PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Haywood Badger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Diego Falcao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Falcao has chosen Charon - Sorrow Song as his entrance music. I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Badger
vs
Falcao

161 cm
36
134 lbs
18 - 7 - 0

163 cm
32
141 lbs
12 - 5 - 1

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Perkele!

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Haywood Badger!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Diego Falcao!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Steven Brown and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice defenses there by Falcao.
We've been hearing reports that Badger has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Good leg kick by Falcao there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Badger throws a looping overhand right but Falcao ducks down to avoid it.
Falcao swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Falcao throws a shot from downtown. Badger moves away and avoids it.
Falcao displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Badger.
Falcao throws a jab but it's blocked by Badger.
Badger scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Falcao with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Badger to score with a decent uppercut.
Badger takes a jab right on the kisser.
Falcao throws a sloppy head kick and Badger moves out of range easily.
Falcao tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Badger was well out of range. Poor timing from Falcao.
A nice leg kick lands there from Badger.

Falcao clinches up against the cage.

Badger escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Falcao blocks a jab.
Falcao lands a head shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A cross from Badger lands.
Badger misses with an uppercut
and Falcao counters with a straight right hand.
Falcao avoids the body shot from Badger.
Badger lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Falcao moves out of range of the leg kick from Badger.
Badger closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Falcao connects with a jab.
Falcao lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Falcao keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Falcao blocks a leg kick.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Falcao. Badger shrugs it off though.
Falcao thuds his shin into the meat of Badger's side.
Badger looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Badger throws a looping overhand right but Falcao ducks down to avoid it.
Badger uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Falcao.
Badger attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Falcao displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Badger throws out the jab.
Falcao lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Falcao takes one on the button.
Badger throws a body kick that misses.
Badger on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Badger takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Falcao scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Badger rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Falcao moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Good shot there by Badger.
Falcao throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Badger chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Falcao can pounce on him.
Falcao throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Badger throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Badger throws a hook to the side of Falcao's head but Falcao sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

Falcao darts in and clinches Badger up against the cage.
Badger blocks a body shot from Falcao.
A nice right hand lands inside from Falcao.
A nice left hand lands by Falcao.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Badger.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Badger throws a punch but it's blocked by Falcao.
Badger misses with a hook to the ribs.
Badger tries to work over Falcao's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Falcao swings wildly with an uppercut but Badger uses good head movement to avoid it.
Badger struggles to land a body shot inside as Falcao controls his hands.
Badger working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Falcao throws a head punch that misses.
Badger working aggressively here.
Falcao lands a left hand.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Falcao.

Badger's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Falcao misses with a body kick.
Falcao throws a shot from downtown. Badger moves away and avoids it.
Falcao lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Badger lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Badger misses with an uppercut
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Falcao looking to land some kicks to the body here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jab, jab by Badger - just one landing.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Badger stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Falcao.
Falcao fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Falcao lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Badger backs up against the cage.
Falcao connects with a crisp jab.
Badger lands with a nice body punch.
Badger checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
A big left from Badger misses.
Falcao bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Badger takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Falcao has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Badger staying out of range there.
Falcao lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Good work by Falcao as he checks the leg kick.
Badger cracks Falcao with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Falcao moves out of range as Badger strikes.
Falcao wants to counter with a clinch but Badger pushes him away.
Diego Falcao is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Badger looks to land a body kick but Falcao moved away.
Falcao feints a counter leg kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Badger will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Falcao keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Badger.
Falcao lands a body shot.
A big left from Falcao misses.
Badger appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Badger misses with a low kick.
Falcao throws a low kick but it's checked well by Badger.
Diego Falcao seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Falcao scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Falcao tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Badger was well out of range. Poor timing from Falcao.
Badger throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Falcao has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Badger fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Falcao manages to avoid it.
Badger throws a solid leg kick but Falcao takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Badger.
Falcao motions for Badger to come forward. Falcao throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Badger takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Diego Falcao seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Badger scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Badger scores with a decent looking hook.
Nice uppercut there from Badger.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Badger cracks Falcao with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Badger tries to score with a low kick but Falcao moves his leg out of the way.
Falcao takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Badger with a nice cross.
Falcao tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Falcao slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Badger scores with a jab to the body.
A big right from Falcao misses.
Badger misses the shot to the body.
Falcao throws a lazy uppercut
and Badger counters with a thumping low kick.
Falcao avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Falcao misses with a double jab
and Badger counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Falcao connects with an inside leg kick.
A bone on bone clash there as Falcao blocks the leg kick.
Falcao misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Badger.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Badger ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Badger takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
A head kick by Falcao misses
and Badger counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Badger looks to score with a jab to the body but Falcao is just out of range.
Falcao is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Falcao scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Badger doesn't seem bothered though.
Falcao takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Left hook, right uppercut from Falcao.
Falcao throws a leg kick but Badger moved away.
Falcao rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Badger moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Falcao lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Badger checks a low kick from Falcao.
Falcao moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
A telegraphed right hand from Falcao misses the target.
Badger appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Badger throws a low kick, looking for Falcao's leg but Falcao calmly moves out of range.
Falcao throws out a counter right but Badger avoids it with no problem.
Badger is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Falcao throws a body punch but Badger moves out of range.
Badger goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Badger throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Falcao looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
It looked like Badger wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Falcao lands a nice looking body kick.
Falcao throws out a leg kick but Badger moves out of range and Falcao only half commits.
Badger half committed to a counter leg kick.
Falcao fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Falcao just misses with a punch to the body.
Badger tries to land a front kick but Falcao steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Badger lands a nice leg kick that just misses Falcao's sensitive parts.
Falcao throws a poor cross that misses
and Badger makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Badger scores with a shot to the body.
Falcao misses with a straight right.
And Badger counters with a quick kick to the body but Falcao blocks it.
Badger misses with a hook.
Falcao scores with a decent looking hook.
A leg kick checked by Falcao.
Badger swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Badger throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Falcao swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Badger looks to score with a jab to the body but Falcao is just out of range.
And Falcao responds with a good body kick, but Badger manages to step out the way in time.
A slapping leg kick lands for Falcao.
Falcao tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Badger throwing a counter right hand but Falcao manages to avoid it.
Badger connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Falcao with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Falcao is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Badger.
Badger throws the kick towards the body but Falcao avoids it.
Badger thows a leg kick but Falcao checks it

and Falcao counters by moving into the clinch.
Falcao lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Badger or not.
Falcao makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Badger blocks an uppercut.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Badger drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Falcao.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Badger.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Diego Falcao will probably get the nod - 10:9.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Badger throws a shot to the body.
The crowd cheers as Falcao lands an impressive looking overhand right. Badger doesn't seem phased though.
Badger lands a jab to the nose.
Falcao swings for the body but Badger moves out of range.
Falcao throws a leg kick which misses Badger's front leg but catches the back leg as Badger tries to avoid it.
Badger throws a shot from downtown. Falcao moves away and avoids it.
Falcao jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Badger cracks the inside of Falcao's front leg.
Badger chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Falcao throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Badger lands a nice leg kick that just misses Falcao's sensitive parts.
Falcao ducks under a wild hook from Badger.
Falcao thows a body kick. Badger tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Falcao fails to land with a series of punches.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Falcao ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Badger swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Falcao counters with an inside leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Falcao misses with a low kick as Badger jumps back.
Falcao feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Badger's calf.
Falcao throws a right and a left that both miss.
Falcao sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Badger avoids a punch combination nicely.
Badger scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Falcao throws a head kick that misses.
Both fighters circling a little - Falcao finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Falcao thumps Badger with a low kick.
Falcao takes one on the button.
Badger will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Falcao tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Badger was well out of range. Poor timing from Falcao.
Badger throws a jab but it's blocked by Falcao.
Falcao doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Badger throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Falcao throws a jab but it's blocked by Badger.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Badger looks to score with a jab to the body but Falcao is just out of range.
Falcao takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Badger scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Falcao misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Falcao ducks under a wild hook from Badger.
A slapping body kick lands there for Falcao.
Haywood Badger has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Badger lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Badger stuns Falcao with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Badger thuds a left hand into Falcao's body.
Badger throws a body punch but Falcao moves out of range.
A decent looking cross lands there for Falcao.
Some wild striking there from Falcao.
Good leg kick by Badger there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Falcao displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Badger throws out the jab.
Falcao misses with an attempted mid kick.
Good work by Falcao as he checks the leg kick.
Despite the aggression on Falcao's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Falcao avoids the body shot from Badger.
Falcao displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Badger throws out the jab.
Badger takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Badger misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Falcao.
Badger throws a body kick that misses.
Badger is looking to score with low kicks.
Good standup being displayed there by Falcao as he connects with a hook.
Falcao jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Badger takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Falcao on the wrong end of a nice hook.
A clash of legs there as Falcao blocks the low kick.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Falcao lands a right hand that snaps the head of Badger backwards.
Falcao makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Falcao misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Falcao scores with a nice hook to the head.
Falcao lands a nice uppercut.
Falcao tries a body shot but Badger blocks it.
Badger lands an elbow inside.
Falcao working aggressively here.
Falcao scores with a shoulder strike.

Falcao breaks from the clinch.
Falcao throws a leg kick that misses.
Falcao shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Badger eats them both and turns towards Falcao to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Falcao throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Badger throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Badger lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Diego Falcao.
Well Falcao has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 William Gold scores the fight 28:29
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Diego Falcao!
In his post fight interview, Diego Falcao started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.