PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Hung Dong (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nick Daaz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Daaz has chosen Meshuggah - Mind's Mirror as his entrance music. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Dong
vs
Daaz

170 cm
18
211 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

188 cm
18
215 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

Berserker Nutrition

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 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Hung Dong!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Nick Daaz!
The judges for this bout are Matheus Silva, Leandro Rodrigues and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dong tries to clinch but Daaz is having none of it.
Daaz avoids the head kick by Dong.
Dong wants to slow Daaz down by chopping away at his legs.
Daaz keeps the fight on the outside.
Dong throws a big shot that misses.
Dong tries to clinch but Daaz is having none of it.
Dong wants to clinch up but Daaz keeps it at a distance.
Daaz swats away the attempt to clinch by Dong.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dong tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Dong throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Daaz sees it coming and avoids it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dong doesn't manage to clinch there - Daaz circles away.
Dong is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Dong gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Dong is working for takedown but Daaz is calmly controlling the position for now.
Dong blocks a body shot from Daaz.
Daaz wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Daaz trying to stall but Dong improves his position.
Daaz is trying to break free.
Daaz is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Dong is keeping busy.
Dong tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Dong tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Dong just leaning against Daaz, taking a breather.
Dong lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Daaz or not.
Daaz blocks an elbow strike from Dong.

Daaz escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Dong tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Daaz paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Dong is looking to chop away at Daaz's legs.
Nick Daaz is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dong is looking to clinch.
Dong tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Daaz stuffs the takedown attempt from Dong. Dong gets slowly back to his feet.
Dong wants to clinch up but Daaz keeps it at a distance.
Dong fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hung Dong. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Daaz blocks a leg kick.
Crunch! Dong slams his shin into Daaz's torso.
Dong tries to close the distance and clinch up but Daaz swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Dong shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Daaz holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Dong tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Daaz tries to hold on but Dong pushes him away.
Dong lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Daaz hang on?
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dong is breathing heavily.
Daaz wants to control but Dong is having none of it.
Daaz is wriggling around trying to escape.
Daaz gets back to half guard.
Dong missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Dong is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Dong moves nicely into side control.
Daaz tries to bench press Dong off him but Dong keeps the position.
Dong throws an elbow but Daaz slips to the side and avoids it well.

Dong tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Dong has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Dong misses with the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Dong is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Daaz knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
You can see the frustration on Daaz's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Dong landing strikes.
Dong working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Daaz taking punishment in the form of punches.
Dong working the ground and pound from side control.
Dong cracks Daaz with a big right hand but Daaz just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
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!
Dong has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Daaz!
Dong lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Dong working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Dong scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Daaz?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hung Dong dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Dong with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Daaz checks a low kick from Dong.
Dong does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Daaz lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Daaz blocks the body kick.
Dong tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Daaz misses with a jab, cross combination.
Dong tries to clinch but Daaz is having none of it.
Dong throws a push kick but Daaz slaps the foot to one side.
Daaz is breathing heavily.
Dong misses with a hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Daaz takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Daaz circles away from the clinch attempt.
Dong shoots in looking for a takedown. Daaz tries to sprawl out of it but Dong keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Daaz manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Dong wants to clinch.
Daaz stuffs the takedown.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice takedown defense from Daaz. No joy for Dong on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hung Dong. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dong fails in his attempt to clinch.
Dong tries to close the distance and clinch but Daaz swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Daaz swats away the attempt to clinch by Dong.
Dong tries to clinch up but Daaz circles away and keeps his distance.
Dong tries to close the distance and clinch up but Daaz swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Nice sprawl there from Daaz as Dong shoots in.
The fight stays on the outside here - Dong looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Daaz stuffs the takedown attempt from Dong. Dong gets slowly back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Daaz stuffs the takedown.
Daaz throws a right and a left that both miss.
Hung Dong seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dong shoots for a takedown but Daaz saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Dong drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dong missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Dong wants to pass the guard but Daaz is keeping the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Dong is looking to work some ground and pound but Daaz has wrist control.
Dong works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Dong lands with a punch from half guard.
Dong missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Dong tries to pass to full mount but Daaz defends it.
Dong working Daaz over with strikes.
Dong landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Daaz avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Dong.
Dong thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Dong trying to mount his opponent but Daaz defends it.
Dong looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

Dong is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Daaz keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Dong uses his free foot to push down on Daaz's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Daaz.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hung Dong dominated that second round.
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!

Dong misses with a lunging right hand
enabling Daaz to counter with a crisp jab.

Dong gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Daaz lands an uppercut.
Daaz wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Dong has him pressed against the cage.
Dong fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Daaz wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Dong is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Dong tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Dong missing with knees to the body.
Daaz wants to get back to striking at distance but Dong won't allow it.
Dong tries to stall but Daaz uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Daaz is trying to break the clinch but Dong has him pressed against the cage.
Dong looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Dong misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Daaz.
Dong throws a knee to the head but misses.
Dong using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Daaz has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Dong keeps control of Daaz as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Dong can't find room to land a body shot as Daaz controls the action.
Dong trying to land knees to the body.
Daaz on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Dong lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Dong using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Daaz takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Dong lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Dong lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Dong tries to land a knee to the head but Daaz blocks with his arms.
Dong tries to pull guard but Daaz holds him up against the cage and eventually Dong drops back down to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Dong decides to pull guard.
Dong throws some sloppy strikes off his back.

Dong working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Daaz doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Daaz manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Dong has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Daaz can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Dong might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Daaz preventing the sweep.

Dong is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Daaz must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Dong keeping moving, preventing Daaz from controlling successfully.
Dong can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Daaz controls the pace.
Let's hope that Daaz has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

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.
Daaz stands and throws Dong's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Daaz is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Dong tries to bench press Daaz off him but Daaz keeps the position.
Daaz really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Dong. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Daaz taking a breather here.
Dong is trying to improve his position.
Daaz controls the position.
Dong 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.
Daaz tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Dong gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Dong manages to get to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Dong working for a triangle but Daaz defends it easily.

Dong working for a triangle but Daaz defends it easily.
Dong manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Daaz tries to reverse the position but Dong maintains control.
Daaz in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Dong fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Dong looking to finish Daaz with some ground and pound. This is bad for Daaz!
Dong pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dong cracks Daaz with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Dong landing punches.
Dong cracks Daaz with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Dong lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Daaz hang on?

Daaz is rocked!
Daaz is looking to get to half guard.
Dong throwing strikes here but Daaz is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Dong connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Daaz is desperately trying to improve his position but Dong has a good base and remains in mount.
The referee warns Daaz that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Daaz wants to hold on but Dong pushes him away.
Daaz is looking to improve his position but Dong isn't that keen on the idea.
A nice elbow there by Dong.
Hung Dong overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Daaz tries to reverse the position but Dong maintains control.
Nick Daaz has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dong lands a nice shot to the head.
Dong dominating with strikes here.
Daaz wants to hold on but Dong pushes him away.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hung Dong showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Dong 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 Matheus Silva scores the fight 30:27
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:27
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hung Dong!