PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Mark Whitehope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Antonis Skayias (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Antonis Skayias has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Whitehope
vs
Skayias

179 cm
25
184 lbs
8 - 7 - 0

182 cm
23
177 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

GREEN!160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mark Whitehope!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Antonis Skayias!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Frank Dennis and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Skayias lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.

It looks like Mark Whitehope has been cut.
Nice takedown defense from Skayias. No joy for Whitehope on that attempt.
Skayias smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Skayias scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Antonis Skayias seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Skayias lunges at Whitehope with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Whitehope's hand.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Skayias has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Whitehope tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Skayias counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Skayias drops Whitehope with a big left hand and mounts him. Whitehope is in big trouble!
Whitehope's coaches at MadDogs Road House have been working on his defensive grappling in preparation for this fight so let's see if he can get out of this tricky position.
Whitehope tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Whitehope is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Skayias prevents Whitehope from getting the reversal.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Skayias sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Skayias wants to control the pace but Whitehope is squirming around nicely.
Whitehope is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Skayias fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Skayias avoids the attempt from Whitehope to control.
Skayias punishing his opponent with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitehope tries to lock up and control but Skayias gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Whitehope is desperately trying to improve his position but Skayias has a good base and remains in mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Skayias lands a couple of good shots and Whitehope has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Skayias is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Whitehope up.
Skayias trying to control momentarily.
Whitehope looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Whitehope wants to escape the position.
Whitehope looking very determined here, making life difficult for Skayias.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Skayias is trying to stick to Whitehope's back but Whitehope is turning into Skayias. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Skayias's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Whitehope.
Whitehope scoring with some ground and pound.
Skayias utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Whitehope being controlled here momentarily.
Whitehope is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Whitehope postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Whitehope throwing strikes from guard but Skayias blocks nicely.
Whitehope loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitehope working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Skayias working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Whitehope.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Skayias working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Whitehope.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Skayias is adopting a defensive guard.
Whitehope throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Whitehope wants to control from the top but Skayias keeps moving.
Whitehope is looking to stand up but Skayias won't let him.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Whitehope shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Skayias as he avoids it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antonis Skayias dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mark Whitehope's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

No joy there for Skayias, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Whitehope shoots in looking for a takedown. Skayias tries to sprawl out of it but Whitehope keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Skayias manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Whitehope tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Skayias darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Whitehope slips a jab and a cross from Skayias.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Skayias.
Skayias lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Skayias throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Nice takedown defense from Skayias. No joy for Whitehope on that attempt.
Skayias fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Skayias throws a lazy uppercut
and Whitehope counters with a two punch combo.
Skayias scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Whitehope doesn't seem bothered though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitehope avoids the head kick by Skayias.
Whitehope shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mark Whitehope. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Skayias lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Skayias.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Skayias scores with a body shot.
Whitehope on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Skayias misses with a takedown attempt - Whitehope sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Skayias is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Whitehope.
Whitehope blocks a jab.
Skayias swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Whitehope is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Nice combo by Skayias! Oh, that's hurt him - Whitehope falls to the canvas and Skayias follows him into side control.

Whitehope is rocked!
Skayias has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whitehope tries to improve position but can't.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A lull in the action here.
Skayias looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Whitehope is avoiding damage well.
Skayias wants to control but Whitehope is keeping him busy.
Whitehope 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.
Whitehope can't do much from the bottom here.
Whitehope is looking for a sweep.
Skayias scoring with punches from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antonis Skayias showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Mark Whitehope's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Skayias changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Skayias cracks the inside of Whitehope's front leg.
Skayias fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Whitehope on the side of the head.
Skayias lands a big right hand and follows it up with an uppercut. Oh and another big punch and a knee - Whitehope can't take much more of this! Another big shot to the jaw from Skayias and Whitehope drops to the floor. Beaten and bloodied - he had enough there. A vicious beatdown by Skayias.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:34 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Antonis Skayias!
Antonis Skayias decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.