PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Paul Maul (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ronald Rousey (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rousey has chosen Creepy Jackalope Eye by Supersuckers as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Maul
vs
Rousey

179 cm
23
175 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

175 cm
22
174 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Decent boxing
Determined

Fury Nutrition Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Paul Maul!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Ronald Rousey!
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Jeff Smith and Chris Saunders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rousey blocks a jab.
Rousey takes one on the button.
Maul connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Rousey has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
A punch combination from Maul misses.
Maul misses with a jab, cross combination.

Maul tries to keep at a distance but Rousey has taken the fight into the clinch.
Rousey tries to break the clinch but Maul is controlling the position.
Maul lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Rousey backwards.
Maul is struggling to control the position.
Rousey blocks an uppercut.
Maul fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rousey gets control of Maul's arms and successfully pulls guard. Rousey will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Rousey manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Maul manages to get himself to full guard.
Maul is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Rousey is controlling him.
Maul is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Rousey chips away with some ground and pound.
Maul on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Maul tries to get out of the position.
Rousey forces his way into half guard.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Rousey connects with a nice short shot to Maul's temple.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maul is looking to improve his position.
Maul avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Rousey.
Rousey throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Rousey has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Well, if Rousey 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.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rousey missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maul is trying to stand.
Rousey frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Rousey is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Rousey landing strikes, looking to finish!
Rousey throws some wild stikes that Maul manages to avoid easily.
Rousey pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rousey looking to control and managing it successfully.
Maul is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
We've been hearing good reports from Maul's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Rousey in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Rousey looking to control but Maul is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Rousey has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Maul's face.

Maul is rocked!
Rousey looking to finish here with some ground and pound. He lands one big shot that has Maul covering up... and two more big strikes land, forcing the referee to step in and put and end to proceedings! This fight is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:47 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Ronald Rousey!
Our winner, Ronald Rousey, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.