PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Rikkard Hanson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Manus Dinapoli (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dinapoli comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Cavo - Thick As Thieves kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Hanson
vs
Dinapoli

185 cm
25
191 lbs
9 - 7 - 1

185 cm
27
200 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Good 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 9 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rikkard Hanson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Manus Dinapoli!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Tiny Johnson and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dinapoli throws a head kick that misses

and Hanson counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Dinapoli wants to improve his position but instead Hanson has moved into half guard.
Hanson takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
We've been hearing good reports from Hanson's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Dinapoli is not content to let Hanson control the position.
Hanson content to control rather than advance.
Hanson trying to mount his opponent but Dinapoli defends it.
Hanson wants to control but Dinapoli is keeping him busy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dinapoli wants to get back to full guard.
Hanson controlling the pace.
Dinapoli manages to get to full guard.
Dinapoli is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanson tries to free his leg and advance position but Dinapoli is retaining full guard.
Dinapoli pulls Hanson in close to his closed guard and prevents Hanson from doing any damage or advancing position.
Dinapoli controls Hanson momentarily but Hanson frees himself.
Dinapoli is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Hanson stopping the sweep attempt from Dinapoli.
Dinapoli preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Dinapoli not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Hanson wants to pass the guard but Dinapoli is keeping the position.
Hanson lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Hanson pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Dinapoli is keeping the position for now.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Dinapoli holds on and takes a little breather.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Hanson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Dinapoli swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Dinapoli working a defensive guard here.
Hanson stands and throws Dinapoli's legs to the side, diving into side control.

Hanson is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Dinapoli has escaped the position, nice work there.
Dinapoli tries to improve position but can't.

Hanson working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Dinapoli is looking for a sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanson tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.

Hanson working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dinapoli tries to buck Hanson off but Hanson is having none of it.
Hanson advances to mount.
Dinapoli bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Hanson keeping moving, preventing Dinapoli from controlling successfully.
Hanson has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hanson keeping full guard, as Dinapoli tries to pass.
Hanson is pulling down on Dinapoli's head to control his posture.
Dinapoli must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Dinapoli avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Dinapoli advances to half guard.
Hanson controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Hanson manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Hanson pulls Dinapoli in close to prevent any damage.
Dinapoli sitting in guard, not really doing much.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rikkard Hanson dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Hanson closes the distance and clinches up with Dinapoli, looking for a takedown. Hanson pushes Dinapoli against the cage but Dinapoli circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Dinapoli has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Hanson is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Hanson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Dinapoli can do to turn this around?
Dinapoli misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Hanson counters with a straight right hand.
Hanson throws a leg kick but Dinapoli checks it.
Dinapoli ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Nice sprawl there from Dinapoli as Hanson shoots in.
Hanson misses with the combination.
Dinapoli moves away from the strike by Hanson.
Hanson tries to land a leg kick but Dinapoli saw it coming and moves away.
Dinapoli lands with a shot to the body.
Dinapoli throws a leg kick which misses Hanson's front leg but catches the back leg as Hanson tries to avoid it.
Hanson tries to clinch but Dinapoli is having none of it.
Dinapoli fails with a takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hanson lands a really nice looking cross but Dinapoli seems unphased.
Dinapoli fails to land with a series of punches.
Hanson thuds a left hand into Dinapoli's body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dinapoli looks to score with a jab to the body but Hanson is just out of range.

Hanson looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Rikkard Hanson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Dinapoli is holding on to half guard well.
Hanson wants to pass to mount but Dinapoli is defending the position.
Hanson perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Dinapoli is trying to maintain the position but Hanson is very close to passing his half guard.
Dinapoli wants to improve his position but Hanson is controlling well.
Hanson tries to pass to full mount but Dinapoli defends it.
Dinapoli tries to get to full guard but Hanson has control of the leg.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hanson sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Dinapoli is looking for a sweep. Hanson is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Hanson is trying to control. Dinapoli wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Hanson looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

Hanson is working for a kimura but Dinapoli is defending it quite comfortably.
Dinapoli gets back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanson looking to pass the guard.
Dinapoli looking to control.
Hanson passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Dinapoli is not content to let Hanson control the position.
What's Dinapoli going to do here then? He's in a bit of a pickle.
Dinapoli gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Hanson is trying to control. Dinapoli wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Dinapoli wants to improve his position but Hanson is controlling well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hanson trying to pass the guard but Dinapoli defending well.
Hanson is thwarting Dinapoli's attempts to control the position.
Hanson content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Dinapoli is staying active underneath Hanson, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Dinapoli tries to get to full guard but Hanson has control of the leg.
Hanson is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Dinapoli!
Dinapoli is looking to get to half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Hanson working for a guillotine from mount but Dinapoli is in no mood to give up.
Hanson sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rikkard Hanson dominated that second round.
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. This is the final round!

Dinapoli ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hanson moves away.
Dinapoli throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Hanson fails with the takedown.
Dinapoli is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Hanson rather than just go for the knockout.
Hanson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Hanson throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Dinapoli misses with a shot to the body

and Hanson counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Hanson.
Dinapoli looking for a sweep. Not yet Dinapoli, not yet.
Dinapoli lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Hanson seems keen to control Dinapoli's posture.
Dinapoli throws a big right hand that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hanson looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Dinapoli trying to control the position from guard on top but Hanson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dinapoli controls from within his opponent's guard.
Hanson trying to control the position.
Hanson has his hands on Dinapoli's head, controlling the position.
Dinapoli wants to control from the top but Hanson keeps moving.
Hanson is adopting a defensive guard.
Hanson keeping moving, preventing Dinapoli from controlling successfully.
Manus Dinapoli has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Hanson is controlling Dinapoli's posture.
Dinapoli is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Hanson shoots in but no luck this time.
Dinapoli bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Hanson lands a really nice looking cross but Dinapoli seems unphased.
A jab from Dinapoli misses.
Hanson lunges at Dinapoli with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Dinapoli's hand.
Rikkard Hanson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Hanson throws a hook but Dinapoli blocks it.
Hanson throws a nice looking combination but Dinapoli bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
A looping hook to the body misses from Dinapoli. Hanson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Hanson went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Hanson avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Dinapoli fails to land with a series of punches.
Dinapoli throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Hanson counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Dinapoli keeping moving, preventing Hanson from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dinapoli looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hanson is one step ahead there.
Dinapoli controlling Hanson's posture.
Dinapoli wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Hanson is now in half guard.
Dinapoli is not content to let Hanson control the position.
Dinapoli wants to improve his position but Hanson is controlling well.
Hanson scoring with strikes to the body and head.

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.
Dinapoli wants to get back to full guard.
Dinapoli moves into full guard.
Hanson looking to pass the guard.
Dinapoli wants to hit a switch here but Hanson passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Dinapoli there!
Hanson can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Dinapoli is looking to escape.
Hanson lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hanson sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Rikkard Hanson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Hanson has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rikkard Hanson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hanson, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 George Francis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rikkard Hanson!
Rikkard Hanson was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.