PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight kickboxing rules bout between Robert Whittaker (ranked 20372 p4p, 770 weight class) and Micheal De Villiers (ranked 23244 p4p, 768 weight class). Micheal De Villiers told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Whittaker
vs
De Villiers

183 cm
28
190 lbs
3 - 7 - 0

170 cm
21
200 lbs
0 - 3 - 1

Solid boxing
Experienced

Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Robert Whittaker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 1, fighting out of London, Micheal De Villiers!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, George Francis and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De Villiers throws a series of punches but Whittaker moves out of range.
De Villiers pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Whittaker is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by De Villiers.
De Villiers is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Whittaker scores with a jab to the body.
De Villiers steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Whittaker.
De Villiers misses with a head kick.
De Villiers misses with a head kick.
Whittaker throws a body shot but no joy.
Whittaker swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Whittaker tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Villiers tries to close the distance and clinch but Whittaker swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
De Villiers moves forwards but Whittaker connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Whittaker just misses with a punch to the body.
De Villiers tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Whittaker paws at him with a jab and circles away.
De Villiers misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whittaker misses with a kick to the body.
De Villiers tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Whittaker fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
De Villiers tries to clinch but Whittaker moves out of range.
De Villiers tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Whittaker manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
A head kick misses from De Villiers.
Whittaker misses with a body kick.
De Villiers's coach down at Kung Fu Fighting Club ($299 entry fee) was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on De Villiers's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
De Villiers misses the shot to the body.
De Villiers tries to close the distance and clinch up but Whittaker swats him away and circles back towards the center.
De Villiers throws a sloppy head kick and Whittaker moves out of range easily.
Whittaker lands with a cross.
De Villiers tries to clinch up.
De Villiers closes the distance but Whittaker moves to the side
and Whittaker counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whittaker connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Whittaker is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Whittaker misses with a leg kick.
Whittaker looks to land a combination but De Villiers avoids it well.
De Villiers is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Whittaker misses with a right hand
and De Villiers counters with a series of strikes. Whittaker will be more careful next time no doubt.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De Villiers takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
De Villiers avoids the head kick by Whittaker.
Whittaker misses with a low kick.
De Villiers tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Whittaker manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
De Villiers avoids the head kick by Whittaker.
De Villiers takes a shot right to the bread basket.
De Villiers is looking to clinch.
A slapping leg kick lands for Whittaker.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Whittaker swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
De Villiers misses with a double jab
and Whittaker counters with a left and a right that stings De Villiers.
Nice shot lands for Whittaker.
Whittaker misses with a kick to the body.
Whittaker connects with a jab.
De Villiers throws a quick inside leg kick.
De Villiers misses with a body shot.
De Villiers tries to clinch but Whittaker moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whittaker jabs De Villiers to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Whittaker misses with a leg kick.
Whittaker missing with a left hand there. De Villiers was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Robert Whittaker is winning the standup battle so far.
De Villiers closes the distance looking to clinch
and Whittaker counters with a one-two to the body.
Whittaker is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that De Villiers can do to turn this around?

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Villiers wants to clinch up but Whittaker keeps it at a distance.
Whittaker is looking to land body kicks.
De Villiers misses with a wild combination.
Whittaker is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
De Villiers swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
De Villiers keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
De Villiers fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Whittaker checks it well.
A slapping leg kick lands for Whittaker.
De Villiers avoids the head kick by Whittaker.
Whittaker pushes De Villiers away with a front kick.
De Villiers will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whittaker lands a straight punch to the body, keeping De Villiers at a distance.
De Villiers throws a big shot that misses.
Whittaker lands an overhand right.
Robert Whittaker is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
De Villiers tries to close the distance and clinch up but Whittaker swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A punch combination from Whittaker misses.
As Whittaker backs off De Villiers throws a huge counter combo but Whittaker manages to avoid it all.
De Villiers closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Whittaker fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A decent looking cross lands there for De Villiers.
Whittaker uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by De Villiers.

De Villiers clips Whittaker with a right and a left that makes him do the chicken dance for a couple of seconds. He touched his left hand down on the canvas so the referee steps between the fighters to give Whittaker a standing 8 count before we can continue the bout.
Robert Whittaker is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
De Villiers tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Whittaker paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Whittaker went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Micheal De Villiers takes that one, thanks to the knockdown.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Whittaker avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Whittaker avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
De Villiers tries to clinch but Whittaker moves away
and Whittaker counters with an inside leg kick.
Whittaker fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.

De Villiers closes the distance and pushes Whittaker back into the cage.

Whittaker pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Whittaker cracks De Villiers with an open hand slap.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from De Villiers lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Whittaker has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Whittaker and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
No joy there for Whittaker, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
De Villiers throws a counter combo.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Villiers tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Whittaker paws at him with a jab and circles away.
De Villiers tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Whittaker paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Whittaker misses with a head kick.
Whittaker throws a lazy uppercut

and before Whittaker can reset, De Villiers rushes him with a swarm of punches, sending him crashing to the floor, in all sorts of trouble! Whittaker is trying to beat the count but we're up to 6 already and he's nowhere near. 7,8... he's up! He's going to continue!

Whittaker is rocked!

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Villiers blocks a jab.
De Villiers throws a counter combo.
Whittaker drops his guard momentarily, allowing De Villiers to crack him with a picture perfect lead left hook! Boom! Down goes Whittaker! Oh, he's in big trouble - I don't like his chances here as the referee's count reaches 5. 6,7,8,9...10! He's out! De Villiers takes it!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:08 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Punch). Micheal De Villiers!