PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Frank Roberts (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kibo Mandeka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Roberts comes to the cage accompanied by Intergalactic. Frank Roberts could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Kibo Mandeka's chin.

Roberts
vs
Mandeka

205 cm
19
280 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

220 cm
22
285 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Frank Roberts!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kibo Mandeka!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Valeri Chadov and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Roberts waving his hands out infront of him, looking to distract Mandeka.

Roberts shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Roberts showed some decent athleticism there.
Roberts thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Roberts wants to lay and pray for a moment but Mandeka keeps working.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mandeka is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Roberts's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Roberts's back!
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Mandeka's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
Roberts is trying to break free.

Roberts defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Roberts breaks Mandeka's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Mandeka utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roberts is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Mandeka wants to stand and escape but Roberts is having none of it.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Roberts scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Mandeka throws a solid leg kick but Roberts takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Mandeka.
Mandeka is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Roberts looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Mandeka!
Roberts landing shots from mount.

Roberts working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Roberts avoids the attempt from Mandeka to control.
Mandeka tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mandeka tries to lock up and control but Roberts gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Mandeka wants to get back to his feet.
Mandeka looks gassed!

Mandeka defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Roberts.

Roberts looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Mandeka is trying to escape the mount.
Roberts tries to control but Mandeka wriggling away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Roberts is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Mandeka has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Mandeka wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Roberts.
Roberts is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Mandeka can't stay in a position like this for much longer.

Roberts goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Mandeka is on top in guard.

Mandeka drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Roberts manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Mandeka has Roberts in his guard.
Roberts in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Roberts drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Roberts jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Mandeka working a defensive guard but Roberts passes into half guard.
Roberts has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Mandeka's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Mandeka tries to hold on but Roberts pushes him away.
Mandeka gets back to half guard.
Roberts is thwarting Mandeka's attempts to control the position.
Mandeka is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Frank Roberts dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Mandeka stuffs the takedown attempt from Roberts. Roberts gets slowly back to his feet.
Mandeka tries to close the distance and clinch up but Roberts swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Roberts changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Mandeka tries to avoid it but Roberts manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Mandeka to the ground. Mandeka escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Roberts closes this distance looking for a takedown but Mandeka circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Frank Roberts. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mandeka is looking to land body kicks.
Mandeka showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Roberts.
Mandeka scores with a hook.
Roberts throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Roberts gets a takedown into half guard.
Roberts prevents Mandeka from standing back up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mandeka is looking for a sweep. Roberts is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Mandeka throws a strike from the bottom that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roberts throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Roberts is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Mandeka defends it well.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Mandeka slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Mandeka is on top in guard.
Mandeka trying to control the position from guard on top but Roberts is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mandeka would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Mandeka trying to control the position from guard on top but Roberts is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two 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.
Mandeka is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Mandeka preventing the sweep.
Roberts has his hands on Mandeka's head, controlling the position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Mandeka dodges the punch combination from Roberts.

Roberts drives through with a takedown into guard.
Roberts stands up over Mandeka, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roberts postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Roberts is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Roberts preventing the sweep.
Mandeka will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Mandeka thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Roberts lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Mandeka wants to stand and escape but Roberts is having none of it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Mandeka doesn't manage to clinch there - Roberts circles away.
Roberts looks to throw a body kick

and Mandeka counters with a flying knee that drops Roberts!

Roberts is rocked!
Mandeka postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Oh Roberts is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Roberts is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Roberts seems to have got his legs back now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mandeka stands and throws Roberts's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Mandeka trying to control the position but Roberts is working away.

Mandeka decides to stand back up.
Frank Roberts seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mandeka has a takedown stuffed.
Horrible takedown by Roberts or perhaps it was just good defense by Mandeka which made him look bad.
Roberts stuffs the takedown attempt from Mandeka. Mandeka gets slowly back to his feet.
Frank Roberts is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The fight stays on the outside here - Mandeka looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Mandeka tries to close the distance and clinch but Roberts swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kibo Mandeka 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. And we move into the final round!

No luck for Mandeka with that takedown attempt.
Mandeka throws a head kick that Roberts semi-blocks.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Roberts.
Roberts working the head and body with strikes.
Roberts is looking to take a break and control but Mandeka is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Mandeka is looking to reverse the position.
Roberts tries to score with some ground and pound. Mandeka controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.

Roberts wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Mandeka, who protects the arm well.
Mandeka is trying to control Roberts's posture but Roberts avoids it.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roberts misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Mandeka prevents Roberts from moving into mount.
Mandeka is not content to let Roberts control the position.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Mandeka fails with the takedown

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

Roberts is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Mandeka has escaped the position, nice work there.
Mandeka manages to work his way to half guard, despite Roberts's best efforts.
Mandeka slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Frank Roberts overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Roberts throws and elbow that misses. Mandeka uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Roberts's guard. Nice move by Mandeka!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mandeka trying to control but Roberts is working from the bottom.

Mandeka drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Mandeka jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Mandeka wants to stand but Roberts is controlling his posture from full guard.
Mandeka trying to control the position from guard on top but Roberts is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Roberts looking to hit a scissor sweep but Mandeka is one step ahead there.
Roberts might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Roberts looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roberts looking for a sweep. Not yet Roberts, not yet.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Mandeka misses with a takedown attempt
and Roberts counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Frank Roberts has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kibo Mandeka.
Mandeka takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Mandeka.
Roberts throws a right and a left that both miss.
Roberts misses with a double jab
and Mandeka counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Roberts thinking.

Roberts 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.

Roberts has gone for a leg lock! Mandeka slips out almost immediately though and dives into Roberts's guard.
Mandeka trying to control but Roberts is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Roberts trying to keep a closed guard but Mandeka is proving a slippery customer.
Mandeka trying to control the position from guard on top but Roberts is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mandeka working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Mandeka must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Mandeka wants to control from the top but Roberts keeps moving.

Mandeka avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Roberts throws his legs up looking for a submission but Mandeka uses it to pass to side control.
Mandeka remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.

And that's the end of the fight!
Frank Roberts showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Roberts 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Frank Roberts!