PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Vlad Didenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Phat Funk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Didenko
vs
Funk

197 cm
23
190 lbs
11 - 1 - 0

185 cm
20
185 lbs
12 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Decent knees
Good gas tank

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 11 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Vlad Didenko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Phat Funk!
The judges for this bout are Michael Johnstone, Sandra Marshall and David Hoff.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Didenko shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Funk pinned against the cage. Funk gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Didenko dives in and grabs Funk's left leg, looking for a takedown. Funk pushes down on Didenko's head and hops out.
Funk's coach down at was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Funk's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Didenko shoots in looking for a takedown but Funk manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Didenko's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vlad Didenko. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Didenko shoots in and drives through. Funk sprawls well.
Funk throws a half hearted mid kick.
Didenko shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Funk but Funk pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Didenko closes this distance looking for a takedown but Funk circles away.

Funk rushes Didenko and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Funk lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

It looks like Vlad Didenko has been cut.
A knee to the head by Funk.
Funk looking to throw knees to the head but Didenko is blocking nicely.
Didenko is trying to pull guard but Funk has him pressed against the cage.
Funk unloads a knee to the mid-section. Didenko lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Funk with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Didenko really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Funk utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Didenko is breathing heavily.
Funk dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Funk tries to land a knee to the head but Didenko blocks with his arms.
Funk'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.
Funk connects with a knee to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Funk will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Didenko up against the cage.
Funk looking to throw knees to the head but Didenko is blocking nicely.
Funk is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Didenko is defending well for now.
Funk tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Funk taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Funk lands a knee to the body.
Funk trying to land knees to the body.
Funk scores a nice knee to the body.
Didenko avoiding damage as Funk throws knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stalling in the clinch from Funk.
Funk with a knee to the head.
Funk controlling the action here for a moment.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Phat Funk.
Funk connects with a leg kick. Didenko looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Funk slaps away a takedown attempt from Didenko, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Funk gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Funk tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Funk tries to land a knee to the head but Didenko blocks with his arms.
Funk tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Didenko avoids it.
Funk connects with a nasty looking knee right to Didenko's face.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Funk scores with a knee to the head.
Funk missing with knees to the body.
Funk misses with a knee strike.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Funk trying to land knees to the body.
Didenko is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Funk to keep the fight standing.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Didenko takes a knee right on the jaw!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Phat Funk dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Vlad Didenko's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Funk tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Didenko closes this distance looking for a takedown but Funk circles away.
Didenko shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Funk defends it nicely.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Didenko takes a knee right on the jaw!
Funk with a knee to the head.
Funk landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Didenko takes a knee to the side of the body.
Funk putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Didenko in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Didenko takes a knee right on the jaw!
Funk lands a knee to the body.
Funk unloads a knee to the mid-section. Didenko lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Funk is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Didenko takes a knee to the side of the body.
Funk landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Funk landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
A bit of stalling here from Funk.
Funk with a knee to the head.

Vlad Didenko's cut is getting worse.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Funk with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Funk lands a knee to the head.
Funk taking a breather.
Funk is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Funk utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Funk connects with a knee to the head.
Funk stalling against the cage.
Funk with an attempt at a knee that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Funk connects with a knee to the head.
Didenko tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Funk just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vlad Didenko. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Funk landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Didenko letting Funk take a breather here.
Funk crunches a lovely knee into Didenko's ribcage.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Funk takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Funk putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Didenko in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Funk taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Funk lands a knee to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Funk is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Funk unloads a knee to the mid-section. Didenko lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Funk lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Funk using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Funk putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Didenko in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Funk is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Funk utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Knees to the body from Funk.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Funk lands a knee to the body.
Funk crunches a lovely knee into Didenko's ribcage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Phat Funk showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Vlad Didenko's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Funk tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Funk tries to clinch there but Didenko circles away.
Funk has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Funk tries to clinch up.
Didenko goes for a double leg but Funk avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Funk continues to drive forward.
Didenko avoiding damage as Funk throws knees to the body.
Funk lands a nice knee to the body.
Knees to the body from Funk.
Funk unloads a knee to the mid-section. Didenko lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Didenko takes a knee right on the jaw!
Funk lands a knee to the head.
Funk scores with a knee to the head.
Funk landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Funk unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Funk lands a knee to the head.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Funk obliges.
Funk using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Funk lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Funk is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Funk misses with a knee to the head.

Funk drops Didenko with a big knee straight up the middle! Didenko is covering up against the cage but manages to escape and gets back to his feet!

Didenko is rocked!

Vlad Didenko's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
Phat Funk is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Funk tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Didenko paws at him with a jab and circles away.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Didenko is defended easily by Funk.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Funk has taken the fight to the clinch.
Funk lands a nice knee to the body.
Funk just leaning against Didenko, taking a breather.
Phat Funk is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Funk lands a good knee to the midsection. Didenko won't want to take too many of those.
Funk slowing the pace effectively.
Didenko tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Funk just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vlad Didenko. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Funk drops Didenko with a big knee straight up the middle! Didenko is covering up against the cage but manages to escape and gets back to his feet!
Oh Didenko is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Good work by Didenko as he checks the leg kick.
Didenko seems to have got his legs back now.
Funk doesn't manage to clinch there - Didenko circles away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Funk looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Nice sprawl there from Funk as Didenko shoots in.
Didenko shoots in for a takedown but Funk shows good takedown defense.
Didenko keeps the fight on the outside.
Funk fails in his attempt to clinch.
Funk is looking to score with low kicks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Didenko blocks a leg kick.
Vlad Didenko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Didenko.
Didenko shoots in for a takedown but Funk shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
The fight stays on the outside here - Funk looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Funk darts in trying to clinch
enabling Didenko to counter with a crisp jab.
Funk tries to clinch but Didenko moves out of range.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Funk tries to clinch but Didenko is having none of it.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Vlad Didenko has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Didenko jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Funk walks away with a smile on his face. Didenko gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Phat Funk comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Funk has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 for Phat Funk!
Judge Sandra Marshall scores the fight for Phat Funk!
Judge David Hoff scores the fight for Phat Funk!

Phat Funk wins by unanimous decision!