PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Dead Kennedy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Michael Rocco (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Michael Rocco will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Kennedy
vs
Rocco

198 cm
20
178 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

170 cm
19
163 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

Fighters Formula

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Dead Kennedy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Michael Rocco!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Robert Douchet and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rocco tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Kennedy shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Kennedy showed some decent athleticism there.
Kennedy sitting and controlling from the half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rocco regains full guard. Nicely done.

Kennedy drops back looking for a leg! Rocco is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Rocco manages to kick Kennedy off! Kennedy jumps back into Rocco's guard.

Rocco pushes Kennedy off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Kennedy is looking to clinch but Rocco is avoiding it.
Kennedy tries to close the distance and clinch but Rocco swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Kennedy fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kennedy fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
The fight stays on the outside here - Kennedy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Rocco avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Kennedy looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dead Kennedy. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Rocco shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Rocco trying to control but Kennedy is working from the bottom.
Rocco throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kennedy works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Rocco looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Rocco content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Kennedy will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rocco in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Rocco throwing strikes but missing.
Rocco slips nicely into half guard.
Rocco thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kennedy's head.
Rocco drops an elbow to the side of Kennedy's head.
Rocco wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kennedy keeps working.
Rocco wants to free his trapped foot but Kennedy is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Kennedy keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rocco thows a huge punch but Kennedy dodges it nicely.

Rocco seems to be looking for submissions.

Kennedy looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Rocco has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rocco misses with a takedown attempt

and Kennedy counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Rocco looks gassed!
Rocco keeping moving, preventing Kennedy from controlling successfully.
Rocco is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Kennedy is looking to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy is working hard here to advance position.
Kennedy really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Kennedy taking some punishment here, with Rocco in his half guard.
Kennedy on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Kennedy tries to get out of the position.

Rocco is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Rocco takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Kennedy moves into full guard.
Rocco throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Kennedy has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Rocco is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Kennedy.
Kennedy manages to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Michael Rocco will probably get the nod.
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.

Kennedy gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Rocco counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Rocco.
Kennedy avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Rocco advances position into side control!
Rocco blocks the strikes from Kennedy.
Kennedy wants to control but Rocco postures up.
Rocco lands an elbow.
Rocco wants to control but Kennedy is keeping him busy.
Kennedy is trying to control Rocco's posture but Rocco avoids it.
Rocco trying to control the position but Kennedy is working away.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rocco is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
You can see the frustration on Kennedy's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Rocco rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Kennedy moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Rocco doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Kennedy counters with a nice double leg into side control. Rocco won't be happy with that.

Kennedy stands up and beckons Rocco to his feet.
Kennedy shoots and misses

and Rocco counters with a shoot takedown. Kennedy fights it but they end up in guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kennedy keeping moving, preventing Rocco from controlling successfully.
Rocco pushes down on Kennedy's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy is looking to get back to full guard here but Rocco has managed to pass to side control instead.
Kennedy is looking to get to half guard.
Kennedy wants to hold on but Rocco pushes him away.
Kennedy can't escape the position.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Rocco. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Kennedy tries to hold on but Rocco postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy is wriggling around trying to escape.
Kennedy is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Kennedy can't escape the position.

Kennedy somehow manages to escape the mount and get back to his feet!
Kennedy has his takedown stuffed

and Rocco counters with a nice double leg into side control. Kennedy won't be happy with that.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dead Kennedy. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Rocco stands up.

Kennedy decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Rocco gets back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Kennedy trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Kennedy trying to control but Rocco is working from the bottom.
Rocco lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Kennedy!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rocco landing punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Rocco showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Rocco fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Kennedy sprawls well initially but Rocco persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Kennedy looking for submissions off his back.
Kennedy manages to get to full guard.
Rocco throws a big right hand that misses.

Kennedy keeping busy on the bottom but Rocco has passed one foot through into half guard.
Kennedy is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Rocco jumps into side control!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kennedy is trying to get back to half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kennedy looks to move to half guard but instead Rocco has passed into mount! Damn!
Rocco controlling from mount.
Rocco landing punches.
Kennedy regains half guard.
Rocco slows the pace down in half guard.

Rocco is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Kennedy doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Rocco.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Rocco.
Kennedy is staying active underneath Rocco, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Kennedy tries to roll over but Rocco keeps him under control.
Rocco has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Rocco tries to control but Kennedy wriggling away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rocco controlling his opponent.
Rocco trying to control but Kennedy is having none of it.
Kennedy tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Rocco trying to control but Kennedy is having none of it.

Rocco looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Kennedy slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Rocco tries to pass the half guard into mount. Kennedy knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Rocco wants to stand but Kennedy has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Kennedy is looking for a sweep. Rocco is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Rocco lands a nice short elbow.
Rocco trying to control the action but Kennedy is working from the bottom.
Dead Kennedy has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

And that's the end of the fight!
Michael Rocco comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Rocco has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Dillan Fox scores the fight 27:30
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Michael Rocco!