PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rousimar Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sharki Ro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Gracie
vs
Ro

190 cm
23
205 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

170 cm
24
208 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Rousimar Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Sharki Ro!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Timothy Bukovac and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gracie has a takedown stuffed.
Gracie shoots in for a takedown but Ro shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Ro gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Ro is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Ro escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ro defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Gracie.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rousimar Gracie. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Gracie closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Ro to the mat! Ro manages to get full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ro wants to stand and escape but Gracie is having none of it.
Ro wants to sweep here but Gracie controlling him for the moment.
Gracie trying to control but Ro is working from the bottom.
Gracie preventing the sweep.
Ro is trying to keep Gracie in close.

Gracie decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Ro, up you get!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ro misses with a takedown

and Gracie counters with a nice double leg into side control. Ro won't be happy with that.
Gracie working away.
Gracie prevents Ro from escaping the position.
Gracie working the head with strikes.
Ro wants to get back to his feet but Gracie is dominant here and he's now got Ro's back!
Gracie throwing wild punches that miss their target.

Gracie is persistently looking for the submission but Ro is defending it well.
Gracie keeps control of the position as Ro tries to break free.
Gracie has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie tries to get the hooks in deep but Ro pushed the leg off.
Ro tries to roll but Gracie sticks to his back.

Ro defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Gracie is persistently looking for the submission but Ro is defending it well.
Ro trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie tries to keep control of the position but Ro is staying busy.

Gracie tightening his grip on Ro, looking for the choke.
Gracie is trying to stick to Ro's back but Ro is turning into Gracie. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Gracie's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Ro.
Ro throws a strike but Gracie rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Gracie drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Ro dives on top into guard.
Gracie has Ro pulled in close to control his posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ro wants to stand but Gracie has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Gracie can't keep his opponent in guard - Ro advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Gracie is not content to let Ro control the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gracie wants to control but Ro is keeping busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rousimar Gracie dominated that round.
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.

Ro shoots in and gets a takedown into Gracie's guard.
Ro 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.
Gracie keeping moving, preventing Ro from controlling successfully.
Gracie looking to control.
Gracie utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Gracie looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ro is one step ahead there.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Gracie with a lazy takedown attempt

and Ro counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Gracie's guard now.
Ro is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

Gracie is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ro defends well.

Ro avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Gracie trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Rousimar Gracie overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie looking for a sweep. Not yet Gracie, not yet.
Gracie is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Gracie will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Ro trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Ro stops Gracie from standing up.
Ro trying to control the position from guard on top but Gracie is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Ro avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Ro with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ro wants to control from the top but Gracie keeps moving.

Gracie is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Ro trying to stand up but can't free himself from Gracie's guard.
Gracie looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ro is one step ahead there.
Gracie controls Ro momentarily but Ro frees himself.

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.
Ro throws and elbow that misses. Gracie uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ro's guard. Nice move by Gracie!
Gracie stopping the sweep attempt from Ro.
Ro not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Ro keeps moving.
Ro trying to control the position.
Ro keeping moving, preventing Gracie from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sharki Ro showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Ro misses with a straight left.
Ro tries to clinch up.
Gracie fails with the takedown
and Ro counters with a big head kick but Gracie shrugs it off.
Ro fails with the takedown

and Gracie counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Ro's guard now.
Gracie pushing down on Ro's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
It looks like Gracie is going to stand back up.
Ro tries to get to full guard but Gracie has control of the leg.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gracie winds up and cracks Ro with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gracie escapes and gets back to his feet.
Ro shoots and misses

and Gracie counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Ro takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Gracie passes the guard and advances to mount!
Ro has given up his back. Will we see Gracie going for some submissions?

Gracie is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Ro is defending well though. Gracie let's go of the attempt for now.

Ro showing good submission defense here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Ro defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Gracie's arms.
Ro trying to control the hands but Gracie won't let him.
Ro really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Gracie. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Gracie is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Ro knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Ro for a finish.

Gracie working for a choke but Ro is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie struggling to keep hold of the position.
Ro trying to survive by controlling the hands.
Ro trying to control the action but Gracie just sinks the hooks in.

That's four 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.
Gracie lands strikes to the head.
Gracie is trying to control but Ro is trying to escape here - he's now mounted.
Ro in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Gracie manages to capitalize on a mistake by Ro to take his back!
Gracie connects with a big shot to the side of Ro's head.

Gracie has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.

Gracie is looking for the choke from the back position but Ro is controlling his hands well.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Gracie is working on the RNC. He looks like he's got it but Ro won't tap... Oh, he's out! The ref rips Gracie off his unconscious opponent!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Rousimar Gracie!