PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dallas Manning (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vladislav Skipetrova (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Skipetrova has chosen Enter Sandman as his entrance music. Skipetrova has a pretty significant injury - he really shouldn't be fighting right now but he's a warrior and he's here none the less! Vladislav Skipetrova will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Manning
vs
Skipetrova

179 cm
25
183 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

192 cm
25
179 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dallas Manning!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Vladislav Skipetrova!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Cecil Peabody and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Manning moves into range and clinches up with Skipetrova.
Skipetrova looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Manning lands an elbow inside that Skipetrova shrugs off.
Skipetrova wants to get back to striking at distance but Manning won't allow it.
Skipetrova keeps control of Manning as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Manning tries to circle away but Skipetrova has him pinned against the cage.
Skipetrova working hard to break the clinch.

Manning escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Sloppy strikes from Manning. Those never looked like landing.
Skipetrova throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Manning.

Manning closes the distance and clinches.

Manning breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Skipetrova blocks a head kick by Manning.
Manning throws out a powerful jab.

Manning closes the distance and clinches.
Manning wants to break the clinch but can't.
Manning jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Skipetrova walks away with a smile on his face. Manning gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Nice shot by Manning.
Manning's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Manning duly obliges.
Skipetrova takes a swing at Manning's ribcage but misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Manning instigates a clinch.
Manning is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Skipetrova pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Manning lands a hook that snaps the head of Skipetrova backwards.

Manning escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Left hook, right uppercut from Manning.

Manning rushes Skipetrova and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Manning leaning against his opponent.
Manning is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Skipetrova pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dallas Manning. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Manning tightens his grip and picks Skipetrova up, before dumping him to the ground. Skipetrova manages to land in guard.
Manning has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Skipetrova is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Manning knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Skipetrova on the ground.
Manning is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manning'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.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Skipetrova wants to stand but Manning is controlling the position.

Dallas Manning has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Manning lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Manning.

Manning clinches.
Skipetrova is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Skipetrova.
Manning fails to pull the fight into his guard.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Manning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manning keeps control of Skipetrova as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Manning lands a left hand that snaps the head of Skipetrova backwards.

Manning has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Skipetrova clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Manning just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Skipetrova is trying to get back to his feet but Manning has full control of the position and if anything, Skipetrova has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Skipetrova is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Skipetrova is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Manning.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Skipetrova is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dallas Manning 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.

Manning takes a jab right on the kisser.

Manning has closed the distance and engaged Skipetrova in a clinch.

Manning's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Manning clinches up with Skipetrova and pushes him back against the cage.
Manning lands a right hand.
Manning can't break the clinch.
Manning looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Manning ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Manning no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Skipetrova wants to stand but Manning has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Skipetrova won't allow Manning to sweep him here.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Manning on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Manning tries to get out of the position.
Manning pulls Skipetrova in close to prevent any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manning looking for a sweep. Not yet Manning, not yet.

Dallas Manning has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Manning wants to land a leg kick but Skipetrova is out of range.

Skipetrova tries to keep at a distance but Manning has taken the fight into the clinch.
Still in the clinch, Manning scores with a nice short uppercut.
Manning tries to circle away but Skipetrova has him pinned against the cage.
Manning tries to pull guard but Skipetrova won't allow it.
Manning tries to break the clinch but Skipetrova is controlling the position.
Manning has Skipetrova pressed against the cage, preventing Skipetrova from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Manning can't break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manning is trying to force a seperation but Skipetrova has the dominant position.
Skipetrova is trying to break the clinch but Manning is controlling him.
Skipetrova has had enough of the clinch but Manning keeps him there for the moment.
Manning is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Skipetrova gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Skipetrova has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Skipetrova wants to break free but Manning has control.
Manning wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Skipetrova has him pressed against the cage.
Manning manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Manning tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Skipetrova avoids it.
Skipetrova scores with a nice hook to the head.

Skipetrova pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Skipetrova misses with the combination.
Manning moves out of range of the strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Skipetrova lands with a nice body punch.
Skipetrova tries to close the distance and clinch but Manning swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Skipetrova tries to clinch up.

Manning moves into the clinch.
Skipetrova fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Skipetrova is trying to break the clinch but Manning has him pressed against the cage.
Manning is trying to pull guard but Skipetrova has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dallas Manning. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Manning has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Skipetrova uses from the top position.
Skipetrova wanted to stand there but Manning had control of the position.
Manning doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Skipetrova wanted to stand there but Manning had control of the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dallas Manning overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Skipetrova is fighting to break Manning's control of his arms but Manning is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Skipetrova moves in looking to clinch but Manning pushes him off.
Skipetrova tries to clinch

and Manning counters with a nice double leg into side control. Skipetrova won't be happy with that.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Skipetrova wants to get back to his feet but Manning drags him back down.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dallas Manning dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Manning keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Skipetrova.

Manning moves into the clinch.
Manning looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Manning works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Manning is stalling in the full guard.
Skipetrova is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Manning pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Skipetrova is keeping the position for now.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Manning controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Dallas Manning wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Manning rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Skipetrova moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Manning goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Skipetrova wants to clinch
and Manning counters with a nice leg kick.
Skipetrova connects with a nice looking jab.
The fight stays on the outside here - Skipetrova looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Skipetrova fails in his attempt to clinch.
Skipetrova misses with a wild combination.
Manning closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manning throws a series of punches but Skipetrova avoids them all with ease.
Manning tries to bum rush Skipetrova with a series of wild strikes but Skipetrova uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Skipetrova wants to clinch.
Skipetrova dips to his left and cracks Manning with an uppercut!
Skipetrova stalks Manning and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Manning's face. Manning staggers backwards, shaken.
Skipetrova darts in trying to clinch
and Manning counters with a nice body shot.
Skipetrova wants to clinch.

Skipetrova tries to sprawl but Manning drives through with a takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Skipetrova wants to get back to his feet.
Dallas Manning is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Manning not doing much here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Skipetrova misses with a straight right.
Vladislav Skipetrova is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Manning bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Manning throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Manning thuds a left hand into Skipetrova's body.
Dallas Manning is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Skipetrova misses with a straight left.
Manning uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Skipetrova.

Manning gets a clinch.
Skipetrova wants to break the clinch but can't.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Skipetrova throws a head punch that misses.
Skipetrova fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Vladislav Skipetrova has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dallas Manning has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Manning wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

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 Dallas Manning.
Well Manning 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 George Francis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 30:27
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dallas Manning!
A very excited looking Dallas Manning made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.