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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mark Clarke (ranked 1142 p4p, 2781 weight class) and Taluli Manzine (ranked 135 p4p, 298 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?
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| 185 cm
26
275
7 - 2 - 0 |
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192 cm
20
270
4 - 2 - 0 |
Good wrestling
Basic striking
Very quick |
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BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mark Clarke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Taluli Manzine!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Dmitry Maklakov and Fedor Mirinova.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Manzine feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Clarkes jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Clarke takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Manzine looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Manzine gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Clarke to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Manzine really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Clarke. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Clarke is looking to work some ground and pound but Manzine has wrist control.
Manzine is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Clarke is controlling him.
Clarke is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Clarke seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Manzine for as long as he can get away with.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Clarke keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Manzine's head.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Clarke 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.
Clarke postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Clarke is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Clarke throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Manzine works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Clarke controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Clarke is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Clarke shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Manzine is trying to defend but Clarke finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Manzine keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Clarke trying to control the pace.
Clarke scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Clarke missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Clarke 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.
Clarke looks to land a strike but Manzine avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Clarke controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Clarke is looking to work some ground and pound but Manzine has wrist control.
Clarke slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Manzine is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke controlling from the top position.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Manzine is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
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.
Clarke shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Manzine napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Manzine throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!
Clarke avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Manzine rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Clarke counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Manzine!
Manzine taking a bit of punishment here - Clarke scoring with strikes.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Clarke cracks Manzine with a big right hand but Manzine just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
The referee asks Clarke politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Clarke prefers to stall for the moment though.
Clarke has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
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 Mark Clarke will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!
Manzine tries to sprawl but Clarke drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Clarke performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Clarke definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Clarke's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Mark Clarke overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Clarke.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Manzine is trying to stand.
Clarke is taking a breather. Manzine says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Clarke continues to hold on tight.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Clarke sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Manzine defending well though.
Manzine wants to get back to his feet.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Clarke ducks under a wild hook from Manzine.
Manzine connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Clarke throws a jab but it's blocked by Manzine.
Clarke closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Manzine did well to prevent Clarke getting side control.
Manzine has hold of Clarke's hands but Clarke slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Clarke sitting and controlling from the half guard.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Clarke continues to stall.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Clarke lands a nice short elbow.
Clarke lands with a punch from half guard.
Clarke not doing much here.
Manzine on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Manzine can do anything to dispel that myth.
Clarke looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Manzine with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Clarke controlling the pace.
Nice strikes from Clarke there.
Clarke winds up and cracks Manzine with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Manzine wants to get back to his feet.
Clarke is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Clarke sitting and controlling from the half guard.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Clarke slips a nice elbow through Manzine's hands, connecting with Manzine's forehead.
Clarke content to control rather than advance.
Clarke winds up and cracks Manzine with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Clarke performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Clarke takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Mark Clarke dominated that second round.
That's time! Clarke's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!
Clarke shoots and misses
and Manzine counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Mark Clarke seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Manzine loads up on a big right hand but Clarke slips the punch.
Clarke shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Manzine napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Clarke controlling the position.
Clarke in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Clarke is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Clarke is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Manzine can do to turn this around?
That's one minute gone in the round.
Manzine is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Clarke connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Manzine some visible discomfort.
Clarke is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Manzine will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Clarke working the head and body with strikes.
Clarke in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Mark Clarke is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Clarke tries to advance to mount but can't.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Further stalling from Clarke.
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Manzine leaves Clarke with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Taluli Manzine has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Clarke drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Manzine sneaks out the side door and pushes Clarke away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Clarke will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mark Clarke. That's going to take a lot out of him.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Clarke doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Manzine counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Clarke looking to score a takedown here. Manzine is defending well but Clarke drives through and ends up in Manzine's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Clarke controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Manzine is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Clarke is controlling him.
Clarke controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
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 Mark Clarke.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Clarke, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:28
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mark Clarke!
Mark Clarke took his opportunity to call for a title shot in his post fight interview.
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
35% |
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