PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Alex Robsahm (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Arana Hooke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Robsahm
vs
Hooke

194 cm
22
182 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

175 cm
22
177 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Intelligent

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Granite chin

Elite Sydney Nutrition

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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Alex Robsahm!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Arana Hooke!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Hugh Johnson and John Mangel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hooke misses with a head kick.
Robsahm shoots in for a takedown but Hooke shows good takedown defense.
Robsahm fails with the takedown.
Hooke misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Hooke looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Hooke throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Hooke tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Robsahm.
Hooke is trying to control Robsahm's posture but Robsahm avoids it.
Robsahm tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
An elbow from Robsahm crashes against the mat.
Hooke wants to get back to his feet.
Sloppy strikes there by Robsahm.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Robsahm prevents Hooke from escaping the position.
Robsahm trying to control the position but Hooke is working away.
Robsahm postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Hooke scores with a three punch combo!
Robsahm steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Hooke. That one must have hurt.
Hooke lands with a right hand.
Robsahm shoots in but no luck this time.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alex Robsahm. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hooke stuffs the takedown.
Robsahm is breathing heavily.
Hooke is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Robsahm.

Robsahm looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Hooke!
Hooke has given up his back. Will we see Robsahm going for some submissions?
Hooke trying to control the position but Robsahm manages to sink in the hooks.
Hooke trying to get back to his feet but Robsahm is in full control for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Robsahm struggling to keep hold of the position.
Hooke just trying to survive but Robsahm is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
Robsahm misses with an elbow to the head.
I really don't envy Hooke right now.

Hooke showing good submission defense here.
Robsahm will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Hooke fending off the submission attempt from Robsahm.
Hooke trying to control the action but Robsahm just sinks the hooks in.
Robsahm really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hooke staying busy and making it hard for Robsahm to control.

Robsahm is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Hooke covering up well under a series of strikes from Robsahm.
Hooke covering up well under a barage of strikes.

Robsahm is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Hooke has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Robsahm struggling to land strikes to the head as Hooke covers up.

Robsahm working for a choke but Hooke is defending well.

Hooke is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hooke is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Hooke is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Robsahm controlling well, preventing Hooke from escaping the position.
Robsahm trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.

Robsahm has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
I really don't envy Hooke right now.
Hooke trying to control the hands but Robsahm won't let him.
I really don't envy Hooke right now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alex Robsahm 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.

Robsahm shoots in and bounces Hooke off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Hooke trying to control the position.
Robsahm has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Robsahm trying to control the position from guard on top but Hooke is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Robsahm stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hooke swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Robsahm preventing the sweep.
Robsahm wants to control from the top but Hooke keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hooke is trying to control the position but Robsahm postures up.
Hooke is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Hooke's corner calls for a 1-2. Hooke obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Hooke lands an overhand right.
Hooke keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Hooke throws a head kick that half lands.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Robsahm.
Robsahm wants to control but Hooke is keeping him busy.
Robsahm working the ground and pound but Hooke is defending the strikes.
An elbow from Robsahm crashes against the mat.
The referee asks Robsahm politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Robsahm prefers to stall for the moment though.
Robsahm postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Hooke really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Robsahm. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Robsahm looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Robsahm in side control lands a decent elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Robsahm wants to control but Hooke is keeping him busy.

Robsahm tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Robsahm has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Robsahm thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

Robsahm is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Hooke knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Robsahm throwing shots but missing, from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Robsahm remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

Robsahm is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Hooke is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Robsahm creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Hooke sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Robsahm is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hooke parries the strikes from Robsahm easily there. Robsahm is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Hooke to escape.

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.
Robsahm tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Robsahm wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hooke keeps working.

Robsahm is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Hooke knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
A control attempt from Hooke but he's now mounted!

Robsahm jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Hooke manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Robsahm wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hooke keeps working.
Hooke is looking to get back to his feet here but Robsahm is keeping cool and he's managed to take Hooke's back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alex Robsahm dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Robsahm.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Robsahm.
A good leg kick by Hooke.
Hooke throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
A right-left combo lands from Hooke.

Robsahm shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Robsahm is trying to control the action in half guard but Hooke is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Robsahm is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Robsahm works his way into full mount!
Hooke takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Hooke defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Robsahm.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hooke wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Robsahm.
Robsahm punching from mount but Hooke doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Hooke is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

Robsahm has control of Hooke's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Hooke regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Robsahm looking to ground and pound but Hooke is blocking nicely.
Hooke wants to hold on but Robsahm pushes him away.
Robsahm lands a big elbow.
Hooke is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's two 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.
Robsahm wants to control the pace but Hooke is squirming around nicely.
Robsahm moves to the back position.
A lull in the action here.
Robsahm not allowing Hooke to control his hands.

Robsahm is persistently looking for the submission but Hooke is defending it well.
Hooke holding both Robsahm 's hands and preventing any damage.
Hooke looking very determined here, making life difficult for Robsahm.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Robsahm is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
Robsahm throws a big right hand but he misses and hits the mat. Ouch.
Robsahm struggling to keep hold of the position.

Robsahm is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Hooke knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Hooke for a finish.
Robsahm controlling well, preventing Hooke from escaping the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hooke defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Hooke looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.

Hooke defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Hooke trying to control but not successfully.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alex Robsahm showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Robsahm, 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 Steve Erwin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Mangel scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alex Robsahm!