PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between BJ Penn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jean Claude Van Damme (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Penn's entrance music is Awesome. A fine choice. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Jean Claude Van Damme was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Penn
vs
Claude Van Damme

185 cm
31
190 lbs
14 - 17 - 1

187 cm
28
195 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
World class boxer
Very strong

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

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 14 - 17 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, BJ Penn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Jean Claude Van Damme!
The judges for this bout are Albert Achterberg, Wagner Zegers and Aafke Stam.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Van Damme throws the left hand but Penn avoids the punch easily.
Penn looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Jean Claude Van Damme seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Van Damme just misses with a punch to the body.
Penn misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Van Damme.
Penn has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Soul Supremacy Fight Club - ELITE TRAINERS----$580 in the buildup to the fight.
Van Damme throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Penn fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Penn misses with a double jab.
Penn wants to clinch up but Van Damme keeps it at a distance.
Penn rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Van Damme moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Van Damme looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Penn moves out of range of the strikes.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Penn.
Penn lands with an overhand left.
Penn throws a leg kick
and Van Damme counters with a straight right hand.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Van Damme checks a leg kick.
Penn looks to score with a jab to the body but Van Damme is just out of range.
Penn looking to land some kicks to the body here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Penn throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Sloppy strikes from Penn. Those never looked like landing.
Van Damme connects with an inside leg kick.
Penn takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Penn tries a low kick but Van Damme avoids it.
Van Damme lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Penn blocks a jab.
The fighters circling - Van Damme throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Van Damme dodges the punch combination from Penn.
Penn throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Penn throws a shot from downtown. Van Damme moves away and avoids it.
Penn throws a half hearted mid kick.
Van Damme bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A looping hook to the body misses from Penn. Van Damme does a little dance to reset his feet.
Van Damme throws a jab but it's blocked by Penn.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A punch lands to the side of Van Damme 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Van Damme throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Van Damme takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Penn misses with a jab, cross combination.
Penn slips under a jab from Van Damme.
Van Damme circles away from the clinch attempt.
An inside leg kick from Penn misses.
Penn thows a body shot but no joy.
Van Damme shoots in looking for a takedown. Penn tries to sprawl out of it but Van Damme keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Penn manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Penn misses with a two punch combination.
Penn swinging wildly here.
Van Damme moves out of range as Penn strikes.
Van Damme throws a poor cross that misses
and Penn makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Damme throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Penn throws a body kick that misses.
Van Damme lands a front kick.
Penn misses with the combination.
A big left from Van Damme misses.
Van Damme looks to land a left hand but Penn moved out of range nicely.
Penn ducks under a wild hook from Van Damme.
Van Damme throws a right hand that misses

and Penn counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Penn.
Penn tries for a takedown. No joy.

Van Damme manages to break the clinch.
Van Damme on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Van Damme misses with a straight right.
Penn stuffs the takedown attempt from Van Damme. Van Damme gets slowly back to his feet.
BJ Penn has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jean Claude Van Damme.
Penn fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Van Damme manages to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Penn misses with a body shot.
Van Damme throws a nice inside leg kick.
Van Damme misses the shot to the body.
Van Damme looks to score with a jab to the body but Penn is just out of range.
Penn swinging wildly here.
Van Damme keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Penn throws a head kick that misses.
Penn misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Penn displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Van Damme throws out the jab.
Penn looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Penn scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Penn will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Penn swings for the body but Van Damme moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that BJ Penn will probably get the nod.
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.

Penn checks the leg kick nicely there.
Van Damme jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A combination from Penn does no damage.
Van Damme lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Penn at a distance.
Van Damme throws the left hand but Penn avoids the punch easily.
Van Damme tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Penn was well out of range. Poor timing from Van Damme.
Penn throws a push kick but Van Damme slaps the foot to one side.
Penn fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Penn throws an overhand right that lands on Van Damme's shoulder, as Van Damme tries to avoid the shot.
Van Damme staying out of range there.
BJ Penn is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Van Damme thuds his right hand into Penn's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Penn misses with a kick to the body.
Van Damme uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Penn.
Van Damme showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Penn.
Van Damme cracks Penn with a right hand to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Penn's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Penn duly obliges.
Van Damme jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Penn throws a head kick that misses.
A big left from Van Damme misses.
Penn steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Van Damme.
Van Damme thows a left - swing and a miss!
Penn stuns Van Damme with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Van Damme looks to land a left hand but Penn moved out of range nicely.
Van Damme misses with an uppercut.
Penn lands a right hook to the body.
Van Damme takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Penn pulls out of a head kick attempt.
BJ Penn is winning the standup battle so far.
Van Damme misses with a straight left.
Van Damme looks to land a body kick but Penn moved away.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Penn.
Penn is looking to wear down Van Damme with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penn looks for the body kick but Van Damme saw that one coming.
Penn tries a low kick but Van Damme avoids it.
Penn misses with a wild combination.
Van Damme misses with a lunging right hand
and Penn connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
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!
Penn leaves Van Damme with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
A big right from Van Damme misses.
BJ Penn is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Van Damme scores with a jab. Penn acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Van Damme moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Van Damme takes a body punch but keeps moving.
A right-left combo lands from Penn.
Van Damme slips a jab and a cross from Penn.
Penn buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Van Damme 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.
Penn fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Van Damme on the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Damme fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Penn manages to avoid it.
A combination from Penn does no damage.
Van Damme slips a jab and a cross from Penn.
Penn fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Van Damme throws a combination. Penn tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Van Damme throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Van Damme keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Van Damme slips a jab and a cross from Penn.
Penn takes one to the side of the head.
Penn misses with a body kick.
Penn throws a head kick but Van Damme moves out of range.
Penn thows a body shot but no joy.
Van Damme looks to land a combination but Penn avoids it well.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Penn checks a leg kick.
Penn checks a leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Penn scores with a body shot.
Van Damme misses with a wild body shot.
Penn swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Van Damme lands a nice hook to Penn's body. Penn takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Van Damme thows a leg kick but Penn checks it
and Penn counters with a one-two to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Penn lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Van Damme circles away quickly and effectively.
Van Damme moves out of range as Penn throws a body kick.
Penn lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Van Damme circles away quickly and effectively.
Van Damme lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Van Damme misses with the combination.
Penn throws the kick towards the body but Van Damme avoids it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Penn misses with a jab, cross combination.
Penn dodges the punch combination from Van Damme.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that BJ Penn will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Van Damme rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Penn moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Penn uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Van Damme.
Penn throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Penn getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Penn blocks a jab.
Van Damme misses with a body shot.
Penn misses with the combination.
Penn swinging wildly here.
Van Damme throws a hook to the side of Penn's head but Penn sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Penn throws a series of punches but Van Damme avoids them all with ease.
Van Damme rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Penn moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Penn misses with the combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A right-left combo lands from Penn.

Penn instigates a clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Van Damme lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Van Damme pulls Penn into guard.
Penn wants to get up but he can't break Van Damme's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Van Damme is looking for a triangle but Penn pushes his legs off easily.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Van Damme throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Jean Claude Van Damme has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penn has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Van Damme is proving hard to escape from.

Van Damme is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

Van Damme is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Van Damme escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Penn gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Penn has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Van Damme is proving hard to escape from.

Penn got a little sloppy there for a moment and Van Damme has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Penn has managed to get both his arms back between Van Damme's legs - danger averted.

Van Damme is working for submissions here. He's thrown up his legs looking for a triangle but Penn frees his head nicely. Oh but Van Damme has switched to an armbar! Penn is tapping furiously! Lovely submission there!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Armbar). Jean Claude Van Damme!