PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Brendan Rowen (ranked 3932 p4p, 24248 weight class) and Rico Salvacion (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Rowen
vs
Salvacion

179 cm
20
164
6 - 11 - 0

182 cm
19
160
6 - 14 - 2

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Brendan Rowen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 14 - 2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rico Salvacion!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Donatello Bradman and Darius Henderson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Salvacion uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rowen.
Rowen shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Salvacion pinned against the cage. Salvacion gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Salvacion is clearly looking to counter with head kicks.
Rowen misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Salvacion takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rowen connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Salvacion on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Salvacion uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Rowen.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salvacion avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Salvacion blocks a jab.
Salvacion appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Salvacion avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Salvacion counters with a body kick.
Salvacion shoots in for a takedown but Rowen shows good takedown defense.
Salvacion chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Rowen can pounce on him.
Salvacion slips a jab from Rowen.
Rowen moves into range and connects with a jab.
Salvacion staying out of range there.
Salvacion darts in looking for a takedown but Rowen gets double underhooks and turns Salvacion into the cage.
Rowen throws a lazy right hand but Salvacion sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Salvacion is trying to counter with his kicks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rowen jabs Salvacion right on the nose. Salvacion blinks but takes it well.
Salvacion shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.

Rowen fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Salvacion to the ground. Rowen is now in Salvacion's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Rowen thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Rowen has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Salvacion is proving hard to escape from.
Rowen controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Rowen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Salvacion is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rowen slips nicely into half guard.
Rowen controlling the pace.
Rowen seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Rowen content to control rather than advance.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

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

Rowen has closed the distance and engaged Salvacion in a clinch.
Rowen misses with a punch on the inside.

Rowen wants the takedown. Salvacion is fighting it off but Rowen persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Salvacion's guard against the cage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rowen engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Rowen passes Salvacion's left leg - he's now in half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Brendan Rowen dominated that round.
That's time! Rowen's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Salvacion dodges the punch combination from Rowen.
Salvacion slaps away a takedown attempt from Rowen, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Rowen thows a left - swing and a miss!
Salvacion counters with a body kick.
Rowen throws a lazy right hand but Salvacion sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Salvacion feints the counter takedown.

Rowen decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Salvacion avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Rowen.

Rowen seems to be working for a kimura but Salvacion defends the submission attempt.
Rowen sitting and controlling from the half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salvacion taking some punishment here, with Rowen in his half guard.
Rowen wants to get back to his feet.
Rowen keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

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.
Rowen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Rowen is taking a breather. Salvacion 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.

Rowen is looking for a kimura but Salvacion is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Rowen to get the leverage.
Rowen controlling the pace.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Rowen displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Rowen looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Rowen slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Salvacion takes a jab right on the kisser.
Brendan Rowen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rowen rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Salvacion counters with a body kick that stops Rowen in his tracks momentarily.
Rowen fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Salvacion drops his hands momentarily and Rowen takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salvacion with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Rowen to score with a decent uppercut.
Salvacion takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Rowen throws a hook but Salvacion blocks it.
Salvacion replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Rowen blocks it well.
Rowen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Salvacion can do to turn this around?
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Salvacion moves away from the strike by Rowen.
Salvacion follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.

Rowen drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Rowen slips nicely into half guard.
Rowen slows the pace down in half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Brendan Rowen dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Rowen throws the left hand but Salvacion avoids the punch easily.
Salvacion steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
Salvacion avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Salvacion walks into a left hand.
Rowen throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Salvacion steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.

Rowen closes the distance and clinches.
Rowen goes for a takedown attempt but Salvacion pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Salvacion moves away from the strike by Rowen.
Rowen misses with a hook. Salvacion ducked under it nicely.
Rowen connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Salvacion gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Rowen to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Rowen engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Rowen postures up and lands a big shot to Salvacion's brow.
Salvacion keeping moving, preventing Rowen from controlling successfully.
Rowen not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rowen being controlled here momentarily.
Rowen wants to stand but Salvacion has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Rowen is pushing down on Salvacion's leg trying to pass to half guard. Salvacion is fighting to maintain full guard but Rowen has managed to sneak the leg through.
Salvacion is staying active underneath Rowen, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Rowen is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rowen wants to pass to mount but Salvacion is defending the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Rowen throws a jab when Salvacion was well out of range.

Rowen drives through with a takedown into guard.

Salvacion is working an open guard so Rowen takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Brendan Rowen is winning the standup battle so far.
Salvacion takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Salvacion avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Salvacion decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Rowen keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Rowen looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salvacion trying to control the action but Rowen is working from the bottom.
Rowen moves into full guard.
Rico Salvacion has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Salvacion is fighting to break Rowen's control of his arms but Rowen is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Brendan Rowen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Rowen has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 30:25
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 30:25
Judge Darius Henderson scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Brendan Rowen!