PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ross Rhea (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cain Marks (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Rhea
vs
Marks

184 cm
25
176 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

185 cm
18
175 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

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 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Ross Rhea!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Cain Marks!
The judges for this bout are Topper Green, Summer Carpenter and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marks looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Rhea is fending him off so far but Marks persists. Nope, Rhea circles away and we're back to standing.
Marks misses with a leg kick
and Rhea counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Rhea lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

It looks like Cain Marks has been cut.
Rhea shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Marks as he jumps to the side.
Marks displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Rhea.
Sloppy strikes from Marks. Those never looked like landing.
Rhea tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Marks paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Rhea instigates a clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rhea wants to get back to striking at distance but Marks won't allow it.
Rhea blocks an uppercut.
Rhea tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ross Rhea. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rhea is defending well against a takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Marks jumps into guard, dragging Rhea to the mat.
Marks has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Rhea trying to stand up but can't free himself from Marks's guard.
Marks pulls Rhea in to control the position.
Rhea would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Marks will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rhea wants to stand but Marks is controlling his posture from full guard.

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

Marks drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Marks creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Rhea sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Rhea takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Rhea manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Marks trying to control the action but Rhea is working from the bottom.

Marks is looking for a kimura but Rhea is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Marks to get the leverage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marks thows a huge punch but Rhea dodges it nicely.
Rhea trying to control but Marks postures up.
Marks wants to pass the guard but Rhea is defending well.
Marks is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Marks working the head and body with strikes.
Marks is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Marks trying to pass the guard but Rhea defending well.
Rhea wants to control but Marks is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Rhea wants to improve his position but Marks is controlling well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marks is trying to control. Rhea wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Marks might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Rhea haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

Rhea is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Marks pulls his head out easily.
Rhea gets back to full guard.
Marks stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Rhea swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Marks must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Marks scoring with punches to the head and body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Marks postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Rhea is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Marks, into his guard.
Rhea tries to stand but Marks is controlling from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Cain Marks will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Cain Marks's cut.
That's time! Rhea's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Rhea enables Marks to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Rhea manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Rhea is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Marks trying to control the position from guard on top but Rhea is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Marks is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Rhea looking to hit a scissor sweep but Marks is one step ahead there.
Marks working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Rhea's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rhea is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Marks is aware though and is defending well.
Marks scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Marks stands up over Rhea, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Marks really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Rhea. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Marks in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Marks throwing strikes but missing.
Marks trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Rhea is adopting a defensive guard.
Marks wants to get up but he can't break Rhea's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Marks content to sit in guard, stalling... Great. Oh but he could get punished here because Rhea has locked up a guillotine! Rhea's face is contorted as he sqeezes tight on the submission attempt - will he finish? Marks is holding on here and Rhea must be using up a lot of energy. Marks has gone limp! He's out! He's out cold! Rhea gets to his feet, tossing aside his stricken foe. Arms raised, he milks the applause from the crowd. Great submission!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Ross Rhea!
After the fight, Ross Rhea was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.