PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between DEAN RUSSO (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and paul wall (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

RUSSO
vs
wall

190 cm
23
225 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

190 cm
21
225 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, DEAN RUSSO!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, paul wall!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Columbo Gatti and John Kavanagh.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
RUSSO looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? wall is fending him off so far but RUSSO persists. Nope, wall circles away and we're back to standing.

wall feints and as RUSSO raises his hands in defense, wall changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
wall trying to control the position from guard on top but RUSSO is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

RUSSO had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. wall is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. RUSSO Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take wall's back instead.
wall looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
wall rolls, trying to escape but RUSSO keeps control of the position.
wall is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
wall just trying to survive but RUSSO is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.

RUSSO tightening his grip on wall, looking for the choke.

RUSSO is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. wall knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften wall for a finish.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
RUSSO not allowing wall to control his hands.

wall is in a bad position with RUSSO working for a choke. wall manages to spin nicely into guard and the danger is over for the moment.
wall trying to control the position from guard on top but RUSSO is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
wall not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

RUSSO uses the cage to get back to his feet.
RUSSO is breathing heavily.

wall 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 two minutes gone in the round.
RUSSO doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
wall is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
RUSSO keeping moving, preventing wall from controlling successfully.
wall makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
wall looking to pass the guard.
wall trying to control the position from guard on top but RUSSO is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
wall wants to stand but RUSSO is controlling his posture from full guard.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

wall fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. RUSSO sprawls well initially but wall persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
RUSSO punching from the bottom.
RUSSO trying to get back to full guard but wall takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
RUSSO is trying to escape the mount.

wall get's back to his feet.

wall feints and as RUSSO raises his hands in defense, wall changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.

RUSSO has his foot on wall's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. wall works his way back into a safe position though.

RUSSO is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
wall wants to control from the top but RUSSO keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

RUSSO looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
wall is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
wall works over RUSSO with some ground and pound from guard.
wall trying to control the position from guard on top but RUSSO is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

RUSSO has an active guard here but wall has managed to pass into half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
wall is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

paul wall dominated that 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.

wall throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
wall avoids the head kick by RUSSO.
RUSSO doesn't succeed with the takedown

and wall counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by wall.
wall controlling from the top position.

wall gets to his feet - RUSSO follows without any prompting.
A head kick from wall lands but RUSSO takes it in his stride.

wall closes the distance and clinches.

wall ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. wall no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
RUSSO would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
wall lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for RUSSO!

That's one minute gone in the round.
RUSSO is trying desperately to improve position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
RUSSO gives up his back whilst trying to strike.
paul wall has got the better of the ground game so far.
RUSSO prevents wall from getting a body triangle.
wall connects with a series of strikes and the referee is calling for RUSSO to escape the position.
wall gets his hooks in and is throwing strikes.
RUSSO is really stuck here.
RUSSO looking very determined here, making life difficult for wall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
wall has the hooks in. RUSSO is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
wall has good solid back control here.
RUSSO rolls, trying to escape but wall keeps control of the position.

wall is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but RUSSO has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
RUSSO staying busy and making it hard for wall to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
wall punishes RUSSO with strikes from the back mount.
RUSSO tries to roll but wall sticks to his back.
wall wants to control but RUSSO is keeping busy.
RUSSO breaks wall's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
wall wants to stand but RUSSO is controlling the position.
RUSSO advances to half guard.
RUSSO tries to stand and escape but wall is controlling the position.

RUSSO is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
wall is pressing down on RUSSO's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
wall looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
RUSSO advances to half guard.

wall is defending against the submission attempts here by RUSSO.

RUSSO looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
RUSSO tries to pass the half guard into mount. wall knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

paul wall showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! And we move into the final round!

wall gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
RUSSO changes levels and goes for a takedown here. wall fights it off and pushes away nicely.
RUSSO tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

wall closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming RUSSO to the mat! RUSSO manages to get full guard.
wall is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
wall trying to control but RUSSO is working from the bottom.

wall avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
wall tries to free his leg and advance position but RUSSO is retaining full guard.
RUSSO avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
RUSSO looking to control but wall passes into half guard.
RUSSO tries to roll over but wall keeps him under control.
wall drops an elbow to the side of RUSSO's head.

wall stands up out of the half guard.
RUSSO clinches but wall breaks the clinch

and wall counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in RUSSO's guard now.
wall trying to control but RUSSO is working from the bottom.
wall controls from within his opponent's guard.
wall throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
RUSSO lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for wall!

RUSSO goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now wall is on top in guard.

RUSSO escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. wall gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

RUSSO working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because wall has passed into half guard!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
RUSSO wants to improve his position but wall is controlling well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
wall wants to get back to his feet.
RUSSO keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
RUSSO throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
RUSSO makes his way to full guard. A much better position for RUSSO.
wall must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
wall throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

RUSSO has his foot on wall's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. wall works his way back into a safe position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

wall gets to his feet - RUSSO follows without any prompting.
wall shoots for a double leg takedown but RUSSO sprawls well. He's pushed wall's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Nice takedown defense from RUSSO. No joy for wall on that attempt.
DEAN RUSSO seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
RUSSO throws a head kick that half lands.

RUSSO pushes wall up against the cage in a clinch.
wall has RUSSO pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. RUSSO manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
DEAN RUSSO has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of paul wall.
RUSSO tries to pull guard but wall holds him up against the cage and eventually RUSSO drops back down to his feet.
RUSSO wants a takedown but no success here.
RUSSO wants a takedown.

wall has hold of one of RUSSO's legs. RUSSO is fighting the takedown attempt but wall gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

wall has gone for a leg lock! RUSSO slips out almost immediately though and dives into wall's guard.

wall working for a triangle but RUSSO defends it easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
paul wall comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well wall has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Jonathan Paton scores the fight 27:30
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 27:30
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... paul wall!