PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Michael Roberts (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Torin Fann (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Roberts
vs
Fann

185 cm
25
195 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

178 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Michael Roberts!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Torin Fann!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Gwen Towbar and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Roberts closes the distance and clinches up with Fann, looking for a takedown. Roberts pushes Fann against the cage but Fann circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Roberts circles away from the clinch attempt.

Roberts shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Fann napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Fann tries to bench press Roberts off him but Roberts keeps the position.
Roberts moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Roberts seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Fann for as long as he can get away with.
Fann tries to improve position but can't.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The referee asks Roberts politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Roberts prefers to stall for the moment though.
Roberts continues to stall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fann is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Fann manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Fann tries to get to full guard but Roberts has control of the leg.
Roberts content to control rather than advance.
Fann wants to improve his position but Roberts is controlling well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Fann has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Roberts is working away from the top position though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Roberts slows the pace down in half guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Fann wants to clinch up but Roberts keeps it at a distance.

Roberts shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Roberts sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Roberts stops Fann from standing up.
Roberts is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Roberts got a little sloppy there for a moment and Fann has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Roberts has managed to get both his arms back between Fann's legs - danger averted.
Roberts looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

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

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

Fann gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Fann looks winded!
Roberts won't allow Fann to sweep him here.
Roberts is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Roberts makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Roberts forces his way into half guard.
Roberts looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Roberts dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

A head kick misses from Fann.
Roberts wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.

Roberts looking to score a takedown here. Fann is defending well but Roberts drives through and ends up in Fann's guard.
Roberts seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Fann wants to get back to his feet but Roberts is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Fann striking off his back but it's not causing Roberts any problems.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roberts won't allow Fann to get back to his feet.
Fann is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Roberts is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Fann.

Roberts closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Fann is breathing heavily.
Fann wants to control but Roberts postures up.
Fann is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Roberts is controlling him well.
Roberts controlling the position.
Roberts is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Fann can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Roberts working the ground and pound.
Roberts controls the position.
Fann can't do much from the bottom here.
Roberts lands a nice forearm strike.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Roberts'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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Fann doesn't manage to clinch there - Roberts circles away.
Roberts drops down looking for a counter takedown but Fann sprawls and moves away.

Fann tries to sprawl but Roberts drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Roberts is taking a breather. Fann says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Michael Roberts overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Roberts decides to stand and escape the position.

Roberts looking to score a takedown here. Fann is defending well but Roberts drives through and ends up in Fann's guard.
Roberts is stalling in the full guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Roberts has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Roberts dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Fann throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Roberts's waist but Roberts gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Fann off to one side.
Fann tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Roberts slaps away a takedown attempt from Fann, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Horrible takedown attempt by Fann or perhaps it was just good defense by Roberts, which made it look bad.
Michael Roberts has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Torin Fann.

Roberts shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Fann napping and manages to drive through into side control!
The referee asks Roberts politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Roberts prefers to stall for the moment though.
Fann tries to bench press Roberts off him but Roberts keeps the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Fann is still trying to improve position.
Fann is trying to escape the position but Roberts is controlling the position.
Fann takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roberts creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Roberts is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Roberts works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Roberts is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Fann will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Fann tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Roberts staying calm.
Fann can't do much from the bottom here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Roberts is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Fann will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

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

Excellent takedown into side control there by Roberts.
Roberts staying calm.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Roberts decides to stand back up.

Roberts throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Fann was covering up waiting for the punch and Roberts finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Roberts is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Michael Roberts is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Torin Fann has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Fann throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Roberts escapes and throws Fann's legs to the side, diving into side control!

And that's the end of the fight!
Michael Roberts showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Roberts, 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 Chris Downing scores the fight for Michael Roberts!
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight for Michael Roberts!
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight for Michael Roberts!

Michael Roberts wins by unanimous decision!
A very excited looking Michael Roberts made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.