PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Walter Rothko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Austin Worner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Rothko
vs
Worner

178 cm
31
147 lbs
10 - 16 - 0

170 cm
31
146 lbs
20 - 25 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Great elbows
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Walter Rothko !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 25 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Austin Worner!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Alan Glass and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Worner shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Rothko pinned against the cage. Rothko gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Worner shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Rothko is trying to defend but Worner finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Rothko is positioning himself well to prevent Worner advancing to mount.
Worner wants to pass to mount but Rothko is defending the position.
Rothko is controlling Worner's trapped leg to prevent Worner from advancing to side control.
Rothko won't allow Worner to pass to mount.
Rothko is trying to maintain the position but Worner is very close to passing his half guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Walter Rothko just wasn't active enough.
Rothko tries to clinch but Worner moves out of range.
Worner shoots in for a takedown but Rothko shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Rothko is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Rothko .
Rothko leaves Worner with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Walter Rothko has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Austin Worner.
Rothko tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rothko defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Worner.

Worner closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Rothko did well to prevent Worner getting side control.
Rothko holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Rothko trying to hold on to Worner's head to control him but Worner postures up.
Rothko won't allow Worner to pass to mount.

Worner is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Worner wants to free his trapped foot but Rothko is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Rothko manages to get to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rothko has control of Worner's left arm, preventing Worner from doing any damage.
Rothko manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Worner manages to get himself to full guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rothko controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

We're going to have a standup here because Walter Rothko wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Worner has a takedown stuffed.
Rothko misses with a takedown attempt - Worner sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Worner moves out of range of the body kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Worner throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Rothko tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Worner is in Rothko 's guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Worner being controlled here momentarily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rothko keeping full guard, as Worner tries to pass.
Rothko is adopting a defensive guard.
Worner passes Rothko 's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Worner is looking to pass Rothko 's guard but actually Rothko recovers to full guard.
Rothko is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
It looks like Rothko is going to stand back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Worner trying to control here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Still in half guard, Rothko seems content to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Austin Worner will probably get the nod.
That's time! Rothko 's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Worner fails with a takedown attempt.
Worner shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Rothko fails with the takedown.
Worner shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Rothko but Rothko pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Walter Rothko has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Austin Worner.
Worner misses with a takedown attempt - Rothko sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Worner fails to land the takedown.
Rothko goes for a double leg but Worner avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Worner continues to drive forward.

Rothko jumps guard and drags Worner to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Worner tries to free his leg and advance position but Rothko is retaining full guard.
Worner prevents Rothko from getting back to his feet.
Worner trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rothko trying to control the position here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Worner avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Rothko has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Worner off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Rothko darts in looking for a takedown but Worner gets double underhooks and turns Rothko into the cage.
Worner tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Rothko just stands there and leans against the cage.
Worner throws a punch but it's blocked by Rothko .
Worner tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Rothko smiles and moves away.
Rothko lands a front kick.
Worner shoots in looking for a takedown. Rothko tries to sprawl out of it but Worner keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Rothko manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Rothko closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Worner manages to pull guard.
Rothko is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Walter Rothko wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Worner dives in for a single leg takedown but Rothko sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Rothko breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Worner throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Rothko tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Worner is in Rothko 's guard.
Rothko is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rothko working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Worner doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Worner manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Walter Rothko overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Rothko trying to keep a closed guard but Worner is proving a slippery customer.
Worner trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rothko pulls Worner in close to prevent any damage.

Rothko working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Worner doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Worner manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Rothko looking to control.
Worner must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Rothko is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Worner is controlling him.
Worner advances to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Worner is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!

Worner looking to secure an arm triangle but Rothko defends it well.

Worner is controlling this nicely and is looking to make no mistakes. Rothko is trying to wiggle out of this horrible position. Rothko flips to his side and attempts to get a leg in for half guard. Worner anticipates the leg and manages to get behind Rothko and secures both hooks! This could be bad! Worner slips an arm under Rothko chin and tries to position for a rear naked choke. Worner has worked the choke in now and it looks tight. Worner is squeezing on Rothko like an anaconda would it's prey. Rothko fails to tap and has fallen unconscious! We've got ourselves a winner by way of a rear naked choke!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:35 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Austin Worner!
An intense looking Austin Worner took to the microphone post fight and gave a little speech: 'It was a great fight. On to the next one.'.