PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Emilie Whittaker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jovito Leonardo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jovito Leonardo is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Whittaker
vs
Leonardo

162 cm
21
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
25
130 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Emilie Whittaker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Jovito Leonardo!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Leandro Rodrigues and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Leonardo throws a big shot that misses.
Jovito Leonardo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Whittaker tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Leonardo manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Leonardo stuffs the takedown.
Leonardo keeps the fight on the outside.
Whittaker tries to move into range but Leonardo moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Leonardo jabs Whittaker to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Nice sprawl there from Leonardo as Whittaker shoots in.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Leonardo changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Leonardo throws a body punch but Whittaker moves out of range.
Whittaker with a lazy takedown attempt
and Leonardo counters with a straight right hand.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Emilie Whittaker. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whittaker doesn't manage to clinch there - Leonardo circles away.
Whittaker has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Leonardo finds it's way round the side to connect with Whittaker's head.
Leonardo is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Leonardo tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Whittaker was well out of range. Poor timing from Leonardo.
Whittaker is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Leonardo now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Leonardo keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Whittaker's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Leonardo connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Whittaker scrambles back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leonardo swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Leonardo with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Whittaker is looking to clinch but Leonardo is avoiding it.
Leonardo appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Leonardo tests Whittaker's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Whittaker slips under a jab.
A looping hook to the body misses from Leonardo. Whittaker does a little dance to reset his feet.
Whittaker wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Leonardo throws a looping overhand right but Whittaker ducks down to avoid it.
Leonardo is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Whittaker doesn't manage to clinch there - Leonardo circles away.
A little jabbing left from Leonardo on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Whittaker takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Whittaker tries to clinch but Leonardo moves away
and Leonardo cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leonardo throws a jab when Whittaker was well out of range.
Whittaker misses with a head kick.
Leonardo tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Whittaker was well out of range. Poor timing from Leonardo.
Whittaker takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Whittaker avoids the body shot from Leonardo.
It looked like Whittaker was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Whittaker with a poor takedown
and Leonardo counters with a right hand to the body.
Whittaker has his takedown stuffed
and Whittaker takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Leonardo lands a slapping body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Leonardo lands a jab to the nose.
Leonardo misses with a body shot.
Leonardo scores with a crisp jab that stopped Whittaker in his tracks.
Leonardo scores with a nice head shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Leonardo throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Leonardo ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Whittaker needs to keep his hands up - Leonardo had a free shot at his head there.

Whittaker closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jovito Leonardo dominated that round.
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.

Whittaker scores with a spinning back kick!
Whittaker tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Leonardo manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Whittaker slips under a jab from Leonardo.
Leonardo thuds a left hand into Whittaker's body.
Leonardo misses with a straight right.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Whittaker might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
Leonardo misses with a body shot.
Whittaker fails with an attempt to clinch.
A little jabbing left from Leonardo on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Whittaker tries to score a power double leg takedown but Leonardo sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Whittaker somewhat.
Leonardo has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whittaker tries to clinch
and Leonardo counters with a nice uppercut.
Emilie Whittaker is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Leonardo missing with a left hand there. Whittaker was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Leonardo swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Leonardo connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Leonardo scores with a jab to the body.
Leonardo keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Nice body punch from Leonardo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leonardo missing with a left hand there. Whittaker was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Leonardo tests Whittaker's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Leonardo misses the jab.
Whittaker is looking for a counter combo.
Leonardo throws a jab but it's blocked by Whittaker.
Jovito Leonardo is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nice shot by Leonardo.
Leonardo fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Leonardo.
Whittaker ducks right into an uppercut from Leonardo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leonardo feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Whittakers jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Whittaker looks to clinch
and Leonardo cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Whittaker misses with a wild combination.
Whittaker fails to land the takedown.
Leonardo throws out a counter right but Whittaker avoids it with no problem.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Emilie Whittaker. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Whittaker is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Whittaker tries to close the distance and clinch but Leonardo swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Leonardo throws out a counter right but Whittaker avoids it with no problem.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whittaker takes one on the button.
Leonardo scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Leonardo misses the jab.
Leonardo digs a good body shot into Whittaker's ribs.
Leonardo takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Whittaker with a poor takedown
and Leonardo counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
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!
Leonardo swings for the body but Whittaker moves out of range.
Leonardo has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Leonardo throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Leonardo jabs Whittaker to the body, keeping him at a distance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jovito Leonardo showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Whittaker shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Leonardo as he jumps to the side.
Leonardo circles away from the clinch attempt
and Leonardo counters with a straight right hand.
Jovito Leonardo seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Whittaker on the wrong end of a nice hook.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Leonardo is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Whittaker.
Whittaker ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Whittaker is looking to counter the offense by Leonardo and move into the clinch.
Leonardo misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A punch lands to the side of Whittaker 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Leonardo lands with a good body shot.
Nice shot lands for Leonardo.
Leonardo throws a hook but Whittaker blocks it.
A shot to the liver by Leonardo. Beautiful body shot.
Leonardo swats away the attempt to clinch by Whittaker.
Leonardo tests Whittaker's chin there with a solid looking shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leonardo scores with a jab.
Whittaker misses with a body kick.
Leonardo looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Good exchange - Leonardo coming out on top.
Leonardo moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Whittaker fails with a takedown attempt.
Leonardo is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Whittaker with a body shot.
Whittaker uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Leonardo.
Whittaker looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Emilie Whittaker. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Leonardo cracks Whittaker with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Leonardo lands with a cross.
No joy there for Whittaker, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Whittaker looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Whittaker tries to clinch but Leonardo moves out of range.
Whittaker takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Whittaker tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Leonardo connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Whittaker on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Leonardo scores with a nice head shot.
Nice straight punches there by Leonardo. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Leonardo.

Whittaker is rocked!
BOOM! Leonardo lands a beautiful left hook that drops Whittaker. Whittaker tries to recover but Leonardo is having none of it, landing more punishing shots from mount. One final crushing shot and Whittaker lies motionless on the canvas. The fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:27 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Jovito Leonardo!