PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between George Burkman (ranked 4866 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chuck Pennilla (ranked 6837 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Burkman
vs
Pennilla

190 cm
25
205 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

193 cm
26
206 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, George Burkman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Chuck Pennilla!
The judges for this bout are Bart Greer, Michael Johnstone and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Burkman has managed to clinch.
Burkman lands with a left to the head.
Pennilla has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Burkman breaks from the clinch.

Pennilla rushes Burkman and presses him up against the cage.
Pennilla wants to get back to striking at distance but Burkman won't allow it.
Burkman working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
A short right from Burkman on the inside.
Burkman lands with a short shot to the head.
Pennilla tries to pull guard but Burkman won't allow it.
Burkman keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Pennilla's efforts to push away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pennilla tries to pull guard but Burkman holds him up against the cage and eventually Pennilla drops back down to his feet.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Pennilla obliges.
Burkman stalls.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pennilla tries to break free but Burkman pushes him back against the cage.
Burkman gets through Pennilla's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Burkman has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Pennilla is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Burkman pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Pennilla shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Burkman as he avoids it easily.
George Burkman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chuck Pennilla.

Burkman gets a clinch.
Burkman has Pennilla pushed against the cage.
Burkman prevents Pennilla from breaking the clinch.
Burkman keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Pennilla's efforts to push away.
Pennilla takes a shot to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Burkman manages to break the clinch.
Burkman misses with a combination
and Pennilla counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Burkman misses with a series of wild punches.
Burkman avoids the head kick by Pennilla.

Burkman gets a clinch.
Burkman lands a nice shot to the body.
Burkman lands with a short shot to the head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Burkman lands with a right to the head.
Burkman lands a nice shot to the body.

Burkman breaks from the clinch.
Pennilla darts in trying to clinch
and Burkman counters with a two punch combo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pennilla throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Burkman.
Burkman misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Pennilla shoots in looking for a takedown but Burkman manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Pennilla's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Burkman's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Burkman duly obliges.

Burkman clinches.

Burkman escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Burkman connects with a high kick.

Pennilla gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Burkman scores with a shot to the side of Pennilla's head.
Burkman lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Burkman lands an elbow inside that Pennilla shrugs off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Burkman escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Burkman looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

Burkman gets in close and instigates a clinch.
A shot in the inside from Burkman.
Burkman goes for a takedown attempt but Pennilla pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
George Burkman is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Pennilla tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Burkman paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Burkman takes the fight into the clinch.
Pennilla has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Burkman avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Pennilla struggles to land a body shot inside as Burkman controls his hands.
Burkman stalling the fight.

Pennilla jumps guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Burkman trying to control the position from guard on top but Pennilla is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

George Burkman dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Pennilla is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Burkman.
Pennilla dives in for a single leg takedown but Burkman sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Burkman instigates a clinch.
Burkman lands with a short shot to the head.
Pennilla utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Pennilla is trying to stall.
Pennilla is trying to break the clinch but Burkman has him pressed against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Pennilla breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Pennilla fails in his attempt to clinch.
Burkman tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burkman cracks Pennilla with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Pennilla shoots in but Burkman avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Burkman takes the fight into the clinch.
Burkman is working for takedown but Pennilla is calmly controlling the position for now.

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

Burkman fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Pennilla, pushing him back against the cage.
Burkman lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Pennilla takes a shot to the head.
Burkman is pushing Pennilla up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burkman lands a left hand that snaps the head of Pennilla backwards.
Burkman is pushing Pennilla up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.

Burkman escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Pennilla tries to keep at a distance but Burkman has taken the fight into the clinch.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Burkman has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Pennilla avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pennilla trying to stall but Burkman improves his position.
Burkman is pressed up against the cage. Pennilla has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Burkman down to the mat. Burkman avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
George Burkman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chuck Pennilla.

Burkman moves into the clinch.
Pennilla just leaning against Burkman, taking a breather.
Burkman is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Pennilla can do to turn this around?
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Burkman obliges.
Pennilla stalling in the clinch but Burkman improves position.
With the fighters up against the cage, Pennilla throws an elbow but misses.
Burkman works on Pennilla's body with a couple of short punches.
Burkman lands a left hand that snaps the head of Pennilla backwards.
Burkman is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Burkman.
George Burkman has scored more points in the clinch so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A short uppercut from Burkman.
Pennilla jumps guard but Burkman turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

Burkman breaks the clinch.

Burkman rushes Pennilla and presses him up against the cage.
Pennilla looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Pennilla tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Burkman just stands there and leans against the cage.
Burkman lands a hook to the side of the head.
Burkman content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Burkman throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Pennillas head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Burkman landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Pennilla goes for a takedown attempt but Burkman pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Pennilla is breathing heavily.
Burkman stalks Pennilla and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Pennilla's face. Pennilla staggers backwards, shaken.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

George Burkman dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Burkman closes the distance and clinches.
Burkman stalling in the clinch.
Burkman gets through Pennilla's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Burkman comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Burkman connects with a knee to the head.
Burkman scores with a nice hook to the head.
Burkman is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Pennilla pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Pennilla jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Burkman walks away with a smile on his face. Pennilla gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Pennilla.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pennilla stuns Burkman with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.

Burkman fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Pennilla, pushing him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burkman with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Pennilla is trying to push Burkman away but Burkman has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

Burkman pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Burkman swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Burkman tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Pennilla manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Burkman tries to clinch there but Pennilla circles away.

Burkman drives through and clinches with Pennilla against the cage.
Pennilla has Burkman pushed against the cage.
Pennilla jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Burkman walks away with a smile on his face. Pennilla gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
George Burkman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chuck Pennilla.
Pennilla shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Burkman as he avoids it easily.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Pennilla.

Burkman bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
Pennilla takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The fight stays on the outside here - Pennilla looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Burkman instigates a clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Burkman.
Burkman lands a right hand.
Burkman lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Pennilla backwards.
Pennilla stalling in the clinch but Burkman improves position.

Burkman pulls guard successfully.

Burkman is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Burkman has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Pennilla is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.
Burkman scores with a knee to the head.
Burkman lands a right hand.
Burkman lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Pennilla fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Pennilla works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

Burkman pushes Pennilla off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Nice sprawl there from Burkman as Pennilla shoots in.
It looked like Burkman was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.

Burkman has taken the fight to the clinch.
Burkman will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Pennilla up against the cage.
Pennilla doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burkman lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Pennilla is trying to force a seperation but Burkman has the dominant position.
Burkman leaning his opponent against the cage.
Pennilla stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Burkman scores with a hook to the body.

Burkman pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Chuck Pennilla has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
George Burkman is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Burkman moves into the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
George Burkman showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Burkman has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Bart Greer scores the fight 30:26
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 30:27
Judge Peter Branson scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... George Burkman!
A relieved looking George Burkman thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.