PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jan Sobieski (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Virgil Donati (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sobieski comes to the cage accompanied by Kto Cię Obroni Polsko. Donati has chosen Threshold - Phenomenon as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Sobieski
vs
Donati

188 cm
25
220 lbs
18 - 5 - 0

190 cm
24
217 lbs
9 - 3 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent MT
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

$10
Brute

Mango Nutrition (90% Laundry)
QFClothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jan Sobieski!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Virgil Donati!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Matti Vanhoillinen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sobieski throws a sloppy head kick and Donati moves out of range easily.
Donati misses with a looping left.
Donati throws an overhand right that lands on Sobieski's shoulder, as Sobieski tries to avoid the shot.
Donati misses with a few strikes there.
That kick from Sobieski tenderised Donati's leg. Donati is trying to keep his angry face on.

Donati has Sobieski up against the cage in a clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Sobieski.
Donati misses with a punch to the body.
Sobieski's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Sobieski wants a takedown but no success here.
Come on Donati - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sobieski fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Donati content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Sobieski fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Donati lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Donati has a couple of punches blocked by Sobieski.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Sobieski tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Donati avoids it.
Sobieski leaning his opponent against the cage.
A short right from Sobieski.
Donati has a couple of punches blocked by Sobieski.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sobieski tries to pull guard but Donati holds him up against the cage and eventually Sobieski drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jan Sobieski. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Donati stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sobieski.
Donati lands a left hand that snaps the head of Sobieski backwards.
Donati on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Donati throws a head punch that misses.
Donati stalls.
Donati misses with a punch on the inside.
Donati working aggressively here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sobieski missing with knees to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Donati.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donati tries a body shot but Sobieski blocks it.
Donati lands a shoulder strike.
Donati lands with a left to the head.
Sobieski blocking some punches.
Sobieski lands a shot to the body.
Donati lands a hook that snaps the head of Sobieski backwards.
Sobieski using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Donati has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Donati.
Donati misses with some punches.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Donati blocks an uppercut.
Donati swings wildly with an uppercut but Sobieski uses good head movement to avoid it.
Donati stalling in the clinch.
Donati has a couple of punches blocked by Sobieski.
Sobieski trying to stall but Donati improves his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sobieski pulls guard successfully.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Donati is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Sobieski throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Donati has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Sobieski is proving hard to escape from.
Sobieski trying to keep a closed guard but Donati is proving a slippery customer.
Sobieski being controlled here, momentarily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Donati preventing the sweep.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Donati wants to control from the top but Sobieski keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Virgil Donati dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Donati misses with a looping left.
Donati scores with a nice right hand.
Donati misses with a hook.
Sobieski misses with a hook.
Sobieski misses with a head kick.
Donati throws a looping overhand right but Sobieski ducks down to avoid it.
Horrible takedown by Sobieski or perhaps it was just good defense by Donati which made him look bad.
Sobieski tries to clinch there but Donati circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sobieski has closed the distance and engaged Donati in a clinch.
Sobieski trying to control the position but instead, Donati has worked for underhooks and has pushed Sobieski into the cage.
Sobieski swings wildly with an uppercut but Donati uses good head movement to avoid it.
Donati lands with a right to the head.
Sobieski content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Donati misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sobieski blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Sobieski blocks an uppercut.
Sobieski tries to pull guard but Donati forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Sobieski misses with a punch to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sobieski tries to stall but Donati uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Donati pushes Sobieski back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Sobieski swings wildly with an uppercut but Donati uses good head movement to avoid it.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Donati misses with a shot to the kidneys.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Sobieski takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Donati prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jan Sobieski. That's going to take a lot out of him.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sobieski with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sobieski.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sobieski blocking some punches.
Sobieski blocking some punches.
Virgil Donati seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Sobieski throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Donati goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sobieski swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Donati working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Donati gets through Sobieski's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Sobieski trying to land knees to the body.
Donati tries a body shot but Sobieski blocks it.
Donati scores with a nice hook to the head.
Donati misses with a punch on the inside.

Sobieski pulls guard effortlessly.
Donati wants to stand but Sobieski is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sobieski has his foot on Donati's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Donati works his way back into a safe position though.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sobieski looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Sobieski not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Sobieski keeping moving, preventing Donati from controlling successfully.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Sobieski working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Donati doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Donati manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Donati trying to control the position from guard on top but Sobieski is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Virgil Donati was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Good leg kick by Sobieski there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Virgil Donati showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Sobieski shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Sobieski lands the left hand.
Donati fails with an attempt to clinch.
Sobieski throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Sobieski tries to land a leg kick but Donati saw it coming and moves away.
Donati swings for the body but Sobieski moves out of range.
Sobieski blocks a jab.
Sobieski misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Sobieski is looking to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sobieski scores with a leg kick.
Sobieski cracks the inside of Donati's front leg.
A jab from Donati misses.
Sobieski shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Donati pinned against the cage. Donati gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Sobieski moves into range and clinches up with Donati.
Sobieski blocking some punches.
Sobieski swings wildly with an uppercut but Donati uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sobieski with an attempt at a knee that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Donati tries to work over Sobieski's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Sobieski is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Donati is defending well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jan Sobieski. That's going to take a lot out of him.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sobieski.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Donati.
Sobieski scores with a shoulder strike.
Donati lands a body punch in the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

Sobieski successfully pulls guard.
Donati trying to control but Sobieski is working from the bottom.
Donati controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Donati trying to control but Sobieski is working from the bottom.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Virgil Donati hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Donati circles away from the clinch attempt.
Sobieski will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Sobieski slips a straight right by Donati.
Good exchange - Sobieski coming out on top.
Sobieski takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.

Sobieski instigates a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Donati fails to land.
Sobieski tries to pull guard but Donati forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Sobieski is trying to pull guard but Donati has him pressed against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sobieski letting Donati take a breather here.
Sobieski throws a knee to the head but misses.
Donati taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Sobieski can't find room to land a body shot as Donati controls the action.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sobieski.
Sobieski is looking for a takedown.
Donati swings wildly with an uppercut but Sobieski uses good head movement to avoid it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sobieski tries to throw a body punch but Donati avoids it by throwing Sobieski back against the cage.
Donati managing to block the knees to the body from Sobieski.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but Jan Sobieski did the better work so I'd imagine he'll take it.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Sobieski does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Jan Sobieski is winning the standup battle so far.
Nice body kick from Sobieski.
Donati avoids the head kick by Sobieski.
Donati stuffs the takedown.
Sobieski misses with a low kick.
Donati avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Donati dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Sobieski scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Donati moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big left from Donati misses.
Jan Sobieski seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sobieski scores with a punch to the head.
Sobieski looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Donati moves out of range of the leg kick from Sobieski.
Sobieski throws a half hearted mid kick.
A slow jab from Donati misses its intended target.
Donati misses with a straight left.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Donati misses with a hook.
Sobieski shoots in looking for a takedown. Donati tries to sprawl out of it but Sobieski keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Donati manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jan Sobieski. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sobieski ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Sobieski tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Donati swivels and escapes.
Sobieski tries to score with a low kick but Donati moves his leg out of the way.

Sobieski gets the takedown into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sobieski is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Donati is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Sobieski throwing strikes but Donati manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!

Donati has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Sobieski throws a leg kick but Donati sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Donati avoids the head kick by Sobieski.
Sobieski uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Donati.
Donati keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Donati throws an overhand right that lands on Sobieski's shoulder, as Sobieski tries to avoid the shot.
No luck for Sobieski with that takedown attempt.
Sobieski uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Donati.
Sobieski throws a hook but Donati blocks it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sobieski tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Donati counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Donati lands a body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close fourth round but Virgil Donati will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Sobieski fails in his attempt to clinch.
Sobieski fails with the takedown.
Donati rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Sobieski counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Sobieski looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Sobieski shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Donati sprawls well. Donati wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Sobieski gets slowly back to his feet.
Donati cracks Sobieski with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.

Donati lands a big right hand that sends Sobieski crashing to the mat! Donati stays standing though and waves Sobieski back to his feet!

Sobieski is rocked!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Donati cracks a nice hook into Sobieski's ribs.
Oh Sobieski is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Donati misses with an uppercut.
Sobieski seems to have got his legs back now.
Sobieski misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Donati lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.

Sobieski shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Donati napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Sobieski fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Donati is trying to get back to half guard.

Sobieski wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Donati, who protects the arm well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sobieski tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Donati is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Sobieski has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Jan Sobieski has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sobieski landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sobieski thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Sobieski is looking to take a break and control but Donati is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Sobieski working the body and head with strikes.
Virgil Donati is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Sobieski lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Donati down.
Donati managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Sobieski.
Donati is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Donati takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Donati dodges the ground and pound from Sobieski.
Sobieski misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Donati manages to work his way to half guard, despite Sobieski's best efforts.
Sobieski throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Donati tries to get to full guard but Sobieski has control of the leg.
Sobieski not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Donati is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Virgil Donati.
I think Donati 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 45:50
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 46:49
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 46:50

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Virgil Donati!
Virgil Donati is the new light heavyweight champion!
During a confident post fight interview, Virgil Donati thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.