PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tielo Bonifaz (ranked 1485 p4p, 2759 weight class) and Ylli Kovaci (ranked 193 p4p, 317 weight class). Kovaci is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Angra - Morning Star. Ylli Kovaci is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Bonifaz
vs
Kovaci

180 cm
26
155
5 - 0 - 0

173 cm
27
163
5 - 6 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Very strong

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Solid chin

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 5 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Tielo Bonifaz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 6 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Ylli Kovaci!
The judges for this bout are Michael Johnstone, David Hoff and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kovaci doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Kovaci moves in looking to clinch but Bonifaz pushes him off.
Bonifaz misses with a hook. Kovaci ducked under it nicely.
Ylli Kovaci seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bonifaz misses with a left hand
and Kovaci counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

Kovaci rushes Bonifaz and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Bonifaz scores with a shoulder strike.
Bonifaz has a couple of punches blocked by Kovaci.

Bonifaz breaks the clinch.
A lazy left from Bonifaz finds it's target.

It looks like Ylli Kovaci has been cut.
Kovaci tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Bonifaz counters with a straight right hand.
Kovaci lands with a good body shot.
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!
Kovaci throws a lazy head kick
and Bonifaz counters with a stiff right hand.
Kovaci looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
A looping hook to the body misses from Bonifaz. Kovaci does a little dance to reset his feet.
Kovaci misses with a hook
and Bonifaz cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovaci tries to clinch but Bonifaz moves out of range.
Bonifaz is looking to counter with a shot to the body.

Kovaci gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Bonifaz lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Bonifaz throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Kovacis head.

Bonifaz escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Bonifaz misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kovaci.
Kovaci takes one on the button.
Bonifaz lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Kovaci tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Bonifaz paws at him with a jab and circles away.
A little feinted left hand from Bonifaz on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Kovaci stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Bonifaz.
Kovaci fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Kovaci throws a sloppy head kick
and Bonifaz counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kovaci shoots in looking for a takedown but Bonifaz manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Kovaci's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Kovaci looks to score with a jab to the body but Bonifaz is just out of range.
Kovaci gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
enabling Bonifaz to counter with a crisp jab.

Bonifaz lands a jab followed by a vicious hook that sends Kovaci sprawling to the canvas. Bonifaz follows him down, looking for the kill. Can Kovaci hang on?

Kovaci is rocked!

Bonifaz gets to his feet - back to striking we go!
Kovaci is still on wobbly legs! Can Bonifaz finish him?
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Bonifaz lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Kovaci has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Kovaci and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Kovaci seems to have recovered his senses.
Kovaci throws a leg kick

and Bonifaz counters with a left hand that sends Kovaci to the canvas!
Bonifaz sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Kovaci looking to hit a scissor sweep but Bonifaz is one step ahead there.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Bonifaz gets to his feet - Kovaci follows without any prompting.
Bonifaz works the jab nicely.

That has opened up Ylli Kovaci's cut even more.
Kovaci moves out of range as Bonifaz throws a body kick.
Kovaci was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Bonifaz jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Kovaci tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Kovaci tries to clinch up
and Bonifaz counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kovaci tries to clinch
and Bonifaz counters with a lovely straight right hand!

Bonifaz gets tackled into the cage by Kovaci. Kovaci maintains the clinch.

Bonifaz breaks the clinch.
Kovaci is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Bonifaz misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kovaci.
It looks like Bonifaz has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.

Kovaci clinches up with Bonifaz and pushes him back against the cage.
Bonifaz is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bonifaz working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
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!
Bonifaz tries to work over Kovaci's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Bonifaz lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Kovaci backwards.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Tielo Bonifaz dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ylli Kovaci's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Kovaci instigates a clinch.
Bonifaz throws a punch but it's blocked by Kovaci.

Bonifaz manages to break the clinch.
Kovaci wants to clinch
and Bonifaz counters with a nice uppercut.
Kovaci tries to clinch but Bonifaz moves away
and Bonifaz counters with a one-two to the body.
Kovaci shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Bonifaz counters with a lovely straight right hand!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kovaci is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Kovaci swings away with a body shot that misses
and Bonifaz counters with a nice body shot.
Kovaci wants to clinch but Bonifaz slips to the side
and Bonifaz counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice shot by Bonifaz.
Bonifaz blocks a head kick by Kovaci.
Kovaci pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Bonifaz is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Nice cross by Bonifaz.
Tielo Bonifaz is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kovaci closes the distance looking to clinch
and Bonifaz counters with a left to the body.
Tielo Bonifaz is winning the standup battle so far.
Kovaci throws a head kick but Bonifaz moves out of range.
Bonifaz fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Kovaci is out of range.
Bonifaz throws out a loose jab but Kovaci uses good head movement to avoid it.

Kovaci clinches with his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A short uppercut from Bonifaz.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Bonifaz creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Bonifaz is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Kovaci can do to turn this around?
Bonifaz swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Bonifaz breaks from the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kovaci keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kovaci dodges the punch combination from Bonifaz.
Kovaci tries to close the distance and clinch up but Bonifaz swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Kovaci tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Bonifaz counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Kovaci misses with a kick to the body
and Bonifaz counters with a lovely shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kovaci tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Bonifaz throwing a counter right hand but Kovaci manages to avoid it.
Kovaci throws a leg kick but Bonifaz moved away.
Bonifaz was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Bonifaz lands with a cross.
Bonifaz throws a jab but it's blocked by Kovaci.
Bonifaz scores with a hook to the body. Kovaci takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Bonifaz throws out a loose jab but Kovaci uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kovaci tries to clinch up
and Bonifaz connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
A head kick misses from Kovaci.
Bonifaz blocks a head kick by Kovaci.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kovaci swings for the body but Bonifaz moves out of range.
Kovaci uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Bonifaz.
Kovaci tries to clinch up.
Bonifaz with the inside leg kick.
Bonifaz scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Kovaci staying out of range there.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kovaci tries to clinch up but Bonifaz circles away and keeps his distance.
Bonifaz tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kovaci was well out of range. Poor timing from Bonifaz.
Bonifaz throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
And Kovaci responds with a good body kick, but Bonifaz manages to step out the way in time.
Bonifaz scores with a three punch combo!
Kovaci tries a head kick but it misses.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Tielo Bonifaz dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Ylli Kovaci's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Kovaci tries to score a power double leg takedown but Bonifaz sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Kovaci somewhat.
Bonifaz was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Kovaci misses with a jab to the body
and Bonifaz counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Kovaci steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Bonifaz.
Bonifaz looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Kovaci throws out a counter right but Bonifaz avoids it with no problem.
Kovaci connects with a nice looking jab.
Kovaci tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Bonifaz counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bonifaz connects with a crisp jab.
Kovaci looks to clinch
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
and Bonifaz counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
A big left from Bonifaz misses.
A little jabbing left from Kovaci on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovaci lunges at Bonifaz with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Bonifaz's hand.
Bonifaz circles away from the clinch attempt
and Bonifaz counters with a nice body shot.
Kovaci wants to clinch up but Bonifaz keeps it at a distance.
Jab from Bonifaz.
Kovaci tries to clinch up.
Kovaci throws the kick towards the body but Bonifaz avoids it.
Bonifaz lands with a shot to the body.
Bonifaz swats away the attempt to clinch by Kovaci.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bonifaz with a hook.
Kovaci lands a nice shot to the body.
Kovaci is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Bonifaz rather than just go for the knockout.
Kovaci tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Bonifaz paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Bonifaz tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kovaci was well out of range. Poor timing from Bonifaz.
Kovaci throws a lazy head kick
and Bonifaz counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The fight stays on the outside here - Kovaci looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Kovaci has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Kovaci on the wrong end of a nice jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bonifaz misses with a looping left.
Kovaci appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
A lazy left from Bonifaz finds it's target.
Kovaci is the more experienced fighter here and he's going to need to draw on some of that experience if he's going to pull this one out the bag.
Bonifaz lands a nice leg kick that just misses Kovaci's sensitive parts.
Bonifaz connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Kovaci momentarily.
Kovaci takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.

Kovaci moves into the clinch.
Kovaci blocking some punches.

Bonifaz breaks from the clinch.

Kovaci has closed the distance and engaged Bonifaz in a clinch.
Bonifaz throws a punch but it's blocked by Kovaci.

Bonifaz manages to break the clinch.
Kovaci wants to clinch.
Bonifaz looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kovaci keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Bonifaz looks to land a body kick but Kovaci moved away.
Kovaci missing with a left hand there. Bonifaz was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
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!
Bonifaz swings widly with a right hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
A head kick misses from Kovaci.
Kovaci walks into a stiff left hand from Bonifaz.

The cut above Ylli Kovaci's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Kovaci lands a jab to Bonifaz's midsection.
Ylli Kovaci has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tielo Bonifaz is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Bonifaz misses with a hook. Kovaci ducked under it nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tielo Bonifaz showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Bonifaz 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 Michael Johnstone scores the fight for Tielo Bonifaz!
Judge David Hoff scores the fight for Tielo Bonifaz!
Judge Peter Branson scores the fight for Tielo Bonifaz!

Tielo Bonifaz wins by unanimous decision!