PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Pablo Rodriguez (ranked 1190 p4p, 1280 weight class) and Darren Dixon (ranked 136 p4p, 149 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Rodriguez
vs
Dixon

180 cm
23
150
12 - 6 - 1

169 cm
23
145
8 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing
Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Pablo Rodriguez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Darren Dixon!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Daniel Blasius and Patrick Alders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rodriguez lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Dixon backs up against the cage.

Rodriguez has closed the distance and engaged Dixon in a clinch.
Rodriguez has a couple of punches blocked by Dixon.
Rodriguez misses with a hook from the clinch.

Dixon's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Rodriguez wants to clinch up but Dixon keeps it at a distance.
Dixon pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Rodriguez closes the distance but Dixon moves to the side
and Dixon counters with a stiff right hand.
Dixon throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Rodriguez wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Rodriguez tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Dixon avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Dixon moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Rodriguez tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Dixon manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Rodriguez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Dixon.
Rodriguez tries to grapple but his opponent circles
enabling Dixon to counter with a crisp jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dixon swats away the attempt to clinch by Rodriguez.
Rodriguez tries to clinch
and Dixon counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Rodriguez misses with a shot to the body
and Dixon counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Rodriguez misses with an uppercut.
Rodriguez definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

Rodriguez drives through and clinches with Dixon against the cage.
Dixon scores with a shoulder strike.
Dixon tries to circle away but Rodriguez has him pinned against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rodriguez.
Rodriguez throws a head punch that misses.
Dixon misses with the head strike.
Rodriguez scores with a hook to the body.
Rodriguez throws a punch but it's blocked by Dixon.
A shot in the inside from Dixon.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Dixon breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Rodriguez tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Dixon paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Dixon looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Nice straight punches there by Dixon. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Dixon.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A shot to the liver by Rodriguez. Beautiful body shot.
Rodriguez scores with a jab to the body.
Rodriguez misses with a body shot.
Dixon lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Dixon swats away the attempt to clinch by Rodriguez.
A countering left hand to the body from Dixon misses.
Dixon ducks under a wild hook from Rodriguez.
Dixon takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Rodriguez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dixon moves away.
It seemed like Dixon was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Rodriguez connects with a nice looking jab.
Dixon pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Rodriguez scores with a jab to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Dixon.
Dixon with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Rodriguez ducks under a wild hook from Dixon.
Rodriguez smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Rodriguez lands a really nice looking cross but Dixon seems unphased.
Dixon jabs at Rodriguez's body.
Rodriguez scores with a jab to the body.
Rodriguez tries to clinch up but Dixon circles away and keeps his distance.
Rodriguez tries to clinch up
and Dixon counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Rodriguez takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rodriguez slips a straight right by Dixon.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dixon lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Rodriguez keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Dixon.
A shot to the liver by Rodriguez. Beautiful body shot.
Rodriguez is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Dixon with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Rodriguez to score with a decent uppercut.
Rodriguez blocks a jab.
Rodriguez is looking to clinch.
Rodriguez blocks a jab.
Rodriguez on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

Rodriguez fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Dixon, pushing him back against the cage.
Rodriguez goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Rodriguez misses with some punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Darren Dixon will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Rodriguez lands a jab to the nose.

Rodriguez forces Dixon back against the cage and clinches.
Rodriguez digs a right hand into Dixon's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Dixon's gas tank.
Rodriguez throws a head punch that misses.
Dixon misses with a punch on the inside.
Rodriguez misses with a hook to the ribs.
Rodriguez swings wildly with an uppercut but Dixon uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rodriguez tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Dixon throws a head punch that misses.
Dixon misses with the head strike.
Dixon misses with a hook from the clinch.
Dixon has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Rodriguez seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Dixon can turn it around.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rodriguez swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Rodriguez tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Pablo Rodriguez has scored more points in the clinch so far.
A shot in the inside from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez tries a body shot but Dixon blocks it.
Dixon throws a head punch that misses.
Dixon working aggressively here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dixon throws a punch but it's blocked by Rodriguez.
Rodriguez tries a body shot but Dixon blocks it.

Dixon breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rodriguez tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rodriguez throws out a powerful jab.
Rodriguez misses with a body shot.
Dixon throws out a loose jab but Rodriguez uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rodriguez defending well as Dixon loads up on a big left hand.
Dixon missing with a left hand there. Rodriguez was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Rodriguez is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.

Rodriguez clinches up against the cage.
Dixon misses with a hook from the clinch.
Rodriguez blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Rodriguez working aggressively here.
Rodriguez swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Dixon breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez tries to clinch but Dixon is having none of it.

Rodriguez closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Rodriguez gets through Dixon's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Dixon misses with the head strike.
Dixon tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any 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!
Rodriguez blocks an uppercut.
Rodriguez working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Good body shot from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Dixon's elbow.
Rodriguez works on Dixon's body with a couple of short punches.
Rodriguez lands a hook to the side of the head.
Rodriguez working aggressively here.
Rodriguez blocks an uppercut.

Dixon breaks the clinch.
Rodriguez misses with a looping right.
Dixon scores with a jab to the jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez digs a good hook to Dixon's body.
Dixon throws a big shot that misses.
Pablo Rodriguez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rodriguez lands a nice shot to the body.
Rodriguez slips under a jab.

Rodriguez drives through and clinches with Dixon against the cage.
Rodriguez throws a punch but it's blocked by Dixon.
Rodriguez throws a head punch that misses.
Rodriguez works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Rodriguez lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Dixon prevents a body shot from Rodriguez.
A right handed body shot lands from Rodriguez.

Dixon manages to break the clinch.
Nice body punch from Dixon.
Rodriguez moves to clinch but Dixon breaks away
and Dixon cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Rodriguez misses.
Dixon is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Rodriguez with a body shot.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rodriguez tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Dixon manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Rodriguez tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Dixon counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Rodriguez scores with a hook.
Dixon takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Rodriguez fails with an attempt to clinch.
Darren Dixon seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Rodriguez is looking to clinch.
Dixon let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Rodriguez throws a jab but it's blocked by Dixon.
Rodriguez wants to clinch up but Dixon keeps it at a distance.
Dixon scores with a jab to the jaw.
Dixon misses with an uppercut

and Rodriguez counters by clinching up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pablo Rodriguez dominated that second 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. And we move into the final round!

Rodriguez fails with an attempt to clinch.
Rodriguez gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Dixon.
Dixon lands a slapping body shot.
Dixon ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rodriguez moves away.
Dixon walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Rodriguez misses with a wild body shot.
Dixon misses the shot to the body.
Dixon takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Rodriguez is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rodriguez takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Rodriguez swings for the body but Dixon moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodriguez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
The fight stays on the outside here - Rodriguez looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Rodriguez closes the distance looking to clinch
and Dixon counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Dixon displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Rodriguez throws out the jab.
A nice side step and Dixon releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Dixon connects with a looping right hand.
Rodriguez tries to close the distance and clinch up but Dixon swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Rodriguez misses with a left hand
and Rodriguez takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

Rodriguez is rocked!
Rodriguez keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Dixon.
Oh Rodriguez is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Rodriguez throws a right and a left that Dixon avoids nicely.
Dixon throws out a counter right but Rodriguez avoids it with no problem.
Rodriguez wants to clinch
and Rodriguez takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez tries to clinch up but Dixon circles away and keeps his distance.
Dixon looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Rodriguez seems to have got his legs back now.
Rodriguez misses with a left hand
and Dixon counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Rodriguez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Rodriguez is looking to clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Dixon avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Dixon ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Rodriguez takes a swing at Dixon's ribcage but misses.
Dixon connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Rodriguez's hands.
Dixon doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Rodriguez. Dixon does a little dance to reset his feet.
Dixon looks to score with a jab to the body but Rodriguez is just out of range.
Rodriguez tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Dixon manages to circle out of the way.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez slips under a jab from Dixon.
Rodriguez tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Dixon paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Dixon throws a hook but Rodriguez blocks it.
Rodriguez bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Rodriguez misses with a hook to the body
and Dixon counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Rodriguez throws a shot to the body.
Rodriguez closes the distance looking to clinch
letting Dixon counter with a right hand.
Dixon steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez misses with a hook
and Dixon counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Dixon throws out a loose jab but Rodriguez uses good head movement to avoid it.
Dixon walks into a straight right hand from Rodriguez.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez tries to move into range but Dixon moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rodriguez closes the distance looking to clinch
and Dixon counters with a huge left! Rodriguez is in big trouble! He's backing up but Dixon isn't giving him chance to recover. Under a barage of punches the ref has to step in to save Rodriguez from any more damage. A dominating finish by Dixon!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:15 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Darren Dixon!
Darren Dixon gave a mention to Conviction in his post fight interview. That will please them (and hopefully generate some sales).