PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Conor McGregor (ranked 523 p4p, 488 weight class) and Artem Dotsenko (ranked 67 p4p, 60 weight class). McGregor comes to the cage accompanied by YoungBoy Never Broke Again - Drop'em . Dotsenko has chosen HEART ON ICE as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

McGregor
vs
Dotsenko

188 cm
26
194
13 - 6 - 0

187 cm
27
190
11 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing

Voodoo Nutrition
Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Conor McGregor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Artem Dotsenko!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Columbo Gatti and David Schapiro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
McGregor lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
A nice leg kick from McGregor, right into the meat of the thigh.
Dotsenko lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
McGregor doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
McGregor tries to close the distance and clinch but Dotsenko swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Dotsenko feints and then cracks McGregor's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow McGregor down.
McGregor takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Dotsenko throws a leg kick which misses McGregor's front leg but catches the back leg as McGregor tries to avoid it.
McGregor jabs Dotsenko to the body, keeping him at a distance.
A big left from McGregor misses.
Dotsenko lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Dotsenko misses with a left hand
and McGregor counters with a straight right hand.
This has been an exciting period of action!
McGregor works Dotsenko's body with a nice hook.
McGregor slips under a jab.
McGregor has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Dotsenko.
Dotsenko wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Dotsenko tries to clinch but McGregor is having none of it.
McGregor is looking to counter punch.
McGregor looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Dotsenko throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Dotsenko swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dotsenko scores with a jab to the body.
Dotsenko motions for McGregor to come forward. Dotsenko throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
McGregor was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Dotsenko misses with an uppercut
and McGregor cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
McGregor avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Dotsenko defending well as McGregor loads up on a big left hand.
Dotsenko tries to land a leg kick but McGregor saw it coming and moves away.
McGregor staying out of range there.
Dotsenko throws a sloppy body shot
letting McGregor counter with a right hand.
McGregor throws a hook but Dotsenko blocks it.
Dotsenko looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Dotsenko tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and McGregor is able to avoid easily.
McGregor is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Dotsenko looks to land a left hand but McGregor moved out of range nicely.
Dotsenko ducks down and throws a hook to the body but McGregor moves away.
A little feinted left hand from McGregor on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
McGregor 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.
McGregor takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
McGregor looks to throw the jab but Dotsenko is out of range.
A low kick from Dotsenko misses
and Dotsenko takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!

McGregor has taken the fight to the clinch.
Dotsenko lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of McGregor backwards.
Dotsenko has a couple of punches blocked by McGregor.
McGregor blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Dotsenko goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
McGregor blocks a punch to the side of the head.
McGregor misses with a shot to the kidneys.
McGregor misses with a hook to the ribs.
McGregor's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
With the fighters clinched against the cage, McGregor creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
McGregor misses with a hook to the ribs.
Dotsenko tries a body shot but McGregor blocks it.
Dotsenko misses with a punch on the inside.
Dotsenko looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Dotsenko misses with the head strike.
McGregor doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
McGregor tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
McGregor throws a punch but it's blocked by Dotsenko.
A short right from McGregor on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McGregor lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Dotsenko taking a breather.
Dotsenko looking to throw knees to the head but McGregor is blocking nicely.
McGregor digs a right hand into Dotsenko's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Dotsenko's gas tank.
A nice left hand lands by McGregor.
McGregor tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
McGregor stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Dotsenko working aggressively here.
McGregor gets through Dotsenko's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
A head punch blocked on the inside by McGregor.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Dotsenko.
Dotsenko swings wildly with an uppercut but McGregor uses good head movement to avoid it.
McGregor struggles to land a body shot inside as Dotsenko controls his hands.
McGregor prevents a body shot from Dotsenko.
McGregor is working Dotsenko over against the cage.
McGregor lands with a left to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McGregor tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
McGregor stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Dotsenko works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Dotsenko lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Dotsenko misses with a short punch on the inside.
McGregor lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A hook to the body from Dotsenko.
McGregor lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Dotsenko backwards.
McGregor's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

McGregor escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Dotsenko bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Dotsenko lands a right hook to the body.
Dotsenko takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Dotsenko misses with a looping left.
McGregor tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Dotsenko was well out of range. Poor timing from McGregor.
Dotsenko fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt McGregor.
Dotsenko tries to work over McGregor's front leg with a kick but McGregor checks it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Conor McGregor will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

McGregor finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Dotsenko dodges the punch combination from McGregor.
McGregor defending well as Dotsenko loads up on a big left hand.
Dotsenko connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Dotsenko misses with a leg kick
letting McGregor counter with a right hand.
McGregor lands with a good body shot.
Dotsenko connects with a body shot that sends McGregor's belly button to the back.
Dotsenko feints and then cracks McGregor's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow McGregor down.
An inside leg kick lands from Dotsenko.
McGregor misses with an uppercut.
McGregor wants to clinch up but Dotsenko keeps it at a distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
McGregor takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

McGregor moves into the clinch.
Dotsenko blocks a body shot from McGregor.

Dotsenko breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Artem Dotsenko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Dotsenko throws a lazy body kick
and McGregor cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice uppercut lands for Dotsenko. That snapped McGregor's head back.
Dotsenko slips a straight right by McGregor.
Dotsenko thumps McGregor with a low kick.
Dotsenko connects with a solid leg kick.
Dotsenko misses with a telegraphed body shot
and McGregor connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Dotsenko throws a leg kick that is checked
enabling McGregor to counter with a crisp jab.
McGregor is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
McGregor scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Dotsenko jabbing away but nothing is landing.
McGregor throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Dotsenko throws a hook to the side of McGregor's head but McGregor sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Dotsenko uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by McGregor.
McGregor throws a right and a left that both miss.
McGregor throws a jab when Dotsenko was well out of range.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Dotsenko! But no joy.
Dotsenko throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Dotsenko defending well as McGregor loads up on a big left hand.
Dotsenko steps to the side to avoid the strikes from McGregor.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Dotsenko dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Dotsenko wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
McGregor ducks under a wild hook from Dotsenko.
McGregor comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Dotsenko throws a lazy right hand but McGregor sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
McGregor looks to score with a jab to the body but Dotsenko is just out of range.
Dotsenko takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Dotsenko connects with a solid leg kick.
Artem Dotsenko seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Dotsenko tests McGregor's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Dotsenko misses the shot to the body.
Dotsenko misses with a lunging right hand
and McGregor counters with a stiff right hand.
McGregor keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
McGregor swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Dotsenko misses with a body shot.
An attempted straight right counter from McGregor misses the target.
Dotsenko fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
McGregor swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dotsenko lands a jab to the nose.
Nice body punch from Dotsenko.
Dotsenko throws an uppercut from half a mile away. McGregor sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Dotsenko throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
A little feinted left hand from McGregor on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
McGregor uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Dotsenko.
McGregor scores with a shot to the body.
Dotsenko fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and McGregor has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
McGregor ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dotsenko moves away.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts McGregor, as that shot connected.
McGregor throws a chopping leg kick but Dotsenko manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Dotsenko thows a left - swing and a miss!
Dotsenko throws a jab when McGregor was well out of range.
Dotsenko looks to score with a jab to the body but McGregor is just out of range.
Dotsenko just misses with a punch to the body.
McGregor misses with a body shot.
Dotsenko ducks down and throws a hook to the body but McGregor moves away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McGregor throws a body shot but no joy.
Dotsenko takes a swing at McGregor's ribcage but misses.
McGregor throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Dotsenko scores with a hook to the body. McGregor takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
McGregor ducks under a wild hook from Dotsenko.
McGregor is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
McGregor jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Dotsenko was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Dotsenko dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on McGregor. That did some damage!
Dotsenko bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Dotsenko let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Dotsenko lands a slapping body shot.
McGregor on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Dotsenko throws a solid leg kick but McGregor takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Dotsenko.
Dotsenko scoring well with a low kick there.
Dotsenko misses with a hook
and McGregor counters with a nice uppercut.
McGregor on the wrong end of a nice jab.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
McGregor ducks under a wild hook from Dotsenko.
An attempted straight right counter from McGregor misses the target.
McGregor defending well as Dotsenko loads up on a big left hand.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Artem Dotsenko will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! 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.

Dotsenko looks to land a right hand but McGregor moved out of range.
Dotsenko pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Good leg kick by Dotsenko.
Dotsenko throws a low kick but McGregor moves out of range easily.
Dotsenko lands a head shot.
Dotsenko connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
An inside leg kick lands from Dotsenko.
Dotsenko steps to the side to avoid the strikes from McGregor.
McGregor looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
McGregor bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
McGregor jabs at Dotsenko's body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
McGregor misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Dotsenko.
McGregor throws a body punch but Dotsenko moves out of range.
McGregor tries to clinch up.
Dotsenko throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
McGregor throwing a counter right hand but Dotsenko manages to avoid it.
McGregor misses the shot to the body.
Dotsenko pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McGregor misses with a wild body shot.
McGregor looks to land a left hand but Dotsenko moved out of range nicely.
The crowd cheers as Dotsenko lands an impressive looking overhand right. McGregor doesn't seem phased though.
McGregor avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Dotsenko thuds a left hand into McGregor's body.
McGregor 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.
Dotsenko connects with a leg kick.

Dotsenko has McGregor up against the cage in a clinch.
A short left from McGregor.
Dotsenko misses with a body punch.
McGregor misses with a hook to the ribs.
Dotsenko working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
McGregor scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Dotsenko blocks a body shot from McGregor.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from McGregor fails to land.
Dotsenko throws a head punch that misses.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Dotsenko misses with a body punch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Dotsenko blocks a punch to the side of the head.
McGregor misses with a short punch on the inside.
Dotsenko misses with a hook from the clinch.
Dotsenko misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Dotsenko.
McGregor pushes Dotsenko back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
A nice right hand lands inside from Dotsenko.

McGregor breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Dotsenko throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Dotsenko fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Dotsenko misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from McGregor.
McGregor ducks right into an uppercut from Dotsenko.
Dotsenko looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dotsenko works McGregor's body with a nice hook.
Dotsenko delivers a nice body kick.
Dotsenko tries to clinch up.
McGregor connects with an inside leg kick.
McGregor keeps the fight on the outside.
Dotsenko closes the distance but McGregor moves to the side
and McGregor connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
McGregor fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Dotsenko looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
McGregor takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
McGregor falls off balance throwing a combination
and Dotsenko counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
McGregor throws a jab but it's blocked by Dotsenko.
A nice leg kick from Dotsenko, right into the meat of the thigh.
Nice straight punches there by McGregor. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of McGregor.
Dotsenko misses with a straight left.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dotsenko tries to land a leg kick but McGregor saw it coming and moves away.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Dotsenko lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
A nice inside leg kick there by Dotsenko. That's going to slow McGregor down.
Dotsenko tries to clinch but McGregor moves away
enabling McGregor to counter with a crisp jab.

McGregor darts in and clinches Dotsenko up against the cage.
Dotsenko lands a left hand that snaps the head of McGregor backwards.
A right handed body shot lands from Dotsenko.

McGregor's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
McGregor misses with a wild body shot.
Dotsenko throws a hook but McGregor avoids it easily.
Dotsenko misses with a body shot.
A little feinted left hand from McGregor on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Dotsenko loads up on a big right hand but McGregor slips the punch.
McGregor appears to be looking for a big counter.
A big left from Dotsenko misses.
McGregor misses with a hook. Dotsenko ducked under it nicely.
Dotsenko feints a counter leg kick.
Dotsenko gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
A low kick from Dotsenko is predictable there
and McGregor counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

And that's the end of the fight!
Artem Dotsenko comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Dotsenko 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 John Roberts scores the fight 28:30
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 28:29
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Artem Dotsenko!
Artem Dotsenko decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.
Conor McGregor was interviewed post fight and said 'The fight as everyone can see, didn't go the way I wanted it to go, but, this is the fight game, learned new things today, move on, first recovery, then jump in the gym, train harder. Thanks for the support! Humble in defeat, humble in victory!'.