PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between James St Patrick (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yoel Romero (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

St Patrick
vs
Romero

186 cm
21
177 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
25
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Inexperienced

Decent wrestler
Basic striking
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, James St Patrick!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Yoel Romero!
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Chris Saunders and Roger Salmon.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
St Patrick throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Romero.
St Patrick takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
St Patrick throws a series of punches but Romero avoids them all with ease.
St Patrick takes a body punch but keeps moving.

Romero clinches up against the cage.

Romero works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Romero trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Romero accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Romero wants to control from the top but St Patrick keeps moving.
Romero distracts St Patrick with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
St Patrick can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Romero controls the pace.
Romero won't allow St Patrick to sweep him here.
Romero works over St Patrick with some ground and pound from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

St Patrick manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.
Romero lands a damaging elbow.

It looks like James St Patrick has been cut.

St Patrick is fighting off a takedown attempt but Romero is just too persistent for him and manages to trip St Patrick to the mat. St Patrick regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Romero is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Romero accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Romero stands up over St Patrick, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Romero loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
St Patrick not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Romero is looking to work some ground and pound but St Patrick has wrist control.

St Patrick is working an open guard so Romero takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
St Patrick is breathing heavily.
St Patrick stuffs the takedown.
Romero will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Romero takes a swing at St Patrick's ribcage but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Romero smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Romero moves into the clinch.
Romero stalling in the clinch.

Romero gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, St Patrick regains guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Romero accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Romero throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Romero throwing strikes but missing.
St Patrick can't keep his opponent in guard - Romero advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Romero wants to control but St Patrick is keeping him busy.
Romero working over St Patrick with some ground and pound. St Patrick looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Romero lands with a punch from half guard.
Romero working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
St Patrick is trying to stand.
Ground and pound from Romero.
St Patrick is trying to stand.
Romero landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

St Patrick is rocked!
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Romero connects with a nice short shot to St Patrick's temple.
Oh St Patrick is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!

Romero is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Romero working the head and body with strikes.
Romero lands a big elbow - St Patrick is out of it! He's waving his arms around but his eyes are closed and he's not intelligently defending himself - the ref has no choice but to jump in and stop the fight! This one is in the books! A TKO win for Romero!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Yoel Romero!
After winning the bout, Yoel Romero thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.