PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dexter Roussel (ranked 2183 p4p, 1454 weight class) and Horacio Sadaval (ranked 272 p4p, 193 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Roussel might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Manau - J'ai laissé là bas . Sadaval is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Prohibido Olvidar. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Roussel
vs
Sadaval

185 cm
21
203
7 - 4 - 1

186 cm
24
201
6 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Shadow Realm Apparel
FinnFighter Nutrition (Five 160Q supps!)

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 7 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Dexter Roussel!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Horacio Sadaval!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Alec Ball and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sadaval has Roussel up against the cage in a clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Roussel fails to land.
Roussel lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Sadaval backwards.
A right hook to the body lands for Roussel.
A head punch on the inside from Sadaval fails to land.

Sadaval is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Roussel can't fight it off and eventually Sadaval manages to take the fight to the floor. Roussel looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Sadaval wants to stand and escape but instead Roussel has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Roussel throws a big right hand that misses.
Roussel postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Roussel working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Sadaval lands an upkick as Roussel stands over him.
Sadaval trying to keep a closed guard but Roussel is proving a slippery customer.
Roussel 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.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sadaval wants to sweep but no luck.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sadaval seems keen to control Roussel's posture.
Sadaval is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Roussel connects with a couple of short punches.
Roussel connects with a couple of short punches.
Roussel with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Roussel with a flurry of punches that miss.
Roussel working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Roussel stands up over Sadaval, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Roussel throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Sadaval works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sadaval seems keen to control Roussel's posture.
Roussel scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Roussel looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Roussel connects with a couple of short punches.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Roussel landing with the ground and pound.
Roussel lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Roussel won't allow Sadaval to sweep him here.
Sadaval doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Sadaval is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Roussel is controlling him.
Roussel works over Sadaval with some ground and pound from guard.
Roussel preventing the sweep.
Roussel working some strikes from top position.
Roussel working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Sadaval's head.
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!
Roussel stands up out of Sadaval's guard for a moment - Sadaval manages to land a nice upkick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roussel preventing the sweep.
Sadaval controls Roussel momentarily but Roussel frees himself.
Roussel postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Roussel is in close to Sadaval's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Sadaval throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Roussel postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Roussel works over Sadaval with some ground and pound from guard.
Sadaval is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Roussel postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Sadaval wants to stand and escape but Roussel is having none of it.
Roussel with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Roussel postures up and lands a big shot to Sadaval's brow.
Roussel working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Sadaval wants to get back to his feet but Roussel is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Roussel with a nice head shot there.
Sadaval not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Sadaval keeping moving, preventing Roussel from controlling successfully.
Roussel throwing strikes from guard but Sadaval blocks nicely.
Roussel looking to sit in guard and control but Sadaval gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Sadaval tries to stand but Roussel is controlling from the bottom.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Dexter Roussel dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Sadaval tries to score a power double leg takedown but Roussel sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Sadaval somewhat.
Roussel swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Sadaval displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Roussel throws out the jab.
Sadaval steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Roussel.
Sadaval is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Sadaval is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Sadaval shoots in and bounces Roussel off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Sadaval wanted to stand there but Roussel had control of the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Roussel striking off his back but it's not causing Sadaval any problems.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sadaval wants to stand but Roussel is controlling his posture from full guard.
Roussel working a defensive guard here.
Sadaval wants to get up but he can't break Roussel's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Sadaval closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Roussel's guard.
Sadaval is looking to stand up but Roussel won't let him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Roussel lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Roussel postures up in Sadaval's guard and throws a big left but Sadaval blocks it.
Sadaval trying to strike off his back.
Roussel with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Sadaval wants to sweep but no luck.
Roussel working some strikes from top position.
Sadaval tries to strike from the bottom.
Dexter Roussel overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sadaval lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Sadaval is looking to stand up but Roussel won't let him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Roussel is on top in guard.

Roussel lands a couple of elbows.
Roussel with a nice head shot there.
Roussel keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Sadaval's head.
Roussel won't allow Sadaval to sweep him here.
Roussel working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Sadaval's head.
Sadaval is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Roussel is controlling him.
Sadaval is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Roussel with a nice head shot there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Roussel won't allow Sadaval to sweep him here.
Sadaval has momentary wrist control but Roussel slips an elbow through the middle.
Sadaval trying to strike off his back.
Roussel distracts Sadaval with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Roussel wants to stand but Sadaval is controlling his posture from full guard.
Roussel throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Sadaval works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sadaval throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sadaval is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Roussel tries to get to full guard but Sadaval has control of the leg.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Dexter Roussel dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Sadaval misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Sadaval fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Sadaval darts in and clinches Roussel up against the cage.
Sadaval drops down looking for an ankle pick but Roussel pulls his leg out and moves away.
Dexter Roussel has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Horacio Sadaval.
Roussel throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Sadaval on the side of the head.
Sadaval shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Roussel as he avoids it easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Roussel connects with a body shot.
Roussel throws a lazy right hand but Sadaval sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Roussel listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Roussel slaps away a takedown attempt from Sadaval, before circling back to the center of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roussel pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Sadaval shoots in for a takedown but Roussel shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Sadaval looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Dexter Roussel is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Sadaval shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Roussel is trying to defend but Sadaval finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Sadaval wants to stand up but Roussel manages to regain full guard.
Roussel wants to stand but Sadaval is controlling the position.
Sadaval has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Roussel is proving hard to escape from.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sadaval won't allow Roussel to get back to his feet.
Sadaval wants to get up but he can't break Roussel's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Roussel wants to sweep but no luck.
Roussel has a closed guard, preventing Sadaval from standing up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Roussel throws a big shot that misses.
Sadaval shoots and misses
and Roussel counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Roussel throws an overhand right that lands on Sadaval's shoulder, as Sadaval tries to avoid the shot.

Sadaval bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Sadaval working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Roussel is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Sadaval is one step ahead and moves to full mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roussel tries to reverse the position but Sadaval maintains control.
Sadaval wants to stand but Roussel is holding on to him, trying to stop him posturing up.
Roussel is looking to get to half guard.
Roussel is working hard here to advance position.
Sadaval is trying to stand up but he's being controlled by his opponent.
Sadaval is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Roussel can't escape the position.
Horacio Sadaval has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Sadaval controlling from the full mount.
Sadaval wants to control but Roussel has made it back to half guard. Nice work.
Roussel is looking for a sweep. Sadaval is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Sadaval wants to stand but Roussel has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Roussel wants to improve his position but Sadaval is controlling well.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sadaval scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dexter Roussel showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Roussel, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dexter Roussel!
After the fight, Dexter Roussel was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.