PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ramon Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Karl Denke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gracie kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Jiu Jitsu: Vai Finaliza!. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Gracie
vs
Denke

180 cm
28
180 lbs
19 - 2 - 0

175 cm
25
180 lbs
14 - 5 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent MT
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Aspire Nutrition
Aspire Clothing

Aspire Clothing
Aspire Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 19 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Ramon Gracie!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Karl Denke!
The judges for this bout are James Atkins, Daniel Bishop and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice straight punches there by Denke. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Denke.

It looks like Ramon Gracie has been cut.
Gracie steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Denke.
Gracie is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Denke.
Denke misses the jab.
Gracie throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Denke throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Gracie sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Gracie changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Denke throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Gracie throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Denke sees it coming and avoids it easily.
A telegraphed right hand from Denke misses the target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Denke keeps the fight on the outside.
Denke takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Gracie walks into a left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie with a lazy takedown attempt
and Denke counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A jab from Denke misses.
Gracie dives in for a single leg takedown but Denke sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Gracie lands a jab.

Gracie closes the distance and clinches.

Denke breaks from the clinch.
Gracie tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Gracie slips a straight right by Denke.
Denke uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Gracie has time to react.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gracie moves into the clinch.
Gracie fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ramon Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Denke throws a head punch that misses.
Gracie taking a breather.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Denke.
Denke throws a punch but it's blocked by Gracie.
Denke told us before the fight that he's been working on his elbows. An under utilised technique these days - let's see if it can sway the outcome of the fight.
Gracie lands a left hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Denke.
A right hand to the body from Gracie.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Denke swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Denke misses with a punch on the inside.
Denke swings wildly with an uppercut but Gracie uses good head movement to avoid it.
Denke throws a punch but it's blocked by Gracie.
Denke misses with the head strike.

Denke breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Denke scores with a jab to the jaw.
Gracie shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Denke pinned against the cage. Denke gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Denke connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Denke throws out a loose jab but Gracie uses good head movement to avoid it.
Gracie is looking to counter the offense by Denke and move into the clinch.
Gracie looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
A big right from Denke misses.
Denke throws out a loose jab but Gracie uses good head movement to avoid it.
A telegraphed right hand from Denke misses the target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie moves in looking to clinch but Denke pushes him off.
Denke is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Gracie.
Gracie lands a nice leg kick that just misses Denke's sensitive parts.
Karl Denke is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Gracie lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Denke throws out a loose jab but Gracie uses good head movement to avoid it.
Gracie tries to clinch
and Denke counters with a nice uppercut.

Ramon Gracie's cut is getting worse.
Denke throws the left hand but Gracie avoids the punch easily.
Denke on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Gracie. Gracie obviously looking to wear him down.
Gracie lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karl Denke dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ramon Gracie's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Nice defenses there by Gracie.
Karl Denke seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Gracie throws a low kick but it's checked well by Denke.
Denke scoring well with a low kick there.
Gracie lands a nice leg kick that just misses Denke's sensitive parts.

Gracie clinches up with Denke and pushes him back against the cage.

Denke breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
A jab lands there for Denke.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie throws a leg kick that is checked
and Denke counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Gracie with a hook.
A slow jab from Denke misses its intended target.
Gracie attempts a counter takedown but Denke avoids it well and moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Denke stuffs the takedown attempt from Gracie. Gracie gets slowly back to his feet.
Denke lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
An inside leg kick from Gracie misses.
Gracie tries to clinch but Denke moves out of range.
Gracie moves in looking to clinch but Denke pushes him off.

Gracie shoots in and gets a takedown into Denke's guard.
Gracie tries to free his leg and advance position but Denke is retaining full guard.
Gracie in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Denke controls Gracie momentarily but Gracie frees himself.
Gracie 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.
Gracie slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gracie tries to move into full mount but can't pass Denke's legs.
Gracie works to advance to full mount. Denke defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Gracie looking to finish Denke with some ground and pound. This is bad for Denke!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie fails to advance to Denke's back.
Denke is trying to escape the mount but Gracie keeps good control and instead manages to take Denke's back.
Denke is trying to break free.
Will Gracie go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?

Denke fending off the submission attempt from Gracie.
Denke is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Gracie off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
Denke is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie controls the position.

Gracie looking for the RNC.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Denke tries to escape the position.
Gracie trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Denke doesn't escape.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Denke trying to control the hands but Gracie breaks the grip.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ramon Gracie dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Ramon Gracie's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Denke misses with an uppercut. Gracie saw that one coming.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Gracie.
Good shot there by Denke.
Good work by Denke as he checks the leg kick.
Denke lands a nice hook to Gracie's body. Gracie takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Denke catches Gracie with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Gracie blocks a jab.
Gracie is trying hard to land a takedown here. Denke sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Denke throws a left and a right that both miss

and Gracie holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Gracie tries to pull guard but Denke forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ramon Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gracie misses with a short punch on the inside.
Denke pushes Gracie back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Gracie tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Gracie lands a left hand that snaps the head of Denke backwards.
Denke misses with some punches.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Denke.
Denke misses with some punches.
Gracie struggles to land a body shot inside as Denke controls his hands.
A short right from Gracie.
Denke lands a left hand that snaps the head of Gracie backwards.
Ramon Gracie has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Denke is trying to break the clinch but Gracie is controlling him.
Denke throws a punch but it's blocked by Gracie.
Gracie looking to stall.

Gracie has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Denke uses from the top position.
Gracie is pulling down on Denke's head. It's preventing any offense from Denke, at least for the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Gracie looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Denke puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Denke has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Denke is thwarting Gracie's attempts to control the position.
Denke prevents Gracie from improving his position.

Denke stands up out of the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie ducks under a wild hook from Denke.
Denke looks to land a right hand but Gracie moved out of range.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Denke checks a leg kick.
Gracie throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Gracie throws a looping overhand right but Denke ducks down to avoid it.
Denke tries a low kick but Gracie avoids it.
Gracie is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Denke.
Gracie fails with a takedown attempt.
Denke looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Denke on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Gracie. Gracie obviously looking to wear him down.
Denke keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Denke stuffs the takedown attempt from Gracie. Gracie gets slowly back to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Denke takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karl Denke really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ramon Gracie's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Gracie jabs Denke right on the nose. Denke blinks but takes it well.
Denke misses with an uppercut.
Denke misses with the combination.
Gracie ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Denke throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Gracie tries to clinch but Denke moves away
and Denke counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Gracie shoots in and bounces Denke off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Denke controlling the position.
Denke keeping moving, preventing Gracie from controlling successfully.
Denke wants to stand and escape but Gracie is having none of it.
Gracie pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Denke is keeping the position for now.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Denke keeps moving.
Gracie not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's two 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.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Denke throws a hook to the side of Gracie's head but Gracie sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Gracie is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Denke.
Gracie swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
As Gracie backs off Denke throws a huge counter combo but Gracie manages to avoid it all.
Denke stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Denke wants it to stay on the feet.
Denke is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Gracie with a body shot.
A nice inside leg kick there by Gracie. That's going to slow Denke down.
Denke pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Gracie shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Denke defends it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Denke misses with a straight right.
A looping hook to the body misses from Denke. Gracie does a little dance to reset his feet.
Gracie has a takedown stuffed.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ramon Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gracie moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gracie closes the distance and clinches.
Denke has a couple of punches blocked by Gracie.
Denke throws an elbow that misses.
Denke gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

Ramon Gracie's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
Gracie is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Denke lands a right hand that snaps the head of Gracie backwards.
Denke scores with a shoulder strike.
Gracie blocking some punches.
A short uppercut from Denke.

Denke breaks the clinch.
Denke jabs Gracie right on the nose. Gracie blinks but takes it well.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A punch combination from Denke misses.
Gracie shoots in for a takedown but Denke shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karl Denke dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Ramon Gracie's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Denke misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Gracie moves into the clinch successfully.
Denke throws a punch but it's blocked by Gracie.
Gracie fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Denke's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Gracie is stalling here.

Denke's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Gracie throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A little jabbing left from Denke on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Gracie bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie fails in his attempt to clinch.
Denke throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Denke is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Gracie.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Denke on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Denke misses with the combination.
Gracie closes this distance looking for a takedown but Denke circles away.
Denke keeps the fight on the outside.
Denke misses with a looping right.
Gracie shoots in for a takedown but Denke shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Denke looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ramon Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Denke throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Denke throws a lazy uppercut

and Gracie holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Denke lands an elbow that stopped Gracie in his tracks for a moment.
Gracie swings wildly with an uppercut but Denke uses good head movement to avoid it.
Gracie tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A nice right hand lands inside from Denke.
A shot in the inside from Denke.

Gracie pulls guard.

Gracie looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Denke passes into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Denke wants to stand but Gracie has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Gracie tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Denke has advanced to mount. Uh oh.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is wriggling around trying to escape.
Gracie is working hard here to advance position.
Gracie wants to hold on but Denke pushes him away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Denke is standing up, even though he is in mount.
Denke throws a hook but Gracie avoids it easily.
Gracie wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Gracie tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Denke defends well and Gracie ends up having to push Denke into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Denke scores with a nice right hand.
Denke misses with a hook.
Denke throws a jab when Gracie was well out of range.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gracie chopping away at his opponent's legs.

Gracie gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Ramon Gracie has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Denke scores with a shot to the side of Gracie's head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Karl Denke comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Denke 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 46:49
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 46:49
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 46:49

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Karl Denke!
Karl Denke is the new welterweight champion!
Karl Denke took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, Aspire Clothing for their support in the buildup to the fight.