PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Phil Sprintin (ranked 3508 p4p, 3613 weight class) and Danylo Belenuik (ranked 201 p4p, 205 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Sprintin might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Disturbed - Bad Man. Danylo Belenuik is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Sprintin
vs
Belenuik

168 cm
19
135
1 - 0 - 0

160 cm
19
135
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very quick

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Granite chin

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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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Phil Sprintin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Danylo Belenuik!
The judges for this bout are Ian Loll, Dillan Fox and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sprintin lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
The fighters circling - Sprintin throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Belenuik ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
We've been told by Sprintin's head coaches at Gonzasco Hydropathy that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.

Belenuik gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Belenuik throws a punch but it's blocked by Sprintin.
Sprintin prevents a body shot from Belenuik.
Sprintin misses with a body punch.
Belenuik lands a hook that snaps the head of Sprintin backwards.

Belenuik manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Belenuik trying to keep a closed guard but Sprintin is proving a slippery customer.
Sprintin seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sprintin is pushing down on Belenuik's leg trying to pass to half guard. Belenuik is fighting to maintain full guard but Sprintin has managed to sneak the leg through.
Belenuik tries to roll over but Sprintin keeps him under control.
Sprintin is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belenuik is holding on to half guard well.
Sprintin seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Sprintin continues to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Sprintin trying to control the action but Belenuik is working from the bottom.
Sprintin prevents Belenuik from improving his position.
Belenuik trying to control here.
Belenuik manages to get to full guard.
Sprintin 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.
Sprintin wants to control from the top but Belenuik keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sprintin slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Belenuik can't do much from the bottom here.
Sprintin throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Belenuik works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
Sprintin trying to control the action but Belenuik is working from the bottom.
Belenuik felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Sprintin works his way into full mount!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sprintin is in the full mount, landing strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sprintin controlling from the full mount.
Belenuik is working to get back to half guard.
Sprintin trying to control but Belenuik is having none of it.
Sprintin controlling his opponent.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Phil Sprintin 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.

Belenuik uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Sprintin.
A slow jab from Sprintin misses its intended target.
A big left from Sprintin misses.
Sprintin throws a good cross that connects.
Sprintin missing with a left hand there. Belenuik was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sprintin cracks Belenuik with a good jab.
Belenuik has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Sprintin finds it's way round the side to connect with Belenuik's head.
Sprintin swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Belenuik tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Sprintin defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Belenuik.
Sprintin scores with a jab to the body.
Sprintin swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Sprintin is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Sprintin throws a lazy uppercut

and Belenuik counters with a single leg into guard. Sprintin didn't expect that.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sprintin wants to sweep but no luck.
Belenuik trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Sprintin lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Sprintin is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Belenuik can do to turn this around?
Sprintin slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sprintin stands and throws Belenuik's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Sprintin controlling the position from side mount.
Sprintin trying to control the action but Belenuik is working from the bottom.
Sprintin is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Belenuik is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Belenuik is trying to improve his position.
Sprintin is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Belenuik's shoulder. That is not cool.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Belenuik is not content to let Sprintin control the position.
Sprintin wants to control for a moment but Belenuik uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.
Belenuik wants to improve his position but Sprintin is controlling well.
Sprintin controlling the action here.
Phil Sprintin overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Belenuik can do anything to dispel that myth.
Sprintin trying to control the action but Belenuik is working from the bottom.
Sprintin content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belenuik trying to control from the bottom.
Sprintin uses his free foot to push down on Belenuik's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Belenuik.
Sprintin tries to control but Belenuik wriggling away.
Belenuik tries to lock up and control but Sprintin gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Sprintin looking to control and managing it successfully.
Belenuik tries to reverse the position but Sprintin maintains control.
Belenuik slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sprintin stalling.
Belenuik is looking to improve his position.
Well, if Sprintin is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Belenuik has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Sprintin is working away from the top position though.

Belenuik looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sprintin controlling the action here.
Belenuik is looking to control Sprintin's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Belenuik avoid being mounted?
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Phil Sprintin dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Sprintin throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Sprintin misses with a hook.
Belenuik tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sprintin swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Sprintin fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Belenuik looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Sprintin lands an overhand right.
Sprintin scores with a body shot.
Sprintin throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Sprintin throws a shot from downtown. Belenuik moves away and avoids it.
Belenuik tries to counter by closing the distance.
Sprintin lands a jab.
Phil Sprintin is winning the standup battle so far.

Belenuik closes the distance and clinches.
A short right from Sprintin on the inside.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sprintin doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Belenuik drags the fight down to the ground.
Sprintin passes Belenuik's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Sprintin not doing much here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sprintin trying to control from half guard but Belenuik is working away.
Sprintin controlling the action here.

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.
Belenuik is looking to improve his position.
Sprintin trying to control the pace.
Belenuik is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Sprintin jumps into side control!
Belenuik is trying to improve his position.
Sprintin wants to lay and pray for a moment but Belenuik keeps working.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sprintin staying calm.
Sprintin is looking to take a break and control but Belenuik is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Danylo Belenuik has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Belenuik is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Sprintin looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Belenuik is looking for a sweep. Sprintin is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Belenuik wants to control but Sprintin is keeping busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Belenuik tries to roll over but Sprintin keeps him under control.
Still in half guard, Sprintin seems content to control.
Belenuik is looking to control Sprintin's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Belenuik avoid being mounted?

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A jab lands there for Sprintin.
Sprintin ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Belenuik moves away.
Belenuik ducks under a wild hook from Sprintin.
Jab, jab by Sprintin - just one landing.
Belenuik moves in looking to clinch but Sprintin pushes him off.
Belenuik avoids the body shot from Sprintin.
Belenuik tries to counter by closing the distance.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Belenuik tries for a takedown but Sprintin sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
A jab from Sprintin misses.
Phil Sprintin is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sprintin jabs Belenuik to the body, keeping him at a distance.

And that's the end of the fight!
Phil Sprintin showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Sprintin, 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 Ian Loll scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27

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