PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bobby Roode (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tony Stark (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Roode
vs
Stark

191 cm
26
218 lbs
14 - 14 - 0

190 cm
30
220 lbs
16 - 11 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

Good takedowns
Decent boxing
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Bobby Roode!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Tony Stark!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Damien Edna and Summer Carpenter.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stark lands a right hook to the body.
Roode gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Stark counters with a straight right hand.
Stark lands with a nice body punch.
Stark lands with a good body shot.
Stark jabs Roode right on the nose. Roode blinks but takes it well.
A jab from Stark misses.
Roode takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Roode shoots and misses

and Stark counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Roode keeping full guard, as Stark tries to pass.
Roode trying to keep a closed guard but Stark is proving a slippery customer.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stark's corner is telling him to maintain position.
It looks like Stark might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tony Stark was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Stark lands a right hook to the body.
Stark thows a body shot but no joy.
Roode takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Roode avoids the body shot from Stark.
Roode doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Stark counters with a nice uppercut.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bobby Roode. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Roode has his takedown stuffed
letting Stark counter with a right hand.
A decent looking cross lands there for Stark.
Roode shoots and misses
and Stark counters with a right hand to the body.
Stark swings for the body but Roode moves out of range.
Stark connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Stark fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stark works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Tony Stark seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Roode doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Stark counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roode walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Stark digs a good hook to Roode's body.
Donk. Stark catches Roode right on the button with a cross.
A swing and a miss from Stark.

Roode gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Stark working some strikes from top position.
Stark pushes down on Roode's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Stark is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stark is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Roode!
Stark looking to control and managing it successfully.
Stark with good strikes from the mount here!

Stark looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Roode is wriggling around trying to escape.
Roode gets back to half guard.
Roode taking some punishment here, with Stark in his half guard.
Stark sitting and controlling from the half guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Stark is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Roode defends it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Stark dominated that round.
That's time! Roode's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Roode with a poor takedown

and Stark counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Stark controlling the pace.
Roode is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Roode moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Roode being controlled here, momentarily.
Roode 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.
Stark slips nicely into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Stark works his way into full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stark tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Stark is landing with some decent strikes but Roode is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Stark looking to control and managing it successfully.
Stark has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Roode really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Stark landing strikes from the mount and Roode is in trouble!
Stark has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Stark working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Stark controlling the pace for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Roode is looking to improve his position but Stark isn't that keen on the idea.
Roode taking shots to the head.
Stark content just to control the position here.
Tony Stark has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roode keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Roode tries to hold on but Stark pushes him away.
Stark controlling from the full mount.
Roode gets back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stark lands strikes from half guard.

Roode with the active half guard here but Stark passes nicely into side control.
Roode is looking to reverse the position.
Stark lands a decent elbow from side control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Stark in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Stark 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.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Stark working the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Stark showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Roode with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Stark to score with a decent uppercut.
Roode with a poor takedown
and Stark connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Roode misses with a takedown
enabling Stark to counter with a crisp jab.
Roode doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Stark counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bobby Roode. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stark is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stark working Roode over with strikes.
Roode trying to hold on to Stark's head to control him but Stark postures up.
Roode wants to get back to full guard.

Stark is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Roode defends it well.

Roode looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Stark working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Stark trying to control the pace.
The fighters are battling for position here. Roode manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stark pushes down on Roode's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Stark working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Stark is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Stark landing strikes from the mount.
Stark landing shots from mount.
Roode tries to lock up and control but Stark gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Stark controlling from the full mount.
Roode taking shots to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stark controlling his opponent.
Stark prevents Roode from getting the reversal.
Stark avoids the attempt from Roode to control.
Roode is in all sorts of trouble here.
Stark content just to control the position here.
Stark with the ground and pound from mount.
Roode is bucking up trying to escape but Stark cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Bobby Roode has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stark unloading with bombs!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Stark takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Stark dominating with strikes here.

Roode is rocked!
Stark looking to control and managing it successfully.
Stark lands a big elbow - Roode is in trouble! More strikes from the mount and Roode is forced to tap out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:41 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Tony Stark!
After winning the bout, Tony Stark thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.