PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bogdan Ghita (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Digger DeGaetano (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Ghita
vs
DeGaetano

180 cm
19
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

186 cm
18
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Bogdan Ghita!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Digger DeGaetano!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ghita throws a sloppy head kick and DeGaetano moves out of range easily.
DeGaetano throws a series of punches but Ghita moves out of range.
Ghita takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
DeGaetano works the jab nicely.
DeGaetano throws a jab but it's blocked by Ghita.
Ghita misses with a takedown attempt - DeGaetano sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
DeGaetano scores with a nice head shot.
A punch combination from DeGaetano misses.
DeGaetano misses with a series of wild punches.
Sloppy strikes from DeGaetano. Those never looked like landing.
DeGaetano throws a series of punches but Ghita moves out of range.
DeGaetano throws a nice looking combination but Ghita bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Ghita shoots in looking for a takedown. DeGaetano tries to sprawl out of it but Ghita keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. DeGaetano manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
DeGaetano stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bogdan Ghita. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Ghita clinches with his opponent.
Ghita is trying to pull guard but DeGaetano turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Ghita has DeGaetano pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. DeGaetano manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Ghita breaks from the clinch.
Ghita tries to score a power double leg takedown but DeGaetano sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Ghita somewhat.
Ghita could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Ghita clinches up with DeGaetano and pushes him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ghita with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
DeGaetano is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Ghita prevents DeGaetano from breaking the clinch.

Ghita pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
DeGaetano misses with a few strikes there.
Ghita showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from DeGaetano.
DeGaetano looks winded!
Ghita connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Ghita fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but DeGaetano avoids it really well and circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
DeGaetano wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Ghita jumps into guard, dragging DeGaetano to the mat.
Ghita doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.

DeGaetano got a little sloppy there for a moment and Ghita has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, DeGaetano has managed to get both his arms back between Ghita's legs - danger averted.
Ghita manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
DeGaetano is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Ghita controlling from mount.
Ghita thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Bogdan Ghita will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Ghita dives in for a single leg takedown but DeGaetano sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Ghita manages to pull guard.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Ghita manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.

Ghita breaks from the clinch.
DeGaetano displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Ghita.
Ghita closes the distance and clinches up with DeGaetano, looking for a takedown. Ghita pushes DeGaetano against the cage but DeGaetano circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bogdan Ghita. That's going to take a lot out of him.
DeGaetano ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Ghita tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ghita shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as DeGaetano sprawls well. DeGaetano wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Ghita gets slowly back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ghita takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
DeGaetano lands with a straight right. Ghita didn't see that one coming.
Ghita throws a big shot that misses.
DeGaetano works over Ghita's head and body with a nice combination.
A combination from DeGaetano does no damage.

Ghita closes the distance and pushes DeGaetano back into the cage.

Ghita manages to break the clinch.

Ghita gets in close and instigates a clinch.
DeGaetano wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Ghita has him pressed against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
DeGaetano blocks an elbow strike.

Ghita breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Digger DeGaetano seems to be getting the better of the standup.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Ghita.
Ghita has a takedown stuffed.
DeGaetano misses with a double jab.
Bogdan Ghita is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
This has been an exciting period of action!
DeGaetano misses with a two punch combination.
DeGaetano throws a right hand that Ghita ducks under and follows up with a left that Ghita also avoids with ease.
Ghita shoots in for a takedown but DeGaetano shows good takedown defense.
Digger DeGaetano is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Ghita.
Ghita tries to clinch but DeGaetano moves out of range.
Some wild striking there from DeGaetano.
DeGaetano throws a right and a left that Ghita avoids nicely.
Ghita shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says DeGaetano as he avoids it easily.
DeGaetano moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Ghita misses with a straight right.
DeGaetano avoids the head kick by Ghita.

Ghita closes the distance and pushes DeGaetano back into the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
DeGaetano stops a takedown attempt from Ghita.
Ghita tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
DeGaetano wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Ghita has him pressed against the cage.
Ghita drops down looking for an ankle pick but DeGaetano pulls his leg out and moves away.
Ghita throws an uppercut from half a mile away. DeGaetano sees it coming and avoids it easily.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Horrible takedown by Ghita or perhaps it was just good defense by DeGaetano which made him look bad.
Ghita avoids a punch combination nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Bogdan Ghita will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Ghita scores with a head kick.

Ghita rushes DeGaetano and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Ghita's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
DeGaetano fails to land with a series of punches.
Nice body punch from DeGaetano.
DeGaetano dodges the punch combination from Ghita.
Ghita gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Ghita closes the distance and clinches up with DeGaetano, looking for a takedown. Ghita pushes DeGaetano against the cage but DeGaetano circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
DeGaetano lands the left hand.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
DeGaetano looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Ghita shoots in for a takedown but DeGaetano shows good takedown defense.

Ghita fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with DeGaetano, pushing him back against the cage.
DeGaetano wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Ghita has him pressed against the cage.
Ghita crunches a lovely knee into DeGaetano's ribcage.
Ghita tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. DeGaetano smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bogdan Ghita. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ghita misses with an attempted mid kick.
DeGaetano throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Ghita on the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ghita moves forwards but DeGaetano connects with a nice, crisp jab.
DeGaetano uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Ghita has time to react.
DeGaetano lunges at Ghita with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Ghita's hand.
Ghita connects with a leg kick. DeGaetano looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Ghita closes this distance looking for a takedown but DeGaetano circles away.

Ghita has closed the distance and engaged DeGaetano in a clinch.

Ghita manages to break the clinch.
DeGaetano throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Ghita.
Ghita throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around DeGaetano's waist but DeGaetano gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ghita off to one side.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Danga de danga de dang - DeGaetano scores with a four punch combination!
Ghita throws a shot from downtown. DeGaetano moves away and avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ghita shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has DeGaetano pinned against the cage. DeGaetano gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Ghita ducks right into an uppercut from DeGaetano.
DeGaetano might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Ghita is defended easily by DeGaetano.
Ghita is trying hard to land a takedown here. DeGaetano sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Ghita looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? DeGaetano is fending him off so far but Ghita persists. Nope, DeGaetano circles away and we're back to standing.
DeGaetano lands the left hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ghita tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but DeGaetano swivels and escapes.
Nice jab there from DeGaetano.
Ghita shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has DeGaetano pinned against the cage. DeGaetano gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Ghita shoots for a takedown but DeGaetano saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
No luck for Ghita with that takedown attempt.
DeGaetano thuds his right hand into Ghita's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Ghita clinches up with DeGaetano and pushes him back against the cage.
Digger DeGaetano has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bogdan Ghita is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ghita is looking for a takedown up against the cage. DeGaetano gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

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 Bogdan Ghita.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ghita, 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 30:29
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bogdan Ghita!