PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Doko Dokov (ranked 855 p4p, 2032 weight class) and Luigi Bonifacio (ranked 123 p4p, 260 weight class). Bonifacio has chosen Karate - Kennedy as his entrance music. Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Dokov
vs
Bonifacio

178 cm
35
170
20 - 32 - 0

184 cm
38
163
14 - 17 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Shadow Realm Apparel

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 20 - 32 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Doko Dokov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Luigi Bonifacio !
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Saam Ante and Paulsen Ambrosius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Dokov closes the distance and pushes Bonifacio back into the cage.
Dokov taking a breather.
Nice body punch from Bonifacio .
Dokov blocks an uppercut.
Bonifacio lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Dokov drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Bonifacio misses with a hook to the ribs.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bonifacio scores with a hook to the body.
Dokov just leaning against Bonifacio , taking a breather.
Bonifacio scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Dokov jumps guard but Bonifacio stands there with Dokov around his waist. Dokov gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dokov blocking some punches.
Dokov blocks a body shot from Bonifacio .
Bonifacio tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Bonifacio is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Bonifacio slows down the pace here.
Dokov blocks a body shot from Bonifacio .
Dokov pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Bonifacio swings wildly with an uppercut but Dokov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bonifacio can't find room to land a body shot as Dokov controls the action.
Bonifacio tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Dokov's elbow.
Bonifacio has a couple of punches blocked by Dokov.
Bonifacio tries to throw a body punch but Dokov avoids it by throwing Bonifacio back against the cage.
Dokov is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Bonifacio misses with the head strike.
Bonifacio misses with a body punch.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Bonifacio creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Bonifacio misses with a hook to the ribs.
Dokov misses with a punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bonifacio tries a body shot but Dokov blocks it.
Bonifacio misses with a hook to the ribs.

Dokov manages to pull guard.
Bonifacio preventing the sweep.
Dokov throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

Dokov has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Bonifacio off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Bonifacio tests Dokov's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Dokov fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Doko Dokov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Dokov closes the distance and clinches.
Bonifacio misses with a hook to the ribs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bonifacio swings wildly with an uppercut but Dokov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Dokov throws a head punch that misses.
Bonifacio tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Bonifacio .
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Bonifacio creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Bonifacio blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Dokov.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Dokov pushes Bonifacio back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Bonifacio blocks an uppercut.
Dokov throws a knee to the head but misses.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Luigi Bonifacio dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Dokov tries to close the distance and clinch but Bonifacio swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Dokov gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
A head punch on the inside from Bonifacio fails to land.
Bonifacio tries a body shot but Dokov blocks it.

Dokov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Dokov walks into a jab.
Dokov looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Dokov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Bonifacio connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dokov wants to clinch up but Bonifacio keeps it at a distance.
Bonifacio keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Dokov tries to clinch up but Bonifacio circles away and keeps his distance.
Doko Dokov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bonifacio clobbers Dokov with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Bonifacio circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bonifacio lands with an overhand left.
Bonifacio misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Dokov.

Bonifacio drives through and clinches with Dokov against the cage.

Dokov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Dokov closes the distance and clinches.

Dokov breaks the clinch.
Luigi Bonifacio seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dokov tries to close the distance and clinch but Bonifacio swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
A nice side step and Bonifacio releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Dokov tries to clinch up but Bonifacio circles away and keeps his distance.
Bonifacio punishes Dokov's body with a nice straight punch.
Bonifacio has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Horrible takedown attempt by Dokov or perhaps it was just good defense by Bonifacio , which made it look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Doko Dokov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A combination from Dokov does no damage.
Bonifacio misses with an uppercut.
Bonifacio lands a jab to Dokov's midsection.
A big right from Bonifacio misses.
Dokov tries to clinch there but Bonifacio circles away.
Dokov looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Bonifacio is fending him off so far but Dokov persists. Nope, Bonifacio circles away and we're back to standing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dokov is looking to clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Dokov tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Bonifacio paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Bonifacio lands a nice looking body shot.

Bonifacio clinches up with Dokov and pushes him back against the cage.
Bonifacio tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Dokov's elbow.
Dokov swings away with an uppercut that misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Dokov.
Dokov blocks an uppercut.
Bonifacio lands a hook that snaps the head of Dokov backwards.
Dokov stalling against the cage.
Bonifacio blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Luigi Bonifacio seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Bonifacio lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dokov blocks an uppercut.
Bonifacio misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Bonifacio tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Bonifacio is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Bonifacio lands with a left to the head.
Bonifacio lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Bonifacio blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Bonifacio struggles to land a body shot inside as Dokov controls his hands.
Dokov tries to circle away but Bonifacio has him pinned against the cage.
Bonifacio misses with a body punch.
Bonifacio has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Dokov seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Bonifacio can turn it around.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dokov misses with the head strike.
Dokov stalling the fight.

Dokov breaks the clinch.
Bonifacio misses with a body shot.
Bonifacio slaps away a takedown attempt from Dokov, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Nice cross by Bonifacio .
Bonifacio 's corner calls for a 1-2. Bonifacio obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Dokov tries to land a front kick but Bonifacio steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Bonifacio scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Dokov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nice takedown defense from Bonifacio . No joy for Dokov on that attempt.
Donk. Bonifacio catches Dokov right on the button with a cross.
Dokov looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

Bonifacio has closed the distance and engaged Dokov in a clinch.
Bonifacio blocking some punches.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Luigi Bonifacio showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Bonifacio throws a body shot but no joy.

Dokov pushes Bonifacio up against the cage in a clinch.
Nice body punch from Bonifacio - that landed with a thud.
Bonifacio tries a body shot but Dokov blocks it.
Bonifacio tries to throw a body punch but Dokov avoids it by throwing Bonifacio back against the cage.
Bonifacio just leaning against Dokov, taking a breather.
A short uppercut from Dokov.
Dokov lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Bonifacio backwards.
Dokov has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Bonifacio after a bit of a struggle.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dokov lands a left hand.
Bonifacio misses with the head strike.
Bonifacio has a couple of punches blocked by Dokov.
Bonifacio doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bonifacio blocks an elbow strike.
Bonifacio misses with a punch to the body.
A head punch on the inside from Bonifacio fails to land.

Dokov manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Bonifacio stands and steps away. Dokov gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Dokov throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Bonifacio 's waist but Bonifacio gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Dokov off to one side.
Bonifacio throws a sloppy body shot

and Dokov counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Dokov.
Bonifacio tries to work over Dokov's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Bonifacio throws a punch but it's blocked by Dokov.
Bonifacio misses with the head strike.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Dokov throws a head punch that misses.
Luigi Bonifacio is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dokov misses with the head strike.
Dokov lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
A nice left hand lands by Dokov.
Bonifacio dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Dokov working aggressively here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dokov is leaning against Bonifacio and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.

Dokov breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Bonifacio misses the shot to the body.

Dokov shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Bonifacio manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Dokov would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Doko Dokov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dokov postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Bonifacio is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Dokov wants to stand but Bonifacio is controlling his posture from full guard.

Dokov stands up from Bonifacio 's guard - Dokov perhaps looking for a knockout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dokov steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Bonifacio .
Bonifacio swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Dokov counters with a stiff right hand.

Dokov gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
A head punch on the inside from Dokov fails to land.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Dokov misses with a punch on the inside.

And that's the end of the fight!
Doko Dokov showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Bonifacio has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Aafke Stam scores the fight 28:29
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 28:29
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Luigi Bonifacio !
After the fight, Luigi Bonifacio was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.