PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Antony Duke (ranked 8820 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kal Bo (ranked 5679 p4p, 501 weight class). Bo has chosen Breaking The Habit as his entrance music. The key to victory for Antony Duke has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Duke
vs
Bo

179 cm
24
279 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

177 cm
25
223 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Antony Duke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Kal Bo!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Ben Zyskovitsi and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bo fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Duke went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Bo shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Duke defends it nicely.

Bo clinches.

Duke breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bo throws a sloppy head kick and Duke moves out of range easily.
Bo misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Duke tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Bo manages to circle out of the way.
Bo lands with a nice body kick.
Bo throws a leg kick but Duke sees it coming and moves out of range.
Duke went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bo closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Duke to the mat! Duke manages to get full guard.
Duke really is a fat lump.
Bo with a flurry of punches that miss.
Bo throwing strikes from guard but Duke blocks nicely.
Bo has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Duke is proving hard to escape from.
Bo is looking to work some ground and pound but Duke has wrist control.
Bo throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Duke works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Bo wants to get up but he can't break Duke's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Bo throws a strike but Duke rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bo is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Duke trying to control but Bo is working from the bottom.
Bo is controlling Duke's posture.
Duke connects with a couple of short punches.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bo looking to hit a scissor sweep but Duke is one step ahead there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Duke is looking to stand up but Bo won't let him.

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

Duke closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Duke lands in his opponent's guard.
Bo seems keen to control Duke's posture.
Bo is trying to control the position but Duke postures up.
Duke wants to stand but Bo has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Duke avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Duke is working Bo over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Duke trying to control the position from guard on top but Bo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Duke in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Duke tries to stand but Bo is controlling from the bottom.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Bo misses with an attempted mid kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kal Bo dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Bo shoots in looking for a takedown. Duke tries to sprawl out of it but Bo keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Duke manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Bo closes the distance and clinches.

Bo pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bo will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Bo shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Duke but Duke pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Antony Duke has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kal Bo.

Bo fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Duke sprawls well initially but Bo persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bo thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Duke has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Bo is working away from the top position though.
Duke keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Duke tries to get to full guard but Bo has control of the leg.
Duke is looking to control Bo's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Duke avoid being mounted?
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Bo. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Bo not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Bo slips a nice elbow through Duke's hands, connecting with Duke's forehead.
Duke avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Bo.
Bo takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Bo seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Duke is looking for a sweep. Bo is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Duke wants to control but Bo is keeping busy.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Bo moves into the clinch successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Bo breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Duke looks for a takedown but Bo sprawls well.
As Duke backs off Bo throws a huge counter combo but Duke manages to avoid it all.
Bo takes a swing at Duke's ribcage but misses.

Bo has closed the distance and engaged Duke in a clinch.
Bo has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Bo prevents a takedown attempt there.

Duke manages to pull guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Bo seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Bo trying to control but Duke is working from the bottom.
Bo throwing strikes from guard but Duke blocks nicely.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Bo trying to control the position from guard on top but Duke is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kal Bo showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Bo clinches.
Duke is pressed up against the cage. Bo has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Duke down to the mat. Duke avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Antony Duke is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bo lands a head kick. Duke smiles back at him and beckons him forward.

It looks like Antony Duke has been cut.
Nice takedown defense from Duke. No joy for Bo on that attempt.
Bo closes this distance looking for a takedown but Duke circles away.
Antony Duke has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kal Bo.
Bo misses with a series of wild punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bo misses with a series of wild punches.
Bo takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bo shoots and misses
and Duke counters with a two punch combo.
Kal Bo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Duke avoids the head kick by Bo.
Bo displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Duke.
Bo fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
It looked like Duke was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.

Duke moves into range and clinches up with Bo.
Duke blocks an uppercut.
Bo has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Duke tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Duke misses with a punch to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Bo.
Bo has Duke pressed against the cage, preventing Duke from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Bo has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Bo trying to stall but Duke improves his position.

Duke escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Bo changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Duke tries to avoid it but Bo manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Duke to the ground. Duke escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
As Bo looks to move away, Duke throws a big counter combo but Bo just gets out of the way.
Kal Bo seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Duke closes the distance and clinches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Duke managing to block the knees to the body from Bo.

Duke pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Bo clinches up with Duke and pushes him back against the cage.
Bo fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Bo breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Bo closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Duke to the mat! Duke manages to get full guard.
Kal Bo has got the better of the ground game so far.
Duke is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

Bo postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Duke is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Bo, into his guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bo keeping moving, preventing Duke from controlling successfully.

Duke gets to his feet. Bo looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

Bo drives through with a takedown into guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Duke wants to sweep but no luck.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Duke looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Antony Duke has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kal Bo is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Duke is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Kal Bo.
Well Bo 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kal Bo!
After the fight, Kal Bo was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.