PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Rory Daugherty (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Robbert Whitakker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Robbert Whitakker has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Daugherty
vs
Whitakker

204 cm
23
194 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

182 cm
25
184 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rory Daugherty!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Robbert Whitakker!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Mauricio Rocha and Leandro Rodrigues.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Daugherty is looking to clinch.
Whitakker throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Daugherty sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Whitakker jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Daugherty tries to land a front kick but Whitakker steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

Daugherty rushes Whitakker and presses him up against the cage.
Whitakker wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Daugherty has him pressed against the cage.

Whitakker turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Whitakker staying calm.
Whitakker wants to control but Daugherty is keeping him busy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whitakker is trying to move to mount but Daugherty reverses beautifully and ends up in Whitakker's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Daugherty wants to stand but Whitakker has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Daugherty postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Daugherty postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Whitakker is controlling Daugherty's posture.
Daugherty postures up and lands a big shot to Whitakker's brow.

Whitakker has his feet on Daugherty's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Daugherty showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Whitakker.
Daugherty really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitakker fails to land with a series of punches.
Good exchange - Whitakker coming out on top.

It looks like Rory Daugherty has been cut.
Whitakker misses with a double jab.
Daugherty avoids a punch combination nicely.
Whitakker jabs at Daugherty's body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Whitakker fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Whitakker throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Daugherty has a takedown stuffed.
Whitakker throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
letting Daugherty counter with a right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitakker lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Daugherty circles away quickly and effectively.
As Whitakker tries to get set, Daugherty tries to push him back and clinch up but Whitakker manages to avoid the attempt.

Daugherty closes the distance and clinches.

Daugherty manages to break the clinch.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Whitakker.
Whitakker throws a series of punches but Daugherty moves out of range.
Whitakker fails in his attempt to clinch.
Daugherty is looking to clinch.

Daugherty clinches with his opponent.

Daugherty pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Daugherty doesn't manage to clinch there - Whitakker circles away.
A little jabbing left from Whitakker on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Whitakker rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Daugherty counters with a left to the body.
Whitakker moves in looking to clinch but Daugherty pushes him off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Whitakker tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Daugherty just stands there and leans against the cage.
Whitakker working hard to break the clinch.
Whitakker looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Whitakker has had enough of the clinch but Daugherty keeps him there for the moment.
Daugherty misses with a punch on the inside.

Whitakker breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Whitakker shoots in but no luck this time.
Rory Daugherty has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Robbert Whitakker.
Some bone on bone action there as Whitakker checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

Whitakker closes the distance and clinches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Whitakker tries to break the clinch but Daugherty is controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Robbert Whitakker will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Rory Daugherty's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Whitakker shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Daugherty defends it nicely.
Daugherty tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Whitakker manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Whitakker tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Daugherty paws at him with a jab and circles away.
A nice combination there by Whitakker.

Daugherty moves into the clinch.
Daugherty has Whitakker pressed against the cage, preventing Whitakker from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Whitakker breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whitakker tries to clinch but Daugherty moves out of range.
Daugherty is looking to counter the offense by Whitakker and move into the clinch.
Daugherty misses with a takedown attempt - Whitakker sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Whitakker with the counter takedown but Daugherty avoids it easily.
Whitakker swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Daugherty gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Daugherty escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Whitakker is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Whitakker misses with a combination

and Daugherty counters by clinching up.
Daugherty leaning his opponent against the cage.
Daugherty keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Whitakker's efforts to push away.

Whitakker's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitakker throws a series of punches but Daugherty avoids them all with ease.
A head kick by Whitakker misses

and Daugherty counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Daugherty tries to break free but Whitakker pushes him back against the cage.
Whitakker tries to pull guard but Daugherty holds him up against the cage and eventually Whitakker drops back down to his feet.
Daugherty lands with a left to the head.
Daugherty lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Daugherty swings wildly with an uppercut but Whitakker uses good head movement to avoid it.
Whitakker fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Rory Daugherty has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Robbert Whitakker.
Whitakker prevents a body shot from Daugherty.
Daugherty throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Whitakkers head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Daugherty tries a knee to the head but Whitakker blocks it.
Daugherty wants to break the clinch but can't.
Whitakker has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Rory Daugherty has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Daugherty throws a knee to the head but misses.
Daugherty landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Whitakker is trying to push Daugherty away but Daugherty has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Daugherty lands a nice uppercut.

Whitakker breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Daugherty avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Whitakker will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Daugherty keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Daugherty jabs Whitakker to the body, keeping him at a distance.

Whitakker clinches up against the cage.

Whitakker pulls Daugherty into guard.
Daugherty throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Daugherty throws an elbow that misses. Whitakker uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Daugherty's guard. Nice move by Whitakker!

Daugherty will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Whitakker sitting in guard here, content to control.
Daugherty has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Whitakker stops Daugherty from standing up.
Daugherty looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rory Daugherty dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Rory Daugherty's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Whitakker misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Whitakker misses with the combination.
Daugherty throws a quick counter head kick but Whitakker was just out of range.
Daugherty slaps away a takedown attempt from Whitakker, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Robbert Whitakker seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Whitakker shoots in looking for a takedown. Daugherty tries to sprawl out of it but Whitakker keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Daugherty manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Daugherty gets tackled into the cage by Whitakker. Whitakker maintains the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A short uppercut from Daugherty.
Daugherty swings wildly with an uppercut but Whitakker uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Daugherty wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Whitakker has him pressed against the cage.
Whitakker tries to pull guard but Daugherty forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Rory Daugherty has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Robbert Whitakker.
Whitakker wants to break the clinch but can't.
Whitakker is trying to drag Daugherty to the mat but Daugherty just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Daugherty pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Daugherty pushes Whitakker up against the cage in a clinch.

Whitakker manages to break the clinch.
Whitakker tries to bum rush Daugherty with a series of wild strikes but Daugherty uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Whitakker misses the jab.
Whitakker takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Daugherty clinches with his opponent.
Whitakker working hard to break the clinch.
Daugherty tries to pull guard but Whitakker holds him up against the cage and eventually Daugherty drops back down to his feet.

Whitakker breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Whitakker misses with a low kick.

Daugherty gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Daugherty fails to pull guard.

Whitakker breaks the clinch.
Whitakker misses with a double jab
and Daugherty counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Whitakker swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Daugherty instigates a clinch.
Daugherty makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Daugherty scores with a shoulder strike.
Whitakker wants to break the clinch but can't.
Daugherty jumps guard but Whitakker turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Daugherty makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Daugherty trying to land knees to the body.
Whitakker is looking to break free of the clinch but Daugherty has double underhooks.

Whitakker manages to break the clinch.
Daugherty attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Whitakker misses with a combination

and Daugherty counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Daugherty.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitakker blocking some punches.

Daugherty breaks the clinch.
Whitakker throws a sloppy head kick and Daugherty moves out of range easily.
Daugherty is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Whitakker.
Whitakker tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Whitakker clinches up with Daugherty and pushes him back against the cage.

Whitakker's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Whitakker misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
As Whitakker backs away, Daugherty returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Whitakker looks to land a combination. Daugherty sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Robbert Whitakker seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Daugherty chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Whitakker misses with an uppercut.
Daugherty throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Whitakker is looking for the big counter here.

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 Rory Daugherty.
I think Daugherty has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:28
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 29:28
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rory Daugherty!