PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Sean Benoit (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Daniel Roth (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Roth's choice of entrance music: Shawn Michaels - Sexy Boy. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Benoit
vs
Roth

180 cm
34
181 lbs
28 - 18 - 0

181 cm
26
183 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

ADCC Champion
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Black Hand Fight Gear & Laundry

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 18 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Sean Benoit!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Daniel Roth!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Summer Carpenter and Winston Howard.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Roth shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Roth was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Benoit is trying to stand up.
Roth tries to control but Benoit wriggling away.
Roth throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Roth controlling the position easily from mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roth throwing strikes here but Benoit is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Benoit is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Roth controlling from the full mount.
Roth throws some wild stikes that Benoit manages to avoid easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benoit trying desperately to get to his feet.
Benoit wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Roth.
Roth controlling from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roth raining down hammerfists from mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
BOOM! Roth connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Roth looking to ground and pound but Benoit is blocking nicely.
Roth throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Benoit because Roth loaded up on that one.

Roth is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Benoit is surviving well by controlling Roth's body position as best he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Roth working for a submission but Benoit is keeping him at bay.
Roth putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Benoit is squirming around, avoiding Roth's attempts to control the action.
Roth connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Daniel Roth dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Roth cracks a nice hook into Benoit's ribs.
Benoit throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Benoit tries to work over Roth's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Benoit takes an elbow to the temple.
Benoit misses with a punch on the inside.
Benoit prevents a takedown attempt there.
A head punch on the inside from Benoit fails to land.
Benoit lands an uppercut.
Roth blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Roth drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Roth lands a right hand that snaps the head of Benoit backwards.
Roth using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Benoit has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short right from Benoit on the inside.
Roth swings wildly with an uppercut but Benoit uses good head movement to avoid it.
Benoit tries to throw a body punch but Roth avoids it by throwing Benoit back against the cage.
Roth is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Benoit is defending well.
Sean Benoit has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Daniel Roth.
Roth scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Benoit cracks Roth with a nice body shot.
Benoit tries to work over Roth's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Benoit goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Roth takes a shot to the head.
Roth pushes off an throws an elbow but Benoit leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Roth tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Roth slows down the pace here.
Roth lands an elbow inside that Benoit shrugs off.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Roth missing with knees to the body.
Roth wants to stall.
Benoit lands a left hand that snaps the head of Roth backwards.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Benoit tries to work over Roth's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A right handed body shot lands from Benoit.
Roth blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Benoit misses with some punches.
Roth is trying to drag Benoit to the mat but Benoit just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Benoit has a couple of punches blocked by Roth.
Roth is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Benoit lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Roth or not.
Benoit throws a head punch that misses.
Sean Benoit has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Roth is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roth wants a takedown.
Roth misses with the head strike.
Benoit lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Benoit misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Roth is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Roth continues to stall. The referee tells him to work or he's going to break them up.
Benoit scores with a shoulder strike.
A short right from Benoit on the inside.
Benoit on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Benoit misses with a punch to the body.
Benoit digs a right hand into Roth's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Roth's gas tank.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benoit tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Roth's elbow.
Roth drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Benoit misses with a hook to the ribs.
Benoit swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A short uppercut from Roth.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Benoit tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Roth's elbow.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Benoit lands a body punch in the clinch.
Benoit working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Benoit goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Roth tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Benoit's elbow.
Roth is looking for a takedown.
Roth drops down looking for an ankle pick but Benoit pulls his leg out and moves away.
Roth fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sean Benoit dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Roth shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Benoit pinned against the cage. Benoit gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Benoit looks to land a left hand but Roth moved out of range nicely.
Roth shoots in for a double leg but Benoit sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Roth shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Benoit napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Benoit regains half guard there - taking advantage of Roth's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.
Roth with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Roth throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roth is trying to control the action in half guard but Benoit is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Roth in particular looking to stall.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Benoit is staying active underneath Roth, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Daniel Roth has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Roth needs to keep his hands up - Benoit had a free shot at his head there.
Roth fails with a takedown attempt.
Sean Benoit has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Daniel Roth.
Roth lands with a nice body punch.
Roth tries to clinch up but Benoit circles away and keeps his distance.
Benoit leaves Roth with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Roth shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Benoit's guard.
Daniel Roth has got the better of the ground game so far.
Roth won't allow Benoit to get back to his feet.
Roth in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Roth trying to control the position from guard on top but Benoit is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Roth throwing strikes from guard but Benoit blocks nicely.
Roth wants to control from the top but Benoit keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Daniel Roth.
Roth shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Benoit but Benoit pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Benoit misses with a wild body shot.
Roth throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Roth fails with a takedown attempt.
Roth shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Benoit as he jumps to the side.

Roth feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Roth is looking to work some ground and pound but Benoit has wrist control.
Benoit keeping moving, preventing Roth from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Roth is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Benoit is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Roth is controlling him.
Roth has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Daniel Roth wasn't active enough on the ground.

Roth looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Benoit!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Roth can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Benoit is looking to escape.

And that's the end of the fight!
Daniel Roth comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Roth 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 Bruno Hogan scores the fight 28:29
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 28:29
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Daniel Roth!
After the big win, Daniel Roth made sure to do all the important stuff like thanking his sponsors Hell's Balls Recovery (160) and telling the interviewer how much he loves him.