PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Terence McKenna (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Deon Du Plessis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Du Plessis has chosen Fort Minor - Remember the name as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Deon Du Plessis struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 156.3lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Both fighters really staring eachother down here, as Deon Du Plessis enters the cage!

McKenna
vs
Du Plessis

175 cm
28
162 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

175 cm
29
168 lbs
14 - 14 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite 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 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Terence McKenna!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Deon Du Plessis!
The judges for this bout are Summer Carpenter, Winston Howard and Hugh Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Du Plessis tries to clinch up but McKenna circles away and keeps his distance.
Du Plessis fails in his attempt to clinch.
McKenna buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

Du Plessis closes the distance and pushes McKenna back into the cage.
Du Plessis landing knees to the body.
Du Plessis gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

It looks like Terence McKenna has been cut.
Du Plessis throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McKenna blocks it with crossed arms.
McKenna takes a shot to the head.

Du Plessis jumps into guard, dragging McKenna to the mat.

McKenna is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Du Plessis is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Du Plessis has escaped and now he's on top!
McKenna throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
McKenna being controlled here, momentarily.

McKenna is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Du Plessis defends well.
McKenna knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Du Plessis on the ground.

Du Plessis stands and steps away. McKenna gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
A head kick misses from McKenna.
Terence McKenna is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McKenna throws the left hand but Du Plessis avoids the punch easily.
Du Plessis throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and McKenna counters with a thumping low kick.
McKenna looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
McKenna tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Du Plessis was well out of range. Poor timing from McKenna.

Du Plessis instigates a clinch.
A head punch on the inside from McKenna fails to land.
A body shot lands from Du Plessis.
A left hand lands to the body for Du Plessis.
Du Plessis landing knees to the head.
Du Plessis lands an uppercut.
McKenna is breathing heavily.
Du Plessis scores with a knee to the head.
Du Plessis prevents McKenna from breaking the clinch.
Du Plessis lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
McKenna takes an elbow to the temple.
A nice right hand lands inside from Du Plessis.
Du Plessis stalling in the clinch.
Du Plessis prevents McKenna from breaking the clinch.
Du Plessis blocking some punches.
McKenna misses with the head strike.
A nice right hand lands inside from Du Plessis.

Du Plessis has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics McKenna uses from the top position.

Du Plessis manages to escape and get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McKenna throws a low kick but Du Plessis avoids it.

Du Plessis gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Du Plessis lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down McKenna.
Du Plessis lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Come on Du Plessis - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
McKenna is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Du Plessis is keeping busy.

Du Plessis lands a takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Du Plessis distracts McKenna with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

Du Plessis stands up from McKenna's guard - Du Plessis perhaps looking for a knockout.
Du Plessis throws a sloppy head kick and McKenna moves out of range easily.
McKenna works the jab nicely.
McKenna misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Du Plessis checks a leg kick.
Du Plessis takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Du Plessis tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. McKenna manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
McKenna fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Du Plessis has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McKenna tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Du Plessis is able to avoid easily.
McKenna lands a jab to the head.

Du Plessis instigates a clinch.
Du Plessis prevents McKenna from breaking the clinch.
A frustrated look appears on McKenna's face as he tries to break the clinch.
McKenna misses with the head strike.
Du Plessis pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Du Plessis prevents McKenna from breaking the clinch.
Du Plessis creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through McKenna's defenses.
Come on Du Plessis - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
McKenna is looking to break free of the clinch but Du Plessis has double underhooks.
McKenna misses with a punch on the inside.
Du Plessis has McKenna pressed against the cage, preventing McKenna from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Du Plessis lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
McKenna misses with the head strike.
Du Plessis blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Du Plessis stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Du Plessis lands a right hand that snaps the head of McKenna backwards.
Du Plessis stalling against the cage.
McKenna swings wildly with an uppercut but Du Plessis uses good head movement to avoid it.
Du Plessis blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Du Plessis has clasped his hands together around McKenna's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McKenna is not content to let Du Plessis control the position.

Du Plessis decides to take the fight back to the feet.
McKenna pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Du Plessis is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
McKenna lands a jab to Du Plessis's midsection.
McKenna fails to land with a series of punches.
McKenna misses with a wild combination.
McKenna fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
McKenna looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Du Plessis staying out of range there.
Du Plessis wants to clinch up but McKenna keeps it at a distance.
Du Plessis takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Du Plessis darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Du Plessis trying to mount his opponent but McKenna defends it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Deon Du Plessis dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Terence McKenna's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

McKenna thows a left - swing and a miss!
McKenna thumps Du Plessis with a low kick.
Du Plessis takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by McKenna.
Deon Du Plessis is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Du Plessis tries to close the distance and clinch up but McKenna swats him away and circles back towards the center.
McKenna scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Du Plessis doesn't seem bothered though.
McKenna thuds a left hand into Du Plessis's body.
McKenna with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
McKenna thows a body shot but no joy.
Du Plessis is looking to clinch.
Du Plessis blocks a leg kick.
McKenna scores with a leg kick.
Jab by McKenna.
McKenna lunges at Du Plessis with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Du Plessis's hand.
McKenna tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Du Plessis was well out of range. Poor timing from McKenna.
McKenna looks to land a body kick but Du Plessis moved away.
McKenna fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
McKenna with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Du Plessis is breathing heavily.
McKenna thuds his shin into the meat of Du Plessis's side.
A slow jab from McKenna misses its intended target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McKenna moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
McKenna fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
McKenna fails to land with a series of punches.
McKenna throws a front kick aimed at Du Plessis's knee but Du Plessis avoids it well.
McKenna is looking to slow Du Plessis down with leg kicks.
McKenna works over Du Plessis's head and body with a nice combination.
McKenna feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Du Plessis's calf.
McKenna throws a chopping leg kick but Du Plessis manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
McKenna misses with a straight left.
A nice leg kick lands there from McKenna.
McKenna connects with a body shot that sends Du Plessis's belly button to the back.
McKenna just misses with a punch to the body.
McKenna with a jab.
McKenna throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Du Plessis.
McKenna lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Du Plessis tries to clinch but McKenna moves out of range.
McKenna bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Du Plessis's head.
McKenna throws a leg kick but Du Plessis sees it coming and checks it nicely.
McKenna misses with a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McKenna with a body punch. A glancing blow.
McKenna lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Terence McKenna is winning the standup battle so far.
McKenna pulls out of a head kick attempt.
McKenna connects with a solid leg kick.
McKenna avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
McKenna lands a nice hook to Du Plessis's body. Du Plessis takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
McKenna moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
McKenna thumps Du Plessis with a low kick.
McKenna throws a leg kick which misses Du Plessis's front leg but catches the back leg as Du Plessis tries to avoid it.
McKenna scores with a jab to the head.
McKenna ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
McKenna swats away the attempt to clinch by Du Plessis.
McKenna lands with a shot to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
McKenna swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Du Plessis has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from McKenna.
A nice leg kick lands there from McKenna.
McKenna lands a nice looking kick to the body. Du Plessis takes a step back to recover.
McKenna lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McKenna throws a low kick, looking for Du Plessis's leg but Du Plessis calmly moves out of range.
McKenna tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Du Plessis was well out of range. Poor timing from McKenna.
Du Plessis walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Du Plessis showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from McKenna.

Du Plessis closes the distance and clinches.
Du Plessis throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but McKenna blocks it with crossed arms.

Du Plessis gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, McKenna regains guard.
McKenna keeping moving, preventing Du Plessis from controlling successfully.
McKenna bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Du Plessis's guard.
Du Plessis looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Du Plessis avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McKenna pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Du Plessis is keeping the position for now.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
McKenna makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Du Plessis has McKenna pulled in close to control his posture.
McKenna stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Du Plessis swivels though and keeps the full guard.
McKenna slips nicely into half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Du Plessis trying to control here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Terence McKenna dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Terence McKenna's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

McKenna throws a looping overhand right but Du Plessis ducks down to avoid it.
McKenna throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Du Plessis on the side of the head.

Du Plessis decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
McKenna with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

A momentary lapse in concentration from McKenna enables Du Plessis to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. McKenna manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
McKenna looking for a sweep. Not yet McKenna, not yet.
Du Plessis stops McKenna from standing up.
Du Plessis controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Du Plessis trying to control the position from guard on top but McKenna is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Du Plessis decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on McKenna, up you get!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Du Plessis pushes McKenna up against the cage in a clinch.
Du Plessis scores with a shoulder strike.
McKenna misses with a knee strike.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Du Plessis.
Du Plessis lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
McKenna misses with a hook from the clinch.
McKenna wants to break the clinch but can't.
Du Plessis connects with a nasty looking knee right to McKenna's face.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Du Plessis lands a hook to the side of the head.

Du Plessis successfully pulls guard.
McKenna has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Du Plessis keeping full guard, as McKenna tries to pass.
McKenna content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
McKennais looking to pass into half guard but Du Plessis pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Du Plessis is in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Du Plessis stands up and waves to McKenna to follow him.
Du Plessis is looking to clinch.
Du Plessis tries to close the distance and clinch but McKenna swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Du Plessis is looking to clinch but McKenna is avoiding it.
McKenna looks to score with a jab to the body but Du Plessis is just out of range.
A nice leg kick lands there from McKenna.
McKenna stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
McKenna throws a quick inside leg kick.

Du Plessis pushes McKenna up against the cage in a clinch.
Du Plessis prevents McKenna from breaking the clinch.
McKenna looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
McKenna wants to break the clinch but can't.
McKenna has a couple of punches blocked by Du Plessis.
Du Plessis taking a breather.
McKenna misses with a short punch on the inside.
Du Plessis's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
McKenna misses with some punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Du Plessis pulls McKenna into guard.
Du Plessis trying to keep a closed guard but McKenna is proving a slippery customer.
McKenna looking to sit in guard and control but Du Plessis gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Du Plessis gets to his feet - McKenna follows without any prompting.
McKenna throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Du Plessis.
Deon Du Plessis seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
McKenna throws a low kick, looking for Du Plessis's leg but Du Plessis calmly moves out of range.

Du Plessis rushes McKenna and presses him up against the cage.
McKenna throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Du Plessis blocks it with crossed arms.
Du Plessis lands a body shot in the clinch.
Du Plessis manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Du Plessis comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
McKenna wants to get back to striking at distance but Du Plessis won't allow it.
A frustrated look appears on McKenna's face as he tries to break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Du Plessis keeps the fight in the clinch, despite McKenna's efforts to push away.
Du Plessis stalling the fight.
McKenna tries to break the clinch but Du Plessis is controlling the position.
Du Plessis working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

Du Plessis manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

McKenna drops back, looking for a kneebar! Du Plessis looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Du Plessis looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Du Plessis!
McKenna gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!

Du Plessis is standing up out of mount! Strange tactic there - he must really want this one on the feet!
Du Plessis is looking to clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
McKenna feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Du Plessiss jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Du Plessis keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
McKenna with a jab.
McKenna buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

McKenna tries to keep at a distance but Du Plessis has taken the fight into the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Deon Du Plessis comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Du Plessis 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 Summer Carpenter scores the fight 28:29
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 28:29
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Deon Du Plessis!