PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Scott Roman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Greg Stairs (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Roman
vs
Stairs

182 cm
18
170 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

176 cm
20
169 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Knockout power

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Scott Roman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Greg Stairs!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Mauricio Rocha and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Roman rushes Stairs and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Roman escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Roman tries to clinch but Stairs is having none of it.

Stairs fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Roman sprawls well initially but Stairs persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Roman is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Stairs tries to pass to full mount but Roman defends it.
Roman is pressing down on Stairs's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Roman is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Roman pulls Stairs in close to his closed guard and prevents Stairs from doing any damage or advancing position.

Stairs thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roman is trying to keep Stairs in close.
Roman is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Stairs is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Stairs stopping the sweep attempt from Roman.

Stairs drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Stairs jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Stairs looks gassed!

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Roman shoots in for a double leg but Stairs sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Roman closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Stairs moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Roman controls from within his opponent's guard.
Roman loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Roman trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Roman wants to control from the top but Stairs keeps moving.
Roman passes into half guard.
Roman wants to free his trapped foot but Stairs is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stairs is looking to improve his position.
Roman tries to pass the half guard into mount. Stairs knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Roman shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Roman is looking to work some ground and pound but Stairs has wrist control.
Roman trying to control but Stairs is working from the bottom.
Stairs is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stairs wants to get back to his feet but Roman is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Roman wants to control from the top but Stairs keeps moving.
Roman postures up in Stairs's guard and throws a big left but Stairs blocks it.

Roman stands and steps away. Stairs gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Good shot there by Roman.
Stairs closes the distance looking to clinch

and Roman counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Scott Roman dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Roman thuds his shin into the meat of Stairs's side.
Roman tries to close the distance and clinch but Stairs swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Roman gets the takedown into side control.
Stairs is trying to escape the position but Roman is controlling the position.

Roman working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Stairs manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Roman controlling the position for now.

Stairs seems to be looking for submissions.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roman wants to control but Stairs is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Stairs is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Stairs postures up in Roman's guard and throws a big left but Roman blocks it.
Stairs wanted to stand there but Roman had control of the position.
Roman is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Stairs gets to his feet - Roman follows without any prompting.

Roman shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Roman is trying to work for a kimura but Stairs is defending well.
Roman is pressing down on Stairs's thigh, looking to free his foot. Stairs is holding on for now.
Stairs slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Roman pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Stairs is keeping the position for now.
Stairs keeping moving, preventing Roman from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Stairs looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Roman trying to control but Stairs is working from the bottom.

Roman stands and steps away. Stairs gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Roman shoots in for a takedown but Stairs shows good takedown defense.
Stairs with a poor takedown

and Roman counters with a takedown into side control.
Stairs is not content to let Roman control the position.
Stairs is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stairs gets back to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Roman wants to control from the top but Stairs keeps moving.
Stairs is trying to control the position but Roman postures up.
Roman trying to control the position from guard on top but Stairs is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Stairs manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Roman tries to lock up and control but Stairs gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Scott Roman dominated that second round.
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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Stairs scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Roman gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

Stairs is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Roman keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Roman slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Roman manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Stairs manages to get himself to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roman trying to control the position from guard on top but Stairs is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Stairs had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Roman is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Stairs Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Roman's back instead.
Roman tries to escape but Stairs has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Scott Roman overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Stairs is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Roman has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Roman looking very determined here, making life difficult for Stairs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Roman is really stuck here.
Stairs doesn't have the hooks in and Roman manages to turn into his guard.
Roman slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Roman shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Stairs counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Horrible takedown by Roman or perhaps it was just good defense by Stairs which made him look bad.
Stairs changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Roman tries to avoid it but Stairs manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Roman to the ground. Roman escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roman throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Roman clinches up against the cage.
Stairs looking for a takedown.

Roman manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Stairs wants to get up but he can't break Roman's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Stairs is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Roman is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Roman has escaped and now he's on top!
Roman trying to control the position from guard on top but Stairs is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stairs is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Roman missing with punches from the bottom.

Roman makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Stairs fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Roman manages to avoid it.
Roman misses with a takedown attempt
and Stairs counters with a right hand to the body.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Scott Roman. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Roman pushes Stairs up against the cage in a clinch.
Greg Stairs has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Stairs successfully pulls guard.
Stairs keeping full guard, as Roman tries to pass.
Scott Roman is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Roman controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

And that's the end of the fight!
Scott Roman showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Roman, 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Scott Roman!