PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Devon Harper (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Polly Italiano (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Polly Italiano will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Harper
vs
Italiano

172 cm
25
142 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

150 cm
25
130 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Devon Harper!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Polly Italiano!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Chris Saunders and Ryoma Takatsuka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Italiano tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Italiano looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Italiano wants to clinch.
Italiano avoids a punch combination nicely.
Harper dives in and grabs Italiano's left leg, looking for a takedown. Italiano pushes down on Harper's head and hops out.
Italiano should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Italiano wants to clinch.
Italiano slips a straight right by Harper.
Polly Italiano seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Italiano tries to clinch there but Harper circles away.
Harper loads up on a big right hand but Italiano slips the punch.
Harper shoots in for a takedown but Italiano shows good takedown defense.
Harper dives in and grabs Italiano's left leg, looking for a takedown. Italiano pushes down on Harper's head and hops out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Devon Harper. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Italiano wants to clinch up but Harper keeps it at a distance.
Italiano is looking to clinch but Harper is avoiding it.
Italiano tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Harper counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Harper.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Italiano preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Harper is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Harper with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Italiano keeping full guard, as Harper tries to pass.
Italiano avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Italiano really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Harper. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Harper pushes down on Italiano's leg and manages to get into half guard.

Italiano is defending against the submission attempts here by Harper.
Harper has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Harper is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Italiano has hold of Harper's hands but Harper slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Harper scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Harper scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Italiano is trying to stand back up but Harper is controlling him
Harper works his foot free and advances to mount.
Harper landing strikes from the mount.
Harper lands a nice shot to the head.
Italiano is in a horrible position here. Harper smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Harper scoring with strikes but Italiano is staying in there.
Harper will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harper looking to control and managing it successfully.
Harper has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Italiano takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Harper fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

Harper has hold of Italiano's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Italiano manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Harper cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

Italiano is rocked!
Harper lands a couple of good shots and Italiano has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Italiano is still in real trouble! Can Harper finish him?
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Harper has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Italiano's body.

Harper is persistently looking for the submission but Italiano is defending it well.
Italiano controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad position.
Italiano seems to have recovered his senses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harper really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Italiano.
Harper lands a shot to the head.
Harper trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Italiano doesn't escape.
Harper scores with punches and elbows.
Italiano takes a big shot to the side of the head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Harper is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Italiano is defending well though. Harper let's go of the attempt for now.
Harper controls the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Devon Harper dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Harper throws a right and a left that both miss.

Harper closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Harper passes to full mount!
Harper lands with some strikes.
Devon Harper overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Harper unloads with some vicious shots from mount and Italiano wants out - he looks towards the referee who steps in to save him! Harper celebrates on the cage and the crowd goes wild!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:41 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Devon Harper!
Devon Harper decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.