PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Crush Bandicoot (ranked 170 p4p, 114 weight class) and Eduardo Corassa (ranked 23 p4p, 13 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Bandicoot
vs
Corassa

173 cm
36
159
22 - 12 - 1

165 cm
30
145
21 - 6 - 2

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

PWNAGE™
Urban Fighter

Mile High
Fenrir Fightgear - Anno 2013

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 22 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Crush Bandicoot!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 6 - 2, fighting out of New York, Eduardo Corassa!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Jack Bonds and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Corassa connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Bandicoot momentarily.
Corassa scoring well with a low kick there.
Bandicoot rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
letting Corassa counter with a right hand.
We've been informed that Corassa has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Bandicoot misses with a shot to the body
and Corassa counters with a slapping leg kick.
Bandicoot is looking to clinch but Corassa is avoiding it.
Bandicoot connects with a body shot that sends Corassa's belly button to the back.
Nice jab there from Bandicoot.
Bandicoot looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Corassa follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.
We've been told by Bandicoot's head coaches at The Jungle Room that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Bandicoot swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Corassa counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Corassa displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jab by Bandicoot.
Corassa throws a solid leg kick but Bandicoot takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Corassa.
Bandicoot lands a jab to the nose.
Corassa looks to land a right hand but Bandicoot moved out of range.
Bandicoot takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Corassa connects with the punch.
Corassa throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Corassa misses with a body shot.
Bandicoot lunges at Corassa with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Corassa's hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Corassa throws a looping overhand right but Bandicoot ducks down to avoid it.
Bandicoot jinks towards his opponent looking like he wants to counter with a mid kick but doesn't commit.
Bandicoot throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Corassa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Bandicoot's corner calls for a 1-2. Bandicoot obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Corassa moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

Bandicoot bobbing and weaving well here. And he's unloaded with a massive right hand that drops Corassa! He dives into his guard looking to finish!

Corassa is rocked!
Bandicoot controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Corassa is still in real trouble! Can Bandicoot finish him?
Bandicoot scoring with some ground and pound.
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.
Bandicoot postures up.
Corassa seems to have recovered his senses.
Bandicoot in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Corassa looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Bandicoot missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Bandicoot throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Bandicoot is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Bandicoot with a flurry of punches that miss.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Corassa holds on and takes a little breather.
Corassa is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Bandicoot is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Corassa pulls his head out easily.

Bandicoot is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Corassa pulls his head out easily.
Corassa prevents Bandicoot from improving his position.
Bandicoot 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.
Corassa wants to stand up but Bandicoot has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Corassa trying to mount his opponent but Bandicoot defends it.
Corassa is controlling the pace.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Crush Bandicoot will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

A slow jab from Bandicoot misses its intended target.
Corassa counters with a body kick.
Corassa misses with a looping left.
Corassa slips a straight right by Bandicoot.
Bandicoot dives in for a single leg takedown but Corassa sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Corassa tries to work over Bandicoot's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Bandicoot is working Corassa over against the cage.
Bandicoot lands a body punch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Corassa.
Corassa misses with the head strike.
Corassa blocks an uppercut.
Bandicoot tries to stall but Corassa uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Corassa misses with a body punch.
Bandicoot lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Corassa backwards.
Bandicoot is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Corassa lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Bandicoot blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Bandicoot pulls guard successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bandicoot has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Corassa can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Corassa controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Corassa's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

Bandicoot is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Corassa stopping the sweep attempt from Bandicoot.
Corassa must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Corassa controls from within his opponent's guard.

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

Bandicoot working for a triangle but Corassa defends it easily.
Corassa slips nicely into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bandicoot wants to control but Corassa is keeping busy.
Corassa is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Bandicoot trying to hold on to Corassa's head to control him but Corassa postures up.
Bandicoot is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Corassa is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

Bandicoot is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Corassa pulls his head out easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Corassa tries to pass to full mount but Bandicoot defends it.

Bandicoot looking for submissions off his back.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Bandicoot shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Corassa is trying to defend but Bandicoot finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Bandicoot thows a huge punch but Corassa dodges it nicely.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Corassa blocking the ground and pound attempt from Bandicoot.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Crush Bandicoot will probably get the nod.
That's time! Bandicoot's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Corassa moves forwards but Bandicoot connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Bandicoot jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Bandicoot takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Corassa jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A little feinted left hand from Bandicoot on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Bandicoot swings for the body but Corassa moves out of range.
Bandicoot throws a head kick that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A cross from Bandicoot lands.

Bandicoot dives in and scores a takedown into Corassa's guard.
Crush Bandicoot overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bandicoot postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Corassa pulls Bandicoot in close to prevent any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Corassa keeping moving, preventing Bandicoot from controlling successfully.
Corassa is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Bandicoot throws a big elbow that misses.
Bandicoot pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Corassa is keeping the position for now.
Bandicoot loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Bandicoot loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Eduardo Corassa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Corassa working a defensive guard here.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Corassa controlling Bandicoot's posture.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Bandicoot misses with the combination.
Corassa looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Bandicoot dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Bandicoot throws a body shot but no joy.
Corassa only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Bandicoot misses with a hook. Corassa ducked under it nicely.
A nice side step and Corassa releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Corassa explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Corassa takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Corassa lands a lovely overhand right.
Bandicoot swings widly with a right hand
and Corassa counters with a nice leg kick.
Bandicoot misses with a looping right.
Corassa throws a right and a left that both miss.
Crush Bandicoot is winning the standup battle so far.
Bandicoot throws a body punch but Corassa moves out of range.
Crush Bandicoot is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Bandicoot closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Bandicoot lands in his opponent's guard.
Corassa has momentary wrist control but Bandicoot slips an elbow through the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Corassa being controlled here, momentarily.
Bandicoot'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.
Corassa trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Corassa tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Corassa doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.

Corassa has his foot on Bandicoot's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Bandicoot works his way back into a safe position though.

And that's the end of the fight!
Crush Bandicoot showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Bandicoot has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Crush Bandicoot!
Crush Bandicoot decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.