PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Anthony Falcone (ranked 1874 p4p, 1510 weight class) and Luka Marka (ranked 267 p4p, 213 weight class). Falcone comes into the arena with Goodfellas - long take restaurant scene blaring out of the sound system. Marka has chosen HADES as his entrance music. There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Falcone
vs
Marka

191 cm
36
211
34 - 15 - 2

180 cm
29
185
16 - 11 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Vegan Gains

HELLBENT

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 34 - 15 - 2, fighting out of London, Anthony Falcone!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Luka Marka!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Shigeki Sano and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marka waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Falcone.
Marka lands a jab to the nose.
Falcone throws a series of punches but Marka moves out of range.
Marka tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Falcone was well out of range. Poor timing from Marka.
Falcone avoids a punch combination nicely.
Marka has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Falcone throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Marka uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Falcone looks to land a combination but Marka avoids it well.
Marka defending well as Falcone loads up on a big left hand.
Marka cracks Falcone with an open hand slap.
Falcone tries to clinch but Marka is having none of it.

Marka moves into the clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Marka.
Marka misses with a body punch.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Falcone breaks the clinch.
Falcone throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Marka drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.

Falcone drives through and clinches with Marka against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marka gets through Falcone's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

Falcone breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Falcone has taken the fight to the clinch.
Marka lands a hook that snaps the head of Falcone backwards.
Marka misses with a hook from the clinch.
Marka tries to work over Falcone's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Marka makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Falcone tries for a takedown but Marka manages to get underhooks.
Marka lands a body shot in the clinch.
Marka blocks a body shot from Falcone.
Marka makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Marka tries to throw a body punch but Falcone avoids it by throwing Marka back against the cage.
Falcone can't break the clinch.

Falcone jumps guard and drags Marka to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Marka stopping the sweep attempt from Falcone.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Marka sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Falcone's guard.
Falcone is looking to get back to is feet but Marka passes into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Falcone tries to escape but Marka is in control.
Marka wants to lay and pray for a moment but Falcone keeps working.
Falcone bucks up and tries to throw Marka off but instead Marka has got his back!
Falcone is trying to stand back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marka is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Falcone tries to break free.
Marka is riding his opponent, not letting Falcone buck him off.
Falcone is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Marka is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.

Falcone is trying escape back to his feet. He turns into his opponent's guard and eventually finds his way back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Falcone looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Falcone throws a head kick that misses.
Falcone throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Falcone throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Falcone throws a head kick that misses.
Marka looks to land a right hand but Falcone moved out of range.
Falcone doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Marka avoids the head kick by Falcone.
Falcone wants to clinch.
A swing and a miss from Marka.
Marka throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Falcone throws a left and a right that both miss

and Marka counters with a single leg into guard. Falcone didn't expect that.
Marka showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Luka Marka 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.

Falcone throws a right and a left that Marka avoids nicely.

Falcone rushes Marka and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Falcone is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Marka misses with a hook to the ribs.
Falcone tries to circle away but Marka has him pinned against the cage.
Marka pushes Falcone back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Marka.
Falcone wants to break free but Marka has control.

Marka pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Falcone scores with the left hand. Marka knows he should have avoided that one.
Falcone rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Marka moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Marka closes the distance and clinches up with Falcone, looking for a takedown. Marka pushes Falcone against the cage but Falcone circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Falcone throws a lazy head kick

and Marka counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Marka.

Falcone manages to escape and get back to his feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Marka connects with a body shot that sends Falcone's belly button to the back.
Anthony Falcone seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Falcone tries to close the distance and clinch but Marka swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Marka connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Falcone's hands.
Anthony Falcone is winning the standup battle so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Falcone throws a head kick but Marka moves out of range.
Marka tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Falcone is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Falcone pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Falcone with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Marka to score with a decent uppercut.
Anthony Falcone is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Falcone throws a head kick that misses.
Marka scores with a shot to the body.

Marka manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Falcone on his heels. He'll look to pass Falcone's guard now, I'm sure.

Falcone has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Marka has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Falcone fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Marka lands a body punch in the clinch.
Luka Marka seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Marka lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Marka can't find room to land a body shot as Falcone controls the action.
Marka working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Falcone working hard to break the clinch.
Falcone has a couple of punches blocked by Marka.

Falcone breaks from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Falcone swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Marka scores with a jab.
Falcone takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

Falcone lands a big head kick that sends Marka tumbling to the mat! Falcone takes a step backwards and waves Marka back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Marka is rocked!

Falcone drops Marka with a beautiful combination! Marka stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Falcone is looking for the KO!
Marka is still on wobbly legs! Can Falcone finish him?
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Falcone has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Falcone there as he acknowledges the shot.
Falcone throws a combination that misses

and Marka counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Falcone wants to get back to his feet but Marka is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Marka trying to control the position from guard on top but Falcone is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Falcone looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Falcone wants to stand and escape but Marka is having none of it.
Marka seems to have recovered his senses.
Marka showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marka trying to control the position from guard on top but Falcone is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Falcone is wriggling around but Marka manages to pass to half guard.
Falcone is looking to escape.
Luka Marka has got the better of the ground game so far.
Falcone is looking to get back to is feet but Marka passes into side control.
Marka trying to control the position but Falcone is working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Falcone tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
Falcone just trying to survive but Marka is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
Falcone is trying to get back to his feet but Marka has full control of the position and if anything, Falcone has just worked his way into a worse spot.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Marka's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Anthony Falcone will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Falcone pushes Marka up against the cage in a clinch.
Marka lands with a left to the head.

Marka escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Falcone takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Anthony Falcone is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Marka forces Falcone back against the cage and clinches.
Marka tries a body shot but Falcone blocks it.

Marka breaks from the clinch.
Falcone tries to close the distance and clinch but Marka swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Falcone misses with a series of wild punches.
Marka tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Falcone throws a head kick but Marka moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Marka tests Falcone's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Falcone misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Marka feints the counter takedown.
Marka lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Good standup being displayed there by Marka as he connects with a hook.

Marka drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Falcone wants to get back to his feet but Marka is dominant here and he's now got Falcone's back!

That's one minute gone in the round.
I would not like to be Falcone right now.
Falcone is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Marka slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Falcone wants to get back to his feet.
Falcone is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Marka.

That's two 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.
Falcone trying to control the hands but Marka won't let him.
Falcone tries to break free.
Falcone is trying to get back to his feet but Marka has full control of the position and if anything, Falcone has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Marka has good solid back control here.
Let's hope that Marka has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Falcone is trying to get back to his feet but Marka has full control of the position and if anything, Falcone has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Falcone trying to control the hands but Marka breaks the grip.
Marka just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Falcone is really stuck here.
Marka is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.

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.
Marka tries to get the hooks in deep but Falcone pushed the leg off.
Falcone is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Falcone is in bad spot here.
Falcone just trying to survive but Marka is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
Falcone trying to get back to his feet but Marka is in full control for now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Falcone is taking damage to the body and head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Luka Marka comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Marka 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 Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 28:29
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 28:29
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Luka Marka!
Luka Marka thanked the fans post fight for their support.