PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tangaroa Ngata (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Spank Crank (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ngata comes to the cage accompanied by Soundcritters - Haka War Chant. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Ngata
vs
Crank

185 cm
29
187 lbs
12 - 5 - 0

180 cm
21
201 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Very quick

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Lion Fightwear

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 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Tangaroa Ngata!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Spank Crank!
The judges for this bout are , Timothy Bukovac and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ngata is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Crank.
Crank looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Ngata is fending him off so far but Crank persists. Nope, Ngata circles away and we're back to standing.

Ngata moves into range and clinches up with Crank.
Ngata swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Crank breaks the clinch.
Ngata looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Crank circles away from the clinch attempt.

Ngata drives through and clinches with Crank against the cage.

Crank's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ngata tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Crank counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Crank trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Crank content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Crank working his ground and pound in the gym.
Crank lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Crank wants to control from the top but Ngata keeps moving.
Crank working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ngata knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Crank on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ngata looking for a sweep. Not yet Ngata, not yet.
Crank lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Crank lands a couple of digs.
Crank has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Crank distracts Ngata with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Crank working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Crank accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ngata looking for a sweep. Not yet Ngata, not yet.
Crank lands a couple of digs.
Crank throws a big elbow that misses.
Crank trying to control the position from guard on top but Ngata is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Crank lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Crank trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Crank throws a big elbow that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Crank trying to control the position from guard on top but Ngata is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ngata tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Ngata keeping moving, preventing Crank from controlling successfully.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Ngata gets a clinch.
Crank blocking some punches.

Crank breaks from the clinch.
Crank circles away from the clinch attempt

and Crank counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Crank is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Crank content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Ngata on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Ngata tries to get out of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ngata managing to control the position.
Crank trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Crank controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Crank throws a big right hand that misses.
Crank trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Crank with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ngata has control of Crank's left arm, preventing Crank from doing any damage.
Crank is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Crank postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Ngata holds on and takes a little breather.
Ngata keeping moving, preventing Crank from controlling successfully.

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.
Crank content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Crank keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Ngata's head.
Ngata is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Crank wants to improve his position but Ngata is controlling well.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ngata is thwarting Crank's attempts to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Spank Crank dominated that 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.

Ngata fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Crank, pushing him back against the cage.
Ngata tries to break free but Crank pushes him back against the cage.

Crank manages to break the clinch.

Crank shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Ngata napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Crank throws an elbow but Ngata slips to the side and avoids it well.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Ngata is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Ngata takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Crank has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Crank throws a strike aimed at the side of Ngata's head but Ngata avoids it well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ngata tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Crank wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Crank advances nicely into full mount.
Crank lands a big shot there that rocks Ngata but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Crank in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Crank landing strikes from the mount.
Ngata is in a horrible position here. Crank smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Crank postures up and throws a couple of big shots that have Ngata in real trouble here! The ref calls for Ngata to improve his position which he doesn't do, so the referee has no choice but to end the fight due to the strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:29 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Spank Crank!
Jumping up and down and very excited, Spank Crank waved his t-shirt featuring Irish Collar & Elbow Nutrition and Laundry's logo in front of the cameras.