SMASH:3 PBP Commentary

Co-main event

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Marko Jovanovic (ranked 4929 p4p, 5202 weight class) and Robert Lee (ranked 557 p4p, 575 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Jovanovic
vs
Lee

188 cm
20
205
0 - 0 - 0

193 cm
25
217
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Prefers standup

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Marko Jovanovic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Robert Lee!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, George Francis and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Jovanovic pushes Lee up against the cage in a clinch.
Lee jumps guard but Jovanovic stands there with Lee around his waist. Lee gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Jovanovic gets underhooks to prevent Lee's takedown attempt.
Lee blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Jovanovic tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Lee can't get the takedown.
Marko Jovanovic has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Robert Lee.
Nice elbow from Jovanovic.

It looks like Robert Lee has been cut.
Lee tries to break free but Jovanovic pushes him back against the cage.
Jovanovic creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Lee's defenses.
Jovanovic looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Lee has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Jovanovic avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Lee tries to pull guard but Jovanovic holds him up against the cage and eventually Lee drops back down to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jovanovic lands an elbow inside that Lee shrugs off.
Lee takes an elbow to the temple.
Jovanovic landing knees to the body.
Jovanovic prevents a takedown attempt there.
Lee looks winded!
Jovanovic comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lee wants to take the fight to the mat but Jovanovic manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Jovanovic wants to break free but Lee has control.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Jovanovic lands a damaging elbow.
Jovanovic is trying to maintain a safe position but Lee gets an underhook and turns Jovanovic into the cage.
Jovanovic working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Jovanovic landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Jovanovic.
The referee is keeping an eye on Jovanovic - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Knees in the clinch landing for Jovanovic.
Jovanovic is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Jovanovic lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Jovanovic lands a hook to the side of the head.
Jovanovic cracks Lee with a nice body shot.
Jovanovic lands an elbow that stopped Lee in his tracks for a moment.

That has opened up Robert Lee's cut even more.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Jovanovic breaks from the clinch.
Jovanovic moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jovanovic fails in his attempt to clinch.
Jovanovic connects with the punch.
Lee circles away from the clinch attempt.
Lee tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Jovanovic lands with a good body shot.
Lee closes the distance and clinches up with Jovanovic, looking for a takedown. Lee pushes Jovanovic against the cage but Jovanovic circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Jovanovic appears to be looking for a big counter.
Jovanovic tries to clinch up but Lee circles away and keeps his distance.
Jovanovic lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Jovanovic connects with a leg kick.
Jovanovic wants to clinch up but Lee keeps it at a distance.
Jovanovic fails in his attempt to clinch.
Jovanovic tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Lee paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Marko Jovanovic is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Lee shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Lee stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Jovanovic swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Jovanovic avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Jovanovic is trying to stand and escape. In the scramble, Lee has locked hold of an arm and he's managed to lock on an armbar - Jovanovic taps out instantly and this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:57 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Robert Lee!

C
A

C
B

energy
A | B

hype
A | B

pop
A | B

mgr
A | B

FIGHT
RATING
61%

Main event

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Sam Stout (ranked 5982 p4p, 6783 weight class) and JJ Olatunji (ranked 634 p4p, 690 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Olatunji's choice of entrance music: KSI – Patience. Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Stout
vs
Olatunji

178 cm
18
175
0 - 1 - 0

178 cm
22
172
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

Dangerous GnP
Counter fighter
Enjoys gardening

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sam Stout!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, JJ Olatunji!
The judges for this bout are Frank Dennis, Alan Glass and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Olatunji closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Olatunji working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Stout on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Stout tries to get out of the position.
Olatunji prevents Stout from standing back up.
Stout knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Olatunji on the ground.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Olatunji in particular looking to stall.
Stout tries to kick Olatunji off in order to stand up. Olatunji Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Stout is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Olatunji in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Stout trying to remain calm as Olatunji controls from the top position.
Let's hope that Olatunji has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Stout is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Olatunji controlling the position.
Olatunji lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Stout down.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stout is pushing Olatunji's head away, looking to escape. Olatunji manages to hold on to the position though.
Olatunji staying calm.
Stout pushes Olatunji away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Olatunji gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
A lull in the action here.
Stout is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
You can see the frustration on Stout's face as Olatunji controls the position.

Olatunji has an Americana. Stout didn't react quickly enough there and he's in big trouble now! He tries to squirm out but is forced to tap! Olatunji is delighted and gyrates in front of the ring girls. They seem to like the attention - it'll be interesting to see if Olatunji hooks up with any of them at the after show party.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:57 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Americana). JJ Olatunji!
After the fight, JJ Olatunji was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.