PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Monte Cassino (ranked 1520 p4p, 1885 weight class) and Anthon Van Der Dusse (ranked 153 p4p, 187 weight class). Cassino comes to the cage accompanied by Andrea Bocelli - Con Te Partiro. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Cassino
vs
Van Der Dusse

165 cm
37
150
24 - 15 - 3

167 cm
31
147
13 - 19 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

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 24 - 15 - 3, fighting out of London, Monte Cassino!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Anthon Van Der Dusse!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Ben Zyskovitsi and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Van Der Dusse shoots in looking for a takedown but Cassino manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Van Der Dusse's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Cassino fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Van Der Dusse looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Cassino connects with a nice looking jab.
Van Der Dusse checks a leg kick.
Cassino throws a nice inside leg kick.
Cassino motions for Van Der Dusse to come forward. Cassino throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Van Der Dusse checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Cassino lands with a nice body punch.
Jab by Cassino.
Van Der Dusse blocks a jab.
Cassino throws a predictable looking body shot
and Van Der Dusse counters with a nice uppercut.
Cassino has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Van Der Dusse finds it's way round the side to connect with Cassino's head.
Cassino lands a head shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cassino scores with a body shot.
Cassino scores with a shot to the body.
Good exchange - Cassino coming out on top.
Cassino with a jab.

Van Der Dusse feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Cassino not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Cassino has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Der Dusse postures up in Cassino's guard and throws a big left but Cassino blocks it.
Van Der Dusse with a flurry of punches that miss.
Cassino bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Van Der Dusse's guard.

Van Der Dusse lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Cassino keeping moving, preventing Van Der Dusse from controlling successfully.
Van Der Dusse stopping the sweep attempt from Cassino.
Van Der Dusse scoring with punches to the head and body.
Van Der Dusse wants to control from the top but Cassino keeps moving.
Cassino trying to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van Der Dusse working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Cassino holds on and takes a little breather.
Van Der Dusse preventing the sweep.
Van Der Dusse landing some decent shots from guard.
Van Der Dusse throwing strikes but missing.
Cassino looking to hit a scissor sweep but Van Der Dusse is one step ahead there.
Van Der Dusse looking to pass the guard.
Van Der Dusse must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Der Dusse sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Van Der Dusse working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Cassino is trying to control the position but Van Der Dusse postures up.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Van Der Dusse tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Cassino swivels and escapes.
Cassino throws out a leg kick but Van Der Dusse moves out of range and Cassino only half commits.
As Cassino backs off Van Der Dusse throws a huge counter combo but Cassino manages to avoid it all.
Cassino is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Van Der Dusse.
Van Der Dusse misses with a takedown attempt - Cassino sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Monte Cassino has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Anthon Van Der Dusse.
Cassino misses the shot to the body.
Cassino scores with a jab. Van Der Dusse acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Van Der Dusse looks for a takedown but Cassino sprawls well.
Cassino looks to land a right hand but Van Der Dusse moved out of range.
Cassino chopping away at his opponent's legs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Der Dusse shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Van Der Dusse checks a low kick from Cassino.
Cassino scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Cassino swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Van Der Dusse takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cassino stuffs the takedown.
Cassino tried to score with a low kick but Van Der Dusse checks it.
Van Der Dusse moves forwards but Cassino connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Monte Cassino is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Cassino looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Van Der Dusse blocks the body kick.
Van Der Dusse misses with a double jab.
Van Der Dusse misses with a takedown
and Cassino connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Van Der Dusse throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Van Der Dusse misses with a takedown attempt
and Cassino counters with a nice body shot.
Cassino swings away with a leg kick that misses.

Van Der Dusse closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

Cassino explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Cassino is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Van Der Dusse moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Monte Cassino 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.

Cassino fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Van Der Dusse has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Cassino moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Van Der Dusse takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Van Der Dusse moves out of range of the strikes.
Cassino throws a leg kick
and Van Der Dusse cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Van Der Dusse checks a low kick from Cassino.
Van Der Dusse is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Cassino misses the shot to the body.
Van Der Dusse misses with a two punch combination.
Cassino avoids a punch combination nicely.
Van Der Dusse takes a kick to the side of the head.
A chopping leg kick lands by Cassino.
Cassino displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Van Der Dusse.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Cassino.
Cassino thows a left - swing and a miss!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Cassino scores with a nice right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Der Dusse tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Cassino moves in looking to clinch but Van Der Dusse pushes him off.
Monte Cassino is winning the standup battle so far.
Cassino thumps Van Der Dusse with a low kick.
Anthon Van Der Dusse seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Van Der Dusse has his takedown stuffed
and Cassino counters with a low kick, right behind Van Der Dusse 's knee.
Cassino fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Van Der Dusse.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Van Der Dusse.
Monte Cassino has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Anthon Van Der Dusse.
Van Der Dusse looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Cassino thuds his shin into the meat of Van Der Dusse's side.
Cassino lands a leg kick that knocks Van Der Dusse off balance momentarily.
Cassino tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Van Der Dusse paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Van Der Dusse takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Van Der Dusse slips a jab from Cassino.

Cassino has taken the fight to the clinch.
Cassino misses with a hook to the ribs.
Cassino lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cassino stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van Der Dusse has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Cassino avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Van Der Dusse is trying to drag Cassino to the mat but Cassino just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Cassino gets underhooks to prevent Van Der Dusse's takedown attempt.
Cassino misses with a short punch on the inside.
Van Der Dusse blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Van Der Dusse.
Cassino has a couple of punches blocked by Van Der Dusse.
Van Der Dusse has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Cassino avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Cassino misses with a short punch on the inside.
Cassino lands a hook to the side of the head.
Van Der Dusse lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Cassino backwards.
Cassino goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Cassino is working Van Der Dusse over against the cage.
Van Der Dusse is breathing heavily.
Cassino lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
A nice left hand lands by Cassino.
Cassino digs a right hand underneath Van Der Dusse's ribcage. Van Der Dusse let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Cassino lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Van Der Dusse backwards.
Cassino is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Van Der Dusse can do to turn this around?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cassino can't find room to land a body shot as Van Der Dusse controls the action.
Van Der Dusse is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Cassino is defending well.
Cassino lands a nice shot to the body.
Van Der Dusse tries for a takedown but Cassino manages to get underhooks.
A short right from Cassino on the inside.
Cassino swings wildly with an uppercut but Van Der Dusse uses good head movement to avoid it.
Cassino lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Van Der Dusse backwards.
A short uppercut from Cassino.
Cassino throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Van Der Dusses head.
Van Der Dusse's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Cassino lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Van Der Dusse goes for a takedown in the clinch but Cassino prevents it.
Cassino digs a right hand into Van Der Dusse's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Van Der Dusse's gas tank.
A short right from Cassino.
A nice left hand lands by Cassino.
Cassino lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Van Der Dusse.
Cassino digs a right hand into Van Der Dusse's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Van Der Dusse's gas tank.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cassino pushes Van Der Dusse back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
A right handed body shot lands from Cassino.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Van Der Dusse.
Cassino goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Van Der Dusse is trying to drag Cassino to the mat but Cassino just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Cassino lands a left hand that snaps the head of Van Der Dusse backwards.
Cassino lands with a left to the head.
Van Der Dusse is looking to break free of the clinch but Cassino has double underhooks.
Cassino working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Van Der Dusse blocks an uppercut.
Cassino lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Cassino lands a shoulder strike.
Van Der Dusse struggles to land a body shot inside as Cassino controls his hands.
Cassino lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nice body punch from Cassino.
Cassino works on Van Der Dusse's body with a couple of short punches.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Monte Cassino dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Van Der Dusse 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.
Van Der Dusse shoots for a double leg takedown but Cassino sprawls well. He's pushed Van Der Dusse's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Cassino fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Van Der Dusse checks it well.
Cassino bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Van Der Dusse's head.
Cassino changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Van Der Dusse shoots in but Cassino avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Cassino throws the left hand but Van Der Dusse avoids the punch easily.
Van Der Dusse changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Cassino throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Anthon Van Der Dusse is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Van Der Dusse takes one to the side of the head.
Van Der Dusse walks into a left hand.
Cassino with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Van Der Dusse moves out of range of the body kick.
Cassino moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
The fighters circle momentarily. Cassino darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Cassino stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Van Der Dusse shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Cassino as he jumps to the side.
Monte Cassino has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Anthon Van Der Dusse.
Van Der Dusse shoots in for a takedown but Cassino shows good takedown defense.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Der Dusse lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Van Der Dusse takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Cassino throws a body punch but Van Der Dusse moves out of range.
Cassino lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Van Der Dusse shoots in and drives through. Cassino sprawls well.
Cassino connects with a single shot there.
Van Der Dusse shoots for a double leg takedown but Cassino sprawls well. He's pushed Van Der Dusse's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Cassino was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Van Der Dusse has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Cassino lands with a thumping leg kick.
Cassino lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Van Der Dusse has a takedown stuffed.
Cassino works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Cassino throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Van Der Dusse on the side of the head.
Van Der Dusse doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Cassino counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Van Der Dusse stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Cassino.

Van Der Dusse shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Cassino napping and manages to drive through into side control!

Cassino throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cassino misses with a body shot.
Cassino with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Van Der Dusse uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Cassino.
Van Der Dusse tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Cassino swivels and escapes.
Cassino scoring well with a low kick there.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Van Der Dusse is defended easily by Cassino.
Cassino lands with a thumping leg kick.
Van Der Dusse tries to clinch up.
Van Der Dusse has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Van Der Dusse there as he acknowledges the shot.
Cassino tries to clinch up but Van Der Dusse circles away and keeps his distance.
Van Der Dusse throws a nice looking combination but Cassino bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Cassino misses with a straight right.
Van Der Dusse fails with a takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Der Dusse gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Cassino fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Van Der Dusse has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Van Der Dusse fails with the takedown
and Van Der Dusse takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Cassino lands a body shot.
Van Der Dusse throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Cassino's waist but Cassino gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Van Der Dusse off to one side.
Monte Cassino is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Cassino scores with a leg kick.
Van Der Dusse throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Cassino's waist but Cassino gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Van Der Dusse off to one side.
Cassino throwing a counter right hand but Van Der Dusse manages to avoid it.
Van Der Dusse wants to clinch.
Cassino fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
A good leg kick by Cassino.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Der Dusse falls off balance throwing a combination
and Cassino cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Cassino scores with a sloppy right hand. Van Der Dusse should have avoided that one.
Cassino misses with a head kick.
Anthon Van Der Dusse has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Van Der Dusse throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Cassino's waist but Cassino gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Van Der Dusse off to one side.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Van Der Dusse throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Cassino counters with a nice low kick that buckles Van Der Dusse's knee momentarily.
Van Der Dusse shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Cassino counters with an inside leg kick.

Cassino tries to keep at a distance but Van Der Dusse has taken the fight into the clinch.
Cassino lands a body punch in the clinch.
Cassino prevents a body shot from Van Der Dusse.
A right hand to the body from Cassino.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cassino swings away with an uppercut that misses.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Cassino.
Cassino swings wildly with an uppercut but Van Der Dusse uses good head movement to avoid it.
Cassino lands a body shot in the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Monte Cassino showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Cassino 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:26
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Monte Cassino!
Monte Cassino was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.