PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Blaine Gretzky (ranked 4587 p4p, 0 weight class) and Youri Van De Berg (ranked 4869 p4p, 230 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Gretzky
vs
Van De Berg

168 cm
23
142 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
23
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Good kicks
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Blaine Gretzky!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Youri Van De Berg!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Paul Aken and Albert Achterberg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Van De Berg fails with a takedown attempt.
Gretzky lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Van De Berg tries to clinch up.
Gretzky misses with a low kick as Van De Berg jumps back.

Van De Berg closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Gretzky to the mat! Gretzky manages to get full guard.
Gretzky pulls Van De Berg in close to prevent any damage.
Van De Berg is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Van De Berg tries to free his leg and advance position but Gretzky is retaining full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Van De Berg looking to sit in guard and control but Gretzky gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Van De Berg controlling the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gretzky throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Van De Berg works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Gretzky sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Gretzky passes Van De Berg's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Van De Berg is looking for a sweep. Gretzky is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Gretzky sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Van De Berg defending well though.
Van De Berg is looking to get back to full guard here but Gretzky has managed to pass to side control instead.
Van De Berg is looking for a sweep.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van De Berg seems a little lost for a moment, as Gretzky dominates the positioning.
Gretzky working the ground and pound but Van De Berg is defending the strikes.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Van De Berg can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van De Berg is looking to regain half guard here but Gretzky keeps moving and retains side control.
Van De Berg is letting Gretzky control him for a moment.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Gretzky lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Van De Berg tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Gretzky defends well and Van De Berg ends up having to push Gretzky into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Gretzky appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Nice body kick from Gretzky.
Gretzky buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van De Berg on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Gretzky scores with a leg kick.
Van De Berg tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Gretzky defends well and Van De Berg ends up having to push Gretzky into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Blaine Gretzky has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Youri Van De Berg.
Gretzky tries a head kick but it misses.
Gretzky lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

Gretzky moves into range and clinches up with Van De Berg.
Van De Berg tries for a takedown but Gretzky manages to get underhooks.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Gretzky struggles to land a body shot inside as Van De Berg controls his hands.
Gretzky tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Van De Berg wants a takedown.
Van De Berg blocks a body shot from Gretzky.
Gretzky has Van De Berg pressed against the cage.
Van De Berg is looking to take this one to the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Blaine Gretzky dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Van De Berg fails to land the takedown.
Gretzky thinks about countering with a body kick.
Gretzky slaps away a takedown attempt from Van De Berg, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Gretzky lands a nice looking body kick.

Gretzky has managed to clinch.
Van De Berg has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Gretzky is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Blaine Gretzky has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Youri Van De Berg.
Gretzky misses with a hook to the ribs.
Gretzky misses with a hook to the ribs.
Gretzky misses with a shot to the kidneys.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gretzky gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Van De Berg.
Van De Berg blocks a body shot from Gretzky.
Gretzky taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Gretzky misses with a hook to the ribs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van De Berg prevents a body shot from Gretzky.
Gretzky tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Van De Berg's elbow.
Van De Berg is looking for a takedown.
Gretzky is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Van De Berg is defending well for now.
Van De Berg changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Gretzky fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Van De Berg takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Van De Berg shoots in and drives through. Gretzky sprawls well.
Gretzky pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Van De Berg tries to counter by closing the distance.
Gretzky thumps Van De Berg with a low kick.
Blaine Gretzky is winning the standup battle so far.
Gretzky slaps away a takedown attempt from Van De Berg, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Van De Berg is breathing heavily.
Gretzky fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Van De Berg.
Gretzky is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Van De Berg can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van De Berg fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Gretzky avoids it really well and circles away.
Van De Berg chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Gretzky can pounce on him.
Gretzky fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Van De Berg.
Gretzky connects with a leg kick. Van De Berg looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
A good leg kick by Gretzky.
Van De Berg closes the distance and clinches up with Gretzky, looking for a takedown. Van De Berg pushes Gretzky against the cage but Gretzky circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Van De Berg shoots in and gets a takedown into Gretzky's guard.
Gretzky working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Van De Berg.
Van De Berg throws an elbow that misses. Gretzky uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Van De Berg's guard. Nice move by Gretzky!

Gretzky showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gretzky got a little sloppy there for a moment and Van De Berg has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Gretzky has managed to get both his arms back between Van De Berg's legs - danger averted.
Gretzky not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Van De Berg working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Gretzky.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Gretzky controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Gretzky working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Gretzky trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Gretzky postures up.
Gretzky throws a big right hand that misses.
Gretzky 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 referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Van De Berg tries to close the distance and clinch but Gretzky swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Van De Berg drives through with a takedown into Gretzky's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Van De Berg wants to control from the top but Gretzky keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Blaine Gretzky dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Gretzky swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Van De Berg walks forward, straight into a front kick from Gretzky.
Gretzky scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Van De Berg swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Gretzky counters with a slapping leg kick.
Van De Berg shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Gretzky pinned against the cage. Gretzky gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A nice inside leg kick there by Gretzky. That's going to slow Van De Berg down.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Van De Berg's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Gretzky tries a body shot but Van De Berg blocks it.
Van De Berg takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Gretzky tries to work over Van De Berg's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

Van De Berg has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Gretzky clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van De Berg controlling well, preventing Gretzky from escaping the position.
Van De Berg struggling to land strikes to the head as Gretzky covers up.
Gretzky rolls, trying to escape but Van De Berg keeps control of the position.
Gretzky is trying to escape under a series of strikes and manages to escape from Van De Berg 's hooks.
Van De Berg trying to control but Gretzky is having none of it.
Van De Berg landing punches.
Gretzky wants to hold on but Van De Berg pushes him away.
Gretzky is looking to improve his position but Van De Berg isn't that keen on the idea.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Van De Berg there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Van De Berg throwing strikes but Gretzky recovers to half guard. A much better position.
Van De Berg misses with a head shot. Gretzky uses the momentum to regain guard.
Van De Berg throws a strike but Gretzky rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Gretzky sitting in guard here, content to control.
Van De Berg wants to stand up but Gretzky is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gretzky showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Van De Berg keeping moving, preventing Gretzky from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Gretzky is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Blaine Gretzky is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Gretzky has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Van De Berg looking to control.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Youri Van De Berg has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Van De Berg has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Gretzky.

And that's the end of the fight!
Blaine Gretzky showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gretzky, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Saam Ante scores the fight for Blaine Gretzky!
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight for Blaine Gretzky!
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight for Blaine Gretzky!

Blaine Gretzky wins by unanimous decision!