PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Raymond Matice (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frank Romita (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Romita has chosen Rollin' Like A Boss as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Matice
vs
Romita

174 cm
22
151 lbs
6 - 6 - 1

165 cm
22
150 lbs
5 - 3 - 1

Good wrestling
Brawler
Very strong

Good wrestler
Good low kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Raymond Matice!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Frank Romita!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Matti Vanhoillinen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Romita shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Matice is trying to defend but Romita finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Matice is trying to control but can't.
Matice works his way to full guard. Good work.
Romita trying to control the position from guard on top but Matice is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Romita advances to half guard.

Romita wants to work for an arm triangle but Matice is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Romita wants to free his trapped foot but Matice is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Matice is trying to control but can't.

Romita is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Matice has managed to free his arm - good work.

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

Matice is defending against the submission attempts here by Romita.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Matice wants to control but Romita is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Matice is looking for a sweep. Romita is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Romita is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Romita prevents Matice from improving his position.
Matice is doing well to control the position and prevent Romita from advancing to side control.

Romita is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Matice sees it coming and defends easily.
Matice is looking to improve his position.

Romita is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Matice has managed to free his arm - good work.

Matice is defending against the submission attempts here by Romita.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Romita is trying to control the action in half guard but Matice is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Romita is looking for a kimura here.
Matice wants to improve his position but Romita is controlling well.

Romita is trying to work for a kimura but Matice is defending well.
Matice is concentrating on defense, preventing Romita from advancing position.
Romita trying to mount his opponent but Matice defends it.
Matice trying to hold on to Romita's head to control him but Romita postures up.
Matice is pressing down on Romita's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Romita prevents Matice from getting back to his feet.
Matice lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Romita!
Romita is squirming around, avoiding Matice's attempts to control the action.
Romita trying desperately to get to his feet.
Matice trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Matice raining down shots from the mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Matice breaks from Romita's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Romita really wants to buck Matice off and get back to his feet.
Matice controlling the pace for now.
Romita is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Romita working to try and regain half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Raymond Matice will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Matice tries for a takedown but Romita sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Matice tries for a takedown but Romita sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Matice shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Matice won't allow Romita to get back to his feet.
Matice controlling from the top position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Matice stops Romita from standing up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Matice keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Romita closes the distance and clinches up with Matice, looking for a takedown. Romita pushes Matice against the cage but Matice circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Matice tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Romita swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Raymond Matice. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Matice on the wrong end of a nice jab.

Romita drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Romita stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Matice swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Matice is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Romita wants to control from the top but Matice keeps moving.
Romita looking to pass the guard.
Matice is pulling down on Romita's head to control his posture.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Romita.
Frank Romita has got the better of the ground game so far.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Romita working away.
Romita creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Matice sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

Romita looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

Romita tries for a kimura but Matice is defending well.

Romita is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Matice is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Matice is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Romita off and has taken his back!
Matice is controlling the position but Romita somehow manages to roll and ends up with half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Matice in particular looking to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Matice thows a huge punch but Romita dodges it nicely.
Matice passes to full mount!
Matice takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Romita trying desperately to get to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Matice trying to control but Romita is having none of it.

Matice is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Romita to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Romita shrugs it off.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Matice controlling from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Raymond Matice will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - 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.

Romita looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Romita lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Matice tries to land a leg kick but Romita saw it coming and moves away.
Romita shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Romita fails with a takedown attempt.
Raymond Matice has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Frank Romita.
Matice will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Matice shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Romita sprawls well. Romita wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Matice gets slowly back to his feet.
Matice misses with a body shot.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Romita.
Matice throws a right hand that Romita ducks under and follows up with a left that Romita also avoids with ease.

Romita closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

Romita is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Matice defends it well.
Matice is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Romita is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Romita looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Matice is looking for a sweep. Romita is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Romita wants to work for an arm triangle but Matice is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Matice gets back to full guard.
Matice not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Matice lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Romita!
Matice tries to control but Romita wriggling away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Matice is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Romita is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Romita is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Matice controlling from the full mount.
Matice trying to control but Romita is having none of it.
Romita trying desperately to get to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Romita somehow manages to escape the mount and get back to his feet!
Matice shoots for a takedown but Romita saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Romita keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Romita misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Romita shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Matice defends it nicely.
Romita shoots in for a double leg but Matice sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Romita takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Matice looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Matice is trying to control. Romita wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Raymond Matice.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Matice, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight for Raymond Matice!
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight for Raymond Matice!
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight as a draw!

Raymond Matice wins by majority decision!