PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Hang Kwon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Riccardo Rodriguez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kwon
vs
Rodriguez

190 cm
27
169 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

175 cm
26
170 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Experienced

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
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 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Hang Kwon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Riccardo Rodriguez!
The judges for this bout are Dean Styles, Joseph Jones and Franklyn Lucas.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rodriguez swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Rodriguez moves into the clinch successfully.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Rodriguez takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Rodriguez lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Rodriguez makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Kwon is trying to pull guard but Rodriguez has him pressed against the cage.
Rodriguez stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kwon fails to pull guard.
Rodriguez avoiding damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Rodriguez.
Rodriguez stalling against the cage.
Rodriguez works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
We've been informed that Rodriguez has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Kwon is trying to pull guard but Rodriguez has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hang Kwon. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rodriguez scores with a shot to the side of Kwon's head.
Rodriguez slowing the pace effectively.
Rodriguez lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Kwon backwards.
Rodriguez stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez scores with a shoulder strike.
Kwon fails to pull guard.
Rodriguez scores with a nice hook to the head.
Rodriguez will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Kwon up against the cage.
Rodriguez misses with a body punch.
Rodriguez softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Rodriguez goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Rodriguez leaning his opponent against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Rodriguez pressing his opponent against the cage.
A short right from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is stalling here.
Rodriguez receives a warning from the referee for stalling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Riccardo Rodriguez.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
A short right from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kwon jumps guard but Rodriguez turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Kwon keeps Rodriguez at a distance using the push kick.

Rodriguez closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Kwon tries to pull guard but Rodriguez forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Rodriguez has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Stalling in the clinch from Rodriguez.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Rodriguez in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Kwon jumps guard but Rodriguez turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A nice left hand lands by Rodriguez.
The referee calls for Rodriguez to work.
Kwon jumps guard but Rodriguez turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hang Kwon. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodriguez displaying some good clinch control by pressing Kwon up against the cage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Riccardo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has Kwon up against the cage in a clinch.
Kwon tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Rodriguez smiles and moves away.
Rodriguez waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kwon.
Kwon really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Rodriguez swings for the body but Kwon moves out of range.
Rodriguez wants to clinch up but Kwon keeps it at a distance.
Kwon lets loose with a powerful body kick. Rodriguez will feel that in the morning.
Rodriguez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kwon moves away.
Kwon goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Rodriguez fails in his attempt to clinch.
Riccardo Rodriguez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kwon lands a high kick!
Kwon is looking to land body kicks.
Rodriguez misses with a two punch combination.

Rodriguez moves into the clinch.
Rodriguez lands with a short shot to the head.
Rodriguez lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Kwon backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kwon is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Rodriguez to keep the fight standing.
Kwon tries to pull guard but Rodriguez won't allow it.
Kwon jumps guard but Rodriguez turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Kwon is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Rodriguez to keep the fight standing.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Kwon being controlled against the cage.
Kwon jumps guard but Rodriguez turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kwon blocks a body shot from Rodriguez.
Kwon prevents a body shot from Rodriguez.
Kwon fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Rodriguez slows down the pace here.
Rodriguez working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Kwon blocks a body shot from Rodriguez.
Rodriguez fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Riccardo Rodriguez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Kwon lands with a kick to the temple. Rodriguez shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Kwon misses with a body kick.

Rodriguez rushes Kwon and presses him up against the cage.
Kwon letting Rodriguez take a breather here.
Rodriguez swings wildly with an uppercut but Kwon uses good head movement to avoid it.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rodriguez throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Kwons head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodriguez will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Kwon up against the cage.
Kwon takes a shot to the head.
Kwon jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Rodriguez walks away with a smile on his face. Kwon gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Rodriguez instigates a clinch.
Riccardo Rodriguez seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Kwon.
A short right from Rodriguez.
Kwon tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Kwon jumps guard and drags Rodriguez to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Hang Kwon has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kwon is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Rodriguez engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Rodriguez tries to free his leg and advance position but Kwon is retaining full guard.
Kwon is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Kwon seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
Rodriguez won't allow Kwon to sweep him here.

Kwon has his foot on Rodriguez's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Rodriguez works his way back into a safe position though.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodriguez forces his way into half guard.
Rodriguez trying to mount his opponent but Kwon defends it.
Kwon gets full guard.
Rodriguez tries to stand but Kwon is controlling from the bottom.
Rodriguez is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Kwon will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Rodriguez passes into half guard.
Rodriguez controlling the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kwon wants to improve his position but Rodriguez is controlling well.
Kwon missing with punches from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Kwon throws a sloppy head kick and Rodriguez moves out of range easily.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Rodriguez moves into the clinch successfully.
Rodriguez leaning his opponent against the cage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Riccardo Rodriguez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Rodriguez winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Dean Styles scores the fight 26:30
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 26:30
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Riccardo Rodriguez!