PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Salvatore Assante (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Locke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Assante's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Lose Yourself. Locke has chosen Star Wars - Imperial March as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Assante
vs
Locke

185 cm
33
203 lbs
29 - 17 - 0

185 cm
37
198 lbs
17 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Hell's Balls Recovery (160)

CEC Nutrition Q160 & Loans

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 29 - 17 - 0, fighting out of New York, Salvatore Assante!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, John Locke!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Chris Saunders and Roger Salmon.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Assante scores with a decent looking hook.
Locke chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Assante can pounce on him.
Assante uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Assante takes a swing at Locke's ribcage but misses.
Assante fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Locke has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Assante lands with a kick to the ribs.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Assante swings for the body but Locke moves out of range.
Assante misses the shot to the body.
Assante ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Assante throws a big shot that misses.
Assante looks to land a left hand but Locke moved out of range nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Assante with a body punch. A glancing blow.
A punch combination from Assante misses.
Salvatore Assante is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Assante lands with a kick to the ribs.
Assante throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Assante lets loose with a powerful body kick. Locke will feel that in the morning.
Locke doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Salvatore Assante seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Assante throws out a loose jab but Locke uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Assante. Locke shrugs it off though.
Assante misses with a body punch
and Locke counters with a right hand to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Locke sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Assante tries to bum rush Locke with a series of wild strikes but Locke uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Assante throws the left hand but Locke avoids the punch easily.
Assante misses with an attempted mid kick.
Assante cracks Locke with a right hand to the side of the head.
Assante lands with a nice body kick.
Locke looks winded!
Assante scores with a jab. Locke acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Locke checks a leg kick.
Assante fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Locke takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Assante thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Locke if he has to take too many more of those.
Assante fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Locke looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Assante lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Locke backs up against the cage.
Assante cracks Locke with a good jab.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Assante bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Assante misses with a body kick.
Locke keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Assante fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Locke tries to keep at a distance but Assante has taken the fight into the clinch.

Assante pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Locke closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Assante misses with an uppercut.
Assante throws a good cross that connects.
Assante misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Locke takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Assante throws a poor cross that misses

and Locke counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Salvatore Assante 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.

Assante is looking to land body kicks.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Assante.
Assante tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Assante moves into the clinch successfully.
Assante lands a left hand.
A hook to the body from Assante.
Assante lands a left hand.
Assante misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Assante controlling the action here for a moment.
Assante tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A right hook to the body lands for Assante.
Locke wants to break the clinch but can't.
Assante lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Locke backwards.
Assante is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Locke can do to turn this around?
Assante goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Assante holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Good body shot from Assante.
Assante is leaning against Locke and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Locke is breathing heavily.
Assante lands an uppercut.
Locke's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

Assante manages to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Locke has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Assante.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Assante scores with a jab to the jaw.
Locke slips under a jab from Assante.
Assante misses with a jab to the body
and Locke counters with a straight right hand.
Locke takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Assante connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Locke's hands.
Assante connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Assante goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Assante thuds his shin into the meat of Locke's side.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Assante jabs Locke right on the nose. Locke blinks but takes it well.

Locke is rocked!
Locke avoids a kick to the body.
Assante digs a good hook to Locke's body.
Salvatore Assante is winning the standup battle so far.
Assante bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Locke's head backwards.
Locke is still on wobbly legs! Can Assante finish him?
Assante explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Locke seems to have recovered his senses.
Assante scores with a spinning back kick!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Locke sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Nice body punch from Assante.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Assante throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nice body kick from Assante.
Assante throws a sloppy head kick and Locke moves out of range easily.
Locke on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Assante digs a good body shot into Locke's ribs.
Assante looks to land a body kick but Locke moved away.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Assante cracks Locke with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

Assante cracks Locke with a big right hand that sends him crashing to the floor. Assante has the opportunity to follow him to the ground but instead he's beckoning Locke to stand back up!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Salvatore Assante dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Assante thuds a left hand into Locke's body.
Assante lands with a kick to the ribs.
Assante lands a nice shot to the body.
Assante throws the kick towards the body but Locke avoids it.
Assante loads up on a big right hand but Locke slips the punch.

Assante clinches up against the cage.
Assante presses Locke against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Assante scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Locke takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Still in the clinch, Assante scores with a nice short uppercut.
A left hand lands to the body for Assante.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Assante is leaning against Locke and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Still in the clinch, Assante scores with a nice short uppercut.
Assante is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
A left hand lands to the body for Assante.
Assante pushes Locke back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Assante is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Assante throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.

Assante breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
John Locke has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Assante scores with a nice strike.
Assante throws a sloppy head kick and Locke moves out of range easily.
Assante throws a body punch but Locke moves out of range.

Assante lands a left and a right that send Locke crashing to the mat, dazed. Assante thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Assante throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Assante tries to land a front kick but Locke steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Assante throws a wild body kick that Locke sees coming a mile off.
Assante throws a wild body kick that Locke sees coming a mile off.
Assante rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Locke cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Locke takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Assante looks to score with a jab to the body but Locke is just out of range.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Assante.
Assante throws the kick towards the body but Locke avoids it.
Assante throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
A nice inside leg kick there by Assante. That's going to slow Locke down.
Assante misses with a wild body shot.
A combination from Assante does no damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Assante connects with a jab.
Assante throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Assante connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Locke momentarily.
Locke has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Locke looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Assante lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Assante misses the jab.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Assante throws a push kick but Locke slaps the foot to one side.
Assante tries a head kick but it misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Salvatore Assante showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Assante, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Jeff Smith scores the fight 30:24
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 30:25
Judge Roger Salmon scores the fight 30:24

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Salvatore Assante!