PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Marcus Dante (ranked 5396 p4p, 24917 weight class) and Lazar Petrovic (ranked 313 p4p, 372 weight class). Marcus Dante is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Dante
vs
Petrovic

200 cm
21
130
1 - 3 - 0

165 cm
18
132
1 - 6 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Marcus Dante!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Lazar Petrovic!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Jack Bonds and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Petrovic shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Dante pinned against the cage. Dante gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Dante is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Petrovic.

Dante shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Dante showed some decent athleticism there.
Petrovic wants to get back to full guard.

Petrovic looking for submissions off his back.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dante trying to control the action but Petrovic is working from the bottom.
Petrovic is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Dante is looking to take a break and control but Petrovic is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Petrovic tries to get to full guard but Dante has control of the leg.
Petrovic is staying active underneath Dante, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Petrovic regains full guard. Nicely done.
Dante throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Petrovic looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Petrovic working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Dante.

Petrovic working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Dante doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Dante manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Dante controlling from the top position.
Petrovic tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Petrovic working for a triangle but Dante defends it easily.
Dante postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Dante landing with the ground and pound.
Petrovic has a closed guard, preventing Dante from standing up.

Dante drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Petrovic manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Dante has Petrovic in his guard.

Dante has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Dante is breathing heavily.
Petrovic stands and throws Dante's legs to the side, diving into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dante sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Petrovic winds up and cracks Dante with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Dante tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Petrovic keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Petrovic wants to control but Dante is keeping him busy.

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.

Dante looking for a kimura from the bottom but Petrovic passes into side control!
Dante prevents Petrovic from improving position.
Petrovic trying to control the position but Dante is working away.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Lazar Petrovic dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Petrovic leaves Dante with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Petrovic fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Dante.
Dante throws a right and a left that both miss.
It seemed like Petrovic was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Dante looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

Dante pushes Petrovic up against the cage in a clinch.
Dante wants to break the clinch but can't.
Petrovic stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Dante tries to pull guard but Petrovic forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Petrovic breaks from the clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Petrovic shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Dante as he avoids it easily.
Petrovic shoots in looking for a takedown. Dante tries to sprawl out of it but Petrovic keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Dante manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Dante.
Horrible takedown attempt by Dante or perhaps it was just good defense by Petrovic, which made it look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Marcus Dante. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Petrovic scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Dante slaps away a takedown attempt from Petrovic, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Petrovic closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Dante's guard.
Dante on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Dante tries to get out of the position.

Petrovic decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Petrovic has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Petrovic tries to clinch up.

Dante tries to sprawl but Petrovic drives through with a takedown into half guard.

Petrovic is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Dante is looking to improve his position.
Dante is refusing to be controlled, as Petrovic sits in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dante wants to get back to full guard.
Ground and pound from Petrovic.
Dante is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Petrovic scores with a couple of nice shots.

Petrovic is looking for a kimura here.
Petrovic wants to lay and pray for a moment but Dante keeps working.

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.

Dante looking for submissions off his back.

Petrovic decides to stand up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Petrovic scores with a takedown into Dante's guard.
Dante can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Petrovic controls the pace.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Lazar Petrovic showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. 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.

A slapping leg kick lands for Petrovic.
Dante is looking to clinch.
Petrovic shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Dante defends it nicely.
Petrovic tries to clinch but Dante moves out of range.

Dante darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Petrovic wants to get back to full guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Dante working the head and body with strikes.
Petrovic is trying to maintain the position but Dante is very close to passing his half guard.
Dante will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dante wants to lay and pray for a moment but Petrovic keeps working.

Petrovic manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Dante keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.
Dante slows down the pace here.

Petrovic works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

Petrovic postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Dante is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Petrovic, into his guard.

Dante decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Petrovic, up you get!
Dante slaps away a takedown attempt from Petrovic, before circling back to the center of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dante keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Petrovic.
Dante tries to bum rush Petrovic with a series of wild strikes but Petrovic uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Dante.

Petrovic throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Dante keeps the fight on the outside.
Petrovic fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Dante throws a big counter combination but Petrovic scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Marcus Dante has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lazar Petrovic.
Dante misses with a body kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Horrible takedown attempt by Petrovic or perhaps it was just good defense by Dante, which made it look bad.

Dante rushes Petrovic and presses him up against the cage.

Petrovic breaks from the clinch.
Petrovic fails with a takedown attempt.
Dante tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Petrovic manages to circle out of the way.
Dante really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Dante clinches with his opponent.

Dante gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Petrovic regains guard.
Petrovic looking for a sweep. Not yet Petrovic, not yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dante content to stall in guard here.
Dante trying to stand up but can't free himself from Petrovic's guard.
Petrovic throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Dante throwing strikes but missing.
Dante is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Petrovic wants to sweep here but Dante controlling him for the moment.
Marcus Dante has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Lazar Petrovic is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Petrovic utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Marcus Dante.
I think Petrovic 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 28:29
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 28:29
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lazar Petrovic!