PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Donnie Larkin (ranked 4192 p4p, 442 weight class) and Wacco Longbardo (ranked 3366 p4p, 379 weight class). Donnie Larkin has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Larkin
vs
Longbardo

181 cm
23
188 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

183 cm
21
185 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

RESISTANCE

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Donnie Larkin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Wacco Longbardo!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Cecil Peabody and Alan Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Larkin connects with the punch.

It looks like Wacco Longbardo has been cut.
Larkin scores with the left hand. Longbardo knows he should have avoided that one.
Longbardo lands a jab.
Longbardo cracks a nice hook into Larkin's ribs.
Larkin rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Longbardo counters with a two punch combo.

Longbardo gets caught flat footed, as Larkin shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Larkin throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Larkin trying to control but Longbardo is working from the bottom.
Longbardo looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Longbardo not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Longbardo thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Larkin chips away with some ground and pound.
Longbardo wants to stand and escape but Larkin is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Larkin is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Larkin 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.
Longbardo is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Larkin sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Larkin preventing the sweep.
Larkin slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Larkin's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Larkin looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Larkin throws a looping overhand right but Longbardo ducks down to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Larkin takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Longbardo avoids the head kick by Larkin.
Donnie Larkin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Longbardo fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Larkin checks it well.
A jab from Larkin misses.
Larkin tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Longbardo was well out of range. Poor timing from Larkin.
Larkin lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Longbardo slips a straight right by Larkin.
The fighters circling - Longbardo throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Larkin drops down looking for a counter takedown but Longbardo sprawls and moves away.
Longbardo swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

Larkin rushes Longbardo and pushes him back against the ropes in a clinch.
Larkin makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Larkin lands with a right to the head.
Larkin scores with a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Longbardo is trying to break the clinch but Larkin is controlling him.
Larkin scores with a shot to the side of Longbardo's head.
Longbardo wants to get back to striking at distance but Larkin won't allow it.
Larkin drops down looking for an ankle pick but Longbardo pulls his leg out and moves away.
Larkin lands a body shot.
Larkin throws a solid leg kick but Longbardo takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Larkin.
Longbardo walks into a straight right hand from Larkin.
Larkin needs to keep his hands up - Longbardo had a free shot at his head there.
Longbardo tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Larkin was well out of range. Poor timing from Longbardo.
Jab by Larkin.
Larkin misses with a leg kick.

Larkin 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Larkin working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Longbardo's head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Larkin content to stall in guard here.
Longbardo is trying to control the position but Larkin postures up.
Larkin passes Longbardo's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Longbardo wants to get back to full guard.
Larkin is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Larkin works his foot free and advances to mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Donnie Larkin dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Wacco Longbardo's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Longbardo misses with a hook
and Larkin counters with a left and a right that stings Longbardo.
Wacco Longbardo is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Longbardo tries to keep at a distance but Larkin has taken the fight into the clinch.

Longbardo breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Larkin moves away from the strike by Longbardo.
Some wild striking there from Longbardo.
Larkin swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Longbardo fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Longbardo avoids the body shot from Larkin.
Longbardo throws a head kick that misses.
Larkin throwing a counter right hand but Longbardo manages to avoid it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Larkin misses with a looping right.
Donnie Larkin is winning the standup battle so far.
Longbardo misses with a body shot.
Larkin misses with a looping right.
Larkin keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Larkin scores with a jab. Longbardo acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Larkin throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.

Larkin shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Larkin showed some decent athleticism there.
Longbardo tries to kick Larkin off in order to stand up. Larkin Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Larkin working the ground and pound from side control.
Larkin working away.
Longbardo is trying to get back to his feet.
Larkin scores with punches from side control.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Larkin wants to lay and pray for a moment but Longbardo keeps working.
Longbardo wants to get back to his feet but Larkin drags him back down.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Longbardo is not content to let Larkin control the position.
Longbardo really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Larkin. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Larkin controls the position from side control.
Longbardo is pushing Larkin's head away, looking to escape. Larkin manages to hold on to the position though.
Larkin lands a decent elbow from side control.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Larkin controls the position from side control.
Longbardo tries to escape but Larkin is in control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Larkin wants to control but Longbardo is keeping him busy.
Longbardo takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Larkin happy to just control the position for now.

Larkin thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Longbardo manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Larkin works his way to full guard. Good work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Longbardo stopping the sweep attempt from Larkin.
Longbardo wants to control from the top but Larkin keeps moving.
Longbardo must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Longbardo trying to stand up but can't free himself from Larkin's guard.
Longbardo is fighting to break Larkin's control of his arms but Larkin is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

Larkin has managed to work for a loose triangle. I think Longbardo should be able to defend this one pretty easily though. Oh, Larkin has tightened it up now! Longbardo should have reacted faster there - he's in big trouble and yes, he's tapped out! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:44 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Donnie Larkin!