PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Sylvester Underwood (ranked 6477 p4p, 0 weight class) and Don Donaldson (ranked 6476 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.

Underwood
vs
Donaldson

198 cm
18
177 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

182 cm
18
175 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sylvester Underwood!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Don Donaldson!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Illya Tyunina and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Underwood takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Underwood really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Underwood shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Donaldson defends it nicely.
Donaldson throws a sloppy head kick

and Underwood counters by clinching up.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Donaldson.

Underwood successfully pulls guard.
Donaldson wanted to stand there but Underwood had control of the position.
Donaldson really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Underwood. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Underwood pulls Donaldson in close to prevent any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Underwood working for a triangle but Donaldson defends it easily.
Underwood has Donaldson pulled in close to control his posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Underwood bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Donaldson's guard.

Underwood will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Underwood prevents Donaldson from getting back to his feet.
Underwood is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Underwood throws a big elbow that misses.
Underwood not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Underwood loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Underwood slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Underwood chips away with some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Donaldson being controlled here, momentarily.
Underwood working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Underwood with a nice head shot there.
Underwood landing with the ground and pound.
Underwood lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Underwood works over Donaldson with some ground and pound from guard.

Underwood stands and steps away. Donaldson gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Donaldson fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Underwood has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Underwood avoids the body shot from Donaldson.
Donaldson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Underwood darts in looking for a takedown but Donaldson gets double underhooks and turns Underwood into the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Underwood will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sylvester Underwood. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Underwood.
Donaldson jabs at Underwood's body.
Donaldson lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Underwood circles away quickly and effectively.
Donaldson throws a head kick that half lands.

It looks like Sylvester Underwood has been cut.

Underwood shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Donaldson napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Underwood working the ground and pound.
Underwood works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Donaldson wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Donaldson bucks up and tries to throw Underwood off but instead Underwood has got his back!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Underwood controls the action.
Underwood throwing damaging strikes from the back! Donaldson could be in trouble here!
Underwood is landing with strikes. Donaldson can't take much more of this.
Donaldson is trying to remain composed but Underwood is hammering down strikes to the side of his head.
Donaldson trying to get back to his feet but Underwood is in full control for now.
Underwood punches Donaldson on the ear.

Donaldson is trying to get back to his feet. He's worked up on to his knees and now he's on his feet with his head on the canvas, trying to shake Underwood off. It looks like it's working - Underwood slides off, much to his dismay, and we're back to standing! Donaldson displaying calm under pressure there.

Underwood scores with a takedown into Donaldson's guard.
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 Sylvester Underwood will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Sylvester Underwood's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

A nice leg kick lands there from Donaldson.
Donaldson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Underwood pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Donaldson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Underwood fails with the takedown.
Nice takedown defense from Donaldson. No joy for Underwood on that attempt.
Donaldson scores with a decent looking hook.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Underwood blocks a head kick by Donaldson.
Underwood is looking to counter the offense by Donaldson and move into the clinch.
Donaldson throws a right and a left that Underwood avoids nicely.
Underwood is looking to counter punch.

Donaldson manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Underwood on his heels. He'll look to pass Underwood's guard now, I'm sure.

Underwood is rocked!

Underwood is looking for a triangle but Donaldson pushes his legs off easily.
Oh Underwood is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Donaldson wants to stand but Underwood has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Donaldson is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Donaldson must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Underwood pulls Donaldson in close to prevent any damage.
Underwood has a closed guard, preventing Donaldson from standing up.
Underwood seems to have got his legs back now.

Underwood is looking for a triangle but Donaldson pushes his legs off easily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Donaldson is fighting to break Underwood's control of his arms but Underwood is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Donaldson trying to stand up but can't free himself from Underwood's guard.
Underwood throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Underwood is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Underwood is on top in guard.

Underwood distracts Donaldson with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Underwood engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Donaldson wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Underwood manages to pass to side control.
Underwood prevents Donaldson from standing back up.
Nice strikes from Underwood there.
Underwood with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Underwood working Donaldson over with strikes.
Underwood seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Donaldson is trying to stand back up but Underwood is controlling him
Underwood scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Underwood lands with a punch from half guard.
Underwood lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Underwood is controlling the pace.
Underwood 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.
Underwood working over Donaldson with some ground and pound. Donaldson looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Sylvester Underwood overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Underwood is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Underwood lands a nice short elbow.
Donaldson has hold of Underwood's hands but Underwood slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Underwood controlling the pace.
Donaldson scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Underwood manages to mount him!
Underwood sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Underwood seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Donaldson for as long as he can get away with.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sylvester Underwood dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Sylvester Underwood's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! And we move into the final round!

Underwood slips a jab and a cross from Donaldson.

Underwood feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Underwood lands a couple of elbows.
Underwood controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Underwood scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Underwood is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Underwood prevents Donaldson from getting back to his feet.
Underwood works over Donaldson with some ground and pound from guard.
Underwood lands a couple of elbows.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Donaldson wants to stand but Underwood is controlling the position.
Underwood working some strikes from top position.
Underwood sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Underwood is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Donaldson can do to turn this around?
Underwood connects with a couple of short punches.
Donaldson is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Underwood dives into side control.
Underwood is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Donaldson's shoulder. That is not cool.
Donaldson wants to get back to his feet but Underwood drags him back down.
Underwood scores with a couple of short elbows.
Underwood cracks Donaldson with a big right hand but Donaldson just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Underwood is chipping away with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Underwood is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Donaldson will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Underwood working the head with strikes.
Underwood lands some shots froms side control.
Donaldson is letting Underwood control him for a moment.
Donaldson tries to escape but Underwood is in control.
Donaldson takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Underwood landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Underwood working the ground and pound.
Underwood moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Donaldson is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Underwood asserts his dominance and retains side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Underwood working the ground and pound from side control.
Donaldson taking a bit of punishment here - Underwood scoring with strikes.

Underwood decides to stand back up. Underwood steps back and let's Donaldson get back to his feet.
A combination from Donaldson does no damage.
Donaldson avoids the head kick by Underwood.
Donaldson tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.

Underwood gets a takedown into half guard.
Underwood working Donaldson over with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Underwood stands up from half guard.
Donaldson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Donaldson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
No luck for Underwood with that takedown attempt.
Underwood fails to land the takedown.

Donaldson shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Underwood manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Donaldson wants to stand but Underwood is controlling his posture from full guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Underwood looking for a guillotine here but Donaldson defends easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sylvester Underwood showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Underwood, 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sylvester Underwood!