PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Joseph Grazze (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Roman Reigns (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Grazze
vs
Reigns

185 cm
24
190 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

200 cm
26
185 lbs
2 - 6 - 1

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Joseph Grazze!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 6 - 1, fighting out of London, Roman Reigns!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, Sam Margolis and James Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Grazze feints and as Reigns raises his hands in defense, Grazze changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Reigns is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Grazze slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Grazze seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Reigns for as long as he can get away with.

We're going to have a standup here because Joseph Grazze wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Reigns tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Grazze paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Reigns tries to close the distance and clinch but Grazze swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Grazze tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Reigns defends well and Grazze ends up having to push Reigns into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Grazze tries to pull guard but Reigns holds him up against the cage and eventually Grazze drops back down to his feet.

Reigns has picked Grazze up - he's going for a ride! Reigns dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grazze is concentrating on defense, preventing Reigns from advancing position.
Grazze tries to get to full guard but Reigns has control of the leg.
Grazze is trying is best to control the position here.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Grazze wants to get back to his feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Joseph Grazze wasn't doing enough on the ground.
A chopping leg kick lands by Reigns.
Reigns doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Grazze cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Reigns tries to close the distance and clinch but Grazze swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Reigns shoots in for a takedown but Grazze shows good takedown defense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Reigns misses with a takedown
and Grazze counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Joseph Grazze has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Roman Reigns.

Grazze gets a takedown into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Grazze controlling the action here.
Grazze working the head and body with strikes.
Grazze content to control rather than advance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grazze looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Reigns with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Grazze content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Grazze looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Reigns with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Grazze is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Grazze controlling the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Grazze working the head and body with strikes.
Grazze landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Grazze works his way into side control.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Grazze controlling from side mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Grazze's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joseph Grazze dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Reigns fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Grazze on the side of the head.
Reigns tries for a takedown but Grazze circles away easily
and Grazze counters with a stiff right hand.
Reigns lands with a kick to the temple. Grazze shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Grazze thows a left - swing and a miss!
Grazze missing with a left hand there. Reigns was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Reigns uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Grazze.
Reigns looks for the body kick but Grazze saw that one coming.
Grazze looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grazze doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Reigns finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Grazze fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joseph Grazze. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Reigns defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Grazze.

Grazze closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Reigns quickly recovers to half guard.
Grazze content to control rather than advance.

Reigns looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grazze sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Reigns tries to get to full guard but Grazze has control of the leg.

We're going to have a standup here because Joseph Grazze wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Reigns misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Reigns gets the takedown into side control.
Reigns working away.
Grazze is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Reigns off and has taken his back!
Grazze keeps control of the position easily here as Reigns tries to buck him off.
Grazze is working the ground and pound here and the referee is taking a close look at Reigns. He must escape soon or this one will be stopped.
Grazze biding his time, controlling Reigns.
Grazze has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Joseph Grazze has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Grazze drives through with a takedown into Reigns's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joseph Grazze dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Grazze throws a lazy right hand but Reigns sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Grazze throws a head kick that misses.
Grazze swats away the attempt to clinch by Reigns.
Good work by Reigns as he checks the leg kick.

Grazze shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Reigns manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Grazze loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Grazze is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Grazze keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Reigns's head.
Grazze might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Grazze throws a big elbow that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reigns can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Grazze controls the pace.
Grazze works over Reigns with some ground and pound from guard.
Grazze sitting in guard, not really doing much.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Joseph Grazze wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Grazze swats away the attempt to clinch by Reigns.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Reigns shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Grazze as he avoids it easily.

Grazze fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Reigns to the ground. Grazze is now in Reigns's guard.
Grazze landing with the ground and pound.
Reigns being controlled here, momentarily.
Grazze is pushing down on Reigns's leg trying to pass to half guard. Reigns is fighting to maintain full guard but Grazze has managed to sneak the leg through.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grazze is taking a breather. Reigns 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.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Joseph Grazze.
Reigns fails in his attempt to clinch.
Grazze throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Reigns's waist but Reigns gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Grazze off to one side.
A big left from Grazze misses.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Reigns.
Reigns tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Grazze manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Grazze throws a lazy uppercut
and Reigns makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Nice body kick there by Reigns.

Grazze closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Reigns's guard.
Grazze 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.
Reigns takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Grazze is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
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!
Joseph Grazze showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Grazze, 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 Donald Grub scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Glass scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joseph Grazze!