PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between How Long (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sailo Damtea (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Long kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Onra - One For The Wu. Damtea is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Ne Compare Pas (GSP Entrance Song). Sailo Damtea has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Long
vs
Damtea

191 cm
29
213 lbs
17 - 4 - 0

191 cm
28
204 lbs
9 - 6 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, How Long!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Sailo Damtea!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, Steve Erwin and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Damtea scores with a head kick.

It looks like How Long has been cut.
Nice uppercut there from Damtea.
Long throws a half hearted mid kick.
Damtea misses with a straight right.
Damtea throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Damtea throws a head kick that misses.
Sailo Damtea seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Damtea swings widly with a right hand

and Long counters with a shoot takedown. Damtea fights it but they end up in guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Damtea wants to stand up but Long is controlling him.
Long is working Damtea over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

Damtea looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Damtea keeping full guard, as Long tries to pass.

Damtea working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Long doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Long manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Long is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Damtea utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damtea keeping moving, preventing Long from controlling successfully.
Long is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Long content to stall in guard here.
Long with a nice head shot there.

Damtea had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Long defends it easily.
Damtea is looking to stand up but Long isn't so interested in that idea.
Long slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Long won't allow Damtea to sweep him here.
Long content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Damtea is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Long defends well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Long trying to control but Damtea is working from the bottom.

Damtea throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Long works over Damtea with some ground and pound from guard.
Long landing with the ground and pound.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Damtea wants to sweep here but Long controlling him for the moment.
Damtea controls Long momentarily but Long frees himself.
Our spies down at at Sydney Elite Systems inform us that Damtea has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Long passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Long advances nicely into full mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Damtea tries to hold on but Long pushes him away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Long lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Long scoring with strikes but Damtea is staying in there.
Long tries to control but Damtea wriggling away.
BOOM! Long connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Damtea wants to control but Long is having none of it.
Damtea is looking to improve his position but Long isn't that keen on the idea.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Long pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Long landing strikes, looking to finish!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A nice elbow there by Long.
Damtea is trying to escape the mount.
Damtea wants to hold on but Long pushes him away.
Long wants to control the pace but Damtea is squirming around nicely.
Long tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damtea wants to control but Long is having none of it.
Damtea is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Damtea tries to hold on but Long postures up.
Damtea tries to reverse the position but Long maintains control.
Damtea is squirming around, avoiding Long's attempts to control the action.
Long controlling the pace for now.
Damtea is in a horrible position here. Long smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Damtea regains half guard.
Ground and pound from Long.
Long is looking to advance position but Damtea won't allow it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

How Long dominated that round.
The cut man is working on How Long's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

A swing and a miss from Long.
Nice defenses there by Long.
Long misses with a series of wild punches.
A head kick by Damtea misses

and Long counters with a takedown into side control.
Damtea is looking to reverse the position.
Long happy to just control the position for now.
Long scores with punches from side control.
Long wants to lay and pray for a moment but Damtea keeps working.
How Long overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
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!
Damtea is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Long's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Long wants to lay and pray for a moment but Damtea keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Long prevents Damtea from improving his position.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Damtea is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Long pulls his head out easily.
Damtea trying to control here.
Long sitting and controlling from the half guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up because How Long just wasn't active enough.
Damtea lands with an uppercut that bounces Long off the cage and back into range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Damtea misses the target.
Damtea looks to land a right hand but Long moved out of range.
Damtea pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Long throws a leg kick but Damtea moved away.
The fighters circle momentarily. Long darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Long slips a jab from Damtea.

Damtea clinches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Long has Damtea pressed against the cage, preventing Damtea from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Damtea misses with the head strike.
Long stalling against the cage.
Long lands a left hand.
Damtea throws a punch but it's blocked by Long.
Damtea misses with a short punch on the inside.

Damtea manages to break the clinch.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Long.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Long moves away from the strike by Damtea.
Damtea takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Long slips a jab from Damtea.
Long blocks a head kick by Damtea.
Damtea looks to land a right hand but Long moved out of range.
Damtea misses the jab.
Long just misses with a punch to the body.
Damtea tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Long keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Damtea.
Damtea might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Damtea throws a hook to the side of Long's head but Long sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Damtea throws a jab when Long was well out of range.
Damtea throws a right hand that misses

and Long counters by moving into the clinch.
Long blocks an uppercut.
Long controlling the action here for a moment.
Damtea throws a punch but it's blocked by Long.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A shot in the inside from Long.
Damtea fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Long lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Long stalling the fight.
Damtea misses with a hook from the clinch.
Damtea misses with the head strike.
Damtea has a couple of punches blocked by Long.
Long is pushing Damtea up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Damtea throws a head punch that misses.

Damtea breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Long fails in his attempt to clinch.
Damtea tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Damtea closes the distance and clinches.
Long lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

How Long dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on How Long's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Long cracks the inside of Damtea's front leg.
Long fails with an attempt to clinch.
Long cracks Damtea with an open hand slap.
Damtea misses with an uppercut. Long saw that one coming.
Damtea throws a jab but it's blocked by Long.
Long takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Nice shot lands for Long.

Damtea is rocked!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Long uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Damtea.
Long lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Damtea rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Long counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Damtea is still in real trouble! Can Long finish him?
Long pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Damtea is keeping the position for now.
Damtea takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Damtea wants to stand but Long is controlling the position.
Damtea seems to have recovered his senses.
Long passes easily into side control. Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Long is working Damtea over with some ground and pound from side control.
Damtea gets back to half guard.
Long is looking to take a break and control but Damtea is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Long perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Long seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Damtea does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Damtea tries to roll over but Long keeps him under control.
Long looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Long is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Long uses his free foot to push down on Damtea's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Damtea.
Long working Damtea over with strikes here.
Sailo Damtea has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
How Long is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Long content just to control the position here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Long's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Damtea is desperately trying to improve his position but Long has a good base and remains in mount.
Long tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Damtea tries to reverse the position but Long maintains control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Long takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

The ref stands the fighters back up. How Long wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Long misses with a straight right.
Long slips under a jab.
Damtea rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Long counters by moving into the clinch.
Damtea misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damtea throws a punch but it's blocked by Long.
Long blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Damtea working aggressively here.
Damtea wants to get back to striking at distance but Long won't allow it.
Long works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Damtea misses with a hook from the clinch.
Damtea has a couple of punches blocked by Long.
Damtea throws a punch but it's blocked by Long.
Damtea misses with the head strike.
Damtea misses with a punch on the inside.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Damtea swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Long blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Damtea misses with the head strike.

And that's the end of the fight!
How Long showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Long, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... How Long!
A victorious How Long thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.