PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mark Clarke (ranked 2653 p4p, 3043 weight class) and Amadeo Thevenet (ranked 137 p4p, 156 weight class). Clarke comes to the cage accompanied by One Cent, Five Cent, Ten Cent, Dollar - Soca Boys. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Clarke
vs
Thevenet

185 cm
31
275
11 - 9 - 0

190 cm
26
254
8 - 9 - 1

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

30th Century Beer Store

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Mark Clarke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 9 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Amadeo Thevenet!
The judges for this bout are Radbod Blank, Paulsen Ambrosius and Nard Betker.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thevenet scores with a jab to the head.
Thevenet is trying hard to land a takedown here. Clarke sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
A jab from Clarke misses.
Clarke pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Thevenet appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.

Thevenet has managed to clinch.
A nice left hand lands by Thevenet.
Thevenet lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Clarke backwards.
Thevenet is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Clarke changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Thevenet fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Clarke has been working on his balance at Final Mile, so perhaps that has help him stuff some of the takedown attempts by Thevenet.
Clarke is looking to land body kicks.
Despite the aggression on Thevenet's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Nice sprawl there from Clarke as Thevenet shoots in.
Thevenet has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Clarke is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Thevenet connects with a body shot that sends Clarke's belly button to the back.
Clarke shoots in for a takedown but Thevenet shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mark Clarke. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thevenet bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Clarke's head backwards.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Clarke with a lazy takedown attempt
and Thevenet counters with a straight right hand.
Mark Clarke seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Clarke throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Thevenet throws out a counter right but Clarke avoids it with no problem.
Thevenet with a hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clarke tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.

Thevenet bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Clarke avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Thevenet.
Clarke seems a little lost for a moment, as Thevenet dominates the positioning.
Clarke is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Thevenet is working Clarke over with some ground and pound from side control.
Check out the look on Thevenet's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Clarke tries to bench press Thevenet off him but Thevenet keeps the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thevenet in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Thevenet is looking to take a break and control but Clarke is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Thevenet scores with a couple of short elbows.
Clarke wants to control but Thevenet postures up.
Thevenet working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Thevenet scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Clarke to see if he's OK.
Clarke is looking to regain half guard here but Thevenet keeps moving and retains side control.
Thevenet working the head with strikes.
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!
Thevenet fails to land a wild elbow strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Clarke trying to control from the bottom.
Clarke gets back to full guard.
Clarke seems keen to control Thevenet's posture.
Thevenet must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Clarke avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Thevenet wants to control from the top but Clarke keeps moving.
Clarke has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Clarke keeping moving, preventing Thevenet from controlling successfully.

That's four 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.
Thevenet stopping the sweep attempt from Clarke.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Clarke fails with the takedown.
Thevenet throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Clarke counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Thevenet wants to sweep but no luck.
Clarke trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Thevenet 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.
Clarke throwing strikes from guard but Thevenet blocks nicely.
Clarke landing with the ground and pound.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Amadeo Thevenet dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Thevenet looks to score with a jab to the body but Clarke is just out of range.
Nice takedown defense from Thevenet. No joy for Clarke on that attempt.
Clarke with a poor takedown
and Thevenet counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Clarke shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Thevenet pinned against the cage. Thevenet gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mark Clarke. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thevenet tries to clinch but Clarke is having none of it.
Clarke fails with a takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jab by Thevenet.
Clarke doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Thevenet counters with a right hand to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Thevenet scores with a jab to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Thevenet scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Thevenet scoring with punches and elbows.
Clarke takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Thevenet cracks Clarke with a big right hand but Clarke just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Check out the look on Thevenet's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Thevenet lands an elbow.
Clarke tries to improve position but can't.
Thevenet working the ground and pound.
Thevenet is looking to take a break and control but Clarke is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Thevenet throwing strikes but missing, from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Clarke throwing some weak shots from the bottom that do no damage.
Thevenet is looking to take a break and control but Clarke is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Amadeo Thevenet has got the better of the ground game so far.
Clarke taking punishment in the form of punches.
Thevenet taking a breather here.
Thevenet lands a few punches from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clarke takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Thevenet takes a little break here. Clarke wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Thevenet trying to control the action but Clarke is working from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thevenet scoring with punches and elbows.
Thevenet lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Clarke down.

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.
Thevenet working the ground and pound.
Thevenet lands a few punches from side control.
Thevenet is looking to take a break and control but Clarke is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Clarke is looking for a sweep.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Clarke regains half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Amadeo Thevenet showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Clarke swinging wildly here.
Thevenet catches Clarke with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Thevenet has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Thevenet bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Thevenet takes a swing at Clarke's ribcage but misses.
Clarke tries to counter with a takedown but Thevenet is quick to defend against it.
Thevenet throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Thevenet moves out of range of the leg kick from Clarke.
Thevenet throws out a counter right but Clarke avoids it with no problem.
Amadeo Thevenet seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Clarke misses with a kick to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thevenet ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Clarke moves away.
Thevenet ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

Clarke feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Thevenet holds on and takes a little breather.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clarke wants to pass the guard but Thevenet is keeping the position.
Clarke throws an elbow that misses. Thevenet uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Clarke's guard. Nice move by Thevenet!

Clarke keeping moving, preventing Thevenet from controlling successfully.
Thevenet is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Clarke looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Mark Clarke has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two 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.
Thevenet trying to control the position from guard on top but Clarke is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Clarke lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Thevenet tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Clarke trying to control the position from guard on top but Thevenet is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Clarke connects with a couple of short punches.
Clarke preventing the sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thevenet pulls Clarke in close to prevent any damage.
Thevenet looking to hit a scissor sweep but Clarke is one step ahead there.
Clarke pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Thevenet is keeping the position for now.
Thevenet looking for a sweep. Not yet Thevenet, not yet.
Thevenet wants to hit a sweep here but Clarke passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Thevenet there!
Thevenet really trying hard to get back to half guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Thevenet that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
A nice elbow there by Clarke.
Clarke looking to finish Thevenet with some ground and pound. This is bad for Thevenet!

Thevenet is rocked!
Clarke loads up on a couple of big shots to the head that have Thevenet scrambling to escape. He can't get free though and several more unanswered shots from Clarke land to the head. The referee has no choice but to stop the fight. Clarke stands and salutes the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:53 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Mark Clarke!
In his post fight interview, Mark Clarke started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.