PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Roman Mousassi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Heaven Rashads (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Mousassi
vs
Rashads

166 cm
22
141 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

223 cm
20
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Roman Mousassi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Heaven Rashads!
The judges for this bout are Frank Dennis, Daniel Franklin and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice sprawl there from Mousassi as Rashads shoots in.

Mousassi shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Rashads's guard.

Mousassi thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Mousassi controlling from the top position.
Rashads is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Mousassi content to stall in guard here.
Mousassi working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mousassi controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Rashads looking to control.
Mousassi looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Mousassi accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Mousassi lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Mousassi controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

Rashads is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Mousassi sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Rashads looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Mousassi not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Rashads is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Mousassi with a flurry of punches that miss.
Mousassi controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Roman Mousassi just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.

Mousassi shoots in and bounces Rashads off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Mousassi controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Mousassi prevents Rashads from getting back to his feet.
Mousassi stays in close to Rashads's body and controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rashads looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Mousassi passes into side control.
Mousassi 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.
Rashads looks gassed!
Mousassi passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Rashads!
Rashads tries to hold on but Mousassi postures up.
Rashads is looking to improve his position but Mousassi isn't that keen on the idea.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mousassi content just to control the position here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Mousassi working the ground and pound effectively.
Rashads is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Rashads tries to hold on but Mousassi pushes him away.
Rashads slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rashads trying to control but Mousassi postures up.
Mousassi is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Roman Mousassi dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Rashads scores with a three punch combo!

It looks like Roman Mousassi has been cut.

Mousassi shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Mousassi showed some decent athleticism there.
Mousassi is taking a breather. Rashads says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Rashads wants to improve his position but Mousassi is controlling well.
Mousassi controlling the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mousassi prevents Rashads from improving his position.
Rashads trying to get back to full guard but Mousassi takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
Rashads is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Mousassi controlling from mount.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rashads tries to hold on but Mousassi postures up.
Mousassi controlling from mount.
Rashads tries to lock up and control but Mousassi gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Mousassi sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Roman Mousassi just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Mousassi shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Rashads as he jumps to the side.
Mousassi moves in looking to clinch but Rashads pushes him off.
Mousassi circles away from the clinch attempt

and Mousassi counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rashads wants to get back to his feet.
Mousassi trying to control the pace.
Rashads trying to control from the bottom.
Mousassi passes to side control.
Mousassi moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Rashads can't do much from the bottom here.
Rashads tries to improve position but can't.

Mousassi tries for a kimura but Rashads is defending well.
Rashads can't do much from the bottom here.
Rashads is trying to keep from getting into a worse position than he's already in but Rashads is working away and isn't letting himself get tied up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Roman Mousassi dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Roman Mousassi's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Mousassi fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Rashads sprawls well initially but Mousassi persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Mousassi takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Rashads wants to improve his position but Mousassi is controlling well.
Mousassi perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Rashads tries to get to full guard but Mousassi has control of the leg.
Rashads tries to kick Mousassi off but Mousassi keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mousassi trying to mount his opponent but Rashads defends it.
Mousassi performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Roman Mousassi just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.

Rashads tries to keep at a distance but Mousassi has taken the fight into the clinch.
Rashads can't break the clinch.
Mousassi can't get the takedown.
Mousassi changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Rashads fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Mousassi misses with a takedown attempt - Rashads sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Roman Mousassi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Rashads shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Mousassi moves into the clinch.
Mousassi has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Rashads avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Mousassi lands a hook to the side of the head.
Mousassi is working for takedown but Rashads is calmly controlling the position for now.

Mousassi turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Mousassi manages to end up in side control.
Mousassi avoids the strikes from the bottom by Rashads.
Mousassi controls the position.

Mousassi is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Rashads is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Rashads wants to control but Mousassi postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mousassi in side control lands a decent elbow.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
You can see the frustration on Rashads's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
A lull in the action here.
Roman Mousassi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Rashads is looking to regain half guard here but Mousassi keeps moving and retains side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Mousassi landing a few strikes.
Rashads tries to improve position but can't.
Mousassi controlling the position from side mount.
Rashads wants to get back to his feet.
Mousassi moves into full mount!

And that's the end of the fight!
Roman Mousassi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Mousassi, 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 Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Roman Mousassi!