PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Claudio Marchisio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Sekyere (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Marchisio might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Invincible. Sekyere has chosen Clique as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Marchisio
vs
Sekyere

179 cm
26
154 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

179 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Tends to cut

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 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Claudio Marchisio!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Alex Sekyere!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Columbo Gatti and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sekyere tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Marchisio manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Marchisio fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Sekyere, pushing him back against the cage.
Sekyere wants to get back to striking at distance but Marchisio won't allow it.

Marchisio has hold of one of Sekyere's legs. Sekyere is fighting the takedown attempt but Marchisio gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.

Marchisio decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Sekyere, up you get!

A momentary lapse in concentration from Sekyere enables Marchisio to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Sekyere manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Marchisio's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Marchisio seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Sekyere for as long as he can get away with.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Claudio Marchisio has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Marchisio shoots in and gets a takedown into Sekyere's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marchisio looking to pass the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sekyere being controlled here, momentarily.
Sekyere really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Marchisio. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Claudio Marchisio just wasn't active enough.
Sekyere connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sekyere uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Marchisio.
Sekyere throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Marchisio's waist but Marchisio gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Sekyere off to one side.
Sekyere ducks right into an uppercut from Marchisio.

Marchisio moves into the clinch successfully.
Sekyere wants to break free but Marchisio has control.

Marchisio tightens his grip and picks Sekyere up, before dumping him to the ground. Sekyere manages to land in guard.
Marchisio tries to free his leg and advance position but Sekyere is retaining full guard.
Marchisio sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Claudio Marchisio wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Marchisio has managed to clinch.

Marchisio turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Marchisio decides to stand back up. Marchisio steps back and let's Sekyere get back to his feet.
Marchisio defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Sekyere.

Marchisio looking to score a takedown here. Sekyere is defending well but Marchisio drives through and ends up in Sekyere's guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sekyere wants to get back to his feet but Marchisio passes into half guard.
Sekyere looks gassed!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Marchisio works his foot free and advances to mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Claudio Marchisio 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.

Marchisio gets a double leg takedown into Sekyere's guard.

Marchisio gets to his feet. Sekyere looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

Marchisio shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Sekyere is trying to defend but Marchisio finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Marchisio is controlling the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Claudio Marchisio.

Sekyere gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Marchisio stands up over Sekyere, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Marchisio content to stall in guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marchisio stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Sekyere swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Marchisio seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

We're going to have a standup here because Claudio Marchisio wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Marchisio fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Sekyere, pushing him back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Marchisio successfully pulls guard.
Claudio Marchisio overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sekyere stopping the sweep attempt from Marchisio.
Marchisio seems keen to control Sekyere's posture.
Sekyere must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Marchisio is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Sekyere trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sekyere accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Sekyere trying to control the position from guard on top but Marchisio is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Marchisio looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Sekyere!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marchisio raining down hammerfists from mount.
Marchisio looking to control and managing it successfully.
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!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Claudio Marchisio 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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Marchisio scores a takedown into full mount!
Marchisio controlling from mount.
Sekyere is trying to stand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marchisio landing punches.
Marchisio controlling the pace for now.

Marchisio stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sekyere shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Marchisio as he avoids it easily.

Marchisio scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Marchisio tries to advance to mount but Sekyere instead regains half guard.
Sekyere takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Marchisio throwing shots but Sekyere is blocking nicely.
Marchisio thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Marchisio sitting and controlling from the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marchisio is looking to advance position but Sekyere won't allow it.

Marchisio decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Sekyere misses with a combination

and Marchisio counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Marchisio.
Marchisio seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Claudio Marchisio is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Marchisio decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Sekyere, up you get!
Sekyere with a poor takedown
and Marchisio counters with a two punch combo.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sekyere tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Marchisio manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Marchisio drives through with a takedown into guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Marchisio stays in close to Sekyere's body and controls the position.
Alex Sekyere has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Marchisio stands up from guard. Let's bang!

And that's the end of the fight!
Claudio Marchisio showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Marchisio 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 John Roberts scores the fight 30:27
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Claudio Marchisio!
Our winner, Claudio Marchisio, 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.