PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Sunil Ganga (ranked 3276 p4p, 3448 weight class) and Djuradj Brankovic (ranked 403 p4p, 421 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Ganga
vs
Brankovic

168 cm
27
161
1 - 0 - 0

183 cm
25
165
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Great low kicks
Very strong

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

Voodoo Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sunil Ganga!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Djuradj Brankovic!
The judges for this bout are Frank Dennis, Tiny Johnson and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ganga shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Brankovic manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
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.
Ganga throws a big elbow that misses.
Ganga wants to control from the top but Brankovic keeps moving.
Ganga 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.

Ganga gets to his feet - Brankovic follows without any prompting.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Brankovic clinches up with Ganga and pushes him back against the cage.
Brankovic misses with some punches.
Brankovic leaning his opponent against the cage.
Ganga throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brankovic misses with an elbow strike.
Brankovic lands an uppercut.
Ganga tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Brankovic smiles and moves away.
Ganga looks to throw a body kick
and Brankovic counters with a stiff right hand.
Ganga has a takedown stuffed.
Ganga moves out of range of the strikes.
Ganga thinks about countering with a head kick.
Nice takedown defense from Brankovic. No joy for Ganga on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sunil Ganga. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Ganga pushes Brankovic up against the cage in a clinch.
Ganga is trying to break the clinch but Brankovic is controlling him.
Brankovic lands a nice elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ganga tries to pull guard but Brankovic holds him up against the cage and eventually Ganga drops back down to his feet.
Brankovic tries to work over Ganga's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Ganga is trying to pull guard but Brankovic has him pressed against the cage.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Brankovic.
Ganga is trying to break free.
Brankovic lands a left hand that snaps the head of Ganga backwards.
Ganga dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Brankovic just leaning against Ganga, taking a breather.
Ganga jumps guard but Brankovic stands there with Ganga around his waist. Ganga gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ganga blocks a body shot from Brankovic.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Brankovic.
Brankovic throws a punch but it's blocked by Ganga.
Ganga blocks an elbow strike.
Brankovic lands a hook that snaps the head of Ganga backwards.
Brankovic lands a left hand.
Brankovic taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Brankovic wants to stall.
Brankovic swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Ganga pulls guard successfully.
Ganga controls Brankovic momentarily but Brankovic frees himself.
Ganga wants to sweep here but Brankovic controlling him for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ganga lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ganga accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Brankovic seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Brankovic really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Ganga. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Ganga slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Brankovic bucks up and tries to throw Ganga off but instead Ganga has got his back!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Brankovic looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Djuradj Brankovic dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Brankovic lands an overhand right.
Brankovic lands an overhand right.
Brankovic has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ganga fails to land the takedown.
Ganga throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Brankovic! But no joy.

Ganga forces Brankovic back against the cage and clinches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brankovic has Ganga pressed against the cage.
Brankovic throws an elbow but it misses.

Ganga decides to pull guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ganga lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Ganga is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Ganga stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Brankovic throws a body punch but Ganga moves out of range.
Brankovic bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Ganga's head backwards.

Brankovic closes the distance and clinches.
Djuradj Brankovic seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Brankovic throws a punch but it's blocked by Ganga.
Ganga prevents a body shot from Brankovic.
Brankovic has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Ganga blocks the elbow strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ganga has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Brankovic is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Ganga jumps guard but Brankovic turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sunil Ganga. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Brankovic takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Brankovic lands a damaging elbow.
Brankovic stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Brankovic pushes off an throws an elbow but Ganga leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Ganga is trying to pull guard but Brankovic has him pressed against the cage.
Ganga blocks the elbow strike.
Ganga tries to pull guard but Brankovic won't allow it.
Brankovic tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ganga's elbow.
Brankovic throws an elbow but it's blocked.

Ganga pulls guard effortlessly.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

The fighters are working up against the cage. Ganga manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Brankovic stalling against the cage.
Brankovic holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Brankovic pushes off an throws an elbow but Ganga leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Brankovic just misses with a elbow thrown towards Ganga's brow.
Brankovic tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ganga's elbow.
Brankovic's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Nice body punch from Brankovic.
Brankovic misses with a punch to the body.

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.
Brankovic misses with a punch on the inside.
Ganga is pushing Brankovic up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Brankovic looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Brankovic lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
A right hook to the body lands for Brankovic.
Brankovic lands a nice uppercut.
Brankovic tries to work over Ganga's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Brankovic lands a body punch in the clinch.
Ganga is trying to push Brankovic away but Brankovic has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Brankovic creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Ganga's defenses.

Ganga jumps guard.
Sunil Ganga overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ganga trying to control the position.

Ganga working for a triangle but Brankovic defends it easily.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Djuradj Brankovic showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Brankovic smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.

Ganga is rocked!

Brankovic clinches with his opponent.
Brankovic is leaning against Ganga and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Ganga dodges an elbow strike from Brankovic.
Brankovic taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ganga has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Brankovic avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Ganga leaning against his opponent.
Brankovic is leaning against Ganga and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Brankovic looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Ganga avoids a wild elbow strike from Brankovic.

That's one minute gone in the round.
With the fighters up against the cage, Brankovic throws an elbow but misses.
Ganga has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Ganga is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Brankovic is defending well for now.
Brankovic being controlled against the cage.
Ganga tries to pull guard but Brankovic forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Brankovic fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ganga fails to pull the fight into his guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sunil Ganga. That's going to take a lot out of him.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Brankovic just misses with a elbow thrown towards Ganga's brow.
Brankovic gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Brankovic leaning his opponent against the cage.
Brankovic stalling in the clinch but Ganga improves position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brankovic tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ganga working aggressively here.
Brankovic lands an elbow that stopped Ganga in his tracks for a moment.
A frustrated look appears on Ganga's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Ganga is trying to pull guard but Brankovic turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Brankovic stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
With the fighters up against the cage, Brankovic throws an elbow but misses.
Brankovic lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Brankovic is pressed up against the cage. Ganga has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Brankovic down to the mat. Brankovic avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
The fighters circling - Brankovic throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Ganga shoots for a double leg takedown but Brankovic sprawls well. He's pushed Ganga's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Brankovic let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Sunil Ganga is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brankovic jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Brankovic tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Ganga was well out of range. Poor timing from Brankovic.
Sunil Ganga seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Ganga has Brankovic up against the cage in a clinch.
A right hook to the body lands for Brankovic.
Brankovic slows down the pace here.
Ganga wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Ganga struggles to land a body shot inside as Brankovic controls his hands.
Brankovic lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Brankovic throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Ganga is looking for a takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ganga is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Brankovic lands with a light punch inside.
Djuradj Brankovic is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Ganga dodges an elbow strike from Brankovic.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ganga.
Brankovic throws an elbow that misses.
Brankovic is pressed up against the cage. Ganga has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Brankovic down to the mat. Brankovic avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Ganga.
Brankovic throws out a counter right but Ganga avoids it with no problem.
Ganga wants to clinch up but Brankovic keeps it at a distance.
Brankovic is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ganga fails in his attempt to clinch.
Brankovic now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Sunil Ganga has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ganga throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Brankovic.

And that's the end of the fight!
Djuradj Brankovic comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Brankovic winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Frank Dennis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Djuradj Brankovic!