PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mark Clarke (ranked 2569 p4p, 2679 weight class) and Scott Dolton (ranked 292 p4p, 309 weight class). Clarke comes to the cage accompanied by One Cent, Five Cent, Ten Cent, Dollar - Soca Boys. Dolton has chosen Paradise Warfare as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Clarke
vs
Dolton

185 cm
33
275
13 - 11 - 0

185 cm
33
278
16 - 13 - 0

Great wrestler
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

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 13 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Mark Clarke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Scott Dolton!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Shigeki Sano and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Clarke shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Clarke with a flurry of punches that miss.
Dolton keeping moving, preventing Clarke from controlling successfully.
Dolton has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Clarke has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Dolton has momentary wrist control but Clarke slips an elbow through the middle.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dolton seems keen to control Clarke's posture.
Clarke looking to pass the guard.
Clarke's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dolton trying to keep a closed guard but Clarke is proving a slippery customer.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Clarke accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Clarke throws a strike but Dolton rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Clarke throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Clarke looking to hit a scissor sweep but Dolton is one step ahead there.
Dolton is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Clarke looking to hit a scissor sweep but Dolton is one step ahead there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dolton is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Dolton lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Clarke bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Dolton's guard.

Clarke trying to control but Dolton is working from the bottom.
Dolton looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Let's hope that Dolton 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.
We've been hearing good reports from Clarke's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Clarke postures up and lands a big shot to Dolton's brow.
Clarke throws a big elbow that misses.
Clarke wants to control from the top but Dolton keeps moving.
Clarke looking to pass the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke controls from within his opponent's guard.
Clarke with a flurry of punches that miss.
Clarke postures up.
Clarke missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Clarke trying to control but Dolton is working from the bottom.
Clarke lands a couple of digs.
Clarke trying to control but Dolton is working from the bottom.
Clarke not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Dolton controlling Clarke's posture.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Dolton shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Clarke as he jumps to the side.
Clarke looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Dolton is fending him off so far but Clarke persists. Nope, Dolton circles away and we're back to standing.
And Dolton tries to counter it with a takedown but Clarke pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Clarke shoots for a takedown but Dolton saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Clarke jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nice sprawl there from Clarke as Dolton shoots in.
Clarke changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Dolton keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Clarke.

Dolton gets caught napping as Clarke dives in and scores a takedown. Dolton manages to retain guard.
Clarke looking to sit in guard and control but Dolton gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Clarke wants to sweep but no luck.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Dolton passes Clarke's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Clarke has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Dolton is working away from the top position though.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Clarke 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.

Dolton shoots in for a takedown but Clarke shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Clarke takes a swing at Dolton's ribcage but misses.

Clarke gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Dolton in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
My spies in Golden Tiger Combat Club inform me that Dolton has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Clarke not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Clarke working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Dolton.
Dolton in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Clarke controlling the position.
Clarke is trying to control the position but Dolton postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dolton stopping the sweep attempt from Clarke.
Clarke bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Dolton's guard.

Clarke preventing the sweep.
Dolton looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dolton keeping moving, preventing Clarke from controlling successfully.
Clarke working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Dolton has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

Dolton looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Clarke stopping the sweep attempt from Dolton.
Dolton preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Clarke landing some decent shots from guard.
Clarke lands a couple of elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dolton wants to sweep here but Clarke controlling him for the moment.
Clarke scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Clarke landing some decent shots from guard.
Clarke controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Mark Clarke overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Clarke looking to pass the guard.
Clarke throws a big right hand that misses.
Clarke throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Dolton works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Dolton is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Clarke trying to control the position from guard on top but Dolton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke stands up over Dolton, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Clarke is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Dolton can do to turn this around?
Dolton not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Dolton is pulling down on Clarke's head to control his posture.
Clarke throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Dolton works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Dolton avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Dolton holds on and takes a little breather.
Clarke trying to control the position from guard on top but Dolton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Clarke works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Dolton moves into full guard.
Clarke trying to control but Dolton is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Clarke makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Dolton pulls Clarke in close to his closed guard and prevents Clarke from doing any damage or advancing position.
Clarke trying to control the position from guard on top but Dolton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Dolton has momentary wrist control but Clarke slips an elbow through the middle.
Clarke postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Clarke scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Dolton keeping moving, preventing Clarke from controlling successfully.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Clarke working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Clarke is looking to work some ground and pound but Dolton has wrist control.
Clarke works over Dolton with some ground and pound from guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Clarke dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Dolton scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Clarke gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Dolton tries to pass the half guard into mount. Clarke knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

Dolton is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Clarke is just riding it out for now. Dolton eventually gives up the hold.
Clarke wants to improve his position but Dolton is controlling well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dolton wants to free his trapped foot but Clarke is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Clarke is looking to improve his position.
Clarke slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Clarke working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Dolton.
Dolton is working Clarke over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Dolton's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

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

Clarke stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Dolton swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Mark Clarke is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dolton keeping moving, preventing Clarke from controlling successfully.
Clarke is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Dolton managing to control the position.
Clarke controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Dolton has control of Clarke's left arm, preventing Clarke from doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dolton being controlled here, momentarily.
Dolton seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Clarke tries a head kick but it misses.
Nice takedown defense from Clarke. No joy for Dolton on that attempt.
Clarke drops down looking for a counter takedown but Dolton sprawls and moves away.
Dolton takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Mark Clarke is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Dolton gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Clarke to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Dolton looking to control.
Dolton is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Clarke wants to control from the top but Dolton keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Clarke not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Scott Dolton has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dolton pulls Clarke in close to prevent any damage.
Dolton is continuing to stall.
Dolton keeping moving, preventing Clarke from controlling successfully.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Clarke's corner is telling him to maintain position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Clarke scores with a takedown into Dolton's guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mark Clarke showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Clarke 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 Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mark Clarke!
Mark Clarke decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.
Scott Dolton spoke after the fight, saying 'It is a joke? Let's start it over again.'.