PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Lenny Leonard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Di Mario (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mario has chosen Lose Yourself as his entrance music. Lenny Leonard could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Di Mario's chin.

Leonard
vs
Mario

188 cm
18
172 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
20
170 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Lenny Leonard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Di Mario!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Igor Prikhodko and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Mario scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Mario is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Mario looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Leonard tries to kick Mario off but Mario keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Leonard is trying to maintain the position but Mario is very close to passing his half guard.
Mario tries to stand but can't do so whilst Leonard controls his leg.
Leonard wants to improve his position but Mario is controlling well.
Leonard keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Leonard is controlling Mario's trapped leg to prevent Mario from advancing to side control.
Leonard tries to get to full guard but Mario has control of the leg.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.

Mario rushes Leonard and presses him up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mario manages to break the clinch.
Mario takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Leonard throws a nice outside leg kick.
Leonard fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Leonard.
Nice sprawl there from Mario as Leonard shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lenny Leonard. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Leonard doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Mario counters with a body kick.

Mario shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Leonard is in all sorts of trouble here.
Leonard is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Leonard is wriggling around trying to escape.
Leonard gets back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leonard is trying to maintain the position but Mario is very close to passing his half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Leonard manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

Leonard uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Leonard doesn't succeed with the takedown

so Mario counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mario wants to control from the top but Leonard keeps moving.
Mario is in close to Leonard's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Leonard is trying to keep Mario in close.
Mario trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Mario wants to control from the top but Leonard keeps moving.
Mario looking to pass the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leonard 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.
Leonard utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Leonard is looking to clinch.
Leonard with a poor takedown

and Mario counters by clinching up.
Leonard wants to break free but Mario has control.

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

Mario shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Mario was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Leonard wants to hold on but Mario pushes him away.

Mario stands up from mount. Strange move.
Mario throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Leonard's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leonard fails in his attempt to clinch.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Mario crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Leonard - the referee stops the clock and Mario gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Leonard. Mario manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Mario avoids a punch combination nicely.
Some wild striking there from Leonard.
Leonard misses with a takedown
and Leonard takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

Mario shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Mario showed some decent athleticism there.
Leonard makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Leonard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for leaving it all in the cage!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Leonard is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Leonard looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Di Mario dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Leonard tries to close the distance and clinch up but Mario swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Leonard tries for a takedown but Mario circles away easily

and Mario counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Mario.
Leonard wants to sweep but no luck.
Leonard is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Leonard pulls Mario in close to his closed guard and prevents Mario from doing any damage or advancing position.
Leonard is trying to keep Mario in close.
Leonard wants to stand up but Mario is controlling him.

Mario stands and steps away. Leonard gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mario fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Leonard with a poor takedown
and Mario counters with a thumping low kick.
Leonard has his takedown stuffed

and Mario counters with a takedown into side control.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lenny Leonard. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mario wants to control but Leonard is keeping him busy.

Mario tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Mario has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Leonard sneaks back into half guard.
Leonard is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Mario's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Mario's back!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leonard lands shots from the back.
Leonard keeps control of the position as Mario tries to break free.
Mario looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
Leonard is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Mario up.
You can see the frustration on Mario's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.

Leonard working for the choke.
Leonard is looking to control Mario but Mario is wriggling around and keeping busy.

Leonard is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Mario defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mario is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Mario looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
Mario is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Mario turns into Leonard and is now in his guard.
Mario stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Leonard swivels though and keeps the full guard.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Mario throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Leonard counters with a body kick that stops Mario in his tracks momentarily.
Leonard throws a head kick that misses
and Mario counters with a head kick. That will keep Leonard thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Mario looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Leonard throws a head kick that Mario semi-blocks.

It looks like Di Mario has been cut.

Leonard has closed the distance and engaged Mario in a clinch.
Leonard has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Mario is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Leonard fails to pull guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Leonard jumps guard and drags Mario to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Leonard working for submissions but it's allowed Mario to get to half guard.
Mario is keen to just control but Leonard is a slippery customer.
Leonard is trying to get back to full guard.
Leonard trying to control from the bottom.
Di Mario has got the better of the ground game so far.
Mario moves nicely into side control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Mario stands up and beckons Leonard to his feet.

Mario moves into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Di Mario showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Di Mario's cut.
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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Leonard tries to clinch

and Mario counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Mario.
Mario tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Leonard just stands there and leans against the cage.
Leonard content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Leonard jumps guard but Mario stands there with Leonard around his waist. Leonard gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Leonard manages to pull guard.
Mario wants to control from the top but Leonard keeps moving.
Mario won't allow Leonard to sweep him here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Mario gets to his feet - Leonard follows without any prompting.

Mario looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Leonard!
Leonard tries to hold on but Mario postures up.
Leonard is wriggling around trying to escape.
Mario takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mario cracks Leonard with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Mario is landing with some decent strikes but Leonard is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Mario avoids the attempt from Leonard to control.
Leonard is desperately trying to improve his position but Mario has a good base and remains in mount.
Leonard gets back to half guard.
Mario wants to control but Leonard is keeping him busy.
Leonard wants to control but Mario is keeping busy.
Leonard flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Leonard is looking to improve his position.
Mario tries to pass to full mount but Leonard defends it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mario tries to stand and escape but Leonard is controlling the position.
Mario throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Mario is looking for a kimura here.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Leonard has managed to clinch.

Mario jumps guard and drags Leonard to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Mario pushes Leonard off and gets back to his feet.
Lenny Leonard is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Mario.

Mario tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Mario has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mario thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Mario is looking to take a break and control but Leonard is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Leonard can't do much from the bottom here.
Leonard tries to improve position but can't.
Leonard looks to move to half guard but instead Mario has passed into mount! Damn!

That's four 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.
Mario thowing shots but they're missing.
Mario pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Leonard tries to hold on but Mario pushes him away.
Mario controlling his opponent.
Mario throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Leonard manages to regain half guard whilst avoiding the strikes.
The fighters are battling for position here. Leonard manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Lenny Leonard has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Leonard keeping moving, preventing Mario from controlling successfully.
Leonard wants to sweep here but Mario controlling him for the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Di Mario comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Mario winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 27:30
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 27:30
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Di Mario!