PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Duane Little (ranked 25314 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mirko Pianic (ranked 5433 p4p, 0 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Little
vs
Pianic

223 cm
18
161 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

180 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Duane Little!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mirko Pianic!
The judges for this bout are Alyssa Summers, David Schapiro and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Little will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Little shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Pianic is trying hard to land a takedown here. Little sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Pianic shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Little pinned against the cage. Little gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Pianic shoots for a double leg takedown but Little sprawls well. He's pushed Pianic's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Duane Little has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mirko Pianic.
Little showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Pianic.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Little shoots in and gets a takedown into Pianic's guard.

Pianic had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Little defends it easily.
Little stopping the sweep attempt from Pianic.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Little controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Little connects with a couple of short punches.
Little 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.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Little scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

Pianic working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Little doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Little manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Little not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Little will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Little lands a couple of digs.
Little controlling from the top position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Pianic darts in looking for a takedown but Little gets double underhooks and turns Pianic into the cage.
Pianic looks winded!

Little looking to score a takedown here. Pianic is defending well but Little drives through and ends up in Pianic's guard.
Little distracts Pianic with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Little slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Little stands up from guard. Let's bang!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Little keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Little dives in for a single leg takedown but Pianic sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Little closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Pianic quickly recovers to half guard.
Little really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Little is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Little trying to control the pace.
Little seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Pianic for as long as he can get away with.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Little lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Little content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Duane Little dominated that round.
That's time! Little's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Little throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Pianic was covering up waiting for the punch and Little finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Little is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Pianic working a defensive guard here.
Little slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Little throwing strikes from guard but Pianic blocks nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pianic is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Little is controlling him.
Little controlling from the top position.
Little is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Pianic can do to turn this around?
Little with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Little makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Pianic looks to land a left hand but Little moved out of range nicely.
Little circles away from the clinch attempt

and Little counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Little scoring with punches to the head and body.
Pianic is pulling down on Little's head. It's preventing any offense from Little, at least for the moment.
Pianic is breathing heavily.
Little sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Pianic trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Little working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Little is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Pianic trying to keep a closed guard but Little is proving a slippery customer.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Little controlling from the top position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Pianic tries to clinch

and Little counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Pianic looks like he's trying to stand up.
Little looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Little performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Little 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.
Little is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Little in particular looking to stall.
Pianic is trying to control but can't.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Little keeps the fight on the outside.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Pianic swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Little finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.

Little drives through with a takedown into guard.
Little controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Duane Little dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Little shoots in for a takedown but Pianic shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Pianic dives in for a single leg takedown but Little sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Pianic tries to clinch up but Little circles away and keeps his distance.
Pianic closes the distance and clinches up with Little, looking for a takedown. Pianic pushes Little against the cage but Little circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Pianic shoots and misses

and Little counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Little.
Duane Little has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mirko Pianic.
Pianic tries to stall but Little uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Little leaning his opponent against the cage.

Little gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Little slips a nice elbow through Pianic's hands, connecting with Pianic's forehead.
Little lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Pianic takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Little lands strikes from half guard.
Little sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Pianic has hold of Little's hands but Little slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Little looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Nice strikes from Little there.
Little content to control rather than advance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Little's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Little lands a nice short elbow.

Pianic looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Little bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Pianic is looking to get back to his feet here but Little is keeping cool and he's managed to take Pianic's back.
Little just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Little gets his hooks in and is throwing strikes.
Pianic is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.

Pianic fending off the submission attempt from Little.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Little.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Little biding his time, controlling Pianic.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mirko Pianic has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Duane Little is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

And that's the end of the fight!
Duane Little showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Little 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 Alyssa Summers scores the fight 30:27
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Duane Little!