PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Rocky Roberts (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Akbar Muhammed (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Akbar Muhammed has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Roberts
vs
Muhammed

183 cm
27
170 lbs
3 - 10 - 0

168 cm
30
170 lbs
9 - 15 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

Good takedowns
Brawler
Granite chin

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 3 - 10 - 0, fighting out of London, Rocky Roberts!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 15 - 0, fighting out of London, Akbar Muhammed!
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, Colin Fotheringham and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Roberts scores a takedown into full mount!
Roberts will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Poor strikes thrown by Roberts there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Muhammed can't escape the position.
Muhammed bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Muhammed looking to pass the guard.
Roberts will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.

Roberts has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Muhammed can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Muhammed forces his way into half guard.
Muhammed with the ground and pound but Roberts uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Muhammed wants to pass the guard but Roberts is keeping the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Muhammed in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Muhammed won't allow Roberts to get back to his feet.
Roberts utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Muhammed has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Muhammed missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Muhammed working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Roberts working a defensive guard here.
Muhammed throws a big right hand that misses.
Muhammed trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Muhammed throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Roberts trying to keep a closed guard but Muhammed is proving a slippery customer.
Muhammed stops Roberts from standing up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Muhammed trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Muhammed in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Muhammed slips nicely into half guard.

Muhammed is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Roberts defends it well.
Muhammed throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Roberts works his way to full guard. Good work.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Muhammed stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Roberts swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Muhammed trying to control the position from guard on top but Roberts is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Muhammed missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roberts keeping moving, preventing Muhammed from controlling successfully.
Muhammed stops Roberts from standing up.
Muhammed loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Roberts is trying to keep Muhammed in close.
Muhammed working some strikes from top position.
Muhammed lands a couple of digs.
Muhammed throws a big elbow that misses.
Muhammed pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Roberts is keeping the position for now.
Muhammed 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.
Muhammed trying to control the position from guard on top but Roberts is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Muhammed looking to pass the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Muhammed slips nicely into half guard.
Roberts avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Muhammed.
Muhammed not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Muhammed not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Muhammed throws a strike but Roberts avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Muhammed working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Muhammed drops back looking for a leg! Roberts is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Roberts manages to kick Muhammed off! Muhammed jumps back into Roberts's guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Muhammed postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Muhammed tries a head kick but it misses.
Roberts blocks a jab.
Muhammed throws a body punch but Roberts moves out of range.
Roberts throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Roberts avoids the head kick by Muhammed.
Roberts shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Muhammed defends it nicely.
Roberts doesn't manage to clinch there - Muhammed circles away.
Muhammed misses with a leg kick

and Roberts counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Muhammed has a closed guard, preventing Roberts from standing up.
Muhammed looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Roberts wants to stand but Muhammed has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Muhammed is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Akbar Muhammed has got the better of the ground game so far.
Muhammed tries to strike from the bottom.
Muhammed tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Muhammed trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Muhammed will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Roberts trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Muhammed is looking for a triangle but Roberts pushes his legs off easily.
Roberts postures up.
Muhammed looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Muhammed preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Muhammed wants to control the position but Roberts says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Muhammed regains full guard. Nicely done.
Roberts wants to get up but he can't break Muhammed's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Muhammed is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Muhammed keeping moving, preventing Roberts from controlling successfully.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Muhammed manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Muhammed looking to finish with strikes here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Muhammed sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
BOOM! Muhammed connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Muhammed scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Muhammed lands with some strikes.
Muhammed connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
A nice elbow there by Muhammed.
Roberts is trying desperately to improve position.
Muhammed lands a big elbow.
Roberts regains half guard.
Muhammed not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Roberts wants to improve his position but Muhammed is controlling well.
Muhammed not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Muhammed lands a nice short elbow.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Roberts avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Muhammed.

Muhammed is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Muhammed not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Muhammed trying to control from half guard but Roberts is working away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Roberts is looking to control Muhammed's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Roberts avoid being mounted?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Akbar Muhammed showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

Roberts shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Roberts.
Muhammed shoots in for a double leg but Roberts sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Muhammed looks to land a combination but Roberts avoids it well.
Roberts fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Muhammed looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Muhammed fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Roberts shoots in for a takedown but Muhammed shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rocky Roberts. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Muhammed throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Muhammed is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Roberts.
Roberts doesn't manage to clinch there - Muhammed circles away.
Muhammed tries for a takedown but Roberts sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roberts gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Muhammed counters with a nice double leg into side control. Roberts won't be happy with that.
Muhammed takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Roberts is trying to control Muhammed's posture but Muhammed avoids it.
Roberts manages to work his way to half guard, despite Muhammed's best efforts.
Roberts wants to improve his position but Muhammed is controlling well.
Muhammed is thwarting Roberts's attempts to control the position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Muhammed lands a nice short elbow.
Muhammed takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Muhammed working over Roberts with some ground and pound. Roberts looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Muhammed working over Roberts with some ground and pound. Roberts looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Muhammed working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Muhammed winds up and cracks Roberts with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Muhammed slips a nice elbow through Roberts's hands, connecting with Roberts's forehead.
Roberts wants to get back to his feet.
Roberts is in trouble now - Muhammed has advanced to mount!
Muhammed lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Roberts takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Roberts slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Roberts is staying active underneath Muhammed, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roberts avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Muhammed.
Muhammed drops an elbow to the side of Roberts's head.
Muhammed throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Muhammed connects with a nice short shot to Roberts's temple.
Roberts trying to control from the bottom.
Muhammed has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Muhammed is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Roberts can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Muhammed trying to control but Roberts is having none of it.
Roberts is in a horrible position here. Muhammed smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Muhammed takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Roberts is working to get back to half guard.
Muhammed with a couple of short strikes.
Roberts is looking to improve his position but Muhammed isn't that keen on the idea.

Muhammed with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

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

And that's the end of the fight!
Akbar Muhammed comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Muhammed winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Steven Brown scores the fight 27:30
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 27:30
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Akbar Muhammed!