PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mikel Arteta (ranked 1619 p4p, 1481 weight class) and Roc Le Phat (ranked 218 p4p, 197 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Arteta might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Stranglehold/ Ted Nugent. Le Phat has chosen Bonita Applebum as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Arteta
vs
Le Phat

191 cm
25
200
6 - 1 - 0

189 cm
26
192
12 - 8 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Mikel Arteta!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Roc Le Phat!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Yuuki Gou and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Arteta shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Arteta was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Arteta tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Le Phat is not content to let Arteta control the position.
Le Phat tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Arteta wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

Arteta tries for a kimura but Le Phat is defending well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Le Phat tries to bench press Arteta off him but Arteta keeps the position.
Le Phat on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Le Phat is looking to reverse the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Arteta working away.
Arteta works to advance to full mount. Le Phat defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Le Phat wants to hold on but Arteta pushes him away.
Arteta tries to control but Le Phat wriggling away.
Arteta wants to take his opponent's back but he's not managed it.
Arteta trying to control but Le Phat is having none of it.
Arteta pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Le Phat sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Le Phat is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Arteta's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Arteta's back!
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Arteta wants to control his opponent's hands but Le Phat gets his hands free.
Arteta tries to break free.
Arteta covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Le Phat tightening his grip on Arteta, looking for the choke.
Le Phat is landing with strikes from the back.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Arteta tries to escape the position.
Le Phat is throwing strikes from the back here. Oh that last one was to the back of the head. Le Phat gets a warning from the referee. He throws another strike to the back of the head straight away though and the referee has seen enough. He breaks up the two fighters and stands them back up. Le Phat gets a real talking to here and is lucky not to get a point deducted. Le Phat apologises and we restart here on the feet.
A head kick misses from Arteta.
Le Phat looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Le Phat keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Le Phat moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Arteta throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Le Phat's waist but Le Phat gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Arteta off to one side.
Le Phat throws a head kick but Arteta moves out of range.
Le Phat misses with a low kick.
Arteta dives in and grabs Le Phat's left leg, looking for a takedown. Le Phat pushes down on Arteta's head and hops out.
Roc Le Phat seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Le Phat blocks a jab.
A thudding body kick lands there by Le Phat!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Arteta fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mikel Arteta. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Arteta has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Le Phat.
Le Phat cracks Arteta with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Le Phat has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Le Phat there as he acknowledges the shot.
Arteta moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Le Phat tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Arteta was well out of range. Poor timing from Le Phat.
Arteta displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Le Phat.
Le Phat is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Arteta throws a sloppy head kick and Le Phat moves out of range easily.
Le Phat throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Arteta.
Nice shot by Arteta.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Le Phat looks to land a left hand but Arteta moved out of range nicely.
A head kick misses from Le Phat.
Arteta fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Le Phat manages to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Le Phat misses.
Arteta keeps the fight on the outside.
Le Phat throws a series of punches but Arteta avoids them all with ease.
Le Phat shoots for a double leg takedown but Arteta sprawls well. He's pushed Le Phat's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Le Phat misses with a jab, cross combination.
Le Phat swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A little feinted left hand from Arteta on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Arteta looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Le Phat is fending him off so far but Arteta persists. Nope, Le Phat circles away and we're back to standing.
Arteta misses with a series of wild punches.
It seemed like Le Phat was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Le Phat takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Le Phat throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
A solid body kick from Le Phat.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Le Phat stalks Arteta and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Arteta's face. Arteta staggers backwards, shaken.
Le Phat fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Le Phat lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Arteta at a distance.
Le Phat tries to clinch up but Arteta circles away and keeps his distance.
Le Phat looks to land a left hand but Arteta moved out of range nicely.
It looked like Arteta wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Roc Le Phat dominated that round.
That's time! Arteta's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

A jab-cross combination lands for Le Phat and sends Arteta crashing to the mat! Le Phat follows him down to the mat - Arteta regains half guard but he's not out of trouble yet!
Le Phat trying to control from half guard but Arteta is working away.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Le Phat working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.
Arteta regains full guard. Nicely done.
Le Phat trying to control but Arteta is working from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Arteta is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Le Phat tries to free his leg and advance position but Arteta is retaining full guard.
Arteta is trying to keep Le Phat in close.

Arteta is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Le Phat passes Arteta's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Le Phat is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Arteta!
Arteta is in a horrible position here. Le Phat smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Arteta in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

Arteta is rocked!
Le Phat lands a big elbow - Arteta is in trouble! More strikes from the mount and Arteta is forced to tap out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:40 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Roc Le Phat!
Roc Le Phat decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.