PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Donato Russo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lance Kilkenny (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Russo comes to the cage accompanied by 2pac - Ballad Of A Dead Soulja. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Russo
vs
Kilkenny

172 cm
32
154 lbs
27 - 22 - 1

172 cm
29
156 lbs
20 - 8 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent MT
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
World class MT
Fast

Mango Nutrition (90% Laundry)
Black Hand Fight Gear & Laundry

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 27 - 22 - 1, fighting out of New York, Donato Russo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 8 - 1, fighting out of New York, Lance Kilkenny!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Bruno Lombardi and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kilkenny clinches with his opponent.
Kilkenny tries a knee to the head but Russo blocks it.

Russo turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Russo manages to end up in side control.
Russo working the ground and pound.
Russo in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Russo throws an elbow but Kilkenny slips to the side and avoids it well.
Russo throwing strikes but Kilkenny manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
Russo is trying to improve his position.
Russo regains half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Russo is trying is best to control the position here.
It looks like Kilkenny is going to stand back up.
Russo is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Russo is working hard here to advance position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Russo wants to get back to his feet.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Kilkenny gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Kilkenny breaks the clinch.

Kilkenny has closed the distance and engaged Russo in a clinch.
Kilkenny is pressed up against the cage. Russo has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Kilkenny down to the mat. Kilkenny avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Russo walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

Kilkenny forces Russo back against the cage and clinches.
Russo tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Kilkenny looking to throw knees to the head but Russo is blocking nicely.
Russo wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Kilkenny working Russo over with knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Russo on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Russo has Kilkenny pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Russo pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Kilkenny tumbling to the mat - Russo dives into Kilkenny's guard.
Kilkenny really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Russo. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Russo missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kilkenny utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Russo is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Kilkenny preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Russo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Russo is looking to work some ground and pound but Kilkenny has wrist control.
Kilkenny keeping moving, preventing Russo from controlling successfully.
Russo postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Russo throwing strikes but missing.
Russo 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.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kilkenny preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Donato Russo dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Kilkenny darts in and clinches Russo up against the cage.
Kilkenny wants to break the clinch but can't.
Russo goes for a takedown attempt but Kilkenny pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Russo tries to keep at a distance but Kilkenny has taken the fight into the clinch.
Russo tries to stall but Kilkenny uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Kilkenny is defending well against a takedown attempt.

Kilkenny breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Kilkenny jabs at Russo's body.
Russo fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Donato Russo. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Kilkenny rushes Russo and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kilkenny pushes off an throws an elbow but Russo leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Russo keeps control of Kilkenny as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Kilkenny lands a good knee to the midsection. Russo won't want to take too many of those.
Russo blocks an elbow strike.
Russo keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Kilkenny's efforts to push away.
Kilkenny is trying to break free.
Nice elbow from Kilkenny.

It looks like Donato Russo has been cut.
Kilkenny throws a knee to the head but misses.

Kilkenny manages to break the clinch.
Nice sprawl there from Kilkenny as Russo shoots in.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Kilkenny is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Russo is defending well for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kilkenny missing with knees to the body.
Kilkenny prevents Russo from breaking the clinch.
Kilkenny is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Kilkenny with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Kilkenny misses with a knee strike.
Russo jumps guard but Kilkenny stands there with Russo around his waist. Russo gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Russo is trying to pull guard but Kilkenny has him pressed against the cage.
Kilkenny is trying to force a seperation but Russo has the dominant position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Russo misses with some punches.

Kilkenny pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Lance Kilkenny is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Kilkenny gets caught napping as Russo dives in and scores a takedown. Kilkenny manages to retain guard.
Russo working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Kilkenny is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Russo is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Russo loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Kilkenny wants to get back to his feet but Russo is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Russo loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Kilkenny can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Russo controls the pace.
Russo'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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Russo throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Donato Russo overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Russo throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kilkenny works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Russo lands a couple of digs.
Russo wants to control from the top but Kilkenny keeps moving.
Kilkenny has momentary wrist control but Russo slips an elbow through the middle.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Russo loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Russo stays in close to Kilkenny's body and controls the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Lance Kilkenny will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Donato Russo's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Kilkenny keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Russo.

Kilkenny moves into range and clinches up with Russo.
Kilkenny lands an elbow that stopped Russo in his tracks for a moment.
Russo prevents Kilkenny from breaking the clinch.
Kilkenny creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Russo jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Kilkenny walks away with a smile on his face. Russo gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Kilkenny darts in and clinches Russo up against the cage.
Russo takes a knee to the side of the body.
Kilkenny tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Kilkenny lands a good knee to the midsection. Russo won't want to take too many of those.
Kilkenny working Russo over with knees to the body.
Russo blocks an elbow strike from Kilkenny.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Russo blocks the elbow strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kilkenny is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Russo is defending well for now.
Kilkenny taking a breather.
Kilkenny is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Russo is defending well for now.
Knees to the body from Kilkenny.
Russo has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Kilkenny missing with knees to the body.
Kilkenny tries to land a knee to the head but Russo blocks with his arms.
Russo fails to pull the fight into his guard.
The referee calls for Russo to work.
Russo is trying to pull guard but Kilkenny has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Donato Russo. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Russo gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Kilkenny avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Russo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Russo thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kilkenny's head.
Russo is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Russo lands strikes from half guard.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Russo not landing any meaningful shots this time.

Russo is looking for a kimura here.
Russo not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Russo throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Russo throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Russo winds up and cracks Kilkenny with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Russo throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Kilkenny is looking to escape.
Kilkenny keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Russo stops Kilkenny from getting back to his feet.
Russo working Kilkenny over with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Russo looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Kilkenny with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Russo seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Kilkenny blocking the ground and pound attempt from Russo.
Russo is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Russo landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

Kilkenny is rocked!

Russo is working for a submission here. He's got hold of the far side arm and he's looking for a kimura. He's cranking on the arm and he's got it! Kilkenny is tapping out! Ouch, that looked like it hurt!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Donato Russo!
In his post fight interview, Donato Russo gave a big smile as he said 'I want to thank everyone at Don Frye's Fight Club for letting me train with you guys, thank you.'.