PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ricardo Rojas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cole Michaels (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rojas comes to the cage accompanied by Dennis Ferrer - Hey Hey. Michaels is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Rojas
vs
Michaels

225 cm
23
309 lbs
14 - 1 - 0

225 cm
22
322 lbs
11 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ricardo Rojas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Cole Michaels!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Frank Dennis and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rojas swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Michaels counters with a nice uppercut.
Rojas throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Some wild striking there from Michaels.
Rojas misses with a jab to the body
and Michaels counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Michaels with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Jab by Rojas.
Rojas misses with a combination
and Michaels connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Rojas on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Michaels. Michaels obviously looking to wear him down.

Rojas shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rojas is controlling the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Michaels is looking to control Rojas's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Michaels avoid being mounted?
Rojas controlling the pace.
Rojas is looking to pass Michaels's guard but actually Michaels recovers to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Michaels utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Rojas trying to control the position from guard on top but Michaels is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rojas is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Michaels is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Michaels is trying to keep Rojas in close.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Ricardo Rojas just wasn't active enough.
Michaels swinging wildly here.
Michaels lands a jab to Rojas's midsection.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A good leg kick by Rojas.
Rojas misses with a leg kick
and Michaels counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Rojas slips under a jab from Michaels.
Rojas throws a low kick but it's checked well by Michaels.
Michaels rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Rojas connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Rojas throws a low kick, looking for Michaels's leg but Michaels calmly moves out of range.
Michaels uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rojas.
Rojas lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Michaels tries to clinch up but Rojas circles away and keeps his distance.
Michaels misses with an uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rojas throws a low kick but it's checked well by Michaels.
Rojas throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nice body kick from Rojas.
Rojas loads up on a big right hand but Michaels slips the punch.
Michaels takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A head kick by Rojas misses
and Michaels counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Rojas uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Michaels has time to react.
Michaels lands with a nice body kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Michaels blocks a head kick by Rojas.
Michaels tries to clinch there but Rojas circles away.
A looping hook to the body misses from Michaels. Rojas does a little dance to reset his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Michaels tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Michaels wants to clinch up but Rojas keeps it at a distance.
Michaels throws a sloppy body shot
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Rojas misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Rojas misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Rojas throws a shot from downtown. Michaels moves away and avoids it.
Michaels throws a body kick that misses.
Rojas misses the shot to the body.
A low kick from Rojas is predictable there

and Michaels counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Stalling in the clinch from Rojas.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rojas.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rojas breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A swing and a miss from Rojas.
Michaels lunges at Rojas with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Rojas's hand.
Rojas misses with a low kick.
Rojas misses the body punch
and Michaels counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Rojas thinking.
Rojas's jab looks to have found its range, popping Michaels under the eye.
Rojas throws a jab when Michaels was well out of range.
Rojas moves out of range as Michaels strikes.
Michaels throws an off balance right hand
and Rojas counters with a leg kick.
Rojas cracks Michaels with an open hand slap.
Cole Michaels is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Rojas fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Michaels manages to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rojas throws a right and a left that Michaels avoids nicely.
Michaels avoids a punch combination nicely.
Michaels connects with a single shot there.
Ricardo Rojas is winning the standup battle so far.
Michaels misses the shot to the body.
Michaels uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Rojas has time to react.
A combination from Michaels does no damage.
No luck for Rojas with that takedown attempt.
Michaels scores with a hook to the body. Rojas takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Michaels fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Rojas.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Michaels goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

It looks like Ricardo Rojas has been cut.
Rojas fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Michaels manages to avoid it.
Rojas wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Rojas uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Michaels.
Michaels is looking to clinch but Rojas is avoiding it.
Michaels avoids the body shot from Rojas.

Michaels instigates a clinch.
Michaels lands a nice uppercut.
Rojas has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Michaels is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ricardo Rojas. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Michaels blocking some punches.
Rojas looking to slow down the pace here.
Rojas lands with a short punch from the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Michaels tries to work over Rojas's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Rojas blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Michaels pushes Rojas back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rojas goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Michaels blocking some punches.
Michaels lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Rojas trying to control the position but instead, Michaels has worked for underhooks and has pushed Rojas into the cage.
A short left from Michaels.
Rojas misses with an elbow strike.
Michaels works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Michaels scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A shot in the inside from Michaels.
Michaels makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Michaels keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Rojas's efforts to push away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A left hand lands to the body for Michaels.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Michaels.
Michaels throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Michaels creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Nice body punch from Michaels - that landed with a thud.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cole Michaels showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Ricardo Rojas's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Nice body punch from Michaels.
Michaels loads up on a big right hand but Rojas slips the punch.
Michaels looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Rojas avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Michaels misses with the combination.
Rojas lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Rojas lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Rojas moves out of range of the strikes.
A shot to the liver by Rojas. Beautiful body shot.
Michaels connects with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Michaels misses with a body shot.
Rojas throws a head kick but Michaels moves out of range.
Rojas throws a body punch but Michaels moves out of range.
Michaels misses with a combination
and Rojas counters with an outside leg kick.
Rojas blocks a leg kick.
Michaels walks into a left hand.
Jab by Rojas.
Michaels throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Rojas counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rojas drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Michaels misses with a body shot.
A shot to the body from Michaels misses
enabling Rojas to counter with a crisp jab.
Rojas swings for the body but Michaels moves out of range.
Rojas takes one to the side of the head.
Michaels slips a jab and a cross from Rojas.
Michaels jabs Rojas to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Michaels misses with a left hand

and Rojas counters with a nice double leg into side control. Michaels won't be happy with that.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rojas sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Michaels is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
The ground and pound from Rojas seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Michaels is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Rojas off and has taken his back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Michaels controls the action.
Michaels doesn't have the hooks in and Rojas manages to turn into his guard.
Rojas stands up over Michaels, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Rojas trying to control the position from guard on top but Michaels is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rojas is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Rojas trying to control but Michaels is working from the bottom.
Rojas controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Michaels working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rojas.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Michaels tries to land a sweep but no joy.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ricardo Rojas.
Michaels digs a good body shot into Rojas's ribs.
Rojas scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Michaels looks to score with a jab to the body but Rojas is just out of range.
Rojas fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rojas shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Rojas throws a poor cross that misses
and Michaels connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Rojas takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Rojas clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Ricardo Rojas's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Rojas walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Michaels lands with a nice body punch.
Rojas just misses with a punch to the body.
Rojas scores with a jab to the body.
Rojas throws a leg kick but Michaels moved away.
Rojas looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Michaels thows a body shot but no joy.
Michaels tries to clinch but Rojas moves out of range.
Rojas keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rojas misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rojas falls off balance throwing a combination
and Michaels counters with a nice uppercut.
Rojas throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Michaels scores with a body shot.
Michaels finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Rojas throws a sloppy head kick
and Michaels counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Michaels misses with a body kick.
Michaels throws out a loose jab but Rojas uses good head movement to avoid it.
The fight stays on the outside here - Michaels looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Rojas moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rojas thows a leg kick but Michaels checks it
and Michaels counters with a stiff right hand.
A looping hook to the body misses from Michaels. Rojas does a little dance to reset his feet.
Michaels tries to bum rush Rojas with a series of wild strikes but Rojas uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Rojas throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Michaels counters with a stiff right hand.
Rojas keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rojas throws a right hand that misses
and Michaels counters with a nice uppercut.
A lazy body kick from Michaels
and Rojas counters with an inside leg kick.
Rojas connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Michaels's hands.
Michaels swings for the body but Rojas moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rojas lands a glancing blow to the side of Michaels's head.
Michaels rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Rojas counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Michaels lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Rojas misses the shot to the body.
Michaels throws a lazy body kick
and Rojas counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Michaels is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.
Michaels avoids the body shot from Rojas.
A big right from Rojas misses.
Michaels throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
A jab from Michaels finds it's way through Rojas's defenses.
Michaels fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Michaels swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Rojas counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Michaels misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Rojas throws a low kick, looking for Michaels's leg but Michaels calmly moves out of range.

Michaels gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Rojas preventing the sweep.
Rojas 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.
Michaels keeping moving, preventing Rojas from controlling successfully.
Rojas throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Michaels works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rojas throwing strikes from guard but Michaels blocks nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Rojas had his way with Cole Michaels in that round.
The cut man is working on Ricardo Rojas's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Rojas misses with a body shot
and Michaels counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Rojas thinking.
Crunch! Rojas slams his shin into Michaels's torso.
Michaels on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Rojas with a nice cross.
A jab from Rojas misses.
Michaels takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Michaels avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Rojas checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Michaels is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Michaels misses with a left hand
and Rojas counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Rojas shoots in for a takedown but Michaels shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Michaels stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Michaels wants it to stay on the feet.
Nice uppercut there from Rojas.
Michaels takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Rojas tests Michaels's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Michaels misses with a lunging right hand
and Michaels takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Rojas bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Michaels tries to clinch but Rojas moves away
and Rojas counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Rojas keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rojas defending well as Michaels loads up on a big left hand.
Rojas blocks the body kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A head kick by Rojas misses
and Michaels counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Rojas throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Michaels throws a poor cross that misses
and Rojas counters with a nice low kick that buckles Michaels's knee momentarily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rojas lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
A bone on bone clash there as Michaels blocks the leg kick.
Michaels misses with a double jab.
Good leg kick by Rojas there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Rojas misses with a straight right.
Michaels rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Rojas counters with a nice leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rojas fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Michaels misses with a hook
enabling Rojas to counter with a crisp jab.
Michaels misses with a double jab
letting Rojas counter with a right hand.
Michaels tries to clinch but Rojas is having none of it.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Rojas.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ricardo Rojas. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Michaels stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Rojas.
Rojas throws a head kick that misses.
Rojas looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Cole Michaels has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ricardo Rojas is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
That kick from Rojas tenderised Michaels's leg. Michaels is trying to keep his angry face on.
Michaels throws the left hand but Rojas avoids the punch easily.
Rojas loads up on a big right hand but Michaels slips the punch.
Michaels swings away with a body shot that misses
and Rojas counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Rojas lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Michaels slips under a jab from Rojas.
Rojas swings for the body but Michaels moves out of range.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Michaels misses the body punch
and Rojas counters with a leg kick.
Rojas tries to score with a low kick but Michaels moves his leg out of the way.
Rojas blocks a low kick nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricardo Rojas showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Rojas has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 49:46
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 49:46
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 49:46

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ricardo Rojas!