PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between John Wayne (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mario Pepe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Wayne
vs
Pepe

185 cm
23
198 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

185 cm
29
188 lbs
8 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, John Wayne!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Mario Pepe!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Wagner Zegers and Albert Achterberg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Wayne changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Pepe tries to avoid it but Wayne manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Pepe to the ground. Pepe escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
No luck for Wayne with that takedown attempt.
Pepe connects with a single shot there.
Pepe lands a jab to Wayne's midsection.
Wayne jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Wayne shoots in and drives through. Pepe sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Wayne. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wayne misses with a wild combination.
Wayne closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

Wayne fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Pepe, pushing him back against the cage.

Pepe manages to break the clinch.
John Wayne seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pepe motions for Wayne to come forward. Pepe throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pepe feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Waynes jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Wayne throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Pepe's waist but Pepe gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Wayne off to one side.
Wayne misses with a takedown attempt - Pepe sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Pepe uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Wayne throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Pepe's waist but Pepe gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Wayne off to one side.
Wayne shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Pepe defends it nicely.
Wayne with a lazy takedown attempt
and Pepe counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Wayne shoots in for a takedown but Pepe shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Wayne with a lazy takedown attempt
and Pepe counters with a nice low kick that buckles Wayne's knee momentarily.
Wayne fails with the takedown.
Wayne is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pepe cracks Wayne with an open hand slap.
Mario Pepe is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Wayne misses with a takedown
and Pepe counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Wayne shoots in but no luck this time.
Wayne closes the distance and clinches up with Pepe, looking for a takedown. Wayne pushes Pepe against the cage but Pepe circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Wayne fails with the takedown
and Pepe counters with a good low kick that Wayne was not able to check.
Wayne is looking to clinch.
Wayne misses with a takedown attempt - Pepe sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Wayne has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.

It looks like John Wayne has been cut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pepe listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Wayne shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Pepe counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Wayne moves to clinch but Pepe breaks away
enabling Pepe to counter with a crisp jab.
Pepe jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Pepe leaves Wayne with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Wayne wants to clinch.
Nice defenses there by Wayne.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pepe goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

Wayne fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Pepe sprawls well initially but Wayne persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Pepe wants to get back to his feet.
Wayne thows a huge punch but Pepe dodges it nicely.
Still in half guard, Wayne seems content to control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Pepe is looking to escape.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wayne throwing shots but Pepe is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mario Pepe dominated that round.
The cut man is working on John Wayne's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Wayne dives in and scores a takedown into Pepe's guard.
Wayne throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Pepe works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Wayne postures up in Pepe's guard and throws a big left but Pepe blocks it.
Wayne trying to control the position from guard on top but Pepe is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Wayne accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Wayne won't allow Pepe to get back to his feet.
Wayne scoring with punches to the head and body.
Wayne is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wayne trying to control the position from guard on top but Pepe is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Pepe working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Wayne.
Wayne wants to control from the top but Pepe keeps moving.
Wayne throwing strikes but missing.
Wayne trying to control but Pepe is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because John Wayne just wasn't active enough.
Pepe throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Nice takedown defense from Pepe. No joy for Wayne on that attempt.
Good standup being displayed there by Pepe as he connects with a hook.
Wayne will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Wayne tries to score a power double leg takedown but Pepe sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Wayne somewhat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Wayne. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The fight stays on the outside here - Wayne looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wayne misses with a wild body shot.
Nice sprawl there from Pepe as Wayne shoots in.
Wayne avoids a low kick by using good footwork.

Wayne scores with a takedown into Pepe's guard.
Wayne is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Wayne stops Pepe from standing up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pepe keeping full guard, as Wayne tries to pass.
Wayne throws an elbow that misses. Pepe uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Wayne's guard. Nice move by Pepe!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pepe stands and throws Wayne's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Pepe scores with a couple of short elbows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Wayne dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on John Wayne's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Pepe circles away from the clinch attempt.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Pepe enables Wayne to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Pepe manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Wayne trying to control the position from guard on top but Pepe is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Wayne engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Wayne throwing strikes but missing.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Wayne throwing strikes from guard but Pepe blocks nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wayne prevents Pepe from getting back to his feet.
Wayne throws an elbow that misses. Pepe uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Wayne's guard. Nice move by Pepe!
Pepe throwing strikes but missing.
Wayne 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.
Wayne 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.
Wayne preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Pepe cracks Wayne with a solid left hand.
Pepe scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wayne looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Pepe landing with the ground and pound.
Pepe is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Pepe throws a strike but Wayne rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Pepe pushes Wayne off and scrambles back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Pepe keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Wayne fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wayne misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John Wayne. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wayne tries for a takedown but Pepe sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Wayne gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
enabling Pepe to counter with a crisp jab.
Pepe's jab looks to have found its range, popping Wayne under the eye.
Pepe throws a body punch but Wayne moves out of range.
Wayne misses with a takedown
and Pepe counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pepe misses with the combination.
Pepe works Wayne's body with a nice hook.
Pepe stuffs the takedown.
Wayne tries for a takedown but Pepe sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Wayne shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Pepe but Pepe pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Wayne has his takedown stuffed
and Pepe counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Wayne on the wrong end of a nice hook.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mario Pepe comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Pepe has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Saam Ante scores the fight 28:29
Judge Wagner Zegers scores the fight 28:29
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mario Pepe!