PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Virgil Donati (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricardo Hendricks (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Donati kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Threshold - Phenomenon. Hendricks is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: x. The key to victory for Virgil Donati has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Donati
vs
Hendricks

190 cm
22
217 lbs
5 - 1 - 1

188 cm
23
197 lbs
11 - 3 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Good low kicks
Granite chin

Popeye’s Spinach - 159 + 158 Proof Supps

Reaper Combatwear
5th Round Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Virgil Donati!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 3 - 1, fighting out of New York, Ricardo Hendricks !
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Frank Dennis and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hendricks is looking to chop away at Donati's legs.
Donati has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Hendricks .
Hendricks wants to slow Donati down by chopping away at his legs.
Hendricks tries to land a front kick but Donati steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Donati moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Donati takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Donati takes a swing at Hendricks 's ribcage but misses.
Donati uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hendricks throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Donati sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Hendricks blocks a jab.
Hendricks works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.

Hendricks looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Hendricks tries to pass to full mount but Donati defends it.
Hendricks is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Donati has a hand on Hendricks 's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Hendricks takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Donati wants to hold on but Hendricks pushes him away.
Hendricks thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Hendricks thowing shots but they're missing.
Donati wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Hendricks misses with some ground and pound and Donati recovers position to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hendricks is trying to control the action in half guard but Donati is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Hendricks controlling the action here.
Hendricks wants to control but Donati is keeping him busy.
Hendricks trying to control the pace.
Hendricks is stalling here. Donati is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Hendricks seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Donati has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Donati decides to stand back up.
Donati checks a low kick from Hendricks .
Virgil Donati is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Hendricks finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Hendricks misses with a looping right.
Donati moves out of range of the strikes.
Hendricks throws a hook but Donati blocks it.
Donati misses with a straight left.
Donati scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Hendricks doesn't seem bothered though.
Hendricks keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A jab from Donati finds it's way through Hendricks 's defenses.
Hendricks takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Donati takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Hendricks throws a wild body kick that Donati sees coming a mile off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Hendricks .
Hendricks ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Hendricks closes the distance but Donati moves to the side
and Hendricks takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Hendricks thows a leg kick but Donati checks it
and Donati counters with a straight right hand.
Donati misses with a series of wild punches.
Hendricks looks to throw a body kick
and Donati counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Donati keeps the fight on the outside.
Hendricks motions for Donati to come forward. Hendricks throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hendricks throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Hendricks looks for the body kick but Donati saw that one coming.
Hendricks shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Donati as he avoids it easily.
Donati scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Hendricks doesn't seem bothered though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Virgil Donati dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Donati misses with a hook.

Hendricks changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Donati looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Hendricks throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Donati works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
Donati is trying to stand up here but Hendricks is controlling him well.
Hendricks content to control rather than advance.
Hendricks seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Donati does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hendricks is stalling here. Donati is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Hendricks seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Donati has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Donati slows the pace down.
Hendricks wants to control but Donati postures up.
Donati in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
You can see the frustration on Hendricks 's face as Donati controls the position.
Hendricks tries to improve position but can't.
Donati throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Donati slows the pace down.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Donati decides to stand up, so the ref orders Hendricks to his feet.
Nice jab there from Donati.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hendricks throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
A jab from Donati finds it's way through Hendricks 's defenses.
Hendricks lands with a shot to the body.
Donati checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Hendricks looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Donati is fending him off so far but Hendricks persists. Nope, Donati circles away and we're back to standing.
Hendricks throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Hendricks throws a leg kick that is checked
and Donati counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Donati connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Hendricks throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donati lands with a good body shot.
Hendricks is breathing heavily.
Donati scores with a decent looking hook.
Donati tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Donati lands with a good body shot.
Hendricks throws a head kick that misses.
Donati lands a right hook to the body.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Donati rushes Hendricks and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
A short right from Donati.
Hendricks blocks an uppercut.
A short uppercut from Donati.
Hendricks tries to throw a body punch but Donati avoids it by throwing Hendricks back against the cage.
Still in the clinch, Donati scores with a nice short uppercut.
Hendricks tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Donati lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Donati fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Hendricks tries to throw a body punch but Donati avoids it by throwing Hendricks back against the cage.
Hendricks blocks a body shot from Donati.
Donati tries to throw a body punch but Hendricks avoids it by throwing Donati back against the cage.
Hendricks has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Donati is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Donati lands a body punch.
Donati blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A shot in the inside from Donati.
Donati misses with a hook from the clinch.
Donati lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hendricks lands a shoulder strike.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Donati stalling.
Donati throws a punch but it's blocked by Hendricks .
Donati stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Virgil Donati dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Hendricks dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Donati. That did some damage!
Hendricks throws a nice looking combination but Donati bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Donati tests Hendricks 's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Hendricks scores with a body shot.
Hendricks misses with a wild body shot.
Virgil Donati is winning the standup battle so far.
Hendricks takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Donati takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Donati lands with an uppercut that bounces Hendricks off the cage and back into range.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Donati rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Hendricks moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Hendricks looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Donati misses with an uppercut

and Hendricks decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Donati's guard.
Hendricks must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Donati utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Hendricks trying to control but Donati is working from the bottom.
Hendricks is looking to work some ground and pound but Donati has wrist control.
Hendricks loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hendricks looking to sit in guard and control but Donati gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Donati decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Donati tests Hendricks 's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Hendricks loads up on a big right hand but Donati slips the punch.
Donati comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hendricks throws an overhand right that lands on Donati's shoulder, as Donati tries to avoid the shot.
Hendricks throws a hook to the side of Donati's head but Donati sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Donati steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Hendricks .
Hendricks takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hendricks attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Hendricks throws a looping overhand right but Donati ducks down to avoid it.
Donati lands a head shot.
Hendricks gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Hendricks takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hendricks takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Ricardo Hendricks seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Oooooh!!! Donati has knocked Hendricks down with a huge combo! Donati steps away and waves a wobbly Hendricks back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!

Hendricks is rocked!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Donati lands a jab to Hendricks 's midsection.
Hendricks is still on wobbly legs! Can Donati finish him?

Hendricks gets the takedown into side control.
Donati is pushing Hendricks 's head away, looking to escape. Hendricks manages to hold on to the position though.
Hendricks seems to have recovered his senses.
You can see the frustration on Donati's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Donati is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Hendricks is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hendricks tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Donati sneaks back into half guard.
Ricardo Hendricks has got the better of the ground game so far.
Donati is staying active underneath Hendricks , who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Donati is concentrating on defense, preventing Hendricks from advancing position.
Donati is looking to control Hendricks 's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Donati avoid being mounted?
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Donati is staying active underneath Hendricks , who seems content to just control the action from this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Virgil Donati clearly takes that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Donati lands a slapping body shot.
Donati lands the left hand.
Hendricks lands a high kick!
Jab from Donati.
Hendricks has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Donati avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Hendricks misses with a head kick.
Hendricks fails with the takedown.
Hendricks changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Donati tries to avoid it but Hendricks manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Donati to the ground. Donati escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Donati moves into range and connects with a jab.
Hendricks avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Hendricks is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hendricks goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Hendricks fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Virgil Donati has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ricardo Hendricks .

That's one minute gone in the round.
Donati misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Hendricks throws out a loose jab but Donati uses good head movement to avoid it.
Donati cracks Hendricks with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Donati lands with a hook. Hendricks tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Donati thows a body shot but no joy.

Hendricks looking to score a takedown here. Donati is defending well but Hendricks drives through and ends up in Donati's guard.

Donati has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Hendricks off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Donati dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Nice uppercut there from Donati.
Donati checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot lands for Donati.
Donati throws a jab when Hendricks was well out of range.
Donati wants to clinch.
Donati listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Hendricks throws a push kick but Donati slaps the foot to one side.
Hendricks tries to close the distance and clinch but Donati swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Donati moves out of range of the body kick.
Hendricks throws a half hearted mid kick.
Donati is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hendricks can do to turn this around?
Donati looks to land a left hand but Hendricks moved out of range nicely.
Hendricks finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donati tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Hendricks changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Donati tries to avoid it but Hendricks manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Donati to the ground. Donati escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Donati checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Hendricks with a nice cross.
A leg kick checked by Donati.
Donati fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hendricks manages to avoid it.
Donati throws a hook to the side of Hendricks 's head but Hendricks sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Hendricks changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Donati tries to avoid it but Hendricks manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Donati to the ground. Donati escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Donati connects with a single shot there.
Hendricks staying out of range there.
Hendricks throws a sloppy body shot
and Donati counters with a right hand to the body.
Donati connects with a body shot that sends Hendricks 's belly button to the back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Donati bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.

Oooooh!!! Donati has knocked Hendricks down with a huge combo! Donati steps away and waves a wobbly Hendricks back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!
Hendricks shoots in and drives through. Donati sprawls well.
Donati lands hard precision jab right on the jaw that stiffens Hendricks up and sends him tumbling to the mat! The ref grabs Donati from behind before he can pounce. Some folks in the crowd didn't like that stoppage, but I saw Hendricks 's eyes roll way back in his head, he was done.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:25 of round 4, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Virgil Donati!
Virgil Donati is the new light heavyweight champion!
Our winner, Virgil Donati, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.