PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Darryl Rose (ranked 1299 p4p, 161 weight class) and DJ Strawberry (ranked 2955 p4p, 326 weight class). Rose comes into the arena with Mobb Deep - Shook ones blaring out of the sound system. Strawberry has chosen Beastie Boys-Brass Monkey as his entrance music. Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Rose
vs
Strawberry

180 cm
25
180 lbs
10 - 4 - 0

185 cm
22
182 lbs
8 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

BuriedAlive// Fight Gear

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 10 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Darryl Rose!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, DJ Strawberry!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Matheus Silva and Daniel Cesar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Strawberry scores with a punch to the head.
Strawberry misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Rose throws a big counter combination but Strawberry scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Strawberry swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Strawberry is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Rose.
Strawberry blocks the body kick.
Strawberry swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Strawberry misses the shot to the body.
Rose throws a right hand that Strawberry ducks under and follows up with a left that Strawberry also avoids with ease.
Rose rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Strawberry moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Strawberry lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
A slow jab from Strawberry misses its intended target.
Strawberry's coach down at Official UFC Performance Institute Training Center was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Strawberry's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Strawberry swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Strawberry takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rose on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

Rose is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Strawberry's half guard.
Rose is trying to control the action in half guard but Strawberry is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Strawberry looking to force a kimura from the bottom here. He's concentrating on that move too much though and Rose pushes past his half guard into mount!
Strawberry bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rose lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Rose pushes down on Strawberry's leg and manages to get into half guard.

Strawberry looking for submissions off his back.
Strawberry manages to get to full guard.

Rose avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Rose trying to control the position from guard on top but Strawberry is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Strawberry throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Rose is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Strawberry looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Rose is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

Strawberry escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Rose gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rose controls from within his opponent's guard.
Strawberry keeping moving, preventing Rose from controlling successfully.

Strawberry working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Rose doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Rose manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Rose is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Strawberry looking to control.

Strawberry escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Rose gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

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.

Strawberry is looking for a triangle but Rose pushes his legs off easily.
Rose looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Rose has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Rose passes Strawberry's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Strawberry has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rose is working away from the top position though.

Strawberry is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Rose pulls his head out easily.

Strawberry with the active half guard here but Rose passes nicely into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but DJ Strawberry will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Rose slips a jab from Strawberry.
DJ Strawberry seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Rose scores with a takedown into Strawberry's guard.
Rose trying to control the position from guard on top but Strawberry is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Strawberry looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Strawberry throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.

Rose avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Strawberry looking to control.
Darryl Rose overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Strawberry looking for a sweep. Not yet Strawberry, not yet.

Strawberry is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Rose defends well.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Strawberry looking for a guillotine here but Rose defends easily.

Rose avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Rose sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rose wants to control from the top but Strawberry keeps moving.

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.

Strawberry has his foot on Rose's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Rose works his way back into a safe position though.
Rose showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Rose avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Rose is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Strawberry trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!

Strawberry is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rose looking to pass the guard.

Strawberry throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Rose trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Strawberry has his foot on Rose's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Rose works his way back into a safe position though.

Strawberry escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Rose gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Strawberry throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Strawberry is breathing heavily.

That's four 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.
Rose engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Rose tries to free his leg and advance position but Strawberry is retaining full guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Rose fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Strawberry manages to avoid it.
Strawberry swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Rose feinted with a counter takedown.
Strawberry swinging wildly here.
Strawberry lands a head shot.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Strawberry throws a head kick but Rose moves out of range.
Strawberry swings for the body but Rose moves out of range.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Rose.
Rose is staying tight to Strawberry's torso, preventing him from escaping.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Darryl Rose will probably get the nod.
That's time! Rose's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Strawberry throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Sloppy strikes from Strawberry. Those never looked like landing.
Rose attempts a counter takedown but Strawberry avoids it well and moves away.
Strawberry lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Darryl Rose seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Rose gets a takedown into half guard.
Rose not doing much here.
Strawberry wants to control but Rose is keeping busy and won't allow it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Strawberry gets full guard.

Strawberry isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Rose stacks Strawberry on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Rose!
Rose trying to control the action but Strawberry is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Strawberry is trying to get back to half guard.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Strawberry is looking to regain half guard here but Rose keeps moving and retains side control.
Rose in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Rose wants to lay and pray for a moment but Strawberry keeps working.
Strawberry sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.

That's two 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.

Rose is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

Strawberry looking for submissions off his back.

Strawberry looking for submissions off his back.
Rose content to control rather than advance.
Rose seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Strawberry for as long as he can get away with.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rose wants to pass to mount but Strawberry is defending the position.

Strawberry looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Rose is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Strawberry sees it coming and defends easily.
Rose controlling the action here.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Strawberry swinging wildly here.
A jab lands there for Strawberry.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rose shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Strawberry is trying to defend but Rose finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Strawberry tries to roll over but Rose keeps him under control.
Rose tries to pass the half guard into mount. Strawberry knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Rose is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Strawberry looking for submissions off his back.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Strawberry has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rose is working away from the top position though.

And that's the end of the fight!
Darryl Rose showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Rose has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Darryl Rose!
A pretty intense looking Darryl Rose took the opportunity post-fight to ask for a shot at the title.
The defeated DJ Strawberry had this to say: 'i'm young and I will continue to get better, there is no doubt in my mind I will be a champ one day. Get on the bandwagon before its full.... Going to my after party. I got the blow and Chinese chicks waiting for me...'.