PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Seth Smolka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Raymond Rousey (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Smolka
vs
Rousey

195 cm
26
206 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

191 cm
27
275 lbs
3 - 8 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good elbows
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Seth Smolka!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Raymond Rousey!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Elvis Blanc and William Peck.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rousey has taken the fight to the clinch.

Smolka breaks from the clinch.
Rousey scores with a hook to the body. Smolka takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Rousey will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Smolka looking to score a takedown here. Rousey is defending well but Smolka drives through and ends up in Rousey's guard.
Smolka is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Rousey keeping moving, preventing Smolka from controlling successfully.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Smolka accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Rousey looking for a sweep. Not yet Rousey, not yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smolka trying to control but Rousey is working from the bottom.
Smolka has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smolka tries to stand but Rousey is controlling from the bottom.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Smolka wants to control from the top but Rousey keeps moving.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Rousey tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Smolka paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Rousey gets caught napping as Smolka dives in and scores a takedown. Rousey manages to retain guard.
Smolka trying to control the position from guard on top but Rousey is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Smolka looking to sit in guard and control but Rousey gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Smolka trying to keep a closed guard but Rousey is proving a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rousey is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Smolka looking for a sweep. Not yet Smolka, not yet.
Smolka working a defensive guard here.
Smolka is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Smolka is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Rousey dives into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smolka is looking for a sweep.
Smolka is pushing Rousey's head away, looking to escape. Rousey manages to hold on to the position though.
Rousey staying calm.
Rousey landing strikes.
Rousey wants to stand but Smolka has his arm trapped.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Smolka tries to improve position but can't.
You can see the frustration on Smolka's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Rousey postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Smolka can't do much from the bottom here.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Rousey fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
No luck with that takedown attempt from Rousey.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Raymond Rousey will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Raymond Rousey's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Smolka fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Smolka looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Rousey dives in for a single leg takedown but Smolka sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Smolka darts in looking for a takedown but Rousey gets double underhooks and turns Smolka into the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Seth Smolka. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Smolka gets a double leg takedown into Rousey's guard.
Smolka landing with the ground and pound.
Rousey working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Smolka.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Rousey has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Smolka can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Smolka is looking to work some ground and pound but Rousey has wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smolka slips nicely into half guard.
Smolka trying to control from half guard but Rousey is working away.
Rousey wants to control but Smolka is keeping busy.
Smolka knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Rousey on the ground.
Smolka uses his free foot to push down on Rousey's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Rousey.
Rousey is trying desperately to improve position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Smolka is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Rousey has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Rousey really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Smolka postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Rousey looks a forlorn figure.
Smolka scoring with strikes but Rousey is staying in there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rousey is squirming around, avoiding Smolka's attempts to control the action.
Rousey tries to lock up and control but Smolka gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Smolka lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Smolka pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Smolka landing punches.
Smolka can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Rousey is looking to escape.
Smolka is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rousey can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rousey is working to get back to half guard.
Smolka sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Seth Smolka overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Smolka trying to control but Rousey is having none of it.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Seth Smolka dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Raymond Rousey's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Smolka tries to clinch up but Rousey circles away and keeps his distance.
Rousey tries to close the distance and clinch but Smolka swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Smolka tries to close the distance and clinch up but Rousey swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Rousey avoids a kick to the body.

Rousey rushes Smolka and presses him up against the cage.

Smolka gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Rousey regains guard.
Rousey is looking to stand up but Smolka isn't so interested in that idea.
Rousey keeping moving, preventing Smolka from controlling successfully.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smolka working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Rousey pulls Smolka in close to his closed guard and prevents Smolka from doing any damage or advancing position.
Smolka throws a big right hand that misses.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Rousey is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Smolka is aware though and is defending well.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Smolka shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Rousey but Rousey pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Smolka pushes Rousey up against the cage in a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Smolka misses with a short punch on the inside.
Smolka tries for a takedown but Rousey manages to get underhooks.
Rousey throws a punch but it's blocked by Smolka.
Rousey jumps guard but Smolka stands there with Rousey around his waist. Rousey gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Rousey breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Seth Smolka is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Smolka darts in looking for a takedown but Rousey gets double underhooks and turns Smolka into the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Seth Smolka. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nice sprawl there from Rousey as Smolka shoots in.
Rousey raises up his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
Rousey is looking to clinch but Smolka is avoiding it.
Smolka closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rousey circles away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Smolka shoots in for a takedown but Rousey shows good takedown defense.
Rousey throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rousey clinches with his opponent.
Rousey stalling against the cage.

Rousey jumps into guard, dragging Smolka to the mat.

Rousey is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Smolka defends well.
Rousey pulls Smolka in to control the position.
Rousey thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Rousey controls Smolka momentarily but Smolka frees himself.
Smolka trying to control but Rousey is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rousey wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Smolka's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Smolka stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Rousey swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Smolka misses with a combination

and Rousey counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Rousey.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Rousey pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rousey fails with a takedown attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Raymond Rousey comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Rousey has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 28:29
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 28:29
Judge William Peck scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Raymond Rousey!