PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Iranouf Drogba (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Lennon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Iranouf Drogba had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Drogba
vs
Lennon

188 cm
25
255 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

197 cm
25
260 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Good knees
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Lethal high kicks
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 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Iranouf Drogba!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, John Lennon!
The judges for this bout are Santiago Holmes, Winston Alpacca and Dirk Anderson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Drogba blocks the body kick.
Lennon tries to land a front kick but Drogba steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Drogba needs to keep his hands up - Lennon had a free shot at his head there.
Drogba tries to clinch there but Lennon circles away.
A solid body kick from Lennon.
Drogba fails in his attempt to clinch.
Drogba takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Drogba blocks the body kick.
A thudding body kick lands there by Lennon!
Drogba sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Lennon moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Lennon chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Lennon fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Drogba fails in his attempt to clinch.

Drogba clinches up against the cage.
Drogba throws a knee to the head but misses.
Drogba's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Drogba lands a left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drogba tries a knee to the head but Lennon blocks it.
Lennon is working for takedown but Drogba is calmly controlling the position for now.
Drogba landing knees to the head.

It looks like John Lennon has been cut.
Lennon wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Drogba throws a knee to the head but misses.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Lennon wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Drogba with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Lennon is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Drogba is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Lennon looks winded!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Drogba is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Drogba is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Lennon is defending well for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Drogba tries to work over Lennon's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Lennon tries to circle away but Drogba has him pinned against the cage.
Stalling in the clinch from Drogba.
Drogba tries a knee to the head but Lennon blocks it.
Drogba throws a punch but it's blocked by Lennon.
Drogba lands an elbow inside that Lennon shrugs off.
Lennon takes a knee to the side of the body.
Drogba scores with a nice hook to the head.
Stalling in the clinch from Drogba.
Drogba seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
Drogba scores with a knee to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Drogba with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Lennon misses with a short punch on the inside.
Drogba connects with a knee to the head.
Drogba unloads a knee to the mid-section. Lennon lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Drogba tries a knee to the head but Lennon blocks it.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Drogba throws a knee to the head but misses.
Drogba is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Drogba throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Lennon blocks it with crossed arms.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Drogba lands an elbow inside.
Drogba with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Drogba is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Lennon is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Drogba pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Drogba connects with a knee to the head.
Drogba leaning his opponent against the cage.
Lennon trying to control the position but instead, Drogba has worked for underhooks and has pushed Lennon into the cage.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Drogba has Lennon pressed against the cage.
Lennon goes for a takedown attempt but Drogba pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Iranouf Drogba dominated that round.
The cut man is working on John Lennon's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Drogba gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Drogba connects with a nasty looking knee right to Lennon's face.
Drogba throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Lennon blocks it with crossed arms.
Drogba is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Drogba tries to land knees in the clinch but Lennon avoids the damage to the body.
Lennon wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Lennon has Drogba pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Drogba manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Drogba stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Iranouf Drogba has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Drogba trying to land knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drogba with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Drogba lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Drogba throws a knee to the head but misses.
Drogba tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Lennon jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Drogba walks away with a smile on his face. Lennon gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Drogba pushes Lennon up against the cage in a clinch.
Drogba has Lennon pressed against the cage, preventing Lennon from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Drogba tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Drogba has Lennon pushed against the cage.
Drogba using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Lennon has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Lennon blocks an elbow strike.
Drogba misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Lennon.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Drogba misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Lennon.
Drogba prevents Lennon from breaking the clinch.
Lennon dodges an elbow strike from Drogba.
Drogba misses with the head strike.
Lennon has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Drogba after a bit of a struggle.
Iranouf Drogba has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Lennon.
Drogba stalling the fight.
Lennon tries to pull guard but Drogba forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Drogba working Lennon over with knees to the body.
Lennon is breathing heavily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lennon takes a knee right on the jaw!
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Drogba takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Lennon takes an elbow to the temple.
Stalling in the clinch from Drogba.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lennon tries to pull guard but Drogba holds him up against the cage and eventually Lennon drops back down to his feet.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Drogba takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Drogba looking to throw knees to the head but Lennon is blocking nicely.
Lennon tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Drogba just stands there and leans against the cage.
Lennon changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Drogba fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Drogba clinches.
Lennon avoiding damage as Drogba throws knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lennon is trying to pull guard but Drogba turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Lennon avoids a wild elbow strike from Drogba.
Lennon changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Drogba fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Lennon looks to score with a jab to the body but Drogba is just out of range.
Drogba tries to close the distance and clinch but Lennon swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Drogba closes the distance and clinches.
Lennon tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Lennon jumps guard but Drogba turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Drogba lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
A bit of stalling here from Drogba.
Lennon wants to break free but Drogba has control.
Drogba is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Lennon can do to turn this around?
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Drogba misses with a knee to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Iranouf Drogba dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on John Lennon's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Drogba moves out of range of the body kick.
Lennon cracks Drogba with an open hand slap.
Lennon keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
The fight stays on the outside here - Drogba looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Drogba gets the takedown into side control.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Drogba throws an elbow but Lennon slips to the side and avoids it well.
Lennon really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Drogba. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Lennon wants to control but Drogba postures up.
Drogba misses with the ground and pound.
Drogba 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.
Drogba misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Lennon tries to buck Drogba off but Drogba is having none of it.
The strikes coming from Drogba are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Drogba trying to control the position but Lennon is working away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drogba working away.
Lennon trying to control but Drogba flips him over like a cheap hooker and has his back!
Lennon has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Drogba.
Drogba gets his hands free as Lennon looks to control.
Lennon takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A lull in the action here.
Drogba missing with strikes.
Lennon trying to control the action but Drogba just sinks the hooks in.
Drogba lands a couple of good shots to his opponent's body and a final shot to the head. Good little attack there by Drogba.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Drogba missing with punches from the back.
John Lennon has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Drogba loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Lennon hold on?
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Lennon covers up after that shot from Drogba.
Drogba misses with a punch to the head.
Lennon wants to control his opponent's hands but Drogba gets his hands free.
Iranouf Drogba overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Lennon covering up well and avoiding damage.
Lennon wants to control his opponent's hands but Drogba gets his hands free.
Drogba throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Lennon is covering up but some of the strikes from Drogba are getting through and doing damage.
Drogba throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Drogba cracks Lennon with a big shot to body and one to the head - really punishing Lennon from the back mount here, looking to soften him up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Drogba misses with an elbow to the head.
Will Drogba go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Drogba is really struggling to control Lennon but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Drogba lands shots from the back.
Even with his hooks in, Drogba manages to miss with strikes from the back.
Drogba lands an elbow to the side of the head.

Lennon is rocked!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Drogba is raining down hard shots and and Lennon has had enough - he's tapped out due to the strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Iranouf Drogba!