PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Israel Potter (ranked 24944 p4p, 0 weight class) and Franck Damedou (ranked 6054 p4p, 0 weight class). Israel Potter has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Potter
vs
Damedou

204 cm
18
214 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

194 cm
18
205 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

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 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Israel Potter!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Franck Damedou!
The judges for this bout are James Ackerman, Chris Edwards and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Damedou looks to land a combination. Potter sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

Damedou scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Damedou is taking a breather. Potter says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Damedou trying to advance position but Potter counters by regaining guard.
Damedou tries to free his leg and advance position but Potter is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Potter is on top in guard.

Damedou is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Damedou's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Damedou working a defensive guard but Potter passes into half guard.
Damedou is pressing down on Potter's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Potter throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Potter landing with the ground and pound.
Potter throwing strikes from guard but Damedou blocks nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Damedou controlling Potter's posture.
Potter lands a couple of elbows.
Damedou avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Damedou working a defensive guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Potter throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Damedou works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Potter working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Franck Damedou seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A head kick by Damedou misses
and Potter counters with a one-two to the body.
Damedou looks winded!
No luck with that takedown attempt from Potter.
Potter shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Damedou moves into the clinch successfully.

Potter manages to break the clinch.
Damedou misses with a body kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damedou connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Damedou leaves Potter with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Damedou! But no joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Israel Potter. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Damedou takes the fight into the clinch.
Damedou manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Potter jumps guard but Damedou stands there with Potter around his waist. Potter gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Franck Damedou will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Damedou pushes Potter up against the cage in a clinch.

Damedou gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Potter regains guard.

Potter manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.

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

Potter tries to keep at a distance but Damedou has taken the fight into the clinch.

Damedou jumps guard and drags Potter to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Potter stands up over Damedou, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Damedou looking to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damedou wants to get back to his feet but Potter passes into half guard.
Potter lands with a punch from half guard.
Potter with the ground and pound but Damedou uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Damedou controlling the position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Potter accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Damedou utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Damedou has control of Potter's left arm, preventing Potter from doing any damage.
Damedou is breathing heavily.
Damedou tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Damedou is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Damedou looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Potter has picked Damedou up and slammed him! Damedou can't keep hold of the triangle and Potter manages to pass to side control!
You can see the frustration on Damedou's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Sloppy strikes there by Potter.
Damedou regains half guard, as Potter was trying to land strikes.
Israel Potter overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Damedou regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Potter.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Potter is in close to Damedou's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Potter throws a strike but Damedou rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Damedou trying to control the position from guard on top but Potter is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Damedou throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Potter works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Potter seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Damedou engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Damedou tries a head kick but it misses.

Damedou shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Potter trying to control the position.
Damedou trying to control but Potter is working from the bottom.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Damedou working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Damedou looking to sit in guard and control but Potter gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Israel Potter will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Damedou feints a jab promting Potter to slip. Damedou then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Potter slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Damedou throws a low kick, looking for Potter's leg but Potter calmly moves out of range.
Potter dives in and grabs Damedou's left leg, looking for a takedown. Damedou pushes down on Potter's head and hops out.
Potter gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Damedou moves into the clinch.

Potter breaks from the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Potter shoots in looking for a takedown. Damedou tries to sprawl out of it but Potter keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Damedou manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Israel Potter. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Damedou shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Damedou showed some decent athleticism there.
Damedou takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Damedou wants to control but Potter is keeping him busy.
Damedou content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Damedou prevents Potter from improving his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Damedou is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Potter is trying to get back to full guard.
Damedou wants to control but Potter is keeping him busy.
Damedou content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Damedou drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Damedou postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Damedou passes Potter's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

Damedou decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Potter shoots for a takedown but Damedou saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Damedou drives through and clinches with Potter against the cage.
Damedou tries to break the clinch but Potter is controlling the position.
Damedou stalling.
Potter tries to pull guard but Damedou forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damedou working hard to break the clinch.
Damedou prevents Potter from breaking the clinch.
Damedou has had enough of the clinch but Potter keeps him there for the moment.
Damedou is trying to force a seperation but Potter has the dominant position.

Damedou is trying to trip Potter. He has hold of a leg but Potter is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Damedou persists though and gets the takedown into guard.

Potter scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Damedou swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Potter throws a big counter combination but Damedou scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Potter fails to land the takedown.

And that's the end of the fight!
Franck Damedou comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Damedou has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 James Ackerman scores the fight 28:29
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 28:29
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Franck Damedou!