PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jim Sterntz (ranked 4336 p4p, 466 weight class) and Josh Roffen (ranked 4268 p4p, 456 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Sterntz
vs
Roffen

190 cm
21
190 lbs
3 - 2 - 1

175 cm
24
185 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Brawler
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
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 3 - 2 - 1, fighting out of New York, Jim Sterntz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Josh Roffen!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Timothy Bukovac and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sterntz darts in and clinches Roffen up against the cage.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Sterntz.
Sterntz is stalling here.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Sterntz.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Sterntz takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Roffen managing to block the knees to the body from Sterntz.
Roffen on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Roffen connects with a knee to the head.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Roffen has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Sterntz taking a breather.
Roffen working hard to break the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sterntz is struggling to control the position.
Sterntz lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Sterntz working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Roffen taking a breather.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roffen tries to land knees in the clinch but Sterntz avoids the damage to the body.
Sterntz lands a body punch in the clinch.
Sterntz pressing his opponent against the cage.
Roffen managing to block the knees to the body from Sterntz.
Roffen misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Sterntz.
Stalling in the clinch from Sterntz.
Sterntz is working Roffen over against the cage.
Roffen avoids the elbow strike from Sterntz, against the cage.
Sterntz tries to land knees in the clinch but Roffen avoids the damage to the body.
Come on Sterntz - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Sterntz using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Roffen looks winded!
Sterntz is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Roffen is defending well for now.
Sterntz stalls.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sterntz's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Sterntz gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Jim Sterntz.

Sterntz throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Roffen was covering up waiting for the punch and Sterntz finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Sterntz lands a couple of digs.
Sterntz passes Roffen's left leg - he's now in half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sterntz content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Roffen is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Sterntz scores with a couple of nice shots.
Sterntz controlling the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sterntz working the head and body with strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Roffen is in trouble now - Sterntz has advanced to mount!
Sterntz is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Sterntz landing strikes, looking to finish!
Sterntz controlling the position easily from mount.

Sterntz with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Sterntz working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Sterntz fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Sterntz looking to control and managing it successfully.
Sterntz will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Sterntz wants to finish this one by submission but Roffen is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Sterntz.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
BOOM! Sterntz connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Sterntz content just to control the position here.
Sterntz lands a nice shot to the head.
Sterntz with good strikes from the mount here!
Sterntz lands a couple of good shots and Roffen has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Sterntz cracks Roffen with a big shot to body and one to the head - really punishing Roffen from the back mount here, looking to soften him up.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Sterntz controlling the positon.
Sterntz is working the ground and pound here and the referee is taking a close look at Roffen. He must escape soon or this one will be stopped.
Sterntz lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Roffen.
Sterntz softening up his opponent with strikes here.

Roffen is rocked!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jim Sterntz 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.

Sterntz closes the distance and clinches.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Sterntz.
A body shot lands from Sterntz.
Sterntz is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Roffen can do to turn this around?
Sterntz lands with a light punch inside.
Sterntz scores with a hook to the body.
Sterntz throws an elbow that misses.
Sterntz is stalling here.
Sterntz slows down the pace here.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Sterntz for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
Sterntz comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

It looks like Josh Roffen has been cut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sterntz effectively controlling the action here.
Sterntz lands a body punch.
Sterntz is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Roffen is defending well for now.
Roffen is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sterntz throws an elbow but it misses.
Sterntz stalling against the cage.
Sterntz leaning his opponent against the cage.
A hook to the body from Sterntz.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Jim Sterntz.

Roffen takes the fight into the clinch.
Sterntz trying to land knees to the body.
Sterntz lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Roffen backwards.
A body shot lands from Sterntz.
Jim Sterntz has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Sterntz is leaning against Roffen and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Sterntz has Roffen pushed against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sterntz is stalling here.
A short right from Sterntz.
Roffen letting Sterntz take a breather here.
Sterntz effectively controlling the action here.
A right handed body shot lands from Sterntz.
Roffen avoids a wild elbow strike from Sterntz.
A nice left hand lands by Sterntz.
A right hand to the body from Sterntz.
Roffen avoiding damage as Sterntz throws knees to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Roffen being controlled against the cage.
Sterntz throws an elbow but it misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sterntz stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Sterntz stalling.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Jim Sterntz.
Sterntz will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Jim Sterntz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Sterntz pushes Roffen up against the cage in a clinch.
Roffen avoids a wild elbow strike from Sterntz.
Sterntz has Roffen pressed against the cage.
Sterntz misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Roffen.
Sterntz slows down the pace here.
Sterntz keeps control of Roffen as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sterntz holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Sterntz is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Roffen is defending well for now.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Sterntz.
Sterntz works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Sterntz pressing his opponent against the cage.
Sterntz works on Roffen's body with a couple of short punches.
Sterntz tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A bit of stalling here from Sterntz.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sterntz is pushing Roffen up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Jim Sterntz.

Sterntz clinches up with Roffen and pushes him back against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jim Sterntz dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Josh Roffen's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Sterntz clinches with his opponent.
Sterntz misses with a knee to the head.
Sterntz displaying some good clinch control by pressing Roffen up against the cage.
Roffen tries to throw a body punch but Sterntz avoids it by throwing Roffen back against the cage.
Sterntz creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Sterntz dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Sterntz is struggling to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sterntz leaning his opponent against the cage.
Sterntz seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
Roffen looking to throw knees to the head but Sterntz is blocking nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Sterntz content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Roffen has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Nice body punch from Sterntz - that landed with a thud.
Roffen takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sterntz has Roffen pressed against the cage.
Sterntz just leaning against Roffen, taking a breather.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Jim Sterntz.

Sterntz pushes Roffen up against the cage in a clinch.
Sterntz throws a knee to the head but misses.
Sterntz misses with a knee to the head.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

Roffen breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Roffen gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sterntz accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sterntz advances to half guard.
Sterntz wants to pass to mount but Roffen is defending the position.

Sterntz decides to return to a standing position.
Sterntz goes for a double leg but Roffen avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Roffen continues to drive forward.

Sterntz gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Roffen working hard to break the clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Sterntz.
Come on Sterntz - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Sterntz stalling.
Roffen being controlled against the cage.
Sterntz just leaning against Roffen, taking a breather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sterntz manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Jim Sterntz.

Sterntz moves into the clinch.
Sterntz scores with a shot to the side of Roffen's head.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Sterntz displaying some good clinch control by pressing Roffen up against the cage.
A bit of stalling here from Sterntz.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A short left from Sterntz.
Come on Sterntz - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Sterntz lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Roffen backwards.
Sterntz lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Sterntz has Roffen pushed against the cage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Jim Sterntz.
Sterntz tries for a takedown but Roffen sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
It seemed like Roffen was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.

Sterntz has managed to clinch.
Sterntz lands an uppercut.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sterntz taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Roffen looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Sterntz misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Roffen.
Josh Roffen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sterntz lands on the inside with an uppercut.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jim Sterntz showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Sterntz, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:25
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:25
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jim Sterntz!
A victorious Jim Sterntz thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.