PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ivan Medzakovic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Batongbakal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ivan Medzakovic has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Medzakovic
vs
Batongbakal

200 cm
18
259 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

215 cm
19
220 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Ivan Medzakovic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Mike Batongbakal!
The judges for this bout are Michael Johnstone, Dirk Anderson and David Hoff.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Medzakovic fails with the takedown
and Batongbakal counters with a one-two to the body.
Medzakovic shoots in but no luck this time.
Medzakovic shoots in for a takedown but Batongbakal shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ivan Medzakovic. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Batongbakal closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Medzakovic quickly recovers to half guard.
Batongbakal wants to stand but Medzakovic has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Batongbakal is trying to control. Medzakovic wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Batongbakal is looking to advance position but Medzakovic won't allow it.
Batongbakal trying to control from half guard but Medzakovic is working away.
Batongbakal thows a huge punch but Medzakovic dodges it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Batongbakal wants to pass the guard but Medzakovic is defending well.
Batongbakal wants to control but Medzakovic is keeping him busy.

Mike Batongbakal has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Batongbakal.

Batongbakal looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Medzakovic might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Batongbakal wants to stand but Medzakovic has his arm trapped.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Medzakovic is trying to improve his position.
Batongbakal misses with the ground and pound.
Medzakovic dodges the ground and pound from Batongbakal.
Medzakovic looking for a sweep but Batongbakal has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Batongbakal is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Medzakovic is trying to escape the mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Medzakovic sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Batongbakal wants to free his trapped foot but Medzakovic is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Medzakovic is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Batongbakal working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Medzakovic wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Batongbakal looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Medzakovic trying to control from the bottom.
Medzakovic is trying to get back to full guard.

Medzakovic is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Batongbakal pulls his head out easily.
Medzakovic is breathing heavily.

Batongbakal is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Batongbakal content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Batongbakal dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mike Batongbakal's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Batongbakal tries to close the distance and clinch up but Medzakovic swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Batongbakal misses with a two punch combination.
Ivan Medzakovic seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Medzakovic will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Batongbakal misses with a takedown attempt - Medzakovic sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Medzakovic shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Medzakovic was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Medzakovic working the strikes but Batongbakal uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
Medzakovic wants to pass the guard but Batongbakal is defending well.
Medzakovic not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Ground and pound from Medzakovic.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Medzakovic prevents Batongbakal from standing back up.
Batongbakal is breathing heavily.
Medzakovic wants to pass the guard but Batongbakal is defending well.
Medzakovic missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Batongbakal blocking the ground and pound attempt from Medzakovic.
Medzakovic thows a huge punch but Batongbakal dodges it nicely.
Medzakovic wants to lay and pray for a moment but Batongbakal keeps working.
Batongbakal wants to control but Medzakovic is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Medzakovic throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Medzakovic trying to mount his opponent but Batongbakal defends it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Batongbakal tries to get to full guard but Medzakovic has control of the leg.
Medzakovic drops an elbow to the side of Batongbakal's head.
Batongbakal is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Medzakovic's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Medzakovic's back!

Medzakovic showing good submission defense here.
Batongbakal is hanging on to Medzakovic's back as he tries to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Medzakovic wants to control his opponent's hands but Batongbakal gets his hands free.
Batongbakal trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
Medzakovic tries to roll but Batongbakal sticks to his back.
Batongbakal doesn't have the hooks in and Medzakovic manages to turn into his guard.
Medzakovic trying to control but Batongbakal is working from the bottom.
Batongbakal wants to sweep but no luck.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Medzakovic lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Medzakovic scoring with punches to the head and body.
Medzakovic wants to control from the top but Batongbakal keeps moving.
Batongbakal is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Medzakovic tries to stand but Batongbakal is controlling from the bottom.
Medzakovic loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Medzakovic dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Mike Batongbakal's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

No luck with that takedown attempt from Batongbakal.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Batongbakal enables Medzakovic to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Batongbakal manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Medzakovic working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Medzakovic stops Batongbakal from standing up.
Medzakovic working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Batongbakal's head.
Medzakovic throws a big elbow that misses.
Medzakovic 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.
Medzakovic postures up and lands a big shot to Batongbakal's brow.
Batongbakal utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Medzakovic wants to control from the top but Batongbakal keeps moving.
Batongbakal takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Batongbakal avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Medzakovic accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Medzakovic is looking to work some ground and pound but Batongbakal has wrist control.
Medzakovic with a flurry of punches that miss.
Medzakovic connects with a couple of short punches.
Medzakovic keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Batongbakal's head.
Medzakovic scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Batongbakal looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Batongbakal is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Medzakovic with a flurry of punches that miss.
Medzakovic prevents Batongbakal from getting back to his feet.
Batongbakal controls Medzakovic momentarily but Medzakovic frees himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Medzakovic throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Medzakovic scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Medzakovic scoring with punches to the head and body.
Medzakovic loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Medzakovic looking to sit in guard and control but Batongbakal gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Batongbakal postures up.
Medzakovic wants to sweep here but Batongbakal controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Medzakovic controls Batongbakal momentarily but Batongbakal frees himself.
Batongbakal trying to control but Medzakovic is working from the bottom.

We're going to have a standup here because Ivan Medzakovic wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Medzakovic fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Batongbakal sprawls well initially but Medzakovic persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Medzakovic scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Batongbakal is trying to stand up here but Medzakovic is controlling him well.
Medzakovic takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Medzakovic seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Batongbakal does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Ivan Medzakovic overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Medzakovic looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Batongbakal with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Medzakovic stops Batongbakal from getting back to his feet.
Medzakovic scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Batongbakal keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Batongbakal is looking for a sweep. Medzakovic is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Batongbakal punching from the bottom.
Batongbakal trying to hold on to Medzakovic's head to control him but Medzakovic postures up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ivan Medzakovic showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Medzakovic has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Michael Johnstone scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dirk Anderson scores the fight 29:28
Judge David Hoff scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ivan Medzakovic!