PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Malcolm Blackwell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Drossos Ross (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Drossos Ross has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Blackwell
vs
Ross

190 cm
18
193 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

190 cm
25
185 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Likes musicals

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 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Malcolm Blackwell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Drossos Ross!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Lombardi, Jonathan Paton and David Schapiro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ross clinches with his opponent.
Blackwell fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Ross drags the fight down to the ground.
Ross looking to control but Blackwell passes into half guard.
Blackwell is looking to take a break and control but Ross is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Ross wants to stand back up but Blackwell manages to pass into side control.
Ross is looking for a sweep.
You can see the frustration on Ross's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blackwell working the body and head with strikes.

Blackwell tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Blackwell has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Ross tries to buck Blackwell off but Blackwell is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ross can't do much from the bottom here.
Ross is trying to improve his position.
Ross manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Ross is trying is best to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ross is trying to control but can't.
Ross tries to roll over but Blackwell keeps him under control.

Ross has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Blackwell is on him like a limpet, forcing Ross back against the cage.

Ross jumps guard.
Ross preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ross working a defensive guard here.
Blackwell in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ross tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Blackwell stops Ross from standing up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Drossos Ross was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Ross gets a takedown into half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Ross is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Drossos Ross dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Ross misses with an attempted mid kick.

Ross shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Blackwell manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Blackwell looking to control.
Ross wants to control from the top but Blackwell keeps moving.

Ross decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Malcolm Blackwell is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Ross shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Blackwell is trying to defend but Ross finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blackwell wants to improve his position but Ross is controlling well.
Blackwell is working hard here to advance position.

Ross is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blackwell trying to control but Ross postures up.
Ross thows a huge punch but Blackwell dodges it nicely.
Blackwell is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Ross's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Ross's back!
Ross is really stuck here.
Blackwell punishes Ross with strikes from the back mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Blackwell has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Blackwell punches the canvas rather than the man.
Ross trying to control the hands but Blackwell won't let him.
Ross is trying to break free.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ross rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ross wants to get back to full guard but Blackwell has mounted him!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Drossos Ross showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Ross tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Drossos Ross seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Blackwell takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Ross connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.

Ross bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Blackwell is looking to regain half guard here but Ross keeps moving and retains side control.
Blackwell struggling a bit here.
Sloppy strikes there by Ross.
Blackwell tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Blackwell prevents Ross from improving position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ross stands up and beckons Blackwell to his feet.

Ross closes the distance and clinches.

Ross gets control of Blackwell's arms and successfully pulls guard. Ross will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Blackwell postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Blackwell working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Ross's head.
Blackwell missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ross not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Blackwell with a nice head shot there.
Ross is trying to control the position but Blackwell postures up.
Blackwell won't allow Ross to sweep him here.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Ross striking off his back but it's not causing Blackwell any problems.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Drossos Ross hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Blackwell takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Ross closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Blackwell did well to prevent Ross getting side control.
Ross takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ross stands up and beckons Blackwell to join him on the feet.
Ross's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Ross duly obliges.
Blackwell rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Ross moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Ross gets a double leg takedown into Blackwell's guard.
Blackwell trying to control the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Blackwell looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ross controlling from the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blackwell wants to sweep here but Ross controlling him for the moment.
Blackwell is trying to keep Ross in close.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Blackwell gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
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.
Ross wanted to stand there but Blackwell had control of the position.
Malcolm Blackwell has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Drossos Ross is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Ross avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Drossos Ross comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Ross has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 27:30
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Drossos Ross!