PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Damian Romano (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hoger Lay (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Romano
vs
Lay

180 cm
25
160 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
25
161 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Damian Romano!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Hoger Lay!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Seu Braga and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Romano has a takedown stuffed.
Lay scores with a leg kick.
Lay tries to clinch there but Romano circles away.
Romano stuffs the takedown attempt from Lay. Lay gets slowly back to his feet.
Lay throws a head kick but Romano moves out of range.

Lay forces Romano back against the cage and clinches.
A knee to the head by Lay.
Lay unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Romano is trying to pull guard but Lay has him pressed against the cage.
Romano has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Lay after a bit of a struggle.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Damian Romano. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Romano is looking to break free of the clinch but Lay has double underhooks.
Romano goes for a takedown attempt but Lay pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lay tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Romano manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Lay misses with a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lay looks to land a body kick but Romano moved away.
Romano has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Lay.
Romano fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Lay avoids it really well and circles away.
Lay misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Romano gets a double leg takedown into Lay's guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Lay seems keen to control Romano's posture.
Romano wants to pass the guard but Lay is keeping the position.
Romano loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Lay utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lay not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Romano landing with the ground and pound.
Romano tries to free his leg and advance position but Lay is retaining full guard.
Romano postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Romano postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Lay keeping moving, preventing Romano from controlling successfully.
Romano postures up and lands a big shot to Lay's brow.
Romano postures up in Lay's guard and throws a big left but Lay blocks it.
Romano trying to control but Lay is working from the bottom.
Lay utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Romano in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Romano has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Romano accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Romano content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Lay utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Lay can't keep his opponent in guard - Romano advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Romano content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Romano lands a nice short elbow.
We've been informed that Lay has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Romano misses with a head shot. Lay uses the momentum to regain guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Romano connects with a couple of short punches.
Romano trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Romano throwing strikes but missing.
Romano postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Romano passes Lay's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Romano with the ground and pound but Lay uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Romano is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Lay avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Romano engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Romano connects with a couple of short punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damian Romano dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Romano dives in and grabs Lay's left leg, looking for a takedown. Lay pushes down on Romano's head and hops out.
Romano misses with a body kick.

Lay gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Romano keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Lay's head.
Romano with a flurry of punches that miss.
Romano is pushing down on Lay's leg trying to pass to half guard. Lay is fighting to maintain full guard but Romano has managed to sneak the leg through.
Romano missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Romano lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Lay is in trouble now - Romano has advanced to mount!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Romano is landing with some decent strikes but Lay is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Romano lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Lay hang on?
Romano raining down shots from the mount!
Romano breaks from Lay's wrist control and lands an elbow.

Lay is rocked!
Romano landing strikes from the mount and Lay is in trouble!
Lay is looking to improve his position but Romano isn't that keen on the idea.
Lay is bucking up trying to escape but Romano cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Lay is still in real trouble! Can Romano finish him?
This has been an exciting period of action!
Romano lands a big shot there that rocks Lay but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Damian Romano overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Romano lands with some strikes.
Romano with the ground and pound from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Romano is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Lay can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Lay is breathing heavily.
Oooh a big shot lands for Romano! Lay is out! The ref dives in to save him from more punishment!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:27 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Damian Romano!
A relieved looking Damian Romano thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.