PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Darth Vader (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dave Kopp (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vader comes to the cage accompanied by The Imperial March. 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?

Vader
vs
Kopp

165 cm
30
134 lbs
24 - 5 - 0

170 cm
29
130 lbs
10 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid Muay Thai
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Granite chin

Bullet Proof System
Sun-Tzu

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Darth Vader !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Dave Kopp!
The judges for this bout are Richard Clark, James Glass and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kopp shoots in looking for a takedown. Vader tries to sprawl out of it but Kopp keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Vader manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Vader throws a push kick but Kopp slaps the foot to one side.
Kopp tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.

Vader drives through with a takedown into Kopp's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Vader advances to half guard.
Vader seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vader is keen to just control but Kopp is a slippery customer.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vader is controlling the pace.
Kopp is trying to control but can't.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Vader missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Vader missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Kopp is looking for a sweep. Vader is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Kopp felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Kopp avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Vader .
Kopp has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Vader is working away from the top position though.

Kopp is defending against the submission attempts here by Vader .

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Kopp avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Vader .
Vader sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Kopp is looking for a sweep. Vader is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Vader not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Vader throwing shots but Kopp is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vader trying to pass the guard but Kopp defending well.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Vader wants to land a leg kick but Kopp is out of range.
Kopp shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Vader defends it nicely.
Nice sprawl there from Vader as Kopp shoots in.
Darth Vader has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dave Kopp.

Kopp changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Vader looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Kopp tries to score with some ground and pound. Vader controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Kopp in the domination position with Vader hanging on.
Vader is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Kopp off and has taken his back!
Vader has good solid back control here.
Kopp is trying to break free.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vader lands strikes to the head.

It looks like Dave Kopp has been cut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Vader misses with punches from the back.
Kopp has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Vader .
Vader struggling to keep hold of the position.
Vader missing with strikes from the back.
Kopp staying busy and making it hard for Vader to control.
Vader landing with strikes.
Vader 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.
Vader punches the canvas rather than the man.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Vader trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
Good control from Vader .
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Darth Vader dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Dave Kopp's cut.
That's time! Vader 's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Vader closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Vader thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kopp's head.
Vader trying to control the action but Kopp is working from the bottom.
Vader drops an elbow to the side of Kopp's head.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Vader in particular looking to stall.
Kopp is refusing to be controlled, as Vader sits in half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vader missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vader throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Vader trying to control the pace.
Vader throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Kopp to regain full guard.
Vader looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Vader sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Kopp's guard.
Darth Vader overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Vader is looking to advance position but Kopp won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Vader moves into full mount! Kopp won't be happy about that!
Kopp is working to get back to half guard.
Vader throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Vader thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Vader looking to finish with strikes here!
Kopp sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Vader with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kopp blocking the ground and pound attempt from Vader .
Kopp is not content to let Vader control the position.
Kopp is looking to improve his position.
Vader missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Vader throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Vader thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Vader is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Kopp can do to turn this around?
Vader perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Vader moves into full mount! Kopp won't be happy about that!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vader misses with a head shot.
Vader punching from mount but Kopp doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Vader cracks Kopp with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Vader landing punches.
BOOM! Vader connects with a massive shot to the dome!

That has opened up Dave Kopp's cut even more.
Vader loads up on a couple of big shots to the head that have Kopp scrambling to escape. He can't get free though and several more unanswered shots from Vader land to the head. The referee has no choice but to stop the fight. Vader stands and salutes the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Darth Vader !
A relieved looking Darth Vader thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.
In defeat, Dave Kopp stepped up to the mic, saying 'Man, Stumpy got lucky, I want a rematch!'.