PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Michael Robico (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Stein (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Robico
vs
Stein

195 cm
24
265 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

190 cm
24
270 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

Good wrestler
Counter striker
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Michael Robico!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, John Stein!
The judges for this bout are Hugh Johnson, John Mangel and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Stein shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Robico moves into full guard.
Stein working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Robico preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Stein scoring with punches to the head and body.
Robico is trying to keep Stein in close.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Robico is on top in guard.
Robico thows a big elbow that misses.
Stein bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Robico's guard.
Stein wants to control from the top but Robico keeps moving.
Stein with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Robico keeping full guard, as Stein tries to pass.
Robico working a defensive guard here.
Stein looking to pass the guard.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Robico holds on and takes a little breather.
Stein thows a big elbow that misses.
Stein postures up in Robico's guard and throws a big left but Robico blocks it.
Robico utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Stein working some strikes from top position.
Robico manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!

Robico goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Stein is on top in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Robico avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Stein scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Stein won't allow Robico to sweep him here.
Stein wants to control from the top but Robico keeps moving.
Stein with a flurry of punches that miss.
Robico has control of Stein's left arm, preventing Stein from doing any damage.
Stein lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Stein lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Stein throwing strikes from guard but Robico blocks nicely.
Stein works over Robico with some ground and pound from guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Robico controls Stein momentarily but Stein frees himself.
Stein loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Robico looking to control.
Stein controls from within his opponent's guard.
Stein landing with the ground and pound.
Robico manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Stein can do anything to dispel that myth.
Stein is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Robico punching from mount but Stein doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Robico landing strikes from the mount and Stein is in trouble!
Robico avoids the attempt from Stein to control.
Stein 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.

Robico seems to be looking for submissions.
Robico is breathing heavily.

Robico is looking for a kimura here.
Robico not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Stein controlling the position for now.
Stein wants to get back to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Stein dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Robico misses the shot to the body.
Robico gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Stein counters with a nice double leg into side control. Robico won't be happy with that.
John Stein has got the better of the ground game so far.
Robico taking punishment in the form of punches.
You can see the frustration on Robico's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Stein cracks Robico with a big right hand but Robico just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Robico takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Stein working the body and head with strikes.
Stein wants to lay and pray for a moment but Robico keeps working.
Robico tries to buck Stein off but Stein is having none of it.
Stein lands a decent elbow from side control.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Stein working the head and body with strikes.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Robico is trying to control Stein's posture but Stein avoids it.
Stein works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Stein works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
A lull in the action here.
Stein scoring with punches and elbows.
Stein working the head and body with strikes.
Stein working away.
Robico takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Stein lands a nice forearm strike.
Stein lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Stein lands some shots froms side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stein wants to lay and pray for a moment but Robico keeps working.
Robico is trying to get back to half guard.
Robico takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Stein is trying to get an arm triangle but Robico is defending well.
Stein scores with a couple of short elbows.
Stein lands some shots froms side control.
Stein creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Stein cracks Robico with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Stein landing strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stein scoring with punches from side control.
Stein scoring with punches and elbows.
Stein scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Robico to see if he's OK.
You can see the frustration on Robico's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Stein lands a nice forearm strike.
Stein cracks Robico with a big elbow.
Stein is chipping away with strikes.
You can see the frustration on Robico's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Robico takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Stein is looking to take a break and control but Robico is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stein working the ground and pound from side control.
Stein is putting a hurting on Robico here, landing some big shots from side control.
Stein works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Robico tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Stein wants to lay and pray for a moment but Robico keeps working.
Robico is looking to regain half guard here but Stein keeps moving and retains side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Robico on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Stein showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Stein avoids the head kick by Robico.
Robico misses with a takedown

and Stein counters with a shoot takedown. Robico fights it but they end up in guard.
Stein wants to control from the top but Robico keeps moving.

Robico working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Stein doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Stein manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Stein thows a big elbow that misses.
Stein must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Stein throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
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.
Stein throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Robico works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Robico looking for a sweep. Not yet Robico, not yet.
Stein wants to control from the top but Robico keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Robico throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Robico shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Stein counters with a nice double leg into side control. Robico won't be happy with that.
Stein wants to control but Robico is keeping him busy.
Stein connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Robico some visible discomfort.
Stein is putting a hurting on Robico here, landing some big shots from side control.
Stein scoring with punches and elbows.
Stein has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Robico takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
John Stein is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stein happy to just control the position for now.
Robico tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Stein controls the position.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Robico regains half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stein looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Let's hope that Stein has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Stein's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

Despite being in the dominant position, John Stein just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Robico gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Stein decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Robico's guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Michael Robico. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stein controlling from the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Robico tries to strike from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Robico trying to keep a closed guard but Stein is proving a slippery customer.
Robico keeping moving, preventing Stein from controlling successfully.
Michael Robico has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Robico isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Stein stacks Robico on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Stein!

And that's the end of the fight!
John Stein comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Stein has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Hugh Johnson scores the fight 26:30
Judge John Mangel scores the fight 25:30
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Stein!