PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Deacon Downs (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rocco Rapposelli (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rapposelli has chosen Makaveli - Hail Mary as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Downs
vs
Rapposelli

184 cm
26
218 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

182 cm
25
208 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

5th Round Clothing

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Deacon Downs!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rocco Rapposelli!
The judges for this bout are David Schapiro, Chad Campbell and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rapposelli drops Downs with a beautiful combination! Downs stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Rapposelli is looking for the KO!

Downs is rocked!

It looks like Deacon Downs has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Downs looks to score with a jab to the body but Rapposelli is just out of range.
Oh Downs is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Rapposelli throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Downs seems to have got his legs back now.
Downs is looking to clinch but Rapposelli is avoiding it.
Rapposelli changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Downs tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Rapposelli lands a big right hand that sends Downs crashing to the mat! Rapposelli stays standing though and waves Downs back to his feet!

Downs clinches up with Rapposelli and pushes him back against the cage.
Downs tries to throw a body punch but Rapposelli avoids it by throwing Downs back against the cage.
Downs pressing his opponent against the cage.
Downs misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Rapposelli taking a breather.
Rapposelli blocking some punches.
Downs prevents Rapposelli from breaking the clinch.
Downs drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Rapposelli tries to break free but Downs pushes him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Downs leaning against his opponent.
Downs tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rapposelli's elbow.
A head punch on the inside from Downs fails to land.
Downs swings wildly with an uppercut but Rapposelli uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rapposelli drops down looking for an ankle pick but Downs pulls his leg out and moves away.

Rapposelli lands a left and a right that send Downs crashing to the mat, dazed. Rapposelli thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rapposelli misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Downs closes the distance and pushes Rapposelli back into the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Rapposelli.
Rapposelli tries to pull guard but Downs forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Downs scores with a shoulder strike.
A body shot lands from Downs.
Rapposelli looks gassed!
Downs is pushing Rapposelli up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Downs gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.
Downs cracks Rapposelli with a nice body shot.

Downs pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Deacon Downs is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Rapposelli lands a nice shot to the body.
Rapposelli misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
The fight stays on the outside here - Downs looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Downs rushes Rapposelli and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Downs lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Downs lands a body shot.
Downs stalling the fight.
Downs keeps control of Rapposelli as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Rapposelli gets control of Downs's arms and successfully pulls guard. Rapposelli will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Rapposelli looking for a sweep. Not yet Rapposelli, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Downs chips away with some ground and pound.
Rapposelli doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Downs has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Rapposelli not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Rapposelli is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Downs is aware though and is defending well.
Downs scoring with punches to the head and body.
Rapposelli trying to keep a closed guard but Downs is proving a slippery customer.
Downs would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Downs pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Rapposelli is keeping the position for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rapposelli throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Downs is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Rapposelli controls Downs momentarily but Downs frees himself.
Downs is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Rapposelli wants to stand but Downs is controlling the position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Rapposelli working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Downs doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Downs manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rocco Rapposelli dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Deacon Downs's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Rapposelli shoots and misses

and Downs counters with a crisp one two that drops Rapposelli! Downs thinks about following him to the mat for a moment but instead steps back and waves Rapposelli to his feet! Rapposelli is in big trouble!

Rapposelli is rocked!
This has been an exciting period of action!

Rapposelli gets tackled into the cage by Downs. Downs maintains the clinch.
Rapposelli is still on wobbly legs! Can Downs finish him?
Downs lands a big right hand that drops Rapposelli! The killer instinct kicks in and Downs finishes his opponent with a series of strikes from mount. A dominating finish by Downs!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:14 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Deacon Downs!