PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mihai Viteazul (ranked 3668 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dan Thatcher (ranked 6544 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Viteazul might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Capul lui Mihai Viteazul. This should be a great matchup!

Viteazul
vs
Thatcher

175 cm
24
195 lbs
9 - 8 - 1

185 cm
27
194 lbs
5 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Knockout power

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 9 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mihai Viteazul!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dan Thatcher!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Stewart Dunkirk and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Viteazul misses with a combination

and Thatcher counters with a nice double leg into guard.

Thatcher is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Viteazul is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Viteazul has escaped and now he's on top!

Thatcher is trying to keep Viteazul in close.
Viteazul throws a big right hand that misses.
Viteazul throwing strikes but missing.
Viteazul postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Thatcher is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Viteazul is aware though and is defending well.
Viteazul engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Viteazul has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Viteazul advances position into side control!
Thatcher is trying to escape the position but Viteazul is controlling the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Thatcher is looking for a sweep.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Thatcher struggling a bit here.
Viteazul controls the position.
Viteazul scoring with punches from side control.
Viteazul is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Thatcher will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Thatcher taking a bit of punishment here - Viteazul scoring with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Viteazul is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Thatcher will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Viteazul has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Thatcher struggling a bit here.
Thatcher tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Viteazul wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Viteazul landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.

Viteazul is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Thatcher knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Viteazul lands some shots froms side control.
Viteazul remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Viteazul looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Viteazul scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Thatcher to see if he's OK.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Thatcher is trying to get back to half guard.
Viteazul just content to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mihai Viteazul dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Viteazul throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Thatcher decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Viteazul's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Thatcher is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Viteazul is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Viteazul has escaped and now he's on top!

Viteazul content to stall in guard here.
Viteazul scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Viteazul's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Viteazul throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Thatcher had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Viteazul defends it easily.
Viteazul is stalling in the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Viteazul forces his way into half guard.
Viteazul lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Viteazul performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Viteazul lands with a punch from half guard.

Thatcher is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Viteazul pulls his head out easily.
Viteazul prevents Thatcher from improving his position.
Viteazul perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

Viteazul is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Thatcher trying to control from the bottom.
Viteazul is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Thatcher can do to turn this around?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Viteazul stalling.
Viteazul tries to pass to full mount but Thatcher defends it.
Viteazul working Thatcher over with strikes.
Viteazul content to control rather than advance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Viteazul lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Mihai Viteazul overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Thatcher is trying to control but can't.
Viteazul looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Viteazul throws a lazy right hand but Thatcher sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Viteazul lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Thatcher circles away quickly and effectively.
Thatcher with the counter takedown but Viteazul avoids it easily.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Viteazul!
Viteazul is really turning it up, unleashing another crisp combination which drops Thatcher like a ton of bricks! The referee dives in to stop the fight, saving Thatcher from another fist facial!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Mihai Viteazul!
During a confident post fight interview, Mihai Viteazul thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.