PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Cristian Romero (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jordan Ward (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ward has chosen I will not bow as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Romero
vs
Ward

179 cm
23
180 lbs
13 - 8 - 0

180 cm
21
184 lbs
8 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Hell's Balls Recovery (160)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Cristian Romero!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jordan Ward!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Roosa Järviläinen and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Romero feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Romero throws a big right hand that misses.
Ward tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Romero content to stall in guard here.
Romero won't allow Ward to sweep him here.
Romero stands and throws Ward's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Ward is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
A lull in the action here as Romero stalls from top position.
Ward is trying to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Romero lands a decent elbow from side control.
Romero tries to move to mount but Ward blocks the move with his legs.
Romero working the strikes but Ward uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
Romero wants to pass to mount but Ward is defending the position.
Romero is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Romero scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Ward wants to control but Romero is keeping busy.

Romero looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Romero 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.
Romero missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Romero is thwarting Ward's attempts to control the position.
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.
Ward is trying is best to control the position here.
Ward avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Romero.

Romero is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Ward sees it coming and defends easily.
Ward regains full guard. Nicely done.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ward controlling Romero's posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Romero distracts Ward with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Romero trying to control but Ward is working from the bottom.
Ward seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Romero is looking to work some ground and pound but Ward has wrist control.
Romero working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ward is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Romero passes into half guard.
Ward avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Romero.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ward moves into full guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Romero content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Romero trying to control but Ward is working from the bottom.
Ward preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ward keeping moving, preventing Romero from controlling successfully.
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!
Romero in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Romero wants to control from the top but Ward keeps moving.
Ward is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

No luck for Romero with that takedown attempt.
Romero shoots in for a takedown but Ward shows good takedown defense.
Ward tries to bum rush Romero with a series of wild strikes but Romero uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Romero tries a head kick but it misses.
Ward tries to clinch but Romero moves out of range.
Ward catches Romero with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Romero moves out of range as Ward strikes.
Jordan Ward seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ward misses with a body shot.

Romero scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Romero working away.

Romero thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Romero is looking to take a break and control but Ward is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ward is trying to improve his position.
Ward manages to get back to half guard.
Ward won't allow Romero to pass to mount.
Ward wants to control but Romero is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Romero is keen to just control but Ward is a slippery customer.
Ward has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Romero is working away from the top position though.
Ward is refusing to be controlled, as Romero sits in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Cristian Romero wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Romero throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Romero shoots and misses
and Romero takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Cristian Romero. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ward throws the left hand but Romero avoids the punch easily.
Romero with a lazy takedown attempt
and Ward counters with a three punch combo that has Romero backing up. Romero nods at Ward to acknowledge the strikes.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ward throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ward lands a nice looking body shot.
Ward punishes Romero's body with a nice straight punch.
Ward lands a jab to the head.
Ward takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Romero fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Ward avoids it really well and circles away.
Ward throws a leg kick but Romero moved away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Romero looking to score a takedown here. Ward is defending well but Romero drives through and ends up in Ward's guard.
Romero pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ward is keeping the position for now.
Romero works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Romero looks to land a strike but Ward avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Ward is controlling Romero's posture.
Romero pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ward is keeping the position for now.
Ward looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ward is trying to control the position but Romero postures up.
Romero throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Ward works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ward is adopting a defensive guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Jordan Ward.
Ward scores with a jab to the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ward stuffs the takedown.
Romero fails with the takedown
and Ward counters with a straight right hand.
Romero steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Ward.
Ward throws a hook to the side of Romero's head but Romero sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Romero shoots in for a double leg but Ward sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Romero gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Ward.
Ward lands a head shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jordan Ward showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Romero shoots in but no luck this time.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Ward.
Romero moves away from the strike by Ward.

Romero decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Romero passes into side control, despite Ward's attempt to control the position.
You can see the frustration on Ward's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Romero tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Ward is looking for a sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ward parries the strikes from Romero easily there. Romero is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Ward to escape.
Romero trying to control the position but Ward is working away.

Romero looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Ward prevents Romero from improving position.
Ward manages to work his way to half guard, despite Romero's best efforts.
Ward tries to roll over but Romero keeps him under control.
Romero wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ward keeps working.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ward regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Romero.
Romero throwing strikes from guard but Ward blocks nicely.
Ward working a defensive guard here.
Romero lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Romero accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ward can't keep his opponent in guard - Romero advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Ward is trying to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Romero.
Ward trying to control here.
Ward is staying active underneath Romero, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Romero lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Romero wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ward keeps working.
Romero is really struggling to control Ward but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Ward is trying to maintain the position but Romero is very close to passing his half guard.
Romero working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ward keeping hold of Romero's head, controlling as best he can.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Romero seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Ward does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Ward defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Romero.
Jordan Ward seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Romero defending well as Ward loads up on a big left hand.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ward looks to score with a jab to the body but Romero is just out of range.
Ward lands with a hook. Romero tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Ward displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Romero.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Cristian Romero. That's going to take a lot out of him.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Romero fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ward misses with an uppercut.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cristian Romero showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Romero 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cristian Romero!