PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ivan Buchanan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Max Roberts (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Roberts's choice of entrance music: Break Stuff. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Buchanan
vs
Roberts

177 cm
24
162 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

181 cm
25
155 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ivan Buchanan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Max Roberts!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Arvi Lind and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Buchanan tries to clinch up but Roberts circles away and keeps his distance.

Buchanan moves into the clinch.
Roberts has Buchanan pressed against the cage.
Roberts avoiding damage.

Roberts breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Roberts leaves Buchanan with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Roberts looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Buchanan throws a combination that misses

and Roberts counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Roberts content to control rather than advance.
Buchanan avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Roberts.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Buchanan trying to hold on to Roberts's head to control him but Roberts postures up.
Roberts works his way into side control.
Buchanan takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Buchanan is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Roberts is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Roberts controlling his opponent.
Roberts throws a wild left hand from mount and Buchanan manages to wriggle his way back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Buchanan is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Roberts stalling.
Roberts tries to pass the half guard into mount. Buchanan knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's four 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.
Roberts is taking a breather. Buchanan says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Buchanan tries to kick Roberts off but Roberts keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Roberts.
Buchanan tries a head kick but it misses.
Roberts looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Max Roberts dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Buchanan moves to clinch but Roberts breaks away

and Roberts decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Buchanan's guard.
Roberts with a nice head shot there.
Roberts not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Buchanan is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roberts engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Ivan Buchanan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Buchanan fails with an attempt to clinch.
Roberts throws out a counter right but Buchanan avoids it with no problem.
Buchanan misses with a takedown
and Roberts makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

That's two 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.

Roberts looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Roberts is controlling the pace.
Buchanan tries to roll over but Roberts keeps him under control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roberts stalling.
Let's hope that Roberts has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Buchanan wants to get back to full guard but Roberts has mounted him!
Roberts controlling his opponent.
Roberts lands a heavy elbow.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Roberts takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Max Roberts showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Roberts drives through and clinches with Buchanan against the cage.
Roberts has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Buchanan is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Roberts is defending well.

Roberts turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Max Roberts has got the better of the ground game so far.
Roberts working the body and head with strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Roberts sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Buchanan is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Roberts advances to full mount.
Roberts misses with a head shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roberts controlling from the full mount.
Buchanan is desperately trying to improve his position but Roberts has a good base and remains in mount.
Roberts looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Roberts avoids the attempt from Buchanan to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roberts looking to control and managing it successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Buchanan is desperately trying to improve his position but Roberts has a good base and remains in mount.
Roberts controlling the pace for now.
Buchanan is working to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Roberts controlling the pace for now.
Roberts is continuing to stall.
Ivan Buchanan has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Max Roberts is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
The adventures of Roberts the control monster continue. Boring.

And that's the end of the fight!
Max Roberts comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Roberts has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 27:30
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Max Roberts!
After winning the bout, Max Roberts thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.