PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Manny Skelton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Juan Diadante (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Skelton comes to the cage accompanied by Example - Midnight Run. This should be fireworks!

Skelton
vs
Diadante

176 cm
26
154 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

170 cm
25
166 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Determined

CEC Nutrition Q159 (*$75*)
Malicestar

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Manny Skelton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Juan Diadante!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, Winston Howard and Steve Erwin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Diadante tries to sprawl but Skelton drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Skelton scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Skelton throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Diadante to regain full guard.
Skelton throwing strikes from guard but Diadante blocks nicely.
Skelton postures up.
Diadante looking to hit a scissor sweep but Skelton is one step ahead there.
Skelton is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Skelton trying to control the position from guard on top but Diadante is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Skelton lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Skelton lands a couple of decent looking shots.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Skelton engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Diadante is controlling Skelton's posture.
Skelton sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Diadante misses with a wild body shot.
Diadante throws a sloppy head kick and Skelton moves out of range easily.

Skelton manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Diadante on his heels. He'll look to pass Diadante's guard now, I'm sure.
Diadante controls Skelton momentarily but Skelton frees himself.
Skelton looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Skelton postures up in Diadante's guard and throws a big left but Diadante blocks it.
Diadante is trying to keep Skelton in close.
Diadante keeping moving, preventing Skelton from controlling successfully.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Diadante tries to clinch up.
Diadante throws a nice head kick!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Skelton takes a swing at Diadante's ribcage but misses.

Skelton gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Diadante keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Skelton's efforts to push away.
Diadante throws a knee to the head but misses.

Skelton breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Diadante misses with a body kick.
Diadante is looking to land body kicks.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Skelton swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Diadante looks to score with a jab to the body but Skelton is just out of range.
Diadante pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Skelton closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Diadante is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Skelton cracks Diadante with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Skelton working the ground and pound from side control.
Skelton scores with a couple of short elbows.
Diadante on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Skelton is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Diadante has escaped the position, nice work there.
Skelton slows the pace down.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Diadante wants to control but Skelton postures up.
Skelton working the ground and pound from side control.
Diadante takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Diadante struggling a bit here.
Skelton controls the position.
Diadante takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Diadante is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Skelton thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Diadante keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Skelton seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Skelton working the head and body with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Skelton drops an elbow to the side of Diadante's head.
Skelton wants to take a breather but Diadante is having none of it.
Skelton landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Skelton controlling the action here.

Skelton is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Diadante doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Skelton.
Diadante keeping hold of Skelton's head, controlling as best he can.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Skelton looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Skelton slips a nice elbow through Diadante's hands, connecting with Diadante's forehead.
Diadante wants to improve his position but Skelton is controlling well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Manny Skelton dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Skelton misses with a series of wild punches.

Skelton shoots in and bounces Diadante off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Skelton sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Skelton missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Diadante pulls Skelton in to control the position.
Diadante is trying to control the position but Skelton postures up.
Skelton throws a strike but Diadante rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Skelton looking to hit a scissor sweep but Diadante is one step ahead there.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Manny Skelton wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Skelton fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Diadante sprawls well initially but Skelton persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Skelton is keen to just control but Diadante is a slippery customer.
Skelton takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Skelton trying to mount his opponent but Diadante defends it.
Diadante moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Skelton trying to control but Diadante is working from the bottom.
Skelton works over Diadante with some ground and pound from guard.
Diadante keeping moving, preventing Skelton from controlling successfully.
Skelton 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Skelton has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Diadante is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Manny Skelton.
Skelton fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Diadante uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Skelton.

Skelton looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Skelton has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Skelton is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Diadante has his hands on Skelton's head, controlling the position.
Manny Skelton overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Diadante being controlled here, momentarily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Diadante is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Manny Skelton has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Diadante lands a nice looking body kick.
Diadante thuds his shin into the meat of Skelton's side.

Skelton shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Skelton distracts Diadante with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Diadante manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Skelton tries to lock up and control but Diadante gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Skelton on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Skelton tries to get out of the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Skelton slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Skelton is trying to stand up here but Diadante is controlling him well.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Manny Skelton dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Diadante scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Diadante lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.

Skelton gets the takedown into side control.
Skelton scores with a couple of short elbows.
Skelton cracks Diadante with a big elbow.
Skelton landing strikes.
Skelton scores with punches from side control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Skelton cracks Diadante with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Skelton is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Diadante can do to turn this around?
Diadante gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Diadante tries to get to full guard but Skelton has control of the leg.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Skelton is nestled in close to Diadante, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Diadante gets full guard.
Diadante is trying to control the position but Skelton postures up.
Diadante takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Skelton working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Diadante working a defensive guard here.
Skelton is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

Skelton gets to his feet - Diadante follows without any prompting.

Skelton dives in and scores a takedown into Diadante's guard.
Skelton is working Diadante over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Diadante keeping moving, preventing Skelton from controlling successfully.
Skelton working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Skelton trying to control the position from guard on top but Diadante is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Skelton is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Diadante is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Manny Skelton is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Skelton stops Diadante from standing up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Manny Skelton wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Skelton shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Skelton winds up and cracks Diadante with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Skelton content to control rather than advance.
Skelton is nestled in close to Diadante, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Skelton throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Skelton working the head and body with strikes.
Skelton lands strikes from half guard.
Skelton is controlling the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diadante has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Skelton is working away from the top position though.
Skelton is controlling the pace.
Diadante is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Manny Skelton.
Diadante takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Diadante pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Skelton connects with a single shot there.

Diadante rushes Skelton and presses him up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Skelton breaks the clinch.
Skelton misses with a takedown attempt - Diadante sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Skelton scores with a takedown into Diadante's guard.
Diadante trying to control the position.
Skelton preventing the sweep.
Juan Diadante has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Skelton makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Skelton throws a big right hand that misses.
Skelton tries to free his leg and advance position but Diadante is retaining full guard.
Skelton working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Diadante has momentary wrist control but Skelton slips an elbow through the middle.
Skelton postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Skelton landing some decent shots from guard.
Skelton working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Diadante's head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Manny Skelton showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Skelton has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Manny Skelton!
A very excited looking Manny Skelton made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.