PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Nico Roso (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brian Blasted (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nico Roso has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Roso
vs
Blasted

190 cm
22
130 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

175 cm
31
142 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

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 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Nico Roso!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Brian Blasted!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, Richard Clark and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Blasted on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

Blasted moves into the clinch.

Blasted lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Roso wants to get back to full guard.
Blasted perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Roso really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
The fighters are battling for position here. Roso manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Blasted tries to free his leg and advance position but Roso is retaining full guard.
Roso will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blasted wants to stand but Roso has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Blasted won't allow Roso to sweep him here.
Blasted tries to free his leg and advance position but Roso is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blasted is looking to work some ground and pound but Roso has wrist control.
Blasted must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Roso 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.
Blasted trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Blasted in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

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

Blasted closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Roso quickly recovers to half guard.
Blasted is trying to control. Roso wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Blasted is looking for a kimura but Roso is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Blasted to get the leverage.
Blasted looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Roso is trying to stand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blasted scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Roso is pressing down on Blasted's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Blasted trying to control but Roso is working from the bottom.
Blasted throws an elbow that misses. Roso uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Blasted's guard. Nice move by Roso!

The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Blasted not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Roso postures up in Blasted's guard and throws a big left but Blasted blocks it.
Blasted 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.
Blasted keeping full guard, as Roso tries to pass.
Roso wants to get up but he can't break Blasted's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Roso pushing down on Blasted's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roso blocks the strikes from Blasted.
Roso trying to control from Blasted's half guard. Blasted has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Roso working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Roso preventing the sweep.

Blasted had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Roso defends it easily.
Blasted controls Roso momentarily but Roso frees himself.
Roso prevents Blasted from getting back to his feet.

Roso decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Blasted, up you get!
Roso throws a series of punches but Blasted moves out of range.
Roso throws a nice looking combination but Blasted bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Roso misses with a series of wild punches.
Roso connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Roso cracks Blasted with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.

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

Roso looking for subs from the bottom but Blasted mounts him!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Roso tries to improve his position but instead Blasted has taken his back!

Blasted working for a choke but Roso is defending well.
Roso is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.
I really don't envy Roso right now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Nico Roso will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Blasted showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Roso.
Roso misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Roso misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Roso scores with a nice right hand.

Blasted darts in and clinches Roso up against the ropes.

Blasted decides to pull guard.
Roso won't allow Blasted to sweep him here.
Blasted is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Roso preventing the sweep.
Brian Blasted has got the better of the ground game so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Roso working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Roso postures up in Blasted's guard and throws a big left but Blasted blocks it.
Roso pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Blasted is keeping the position for now.
Blasted wants to sweep but no luck.
Blasted controls Roso momentarily but Roso frees himself.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roso wants to pass the guard but Blasted is keeping the position.
Blasted looking for a sweep. Not yet Blasted, not yet.

Blasted working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Roso doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Roso manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Blasted looking for a guillotine here but Roso defends easily.
Roso would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Roso wants to control from the top but Blasted keeps moving.
Roso wants to stand but Blasted has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Nico Roso is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Blasted is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Roso's half guard.

Roso has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Blasted is on him like a limpet, forcing Roso back against the ropes.
Roso is trying to break the clinch but Blasted has him pressed against the ropes.

Blasted has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Roso uses from the top position.
Roso has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Blasted is proving hard to escape from.
Roso looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Blasted holds on and takes a little breather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roso trying to control the position from guard on top but Blasted is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Blasted is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Blasted content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Roso regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Blasted.
Blasted missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Blasted's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blasted trying to control the position from guard on top but Roso is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Blasted distracts Roso with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Roso is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Blasted is controlling him.

Roso working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Blasted doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Blasted manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Roso is pulling down on Blasted's head to control his posture.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Blasted is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Nico Roso will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Blasted instigates a clinch.

Blasted manages to pull guard.
Blasted wants to sweep here but Roso controlling him for the moment.
Roso trying to control the position from guard on top but Blasted is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Blasted is looking for a triangle but Roso pushes his legs off easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blasted looking to control.
Blasted is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Roso stopping the sweep attempt from Blasted.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blasted trying to keep a closed guard but Roso is proving a slippery customer.
Roso wants to control from the top but Blasted keeps moving.
Roso passes Blasted's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Roso is looking to take a break and control but Blasted is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Blasted is trying to maintain the position but Roso is very close to passing his half guard.
Roso wants to control but Blasted is keeping him busy.
Blasted tries to kick Roso off but Roso keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Roso seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Blasted does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Blasted wants to get back to his feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Roso paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

Blasted drives through with a takedown into Roso's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Roso trying to keep a closed guard but Blasted is proving a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Roso is adopting a defensive guard.
Blasted stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Roso swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Blasted makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Roso throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Blasted wants to control from the top but Roso keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blasted throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Blasted looking to sit in guard and control but Roso gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Roso trying to control but Blasted is working from the bottom.
Roso is really struggling to control Blasted but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Blasted thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.

Roso stands and steps away. Blasted gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Blasted needs to keep his hands up - Roso had a free shot at his head there.
Roso catches Blasted with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Blasted gets a takedown into half guard.

Roso manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Blasted keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the ropes.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Blasted lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Blasted throwing shots but Roso is blocking nicely.
Blasted is trying to control. Roso wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Nico Roso is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Roso definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

Blasted is working for a kimura but Roso is defending it quite comfortably.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Blasted is trying to control. Roso wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nico Roso showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Roso, 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 28:29
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Brian Blasted!