PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Joesph Ely (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bobby Roach (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Ely
vs
Roach

176 cm
23
145 lbs
10 - 2 - 0

175 cm
23
148 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Good knees
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
Basic striking
Good gas tank

The Dark Side

The Dark Side
Pirates Powder

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Joesph Ely!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Bobby Roach!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Ryoma Takatsuka and Micheangelo Fripello.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ely shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Ely prevents Roach from improving his position.

Ely is trying to work for a kimura but Roach is defending well.
Ely wants to free his trapped foot but Roach is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Roach wants to improve his position but Ely is controlling well.

Roach looking for submissions off his back.
It looks like Ely is going to stand back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ely is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Roach!
Roach tries to reverse the position but Ely maintains control.
Roach gets back to half guard.
Ely wants to stand but Roach has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

Roach looking for submissions off his back.
Roach trying to hold on to Ely's head to control him but Ely postures up.
Roach is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Ely not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ely missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Roach is looking to control Ely's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Roach avoid being mounted?

Roach looking for submissions off his back.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Roach is looking for a sweep. Ely is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Roach is defending against the submission attempts here by Ely.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Ely seems to be looking for submissions.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joesph Ely dominated that round.
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.

Roach looking to score a takedown here. Ely is defending well but Roach drives through and ends up in Ely's guard.
Ely striking from his own guard.
Ely lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Roach!
Roach taking shots to the head.
Ely landing strikes, looking to finish!
Ely landing punches.
Roach keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Joesph Ely overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ely landing strikes from the mount and Roach is in trouble!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ely looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
A nice elbow there by Ely.
Roach tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Roach is still trying to improve position.
Ely lands a big shot there that rocks Roach but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Ely working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Roach is working to get back to half guard.
Ely lands a heavy elbow.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ely prevents Roach from getting the reversal.

Ely stands up from mount. Strange move.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ely forces Roach back against the ropes and clinches.
Ely is defending well against a takedown attempt.
I was talking to Ely's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.

Ely has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Roach uses from the top position.
Ely trying to control the position.
My spies in MediEval inform me that Roach has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Roach missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Ely 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.
Roach with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Roach wants to pass the guard but Ely is keeping the position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ely is trying to control the position but Roach postures up.
Ely manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Roach manages to get himself to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joesph Ely dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Roach looks for a takedown but Ely sprawls well.
Roach throws a hook but Ely avoids it easily.

Ely has Roach up against the ropes in a clinch.

Ely turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Roach is trying to get back to half guard.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Roach gets back to half guard.
Roach slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Ely slips nicely into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roach is looking to improve his position.
Well, if Ely is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Roach wants to get back to full guard.
Ely wants to take a breather but Roach is having none of it.
Roach trying to control but Ely postures up.
The fighters are battling for position here. Roach manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Roach manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Ely manages to get himself to full guard.
Roach is looking to work some ground and pound but Ely has wrist control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ely keeping moving, preventing Roach from controlling successfully.
Roach wants to pass the guard but Ely is keeping the position.
Roach working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ely working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Roach.
Roach stands up over Ely, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Ely controlling the position.
Roach trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Roach trying to control but Ely is working from the bottom.
This has been an exciting period of action!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bobby Roach really dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Roach throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Ely's waist but Ely gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Roach off to one side.

Ely manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Roach on his heels. He'll look to pass Roach's guard now, I'm sure.
Ely trying to control the position from guard on top but Roach is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ely stopping the sweep attempt from Roach.
Ely postures up in Roach's guard and throws a big left but Roach blocks it.
Roach bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Ely's guard.
Ely is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Ely 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ely wants to stand but Roach is controlling the position.
Roach is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ely trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Ely looking to control.
Ely working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Roach.
Roach lands a couple of digs.
Roach not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Roach pushes down on Ely's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Roach missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Roach is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Ely has managed to free his arm - good work.
Roach is keen to just control but Ely is a slippery customer.
Ely is trying to maintain the position but Roach is very close to passing his half guard.
Ely pushes Roach off looking to stand but Roach dives back in and keeps control.

Roach is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Ely looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Ely is defending against the submission attempts here by Roach.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close fourth round but Bobby Roach will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Ely drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Roach keeping moving, preventing Ely from controlling successfully.
Roach is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Roach looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Roach is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ely defends well.
Ely has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Roach trying to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ely keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Roach's head.

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

Ely postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Roach is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Ely, into his guard.
Roach trying to control the position from guard on top but Ely is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Roach throws a strike but Ely rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Roach keeping moving, preventing Ely from controlling successfully.

Roach has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Ely can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Roach is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ely is in close to Roach's body, working some short punches and elbows.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Roach keeping moving, preventing Ely from controlling successfully.
Roach wants to sweep here but Ely controlling him for the moment.

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 Joesph Ely.
Well Ely has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Roger Salmon scores the fight for Joesph Ely!
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight for Joesph Ely!
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight for Joesph Ely!

Joesph Ely wins by unanimous decision!
A very excited looking Joesph Ely made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.