PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Marko Novakovic (ranked 2016 p4p, 3237 weight class) and Ringo Dukes (ranked 242 p4p, 359 weight class). Novakovic comes to the cage accompanied by Novaković - Christ. The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Novakovic
vs
Dukes

195 cm
25
216
3 - 0 - 0

192 cm
24
212
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Big right hand

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Marko Novakovic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ringo Dukes!
The judges for this bout are Tatsuya Matsuyama, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Novakovic defending well as Dukes loads up on a big left hand.
Dukes fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Novakovic is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Dukes is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Dukes fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Dukes misses with a body kick.
Dukes misses the jab.
Novakovic is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Dukes.
Dukes on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.

It looks like Ringo Dukes has been cut.
Dukes walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Dukes throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Novakovic.
Novakovic lands with a nice body punch.
Dukes looks winded!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

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

Dukes is rocked!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Novakovic is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Dukes is still in real trouble! Can Novakovic finish him?
Dukes seems to have recovered his senses.
Novakovic has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Novakovic has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Novakovic'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.

Dukes has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Novakovic can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Novakovic sitting in guard here, content to control.

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.
Dukes looking for a sweep. Not yet Dukes, not yet.
Novakovic is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Dukes misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Novakovic scores with a hook to the body. Dukes takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Novakovic looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Nice shot lands for Novakovic.

That has opened up Ringo Dukes's cut even more.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
A right hand to the body from Novakovic.
Dukes is trying to break the clinch but Novakovic is controlling him.
Dukes is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Novakovic is defending well.
Marko Novakovic has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ringo Dukes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Novakovic lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Dukes or not.
Novakovic working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Novakovic is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Novakovic lands a right hand.
A short right from Novakovic on the inside.
Novakovic lands a hook to the side of the head.
A shot in the inside from Novakovic.
Novakovic lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Novakovic scores with a hook to the body.
Novakovic scores with a shoulder strike.
Novakovic lands with a right to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Novakovic lands a body shot in the clinch.
Novakovic working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Novakovic lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Novakovic scores with a nice hook to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Novakovic lands a nice uppercut.

The cut above Ringo Dukes's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Novakovic lands a body shot.
Novakovic digs a right hand into Dukes's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Dukes's gas tank.
Novakovic digs a right hand into Dukes's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Dukes's gas tank.
Novakovic lands a shoulder strike.
Novakovic lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Dukes or not.
Novakovic lands a big right hand that drops Dukes! The killer instinct kicks in and Novakovic finishes his opponent with a series of strikes from mount. A dominating finish by Novakovic!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:32 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Marko Novakovic!
During a confident post fight interview, Marko Novakovic thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.