PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jeremy Rogers (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lutalo Hajjar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rogers comes to the cage accompanied by Shippensburg. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Rogers
vs
Hajjar

171 cm
18
150 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

172 cm
21
150 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jeremy Rogers!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Lutalo Hajjar!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Trevor Gratis and Elvis Blanc.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hajjar misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Horrible takedown by Hajjar or perhaps it was just good defense by Rogers which made him look bad.

Hajjar has closed the distance and engaged Rogers in a clinch.
Hajjar is trying to break free.
Rogers misses with a knee to the head.
Rogers misses with an elbow over the top.
Rogers tries to land knees in the clinch but Hajjar avoids the damage to the body.

Hajjar has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Rogers uses from the top position.
Rogers would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Hajjar throws a couple of heel strikes.
Rogers has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Hajjar trying to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Rogers got a little sloppy there for a moment and Hajjar has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Rogers has managed to get both his arms back between Hajjar's legs - danger averted.
Hajjar has control of Rogers's left arm, preventing Rogers from doing any damage.
Rogers knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Hajjar on the ground.
Rogers wants to get up but he can't break Hajjar's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rogers looking to pass the guard.
Hajjar trying to strike off his back.
Hajjar trying to keep a closed guard but Rogers is proving a slippery customer.
Hajjar pulls Rogers in close to prevent any damage.
Rogers tries to stand but Hajjar is controlling from the bottom.

Rogers stands up from Hajjar's guard - Rogers perhaps looking for a knockout.
Hajjar circles away from the clinch attempt
and Hajjar counters with a leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No joy there for Hajjar, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Rogers defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Hajjar.
Jeremy Rogers has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lutalo Hajjar.
Rogers tries to clinch

and Hajjar counters with a single leg into guard. Rogers didn't expect that.
Rogers looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Rogers keeping full guard, as Hajjar tries to pass.
Hajjar postures up in Rogers's guard and throws a big left but Rogers blocks it.
Hajjar thows a big elbow that misses.

Hajjar gets to his feet - Rogers follows without any prompting.

Rogers forces Hajjar back against the cage and clinches.
Rogers creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Hajjar's defenses.
Hajjar working hard to break the clinch.
Rogers trying to control the position but instead, Hajjar has worked for underhooks and has pushed Rogers into the cage.
Rogers is pressed up against the cage. Hajjar has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Rogers down to the mat. Rogers avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hajjar shoots for a double leg takedown but Rogers sprawls well. He's pushed Hajjar's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Hajjar looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Hajjar looks gassed!
Hajjar shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Rogers sprawls well. Rogers wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Hajjar gets slowly back to his feet.
Rogers closes the distance but Hajjar moves to the side

and Hajjar counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Rogers's guard now.
Rogers tries to land a sweep but no joy.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rogers is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Rogers looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hajjar is one step ahead there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rogers keeping moving, preventing Hajjar from controlling successfully.
Rogers looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hajjar is one step ahead there.
Rogers wants to stand up but Hajjar is controlling him.
Hajjar has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Hajjar misses with a jab, cross combination.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lutalo Hajjar dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Rogers closes the distance but Hajjar moves to the side

and Hajjar counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Rogers avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Hajjar.
Hajjar is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Hajjar stalling.
Hajjar prevents Rogers from improving his position.
Hajjar looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Hajjar is looking to take a break and control but Rogers is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hajjar passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Rogers!
Hajjar looking to control and managing it successfully.
Hajjar scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Rogers?
Rogers is squirming around, avoiding Hajjar's attempts to control the action.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rogers is working to get back to half guard.
Hajjar controlling from mount.

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.
Rogers is trying desperately to improve position.
Hajjar sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Rogers is squirming around, avoiding Hajjar's attempts to control the action.
Rogers can't escape the position.
Hajjar lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Hajjar with good strikes from the mount here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hajjar controlling from the full mount.
Rogers wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Hajjar trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Rogers bucks Hajjar off and manages to get back to his feet!
Rogers closes the distance but Hajjar moves to the side

and Hajjar counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

Rogers is defending against the submission attempts here by Hajjar.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hajjar is working for a kimura but Rogers is defending it quite comfortably.
Hajjar is breathing heavily.
Hajjar prevents Rogers from improving his position.
Hajjar throwing shots but Rogers is blocking nicely.
Rogers is looking to escape.
Still in half guard, Hajjar seems content to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lutalo Hajjar showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Hajjar shoots in for a takedown but Rogers shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Hajjar darts in and clinches Rogers up against the cage.
Rogers throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Rogers looking to throw knees to the head but Hajjar is blocking nicely.
Rogers creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Hajjar's defenses.
Rogers throws an elbow but it misses.
Hajjar wants to get back to striking at distance but Rogers won't allow it.
Rogers missing with knees to the body.

Hajjar has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Rogers uses from the top position.
Hajjar wants to sweep but no luck.
Rogers tries to stand but Hajjar is controlling from the bottom.
Rogers postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Hajjar working for a triangle but Rogers defends it easily.
Rogers trying to stand up but can't free himself from Hajjar's guard.
Hajjar takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hajjar is trying to keep Rogers in close.
Rogers postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Rogers misses with a combination

and Hajjar counters with a takedown into side control.

Hajjar stands up.

Hajjar has managed to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rogers tries to stall but Hajjar uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

Hajjar gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Well, if Hajjar is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Hajjar missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Rogers manages to get to full guard.
Hajjar trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rogers thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hajjar has gone for a leg lock! Rogers slips out almost immediately though and dives into Hajjar's guard.

Hajjar has his feet on Rogers's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Rogers tries to clinch but Hajjar moves away

and Hajjar counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Hajjar.
Hajjar throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Rogers wants to stand but Hajjar is controlling the position.
Rogers keeping moving, preventing Hajjar from controlling successfully.
Rogers tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Jeremy Rogers has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hajjar trying to control but Rogers is working from the bottom.
Hajjar slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Rogers darts in trying to clinch

and Hajjar counters by moving into the clinch.
A knee to the head by Rogers.
Lutalo Hajjar is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rogers trying to land knees to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lutalo Hajjar comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Hajjar winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 27:30
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lutalo Hajjar!