Whiston is winning the standup battle so far.
Whiston looks to land a combination but Macotti avoids it well.
Whiston throws a nice looking combination but Macotti bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Macotti tries to close the distance and clinch but Whiston swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Macotti darts in trying to clinch
and Whiston connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Whiston throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Macotti lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Whiston throws a jab but it's blocked by Macotti.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Macotti moves into the clinch.
Macotti lands with a left to the head.
Whiston takes an elbow to the forehead.
Whiston can't get the takedown.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Macotti takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Macotti keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Whiston's efforts to push away.
Macotti misses with an elbow over the top.
Whiston is trying to pull guard but Macotti has him pressed against the cage.
Whiston blocking some punches.
Macotti tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Whiston's elbow.
Macotti lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Whiston backwards.
Macotti is pushing Whiston up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Whiston is trying to pull guard but Macotti has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rupert Whiston. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Macotti softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Whiston dodges an elbow strike from Macotti.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Whiston breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Macotti tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Whiston paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Macotti fails in his attempt to clinch.
Whiston is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Whiston swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
A nice side step and Macotti releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Whiston stalks Macotti and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Macotti's face. Macotti staggers backwards, shaken.
Macotti connects with a looping right hand.
Whiston ducks right into an uppercut from Macotti.
Macotti ducks under a wild hook from Whiston.
Whiston throws a sloppy head kick and Macotti moves out of range easily.
Whiston throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Macotti.
Whiston connects with the punch.
Whiston throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Whiston rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Macotti moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Macotti takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Whiston circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whiston connects with a body shot that sends Macotti's belly button to the back.
Whiston looks to land a combination but Macotti avoids it well.
Whiston swinging wildly here.
Macotti wants to counter the offense by Whiston and move into the clinch position.
Macotti lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Whiston at a distance.
Macotti jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Rupert Whiston is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Whiston swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Macotti closes the distance and clinches.
Whiston goes for a takedown attempt but Macotti pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Whiston is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Macotti.

Macotti moves into the clinch.
Whiston blocks an elbow strike.
Whiston jumps guard but Macotti stands there with Whiston around his waist. Whiston gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Whiston breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rupert Whiston showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Whiston 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 29:29
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 29:29
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:28

The fight is ruled a majority draw!