PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Darwin Pennington (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Black Mamba (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Pennington
vs
Mamba

184 cm
18
278 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

190 cm
22
230 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Darwin Pennington!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Black Mamba!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Ren Mimura and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mamba misses with a takedown

and Pennington moves into the clinch.
Mamba goes for a takedown attempt but Pennington pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Mamba misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Darwin Pennington has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Black Mamba.

Pennington clinches up against the cage.
Pennington throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Mamba blocks it with crossed arms.
Pennington avoiding damage as Mamba throws knees to the body.
Mamba jumps guard but Pennington stands there with Mamba around his waist. Mamba gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Mamba tries to pull guard but Pennington won't allow it.
Mamba managing to block the knees to the body from Pennington.

Pennington gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Mamba regains guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Pennington accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mamba is trying to keep Pennington in close.
Mamba avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pennington sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Pennington stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Mamba swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Mamba really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Pennington. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Pennington wanted to stand there but Mamba had control of the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Pennington misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mamba.

Mamba gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Pennington to score an easy takedown into full guard.

Mamba has his feet on Pennington's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Pennington could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Some wild striking there from Mamba.
Pennington tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Pennington has taken the fight to the clinch.
Pennington keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Mamba's efforts to push away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pennington tries to pull guard but Mamba won't allow it.

Pennington jumps guard and drags Mamba to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Pennington manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Mamba manages to get himself to full guard.
Pennington wants to get up but he can't break Mamba's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Pennington controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Pennington wants to get up but he can't break Mamba's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Mamba looks winded!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pennington controls from within his opponent's guard.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Darwin Pennington just wasn't active enough.
Some wild striking there from Pennington.
Pennington throws a body kick that misses.

Pennington closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Pennington is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Mamba will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Pennington wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Mamba, who protects the arm well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Darwin Pennington dominated that round.
That's time! Pennington's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Pennington changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Mamba tries to avoid it but Pennington manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Mamba to the ground. Mamba escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Mamba tries to clinch there but Pennington circles away.
Mamba tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Pennington decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Mamba's guard.
Pennington is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Pennington trying to control the position from guard on top but Mamba is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Pennington is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Darwin Pennington has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Pennington dives in and scores a takedown into Mamba's guard.
Darwin Pennington overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Mamba keeping moving, preventing Pennington from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pennington sitting in guard here, content to control.
Pennington trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Darwin Pennington just wasn't active enough.

Mamba gets the takedown into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Pennington's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Pennington prevents Mamba from moving into mount.
Mamba is breathing heavily.
Pennington struggling a bit here.

Mamba decides to stand back up.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mamba shoots in for a double leg but Pennington sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Mamba wants to clinch.
Pennington tries to clinch but Mamba is having none of it.
Black Mamba seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pennington scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Mamba is letting Pennington control him for a moment.
Mamba wants to control but Pennington postures up.
Mamba seems a little lost for a moment, as Pennington dominates the positioning.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Darwin Pennington just wasn't active enough.
Mamba slips a jab and a cross from Pennington.
Pennington tries to clinch but Mamba is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pennington scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Mamba stuffs the takedown.
A left and a right from Mamba both land. Nice combination.
Pennington fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Mamba avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darwin Pennington. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mamba is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Mamba lands a right hook to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Pennington tries to clinch there but Mamba circles away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mamba feints a jab promting Pennington to slip. Mamba then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Pennington slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Pennington shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Mamba as he jumps to the side.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Darwin Pennington dominated that second 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. And we move into the final round!

Mamba looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
A solid body kick from Mamba.
Pennington needs to keep his hands up - Mamba had a free shot at his head there.
Mamba goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Pennington fails to land with a series of punches.

Pennington shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Pennington showed some decent athleticism there.
Pennington slows the pace down in half guard.
Pennington wants to get back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mamba is trying to control but can't.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Mamba shoots in looking for a takedown but Pennington manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Mamba's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Mamba falls off balance throwing a combination

and Pennington counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Pennington.
Pennington is trying to break the clinch but Mamba is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mamba drops down looking for an ankle pick but Pennington pulls his leg out and moves away.

Pennington throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Mamba tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Pennington is in Mamba's guard.
Pennington is working Mamba over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Pennington passes into half guard.
Pennington is taking a breather. Mamba says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Pennington seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Mamba for as long as he can get away with.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pennington is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Mamba defends it well.
Pennington controlling the pace.
Pennington scoring with strikes to the body and head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Still in half guard, Pennington seems content to control.
Pennington tries to stand and escape but Mamba is controlling the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Darwin Pennington wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Mamba avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Mamba misses with a wild combination.
Pennington looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Mamba is fending him off so far but Pennington persists. Nope, Mamba circles away and we're back to standing.
Pennington looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Mamba is fending him off so far but Pennington persists. Nope, Mamba circles away and we're back to standing.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mamba throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.

Pennington gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Black Mamba has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Darwin Pennington is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pennington blocks the elbow strike.

And that's the end of the fight!
Darwin Pennington showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Pennington, 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 Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Darwin Pennington!