PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Die Hard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Benn Rotthwell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rotthwell has chosen U2 - Bloody sunday as his entrance music. Benn Rotthwell told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Hard
vs
Rotthwell

190 cm
18
225 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

192 cm
23
265 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Good knees
Prefers standup

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Die Hard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Benn Rotthwell!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Sergei Dronov and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hard wants to clinch up but Rotthwell keeps it at a distance.
Rotthwell checks a leg kick.
A slapping leg kick lands for Hard.
Hard is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Rotthwell throws a nice looking combination but Hard bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Hard tries to land a leg kick but Rotthwell saw it coming and moves away.
Rotthwell lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Hard tries to close the distance and clinch but Rotthwell swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Hard throws out a loose jab but Rotthwell uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rotthwell fails to land with a series of punches.
Hard misses with a leg kick.
Rotthwell stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Hard.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Hard.
Rotthwell looks gassed!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hard moves into range and lands a nice body kick.

Hard pushes Rotthwell up against the ropes in a clinch.
Rotthwell misses with a punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hard connects with a nasty looking knee right to Rotthwell's face.

It looks like Benn Rotthwell has been cut.
Hard lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Rotthwell takes a shot to the head.
Rotthwell avoids a wild elbow strike from Hard.
Rotthwell takes a knee right on the jaw!
Hard lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Hard pushes Rotthwell back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hard connects with a knee to the head.
Hard scores with a knee to the head.
Hard lands a knee to the head.
Hard landing knees to the head.
Hard connects with a nasty looking knee right to Rotthwell's face.
Hard lands a good knee to the midsection. Rotthwell won't want to take too many of those.
Hard landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Hard lands a good knee to the midsection. Rotthwell won't want to take too many of those.
Rotthwell dodges an elbow strike from Hard.
Hard tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Hard tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Rotthwell wants to break free but Hard has control.
Hard with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Hard with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Rotthwell is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Hard unloads a knee to the mid-section. Rotthwell lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Rotthwell tries to break the clinch but Hard is controlling the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rotthwell misses with some punches.
Rotthwell wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Rotthwell is trying to break the clinch but Hard is controlling him.
Hard with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Hard using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rotthwell has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Rotthwell working aggressively here.
Rotthwell avoids a wild elbow strike from Hard.
Hard stops a takedown attempt from Rotthwell.
Hard with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Hard can't find room to land a body shot as Rotthwell controls the action.
Hard blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Hard misses with a knee to the head.
Hard unloads a knee to the mid-section. Rotthwell lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Rotthwell has a couple of punches blocked by Hard.
Rotthwell can't break the clinch.
Hard connects with a nasty looking knee right to Rotthwell's face.
Rotthwell is looking to break free of the clinch but Hard has double underhooks.
Rotthwell is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
Rotthwell takes a knee right on the jaw!
Rotthwell is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
Rotthwell tries to circle away but Hard has him pinned against the ropes.
Rotthwell wants to break the clinch but can't.
Hard tries a knee to the head but Rotthwell blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rotthwell wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Hard landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Rotthwell can't break the clinch.
Rotthwell avoids the elbow strike from Hard, against the ropes.
Rotthwell working hard to break the clinch.
Hard scores with a knee to the head.
Hard with a knee to the head.
Rotthwell throws a head punch that misses.
Rotthwell drops down looking for an ankle pick but Hard pulls his leg out and moves away.
Rotthwell slips under a jab from Hard.
Rotthwell takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
A head kick misses from Hard.
Hard throws a leg kick that misses.
Hard takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Rotthwell's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Rotthwell duly obliges.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rotthwell throws a nice looking combination but Hard bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Rotthwell works Hard's body with a nice hook.
A good leg kick by Hard.
A right-left combo lands from Rotthwell.
Hard misses with an uppercut. Rotthwell saw that one coming.
Hard throws a shot from downtown. Rotthwell moves away and avoids it.
Rotthwell goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Hard swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Hard is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hard has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Hard throws a head kick but Rotthwell moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Die Hard dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Benn Rotthwell's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Rotthwell avoids the head kick by Hard.
Rotthwell checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Die Hard is winning the standup battle so far.
Hard takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Rotthwell bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Hard's head backwards.
Good leg kick by Hard there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Hard attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Hard looks to land a body kick but Rotthwell moved away.
A leg kick checked by Rotthwell.
Hard throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Rotthwell looks to land a combination but Hard avoids it well.
Benn Rotthwell is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A punch combination from Rotthwell misses.
Hard is looking to clinch but Rotthwell is avoiding it.
Hard swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Rotthwell looks to land a combination but Hard avoids it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hard has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rotthwell checks the leg kick nicely there.
A swing and a miss from Hard.
Rotthwell moves into range and connects with a jab.
Hard takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Hard looks to throw the jab but Rotthwell is out of range.
Rotthwell works over Hard's head and body with a nice combination.
Rotthwell avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A right-left combo lands from Rotthwell.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Rotthwell!
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!
Rotthwell moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Hard fails with an attempt to clinch.
Rotthwell is working the combinations to good effect here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rotthwell throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Rotthwell ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
A right-left combo lands from Rotthwell.
Rotthwell jabs at Hard's body.
Rotthwell ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Rotthwell ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Rotthwell scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Danga de danga de dang - Rotthwell scores with a four punch combination!
Rotthwell blocks a leg kick.
Rotthwell goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Rotthwell stalks Hard and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Hard's face. Hard staggers backwards, shaken.
Rotthwell throws a right and a left that Hard avoids nicely.
Rotthwell blocks a leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rotthwell checks the leg kick.
Hard walks into a stiff left hand from Rotthwell.
Rotthwell connects with a body shot.
Rotthwell misses with a jab, cross combination.
Rotthwell connects with a body shot.
Hard looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Hard tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rotthwell sizes up Hard with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Hard moves in looking to clinch but Rotthwell pushes him off.
Rotthwell lands a body shot.
Rotthwell swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Some bone on bone action there as Rotthwell checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Rotthwell ducks under a wild hook from Hard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheers as Rotthwell lands an impressive looking overhand right. Hard doesn't seem phased though.
Rotthwell scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Rotthwell!
Rotthwell throws a series of strikes that have Hard backpedaling.
Rotthwell scores with a body shot.
Rotthwell stuns Hard with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Rotthwell tests Hard's chin there with a solid looking shot.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rotthwell scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Rotthwell moves out of range of the body kick.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hard misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Rotthwell punishes Hard's body with a nice straight punch.
A head kick misses from Hard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Benn Rotthwell showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Benn Rotthwell's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Hard doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Rotthwell throws a nice looking combination but Hard bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Hard thows a left - swing and a miss!
Some bone on bone action there as Rotthwell checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Rotthwell scores with a nice head shot.
Hard tried to score with a low kick but Rotthwell checks it.
Left hook, right uppercut from Rotthwell.
Rotthwell throws a right and a left that both miss.
A head kick misses from Hard.
Some wild striking there from Rotthwell.
Rotthwell avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Hard wants to clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hard throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Rotthwell counters with a nice body shot.
Rotthwell lands a two punch combo.
Rotthwell moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Rotthwell throws a combination. Hard tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Rotthwell works the jab nicely.
Rotthwell moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Danga de danga de dang - Rotthwell scores with a four punch combination!
Rotthwell is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Hard rather than just go for the knockout.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rotthwell checks a low kick from Hard.
Rotthwell lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Die Hard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rotthwell lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hard circles away quickly and effectively.
Hard tries to clinch but Rotthwell is having none of it.
Hard slips a jab and a cross from Rotthwell.
Rotthwell throws a right hand that Hard ducks under and follows up with a left that Hard also avoids with ease.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hard throws a wild body kick that Rotthwell sees coming a mile off.
Hard misses with a head kick.
Rotthwell looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Some bone on bone action there as Rotthwell checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Hard takes a jab right on the kisser.
Rotthwell dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Hard throws a left and a right that both miss
and Rotthwell counters with a nice body shot.
Rotthwell misses with a jab, cross combination.
Hard tried to score with a low kick but Rotthwell checks it.
Rotthwell misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Hard misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A nice combination there by Rotthwell.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hard misses with a straight left.
Hard avoids a punch combination nicely.
Rotthwell misses with the combination.
Rotthwell lands with a nice body punch.
Hard thumps Rotthwell with a low kick.
Rotthwell blocks a leg kick.
Rotthwell blocks a low kick nicely.
An inside leg kick from Hard misses.
Hard shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Rotthwell throws a combination. Hard tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hard misses with a leg kick.
Rotthwell ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
The fighters circle momentarily. Rotthwell darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Hard misses with a low kick.
Hard misses with a low kick as Rotthwell jumps back.
Rotthwell stuns Hard with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Rotthwell moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Hard loads up on a big right hand but Rotthwell slips the punch.
Die Hard has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rotthwell throws a shot to the body.
Benn Rotthwell is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Hard misses with a shot to the body
and Rotthwell counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Hard thinking.
Rotthwell lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

And that's the end of the fight!
Benn Rotthwell comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Rotthwell has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight for Benn Rotthwell!
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight for Benn Rotthwell!
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight for Benn Rotthwell!

Benn Rotthwell wins by unanimous decision!