PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between John Duddy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nigel McHughes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Duddy might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Dropkick Murphys - 'Loyal to No One'. McHughes comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Welcome To My Hood kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Duddy
vs
McHughes

182 cm
37
195 lbs
31 - 22 - 0

187 cm
30
191 lbs
16 - 11 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Master Lee's One Stop
Milwaukee's Best 160 (85% laundry)

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 31 - 22 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Duddy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 11 - 1, fighting out of New York, Nigel McHughes!
The judges for this bout are Franklyn Lucas, John Roberts and Lou da Vinci.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
McHughes misses with a looping left.
McHughes misses the shot to the body.
McHughes throws a hook but Duddy blocks it.
Duddy throws a head kick but McHughes moves out of range.

Duddy moves into range and clinches up with McHughes.
McHughes slows down the pace here.
Duddy goes for a takedown attempt but McHughes pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
McHughes uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Duddy has time to react.

It looks like John Duddy has been cut.
Duddy tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
John Duddy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Duddy fakes high and swings low for a body shot but McHughes manages to avoid it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Duddy fails in his attempt to clinch.
Duddy slips under a jab from McHughes.
Duddy lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but McHughes circles away quickly and effectively.
Duddy rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but McHughes moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Duddy throws a push kick but McHughes slaps the foot to one side.
A punch combination from McHughes misses.
Duddy throws a right and a left that McHughes avoids nicely.
Duddy looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McHughes throws a looping overhand right but Duddy ducks down to avoid it.
McHughes thows a leg kick but Duddy checks it
and Duddy counters with a nice leg kick.
Duddy throws a head kick but McHughes moves out of range.
McHughes looks to land a right hand but Duddy moved out of range.
Duddy darts in trying to clinch
and McHughes counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Duddy uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from McHughes.
McHughes stuffs the takedown.
Duddy tries to clinch up.
Duddy lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
McHughes drops his hands momentarily and Duddy takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
McHughes scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Duddy misses with a looping right.
McHughes scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Duddy motions for McHughes to come forward. Duddy throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Nigel McHughes is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
McHughes avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Duddy showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from McHughes.
McHughes looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Duddy misses with a low kick.
Duddy walks into a left hand.
McHughes ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Duddy throws a nice looking combination but McHughes bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
McHughes slips under a jab from Duddy.
McHughes wants to land a leg kick but Duddy is out of range.
Duddy ducks down and throws a hook to the body but McHughes moves away.
McHughes tries to move into range but Duddy moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
McHughes moves out of range as Duddy strikes.
McHughes bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
McHughes misses with a wild body shot.
McHughes thuds a left hand into Duddy's body.
Duddy plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!

It looks like Nigel McHughes has been cut.
Duddy looks to land a left hand but McHughes moved out of range nicely.
Duddy jabbing away but nothing is landing.
McHughes has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Duddy.
McHughes throws a series of punches but Duddy avoids them all with ease.
McHughes looks to score with a jab to the body but Duddy is just out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Duddy gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
McHughes prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Duddy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
McHughes tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Duddy taking a breather.
A short uppercut from Duddy.
McHughes'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.
McHughes lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Duddy backwards.
McHughes leaning his opponent against the cage.
McHughes lands a left hand.
Duddy stalling in the clinch but McHughes improves position.
McHughes is pushing Duddy up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
McHughes throws a head punch that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duddy pressing his opponent against the cage.

Duddy breaks the clinch.
Duddy chopping away at his opponent's legs.

McHughes pushes Duddy up against the cage in a clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from McHughes.
McHughes is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Duddy is defending well for now.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
McHughes tries to work over Duddy's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Duddy lands with a short shot to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

McHughes breaks from the clinch.
Duddy shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. McHughes eats them both and turns towards Duddy to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Duddy swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Duddy on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
McHughes avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A shot to the liver by Duddy. Beautiful body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that John Duddy will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Duddy misses with a head kick.
John Duddy is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
McHughes lands with an uppercut that bounces Duddy off the cage and back into range.
Duddy fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and McHughes has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
McHughes cracks Duddy with a right hand to the side of the head.
Duddy is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
McHughes changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
McHughes misses with the combination.
Duddy fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Duddy shoots in for a takedown but McHughes shows good takedown defense.
Duddy is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Jab from Duddy.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Duddy tries to close the distance and clinch but McHughes swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Duddy lands a straight punch to the body, keeping McHughes at a distance.
McHughes misses with a jab, cross combination.
Duddy lands a nice leg kick that just misses McHughes's sensitive parts.
Duddy throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent McHughes stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Duddy misses with a looping left.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Duddy tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
McHughes misses with a double jab.
Duddy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Duddy connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
A clash of legs there as McHughes blocks the low kick.
McHughes misses with a low kick.
Duddy on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Duddy.
Duddy throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
McHughes rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Duddy counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
No joy there for Duddy, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
John Duddy is winning the standup battle so far.
Duddy throws a sloppy head kick and McHughes moves out of range easily.
McHughes keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
McHughes stuffs the takedown attempt from Duddy. Duddy gets slowly back to his feet.
McHughes throws a series of punches but Duddy avoids them all with ease.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
McHughes chopping away at his opponent's legs.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
McHughes walks forward, straight into a front kick from Duddy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Duddy shoots in for a takedown but McHughes shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Duddy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
McHughes misses the body punch
and Duddy cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Duddy throws a front kick aimed at McHughes's knee but McHughes avoids it well.
A big right from McHughes misses.
McHughes checks the leg kick nicely there.
McHughes's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Duddy moves to clinch but McHughes breaks away
and McHughes counters with a big head kick but Duddy shrugs it off.
McHughes avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Duddy tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. McHughes manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
McHughes walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Duddy checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
McHughes misses with a low kick.
Duddy tries to clinch up but McHughes circles away and keeps his distance.
Duddy tries to clinch there but McHughes circles away.
Duddy misses with a left hand
and McHughes cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Nice shot lands for McHughes.

John Duddy's cut is getting worse.
Duddy fails in his attempt to clinch.
Duddy moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Duddy on the wrong end of a nice jab.
McHughes tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Duddy was well out of range. Poor timing from McHughes.
McHughes jabs Duddy right on the nose. Duddy blinks but takes it well.
McHughes connects with a leg kick. Duddy looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
McHughes tries to move into range but Duddy moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Some bone on bone action there as McHughes checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Duddy scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Duddy connects with an inside leg kick.
Duddy misses with a kick to the body
and McHughes counters with a good, hard body kick but Duddy shrugs it off.
Duddy uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from McHughes.
Duddy bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Duddy throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
McHughes scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Duddy tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Duddy.
No joy there for McHughes, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duddy throws a right hand that McHughes ducks under and follows up with a left that McHughes also avoids with ease.
McHughes checks a leg kick nicely.
Duddy tries for a takedown but McHughes sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
McHughes misses with an uppercut.
McHughes throws a chopping leg kick but Duddy manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
McHughes connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Duddy throws a low kick, looking for McHughes's leg but McHughes calmly moves out of range.
Duddy lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but McHughes circles away quickly and effectively.
Duddy throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Duddy takes a shot to the body in his stride.
McHughes lands a nice shot that snaps Duddy's head back.
Nice defenses there by McHughes.
Duddy throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and McHughes counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts McHughes, as that shot connected.
McHughes fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Duddy manages to avoid it.
McHughes scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Duddy is looking to slow McHughes down with leg kicks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Nigel McHughes will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

An inside leg kick from Duddy misses.
Duddy checks a low kick from McHughes.
McHughes blocks a leg kick.
McHughes throws a leg kick but Duddy sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Duddy lands a jab to McHughes's midsection.
McHughes on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Duddy throws a jab when McHughes was well out of range.
Jab, jab by McHughes - just one landing.
McHughes lands a jab-cross combination.

Duddy is rocked!
Duddy misses with a hook to the body
and McHughes counters with a leg kick.
McHughes lands with a shot to the body.
Duddy throws a low kick but McHughes avoids it.
Duddy takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Duddy walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Oh Duddy is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
McHughes lands a body shot.
Duddy seems to have got his legs back now.
McHughes works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Duddy tries to bum rush McHughes with a series of wild strikes but McHughes uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
McHughes darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McHughes uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Duddy.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Duddy staying out of range there.
Duddy throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Duddy swings and misses with a hook to the body.
McHughes throws a leg kick which misses Duddy's front leg but catches the back leg as Duddy tries to avoid it.
McHughes throws out a powerful jab.

John Duddy's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
Duddy throws a low kick but McHughes avoids it.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Duddy lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and McHughes has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from McHughes and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
McHughes wants to clinch.
Duddy misses with a hook.
McHughes throws the left hand but Duddy avoids the punch easily.
Duddy moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
McHughes lands a head shot.
McHughes dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
McHughes misses with an uppercut. Duddy saw that one coming.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McHughes lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
A solid leg kick lands there for McHughes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Duddy moves out of range as McHughes strikes.
McHughes moves out of range of the leg kick from Duddy.

Duddy throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. McHughes was covering up waiting for the punch and Duddy finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Duddy wants to control from the top but McHughes keeps moving.
McHughes has Duddy pulled in close to control his posture.
Duddy stops McHughes from standing up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McHughes keeping moving, preventing Duddy from controlling successfully.

Duddy drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and McHughes dives on top into guard.

McHughes trying to control the position from guard on top but Duddy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

McHughes stands and steps away. Duddy gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Duddy checks a leg kick.
Duddy moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
McHughes fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Duddy manages to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duddy bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
McHughes ducks under a wild hook from Duddy.
Duddy connects with a nice looking jab.
McHughes takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Duddy throws a body shot but no joy.
McHughes lands with an overhand left.
McHughes thuds a left hand into Duddy's body.
McHughes cracks Duddy with an open hand slap.
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!
Duddy tries a head kick but it misses.
A slow jab from Duddy misses its intended target.
McHughes fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
McHughes stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

Jeez, John Duddy's cut is really nasty now. The referee must be thinking about getting that checked.
McHughes misses with a looping right.
Duddy lands a two punch combo.
Duddy avoids the head kick by McHughes.
McHughes tries to clinch but Duddy is having none of it.
McHughes fails to land with a series of punches.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nigel McHughes comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think McHughes has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 28:30
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 28:29
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nigel McHughes!
After winning the bout, Nigel McHughes thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.