PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Dave Handerson (ranked 502 p4p, 1062 weight class) and Mark Clarke (ranked 67 p4p, 124 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Handerson
vs
Clarke

198 cm
21
255
8 - 1 - 0

185 cm
27
275
8 - 2 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Powerful

Bondi MMA 🏝️
Shadow Realm Apparel

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Dave Handerson!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mark Clarke!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Viktor Lagutenko and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Handerson scores with the left hand. Clarke knows he should have avoided that one.
Handerson looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Clarke ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Clarke tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Handerson lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Clarke takes a jab right on the kisser.
Handerson with a jab.
Clarke takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Dave Handerson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Handerson wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Clarke takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Good shot there by Handerson.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Handerson throws a lazy uppercut

and Clarke decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Handerson's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Handerson throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Handerson escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Clarke gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Handerson looking for a sweep. Not yet Handerson, not yet.

Clarke avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Handerson preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Handerson keeping moving, preventing Clarke from controlling successfully.

Handerson looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Clarke must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Clarke content to stall in guard here.

Handerson is looking for a triangle but Clarke pushes his legs off easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Handerson controls Clarke momentarily but Clarke frees himself.
Clarke has been taking part in the yoga sessions down at Combat Wombat Burrow. Presumably he's going to look for a slick submission... Or maybe he's looking to avoid one.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Handerson is on top in guard.

Clarke avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Handerson throwing strikes from guard but Clarke blocks nicely.
Handerson won't allow Clarke to sweep him here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Handerson passes into half guard.
Handerson trying to pass the guard but Clarke defending well.
Clarke blocking the ground and pound attempt from Handerson.
Handerson throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Clarke to regain full guard.
Handerson is stalling in the full guard.
Handerson wants to get up but he can't break Clarke's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Handerson preventing the sweep.
Handerson pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Clarke is keeping the position for now.
Handerson will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Handerson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Clarke works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Handerson forces his way into half guard.
Handerson throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Clarke to regain full guard.
Handerson lands a couple of digs.
Handerson keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Clarke's head.
Handerson with a nice head shot there.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Clarke has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Handerson throws a big right hand that misses.
Clarke preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Dave Handerson dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Good standup being displayed there by Handerson as he connects with a hook.
Handerson fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Handerson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Clarke can do to turn this around?
Clarke drops his hands momentarily and Handerson takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Handerson lunges at Clarke with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Clarke's hand.
Handerson fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Clarke on the side of the head.
Handerson dips to his left and cracks Clarke with an uppercut!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Handerson throws out a powerful jab.
Clarke takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Handerson throws a jab when Clarke was well out of range.
And Clarke tries to counter it with a takedown but Handerson pushes his down on his head and steps out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Handerson connects with a body shot.
Clarke uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Handerson.
Clarke is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Good exchange - Handerson coming out on top.
Handerson is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
A jab from Handerson misses.
Clarke tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Handerson uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Clarke has time to react.
Clarke gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Handerson's jab looks to have found its range, popping Clarke under the eye.
Handerson misses with a right hand

and Clarke counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Handerson wants to sweep but no luck.
Handerson has Clarke pulled in close to control his posture.
Clarke content to stall in guard here.
Clarke makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Clarke pushes down on Handerson's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Handerson trying to control but Clarke postures up.
Handerson makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Handerson.
Clarke really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Handerson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Handerson looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Handerson looking for a triangle here. Clarke is fighting it but it looks tight! Handerson pulls the arm across and this one won't last much longer! Nope, Clarke is tapping out - this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:21 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Dave Handerson!
Dave Handerson retains his heavyweight title!
A very excited looking Dave Handerson made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.
The defeated Mark Clarke had this to say: 'You beat me again... Well played. I wish you the best of luck in the future... However this is my final fight, thank you to everyone who supported me.. I want to pass the torch to Handerson. Good work brother.'.