PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between harri loponen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and The Rock (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

loponen
vs
Rock

196 cm
18
245 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

180 cm
18
240 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, harri loponen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, The Rock!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Stewart Dunkirk and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rock closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Rock trying to control the position but loponen is working away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
A lull in the action here as Rock stalls from top position.

Rock stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Rock scores a takedown into full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
loponen tries to lock up and control but Rock gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Rock controlling the pace for now.
Rock lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rock throwing strikes here but loponen is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Rock looking to control but loponen is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Rock content just to control the position here.
Rock should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Let's hope that Rock 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.
Rock misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Rock takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's four 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.

Despite being in the dominant position, The Rock just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rock shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has loponen pinned against the cage. loponen gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
loponen stuffs the takedown.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

The Rock dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

loponen closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Rock is trying to maintain the position but loponen is very close to passing his half guard.
Rock controlling the position for now.
loponen will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Rock wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
loponen is trying to control. Rock wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rock controlling the position well.
Rock is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

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.
Rock manages to get to full guard.
loponen postures up.
Rock wants to sweep but no luck.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rock escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. loponen gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Rock throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
loponen is standing up over Rock. Rock looks to escape but loponen dives into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Rock is looking to regain half guard here but loponen keeps moving and retains side control.
loponen controls the position from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that harri loponen will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

loponen looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Rock trying to control from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Rock looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
loponen seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Rock does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
loponen stops Rock from getting back to his feet.
Rock is looking to control loponen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Rock avoid being mounted?
Rock moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rock pulls loponen in close to his closed guard and prevents loponen from doing any damage or advancing position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Rock looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
loponen slips nicely into half guard, despite the strikes coming from Rock.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rock wants to improve his position but loponen is controlling well.
loponen is trying to control the action in half guard but Rock is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Rock gets full guard.

That's four 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.
Rock has loponen pulled in close to control his posture.

Rock escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. loponen gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Rock pulls loponen in close to prevent any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to The Rock.
I think Rock 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 Robert Twigg scores the fight 28:29
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 28:30
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... The Rock!