PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Death Row (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mark Aronoff (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Row kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Who Da Champion. Aronoff has chosen Here Comes the Pain by Slayer as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Death Row has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Row
vs
Aronoff

200 cm
28
272 lbs
11 - 7 - 0

180 cm
28
245 lbs
13 - 10 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Excellent boxer
Very strong

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Solid 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 11 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Death Row!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mark Aronoff!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Shigeki Sano and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Aronoff fails with a takedown attempt.
Aronoff tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Row was well out of range. Poor timing from Aronoff.
Row looks to land a right hand but Aronoff moved out of range.
Aronoff tries to close the distance and clinch but Row swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Row swats away the attempt to clinch by Aronoff.
Row closes the distance looking to clinch

and Aronoff counters with a single leg into guard. Row didn't expect that.
Aronoff working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Row's head.
Row looking for a sweep. Not yet Row, not yet.

Aronoff avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Row wants to stand but Aronoff is controlling the position.
Aronoff wants to control from the top but Row keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aronoff throws a strike but Row rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Row connects with a couple of short punches.
Row trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Row won't allow Aronoff to get back to his feet.
Row will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Aronoff throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Row working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Row is in close to Aronoff's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Aronoff looking for a sweep. Not yet Aronoff, not yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Row working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Aronoff's head.
Aronoff working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Row.
Aronoff scores with a couple of body punches from the bottom.
Row content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Row is looking to work some ground and pound but Aronoff has wrist control.
Row keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Aronoff's head.

Aronoff is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Aronoff looks gassed!
Row scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Row content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Row in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Aronoff wants to sweep but no luck.
Row is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Aronoff utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Row content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aronoff is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Row is controlling him.
Row is working Aronoff over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Aronoff throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Row working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Aronoff's head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Row postures up in Aronoff's guard and throws a big left but Aronoff blocks it.
Aronoff preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Row working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Row working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Row makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Row works over Aronoff with some ground and pound from guard.

Row gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Row shoots in for a takedown but Aronoff shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Aronoff has closed the distance and engaged Row in a clinch.

Row pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Row throws out a loose jab but Aronoff uses good head movement to avoid it.
Aronoff keeps the fight on the outside.
Aronoff tries to clinch but Row is having none of it.
Aronoff ducks under a wild hook from Row.

Row gets caught flat footed, as Aronoff shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Aronoff drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Row manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Aronoff has Row in his guard.
Row is working Aronoff over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Row throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Aronoff.

Row gets the takedown into side control.
Row cracks Aronoff with a big elbow.
You can see the frustration on Aronoff's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Aronoff sneaks back into half guard.
Row drops an elbow to the side of Aronoff's head.
Row takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Aronoff tries to get to full guard but Row has control of the leg.
Row lands with a punch from half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nice strikes from Row there.
Aronoff is breathing heavily.
Row not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Aronoff tries to get to full guard but Row has control of the leg.
Aronoff is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Row seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Row thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Aronoff's head.
Nice strikes from Row there.
Row throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Row connects with a nice short shot to Aronoff's temple.
Row is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Death Row overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Aronoff is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Row is nestled in close to Aronoff, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Aronoff on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

Row stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Aronoff to get to his feet.
Row with a lazy takedown attempt

and Aronoff counters with a takedown into side control.

Aronoff working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Aronoff wants to take a breather but Row manages to regain guard - a lesson learnt for Aronoff.
Aronoff throwing strikes but missing.
Aronoff trying to control but Row is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Aronoff drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Row dives on top into guard.
Row with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Row connects with a couple of short punches.
Row with a flurry of punches that miss.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Row accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Aronoff working for a triangle but Row defends it easily.
Row has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Row postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Row with a nice head shot there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aronoff wants to stand but Row is controlling the position.
Row with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Row stands up over Aronoff, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Row won't allow Aronoff to sweep him here.

Aronoff throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Row cracks Aronoff with a solid left hand.
Row postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Row stopping the sweep attempt from Aronoff.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Row landing some decent shots from guard.
Aronoff wants to stand but Row is controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Death Row dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Row goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

Aronoff gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Row to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Aronoff striking off his back but it's not causing Row any problems.
Row postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Aronoff lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Row!
Row trying desperately to get to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Row is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Row has given up his back, trying to stand up. Not clever.

Aronoff tightening his grip on Row, looking for the choke.
Row wants to get back to his feet.
Mark Aronoff has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Row tries to roll but Aronoff sticks to his back.
Row is keeping busy.
Row is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Aronoff punishes Row with strikes from the back mount.
Row covers up after that shot from Aronoff.

Row defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Aronoff's arms.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Row wants to get back to his feet.

Row showing good submission defense here.
Row controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad position.

Row is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Aronoff gets his way!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Row defends a prolonged rear naked choke attempt and turns nicely into his opponent's guard.

Aronoff looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Death Row is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Row sitting in guard here, content to control.

Aronoff working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Row doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Row manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

And that's the end of the fight!
Death Row showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Row, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Death Row!