PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Otis Driftwood (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sam Rothstein (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Driftwood
vs
Rothstein

178 cm
18
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

171 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Otis Driftwood!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Sam Rothstein!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, William Peck and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No joy there for Driftwood, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Rothstein throws a low kick but Driftwood moves out of range easily.

Driftwood gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Rothstein to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Rothstein would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Rothstein stands up from Driftwood's guard - Rothstein perhaps looking for a knockout.
Otis Driftwood seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Driftwood gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Driftwood working a defensive guard here.
Rothstein stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Driftwood swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rothstein wants to stand but Driftwood is controlling his posture from full guard.

Driftwood has an active guard here but Rothstein has managed to pass into half guard.
Driftwood tries to roll over but Rothstein keeps him under control.

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.
Rothstein passes into side control, despite Driftwood's attempt to control the position.

Rothstein stands up and beckons Driftwood to his feet.
Rothstein tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Driftwood manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
A shot to the liver by Driftwood. Beautiful body shot.
Nice takedown defense from Driftwood. No joy for Rothstein on that attempt.
Driftwood swinging wildly here.
Driftwood scores with a body shot.
Driftwood works Rothstein's body with a nice hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rothstein shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Driftwood as he avoids it easily.
Rothstein closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Rothstein is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Driftwood scores with a three punch combo!
Rothstein looks gassed!
No joy there for Driftwood, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Driftwood ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Rothstein avoids a punch combination nicely.
Driftwood lands with a nice combination. Rothstein backs away looking to recover.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Driftwood lands a right hook to the body.
Driftwood lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Rothstein at a distance.
Driftwood keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Otis Driftwood has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sam Rothstein.
Driftwood throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Rothstein stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
The crowd cheers as Driftwood lands an impressive looking overhand right. Rothstein doesn't seem phased though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Driftwood fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Otis Driftwood is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Driftwood!
A left and a right from Driftwood both land. Nice combination.
Driftwood misses with the combination.
Driftwood lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Rothstein backs up against the cage.
Driftwood lands a body shot.
Driftwood lands a jab to the head.
Driftwood tries to bum rush Rothstein with a series of wild strikes but Rothstein uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Driftwood's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Driftwood duly obliges.
Driftwood throws a right and a left that both miss.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Driftwood scores with a body shot.
Driftwood dips to his left and cracks Rothstein with an uppercut!
Driftwood misses with a double jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Otis Driftwood dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Driftwood lands with a good body shot.
A jab from Driftwood finds it's way through Rothstein's defenses.
Rothstein takes a kick to the side of the head.
Otis Driftwood is winning the standup battle so far.
Driftwood feints and then cracks Rothstein's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Rothstein down.
A slapping leg kick lands for Driftwood.
A left lands for Driftwood.
Rothstein shoots for a double leg takedown but Driftwood sprawls well. He's pushed Rothstein's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Driftwood comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Driftwood scores with a one two! Rothstein had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Driftwood lands a jab-cross combination.
Rothstein is breathing heavily.
Rothstein walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Driftwood throws a quick inside leg kick.
A chopping leg kick lands by Driftwood.
Jab by Driftwood.
Driftwood lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Rothstein backs up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Driftwood scores with a hook to the body. Rothstein takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Driftwood is looking to wear down Rothstein with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Driftwood scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Nice uppercut lands for Driftwood. That snapped Rothstein's head back.
Driftwood cracks Rothstein with an open hand slap.
Driftwood thuds his right hand into Rothstein's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Driftwood lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rothstein circles away quickly and effectively.
Sloppy strikes from Driftwood. Those never looked like landing.
Rothstein takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Driftwood turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Driftwood scores with a shot to the body.
Driftwood lands a nice leg kick that just misses Rothstein's sensitive parts.
Driftwood is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Driftwood scores with a three punch combo!
Driftwood connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Driftwood lands with a hook. Rothstein tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Driftwood connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Rothstein momentarily.
Driftwood looks to land a combination. Rothstein sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Rothstein dodges the punch combination from Driftwood.
Driftwood scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Driftwood changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Driftwood lands with an uppercut that bounces Rothstein off the cage and back into rage.
Driftwood is working the combinations to good effect here.
Driftwood misses with a wild combination.
Rothstein closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Driftwood is looking to slow Rothstein down with leg kicks.
Driftwood throws a shot to the body.
Nice straight punches there by Driftwood. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Driftwood.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Driftwood thuds his right hand into Rothstein's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Driftwood lands a really nice looking cross but Rothstein seems unphased.
Driftwood scores with a jab.
Rothstein fails with an attempt to clinch.
Driftwood lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Nice shot lands for Driftwood.
Driftwood lands a head shot.

Rothstein looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Driftwood!
Driftwood is wriggling around trying to escape.
Rothstein tries to control but Driftwood wriggling away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rothstein unloads with some shots from mount but Driftwood bucks and avoids them well.
Rothstein looking to control and managing it successfully.
Rothstein wants to control the pace but Driftwood is squirming around nicely.

Rothstein goes for an armbar but Driftwood turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Driftwood.
Driftwood knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Rothstein on the ground.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Rothstein looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Otis Driftwood dominated that second round.
That's time! Driftwood's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Driftwood!
Rothstein misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Driftwood.
Driftwood lands with a nice combination. Rothstein backs away looking to recover.
Driftwood scores with a punch to the head.
Driftwood lands with a nice combination. Rothstein backs away looking to recover.
Driftwood avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Sloppy strikes from Driftwood. Those never looked like landing.
Driftwood throws a one two combo.
Driftwood bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Driftwood lands a nice looking body shot.
Driftwood connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Driftwood throws a combination. Rothstein tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Driftwood scores with a jab to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rothstein fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Driftwood sprawls well initially but Rothstein persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Driftwood is looking to escape.
Rothstein seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Driftwood does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Rothstein is thwarting Driftwood's attempts to control the position.
Rothstein wants to free his trapped foot but Driftwood is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Rothstein not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Still in half guard, Rothstein seems content to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Driftwood has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rothstein is working away from the top position though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Driftwood with a jab.
Rothstein throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Rothstein takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Driftwood lands a slapping body shot.
Driftwood connects with a looping right hand.

Rothstein closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Driftwood quickly recovers to half guard.
Driftwood preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Driftwood is trying to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rothstein seems to be looking for submissions.
Driftwood is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rothstein can do to turn this around?
Rothstein trying to control the action but Driftwood is working from the bottom.
Otis Driftwood is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Driftwood is looking to improve his position.
Well, if Rothstein is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

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.
Rothstein working the head and body with strikes.

Rothstein is working for a submission of some sort.
Rothstein trying to control the action but Driftwood is working from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Otis Driftwood showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Driftwood, 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 Dillan Fox scores the fight 30:27
Judge William Peck scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Otis Driftwood!