PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Roman Reigns (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Robert Urban (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Reigns's entrance music is john. A fine choice. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Reigns
vs
Urban

191 cm
25
265 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

186 cm
19
240 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Roman Reigns!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Robert Urban!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Tarja Halkonen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Good shot there by Reigns.
Urban 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.
Reigns throws a head kick that misses
and Urban makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Reigns really felt that one!

Reigns bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Reigns wants to stand but Urban is controlling his arm.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Urban tries to buck Reigns off but Reigns is having none of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Reigns is staying tight to Urban's torso, preventing him from escaping.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Urban really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Reigns. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Reigns seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Urban for as long as he can get away with.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Roman Reigns just wasn't active enough.
Urban fails with a takedown attempt.
Urban looks winded!
Reigns throws a low kick but it's checked well by Urban.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Reigns instigates a clinch.
Reigns wants to break free but Urban has control.
Reigns is trying to stall.
Reigns is looking to take this one to the mat.
Reigns wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Urban tries to pull guard but Reigns won't allow it.
Reigns is trying to break the clinch but Urban has him pressed against the cage.
Urban tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Roman Reigns has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Robert Urban.
Urban fails to pull guard.
Reigns missing with knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Reigns is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Urban wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Reigns wants to stall.
Reigns with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Urban tries to pull guard but Reigns forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Urban tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Reigns just stands there and leans against the cage.
Urban is looking to control Reigns's arms but Reigns gets an underhook and turns him. Now Urban has his back to the cage.
Reigns is looking to control Urban's arms but Urban gets an underhook and turns him. Now Reigns has his back to the cage.
Reigns wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Urban has him pressed against the cage.

Reigns gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Urban regains guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Reigns is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Reigns is looking to stand up but Urban won't let him.
Reigns controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Reigns is looking to stand up but Urban won't let him.
Reigns sitting in guard, not really doing much.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Roman Reigns wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Reigns gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Urban is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Urban is trying to break the clinch but Reigns is controlling him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Reigns wants to break free but Urban has control.
Urban has Reigns pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Reigns manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Reigns has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Urban avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Reigns leaning his opponent against the cage.
Urban is pressed up against the cage. Reigns has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Urban down to the mat. Urban avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Reigns tries to clinch but Urban moves out of range.
Urban keeps the fight on the outside.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Urban.

Reigns dives in and scores a takedown into Urban's guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Reigns showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Roman Reigns dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Reigns does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.

Reigns fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Urban sprawls well initially but Reigns persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Reigns sitting and controlling from the half guard.

Urban looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Urban is breathing heavily.
Reigns with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Roman Reigns wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Reigns rushes Urban and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Reigns holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Reigns tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Urban smiles and moves away.
Reigns throws a leg kick

and Urban counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Reigns has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Urban uses from the top position.
Reigns wants to stand and escape but Urban is having none of it.
Reigns looking for a sweep. Not yet Reigns, not yet.
Reigns seems keen to control Urban's posture.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Roman Reigns has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
An inside leg kick from Reigns misses.
Reigns wants to clinch.
Urban shoots in for a takedown but Reigns shows good takedown defense.

Reigns shoots in and gets a takedown into Urban's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Reigns stays in close to Urban's body and controls the position.
Reigns wants to stand but Urban has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Reigns works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Urban taking some punishment here, with Reigns in his half guard.
Reigns is controlling the pace.
Reigns has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Reigns controlling his opponent.
Roman Reigns overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Urban tries to lock up and control but Reigns gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

Reigns working for a submission but Urban is keeping him at bay.
Urban prevents Reigns from taking his back.
Reigns controlling from mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Roman Reigns 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!

Reigns throws a head kick that misses.
Urban shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Reigns sprawls well. Reigns wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Urban gets slowly back to his feet.

Urban gets tackled into the cage by Reigns. Reigns maintains the clinch.
Reigns tries to stall but Urban uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Reigns wants to get back to striking at distance but Urban won't allow it.
Reigns tries to pull guard but Urban forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Reigns jumps guard but Urban stands there with Reigns around his waist. Reigns gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Reigns leaning against his opponent.
Urban takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Reigns tries to work over Urban's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reigns is trying to break the clinch but Urban is controlling him.
Urban tries to pull guard but Reigns won't allow it.
Reigns trying to control the position but instead, Urban has worked for underhooks and has pushed Reigns into the cage.

Reigns decides to pull guard.
Reigns has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Reigns wants to get back to his feet but Urban is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Reigns seems keen to control Urban's posture.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Roman Reigns wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Reigns moves into range and clinches up with Urban.

Reigns's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Reigns tries to work over Urban's front leg with a kick but Urban checks it.

Reigns looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Reigns keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Reigns's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Reigns is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Urban can do to turn this around?
Urban is in trouble now - Reigns has advanced to mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Reigns controlling from the full mount.

Reigns looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Reigns looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Reigns is standing up out of mount! Strange tactic there - he must really want this one on the feet!

Reigns looking to score a takedown here. Urban is defending well but Reigns drives through and ends up in Urban's guard.
Reigns controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Urban working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Reigns doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Reigns manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Reigns is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Roman Reigns showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Reigns has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Roman Reigns!
Roman Reigns decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.