PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Marion Whitaker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nguyen Hoang Minh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Whitaker
vs
Hoang Minh

208 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
21
190 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Very confident

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Marion Whitaker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Nguyen Hoang Minh!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Daniel Bishop and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.
Whitaker takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.

Whitaker gets a double leg takedown into Minh's guard.
Minh really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Whitaker. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Whitaker sitting in guard, not really doing much.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Whitaker accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Whitaker stands up and waves to Minh to follow him.
Minh stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Minh wants it to stay on the feet.
Whitaker scores with a jab to the head.
Minh looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Marion Whitaker seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whitaker throws a good cross that connects.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Whitaker drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Whitaker working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Minh not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Whitaker is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Whitaker will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Minh is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Whitaker throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Minh works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Whitaker landing some decent shots from guard.
Whitaker controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Whitaker really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Whitaker postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitaker throwing strikes from guard but Minh blocks nicely.
Whitaker connects with a couple of short punches.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Whitaker drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Minh manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Whitaker has Minh in his guard.

Whitaker managing to control the position.
Whitaker lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Whitaker stands up over Minh, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Whitaker working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Minh's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Minh controls Whitaker momentarily but Whitaker frees himself.
Whitaker has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Whitaker's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Minh has momentary wrist control but Whitaker slips an elbow through the middle.
Whitaker with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Minh doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.

Whitaker stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Whitaker jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Minh unleashes a big counter combination but Whitaker bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Whitaker shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Minh connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitaker loads up on a big right hand but Minh slips the punch.
Whitaker looks to score with a jab to the body but Minh is just out of range.
Minh with the counter takedown but Whitaker avoids it easily.
Whitaker misses the body punch

and Minh counters by clinching up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Whitaker pulls guard successfully.
Whitaker controls Minh momentarily but Minh frees himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marion Whitaker dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Whitaker shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Whitaker was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Minh tries to escape but Whitaker is in control.
Whitaker landing a few strikes.
Whitaker connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Minh some visible discomfort.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Minh takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
You can see the frustration on Minh's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Whitaker working the ground and pound.
Minh is looking for a sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Minh taking a bit of punishment here - Whitaker scoring with strikes.
Marion Whitaker overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Minh is trying to get back to half guard.
Whitaker landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Whitaker in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Minh is looking to regain half guard here but Whitaker keeps moving and retains side control.
Minh on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Minh manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Whitaker wants to improve his position but Minh is controlling well.
The fighters are battling for position here. Whitaker manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Minh wanted to stand there but Whitaker had control of the position.

Whitaker has his feet on Minh's thighs here. He's pushed Minh off and worked for a very quick armbar from the bottom! He's flipped onto his stomach and he's cranking hard on the arm! Minh screams in pain and taps out! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:56 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Marion Whitaker!