PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Diego Rojas (ranked 24654 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joe Stalin (ranked 8970 p4p, 0 weight class). Stalin is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by USSR. Diego Rojas has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Rojas
vs
Stalin

207 cm
19
140 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

150 cm
25
130 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Diego Rojas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Joe Stalin!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Dmitry Maklakov and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rojas leaves Stalin with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Rojas appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Rojas really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Rojas gets tackled into the cage by Stalin. Stalin maintains the clinch.

Rojas jumps guard and drags Stalin to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Stalin trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Stalin wants to control from the top but Rojas keeps moving.
Rojas pulls Stalin in close to prevent any damage.
Rojas'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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Further stalling from Rojas.
Rojas knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Stalin on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rojas is looking to stand up but Stalin isn't so interested in that idea.
Stalin throws a big elbow that misses.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Stalin tries to stand but Rojas is controlling from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Left hook, right uppercut from Stalin.
Stalin gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Rojas counters by moving into the clinch.
Rojas misses with a body punch.
Rojas looking to throw knees to the head but Stalin is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rojas tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Stalin's elbow.

Rojas ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Rojas no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Stalin stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Rojas swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Rojas has control of Stalin's left arm, preventing Stalin from doing any damage.
Stalin 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.
Stalin preventing the sweep.
Stalin is looking to work some ground and pound but Rojas has wrist control.
Stalin content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Stalin throwing strikes but missing.
Stalin is fighting to break Rojas's control of his arms but Rojas is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stalin wants to control from the top but Rojas keeps moving.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Stalin lands a couple of elbows.
Rojas pulls Stalin in to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Rojas shoots in and gets a takedown into Stalin's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rojas accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Rojas is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Rojas is looking to stand up but Stalin won't let him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rojas stays in close to Stalin's body and controls the position.
Rojas has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Rojas preventing the sweep.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Rojas wants to stand but Stalin has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Stalin throws a nice looking combination but Rojas bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
We've been informed that Stalin has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Stalin looks winded!

Stalin gets caught flat footed, as Rojas shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Diego Rojas will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Stalin shoots in for a takedown but Rojas shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Stalin closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rojas circles away.
Joe Stalin is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rojas stuffs the takedown.
Diego Rojas has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joe Stalin.
Stalin blocks a head kick by Rojas.
Stalin shoots in looking for a takedown but Rojas manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Stalin's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Stalin gets caught napping as Rojas dives in and scores a takedown. Stalin manages to retain guard.
Rojas will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Rojas throws a big right hand that misses.
Rojas showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Stalin is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rojas has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Stalin is proving hard to escape from.
Rojas controlling from the top position.
If it seems like I'm not saying a lot, it's just because Rojas is stinking the place up with his stalling.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Stalin shoots in looking for a takedown but Rojas manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Stalin's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Rojas looks to score with a jab to the body but Stalin is just out of range.
Stalin shoots for a double leg takedown but Rojas sprawls well. He's pushed Stalin's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Rojas throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Stalin throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Rojas's waist but Rojas gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Stalin off to one side.
Rojas appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

Rojas instigates a clinch.
Rojas is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Stalin can do to turn this around?
Rojas is trying to pull guard but Stalin has him pressed against the cage.
Rojas tries to land knees in the clinch but Stalin avoids the damage to the body.
Rojas tries to work over Stalin's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Rojas fails to pull guard.
A head punch on the inside from Rojas fails to land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rojas drags the fight down to the ground.
Stalin postures up in Rojas's guard and throws a big left but Rojas blocks it.
Stalin missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Stalin has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Rojas is pulling down on Stalin's head. It's preventing any offense from Stalin, at least for the moment.
Stalin scoring with some ground and pound.
Stalin cracks Rojas with a solid left hand.
Stalin trying to move into half guard but instead Rojas has managed to sweep!

Rojas sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Stalin is trying to keep Rojas in close.
Rojas has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rojas is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Rojas wants to stand but Stalin is controlling his posture from full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Diego Rojas 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!

Stalin fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Rojas avoids it really well and circles away.
Rojas changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Stalin misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Stalin gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Rojas jumps guard but Stalin turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stalin is looking to take this one to the mat.
Diego Rojas has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Joe Stalin.

Rojas pulls guard effortlessly.
Stalin loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Stalin takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rojas pulls Stalin in to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rojas looking for a sweep. Not yet Rojas, not yet.
Stalin connects with a couple of short punches.

Rojas has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Stalin can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Rojas has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Rojas bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Stalin's guard.

The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rojas controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stalin has a closed guard, preventing Rojas from standing up.
Stalin utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Rojas with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Rojas is looking to work some ground and pound but Stalin has wrist control.
Stalin has a closed guard, preventing Rojas from standing up.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Stalin is defended easily by Rojas.
Stalin shoots in but Rojas avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Rojas pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Stalin misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Rojas lifts his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.

Rojas 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rojas controls from within his opponent's guard.
Rojas with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Stalin working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rojas.
Rojas sitting in guard here, content to control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Rojas is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

And that's the end of the fight!
Diego Rojas showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Rojas 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Diego Rojas!
Joe Stalin spoke after the fight, saying 'Pfttt... Pig Dog'.