PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Julian Bashir (ranked 1270 p4p, 1594 weight class) and Putte Ro (ranked 85 p4p, 102 weight class). Bashir comes to the cage accompanied by Exodus - The Toxic Waltz. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Bashir
vs
Ro

170 cm
21
140
6 - 1 - 0

170 cm
21
139
5 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Counter fighter
Powerful

Shadow Realm Apparel
Fantasy Threads

Northern Zombie
Shadow Realm Apparel

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 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Julian Bashir!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Putte Ro!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Alec Ball and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice cross by Bashir.
Ro shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Bashir defends it nicely.
Bashir definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Ro fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
A big left from Ro misses.
Ro shoots in but Bashir avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Julian Bashir has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Putte Ro.
Ro takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ro tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Bashir half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Bashir lands a right hook to the body.
Ro displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bashir throws out the jab.
Ro tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bashir slips under a jab.
Bashir moves out of range of the strikes.
Ro lands a nice looking body shot.
Bashir misses with a body shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Bashir. Ro does a little dance to reset his feet.
Ro feints the counter takedown.
Bashir misses with a wild body shot.

Ro feints and as Bashir raises his hands in defense, Ro changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Bashir is adopting a defensive guard.
Bashir lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bashir missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bashir working some strikes from top position.
Bashir trying to control the position from guard on top but Ro is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ro looking for a sweep. Not yet Ro, not yet.
Ro pulls Bashir in close to prevent any damage.
Bashir missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Bashir with a flurry of punches that miss.
Bashir landing some decent shots from guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bashir looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Bashir content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Ro looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Bashir throws a big right hand that misses.
Ro is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Bashir lands a couple of digs.
Ro is trying to keep Bashir in close.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Ro working for a triangle but Bashir defends it easily.
Bashir cracks Ro with a solid left hand.
Bashir is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

Bashir got a little sloppy there for a moment and Ro has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Bashir has managed to get both his arms back between Ro's legs - danger averted.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Bashir wants to control from the top but Ro keeps moving.
Bashir looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Julian Bashir dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Ro scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Ro tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Bashir defends well and Ro ends up having to push Bashir into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Nice uppercut there from Bashir.
Bashir jabs at Ro's body.
Ro tries to clinch up but Bashir circles away and keeps his distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Ro.
Bashir throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Bashir misses the shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ro moves into the clinch.
Bashir tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ro has Bashir pressed against the cage, preventing Bashir from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Ro has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Bashir is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Julian Bashir has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Putte Ro.

Bashir has Ro pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Bashir pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Ro tumbling to the mat - Bashir dives into Ro's guard.
Bashir forces his way into half guard.
Bashir thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Ro's head.
Ro has hold of Bashir's hands but Bashir slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Ro trying to control but Bashir postures up.
Ro is trying to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bashir thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Ro trying to control from the bottom.
Ro felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Bashir trying to control from half guard but Ro is working away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Julian Bashir overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bashir is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ro wants to control but Bashir is keeping busy.
Bashir trying to control the action but Ro is working from the bottom.
Ro is looking for a sweep. Bashir is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ro is in trouble now - Bashir has advanced to mount!
Ro really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Bashir cracks Ro with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Bashir is stalling here but it's allowed Ro to get half guard.
Bashir throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Ro trying to hold on to Bashir's head to control him but Bashir postures up.
Bashir seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Ro does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Ro moves into full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bashir landing with the ground and pound.
Bashir postures up.
Bashir trying to control the position from guard on top but Ro is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Bashir throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Ro works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Bashir cracks Ro with a solid left hand.
Bashir is in close to Ro's body, working some short punches and elbows.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Bashir is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Bashir wants to control from the top but Ro keeps moving.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Julian Bashir dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Bashir misses with a wild body shot.
Ro tries to clinch up.
Bashir misses with a looping left.
Ro shoots in looking for a takedown but Bashir manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Ro's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Ro shoots for a double leg takedown but Bashir sprawls well. He's pushed Ro's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Bashir appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Ro throws a body punch but Bashir moves out of range.
Bashir scores with a nice right hand.
A big right from Bashir misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ro shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Bashir counters with a nice body shot.
Julian Bashir has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Putte Ro.
Bashir swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Ro.
Ro uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Bashir.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice uppercut there from Bashir.
Bashir cracks Ro with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Bashir lands a nice looking body shot.
Bashir jabs Ro to the body, keeping him at a distance.

Bashir shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Ro working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bashir.
Bashir is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Bashir with a flurry of punches that miss.

Ro is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Bashir defends well.
Ro controls Bashir momentarily but Bashir frees himself.
Putte Ro has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bashir controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Ro looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Bashir throws a big right hand that misses.
Bashir postures up and lands a big shot to Ro's brow.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bashir lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Bashir is working Ro over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

Ro is rocked!
Bashir with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Ro is still in real trouble! Can Bashir finish him?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bashir scoring with punches to the head and body.
Bashir arches his back and unloads with a massive left and a right! Ro's eyes roll back into his head, he's out cold! The ref dives in to stop the fight - wow, they were hard shots!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:22 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Julian Bashir!
An out of breath Julian Bashir thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.