PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Porthos Knox (ranked 498 p4p, 662 weight class) and Mario Rossi (ranked 75 p4p, 94 weight class). Knox comes to the cage accompanied by One Step Closer | Linkin Park. Rossi is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Mr Rossi. Mario Rossi told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Knox
vs
Rossi

177 cm
26
175
11 - 7 - 1

180 cm
30
186
19 - 11 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Altitude Clothing
Hardcore Alchemy

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing
The Dirty Needle Project

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 11 - 7 - 1, fighting out of London, Porthos Knox!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 11 - 0, fighting out of New York, Mario Rossi!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Sosuke Kotani and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rossi steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Knox.
Knox misses with a hook
letting Rossi counter with a right hand.
Knox jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A little jabbing left from Rossi on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Rossi throws a right and a left that both miss.
Rossi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Knox.
Rossi tries to clinch but Knox is having none of it.
Rossi tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Knox throws a hook but Rossi avoids it easily.
Rossi lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Knox cracks Rossi with a good jab.
Knox scores with a hook.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rossi avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Porthos Knox seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Knox swings widly with a right hand
and Rossi counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.

Rossi has managed to clinch.
Rossi softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rossi fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Rossi throws a punch but it's blocked by Knox.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rossi lands a right hand that snaps the head of Knox backwards.
Knox's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

Knox escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Rossi misses with a shot to the body
and Rossi takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Rossi rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Knox moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Knox throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Rossi lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Rossi lands with a thumping leg kick.

Oh, that's a big right hand from Knox and Rossi goes tumbling to the canvas! Knox follows him to the ground and looks to finish from half guard.

Rossi is rocked!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rossi is trying to stand up here but Knox is controlling him well.
Rossi is still in real trouble! Can Knox finish him?
Rossi seems to have recovered his senses.
Knox trying to control the pace.
Rossi wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Knox trying to control the action but Rossi is working from the bottom.
Rossi is trying to stand.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Knox shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Knox misses with a looping left.
A jab from Rossi finds it's way through Knox's defenses.
Knox throws a jab but it's blocked by Rossi.
Rossi throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Knox throws a hook but Rossi avoids it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knox swings widly with a right hand
and Rossi counters with a nice uppercut.
Knox avoids the head kick by Rossi.
Rossi lands the left hand.
Rossi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Knox.
Knox misses with a looping right.
Knox throws a body punch but Rossi moves out of range.
Rossi blocks a jab.
Rossi connects with a leg kick.
Knox misses with a body shot.
Knox rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
letting Rossi counter with a right hand.
Rossi slips under a jab.
A telegraphed right hand from Knox misses the target.
Knox backing away here, and Rossi unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Rossi defending well as Knox loads up on a big left hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Knox slips a straight right by Rossi.
Knox looks to land a right hand but Rossi moved out of range.
Rossi fails in his attempt to clinch.
Knox was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Knox scores with a hook to the body. Rossi takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Knox throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Rossi has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Rossi throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
We've been told by Knox's head coaches at Underground Rio that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Rossi cracks Knox with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

Rossi moves into the clinch successfully.
Rossi lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Rossi swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Knox pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Knox looks to score with a jab to the body but Rossi is just out of range.
Knox fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rossi manages to avoid it.
Rossi moves out of range of the strikes.
Rossi is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Porthos Knox will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Rossi misses with a wild combination.

Rossi has Knox up against the cage in a clinch.
Knox is trying to break the clinch but Rossi is controlling him.
Knox tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rossi's elbow.
Rossi misses with some punches.
A shot in the inside from Rossi.
Rossi throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Knox blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Rossi tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Knox blocking some punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rossi works on Knox's body with a couple of short punches.
Knox is trying to push Rossi away but Rossi has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Rossi throws a punch but it's blocked by Knox.
Knox is trying to break free.
Rossi lands a left hand.

Knox manages to break the clinch.
Rossi tries to close the distance and clinch up but Knox swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rossi misses with a few strikes there.
Knox misses the jab.
Knox throws the left hand but Rossi avoids the punch easily.
Porthos Knox is winning the standup battle so far.
Nice body kick there by Rossi.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Rossi.
Rossi throws out a loose jab but Knox uses good head movement to avoid it.
Knox comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Rossi tries to clinch but Knox moves out of range.
Some wild striking there from Rossi.
Knox chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Rossi can pounce on him.
Rossi punishes Knox's body with a nice straight punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rossi slips a jab and a cross from Knox.
As Knox backs off Rossi throws a huge counter combo but Knox manages to avoid it all.
Jab from Rossi.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Knox scores with the left hand. Rossi knows he should have avoided that one.
The fighters circling - Knox throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Rossi is trying to counter with his kicks.
Rossi lands a jab to the nose.
A lazy left from Knox finds it's target.
Rossi closes the distance looking to clinch
and Knox counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Rossi clinches up with Knox and pushes him back against the cage.
Rossi prevents Knox from breaking the clinch.
Rossi working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Knox blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Knox wants to break free but Rossi has control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rossi misses with a body punch.
Rossi lands a body punch.
Rossi misses with some punches.

Knox pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rossi jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Knox swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Rossi throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Rossi darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Rossi goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Knox lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Knox misses with a right hand
and Rossi counters with a nice low kick that buckles Knox's knee momentarily.
Rossi slips a jab from Knox.
Knox swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Rossi displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Knox throws out the jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Knox uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Rossi.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Knox avoids a punch combination nicely.
Knox is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Knox throws an off balance right hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Knox!
Rossi misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Rossi throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Knox cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Rossi forces Knox back against the cage and clinches.
Rossi lands a left hand.

Knox escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A looping hook to the body misses from Knox. Rossi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Rossi was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Knox throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Rossi counters with a series of strikes. Knox will be more careful next time no doubt.
Rossi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Knox swings widly with a right hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Mario Rossi 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! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Rossi misses with a shot to the kidneys.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Rossi.
Rossi working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Rossi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Rossi swings wildly with an uppercut but Knox uses good head movement to avoid it.

Knox pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rossi cracks Knox with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Rossi lands with a good body shot.
Knox throws a series of punches but Rossi avoids them all with ease.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rossi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Knox.
Rossi wants to clinch.
Knox swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Knox misses with a hook to the body
and Rossi counters with a nice body shot.

Rossi takes the fight into the clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Knox.
Knox blocks a body shot from Rossi.
A short body shot lands from Rossi as the two fighters clinch.
Knox prevents a body shot from Rossi.
Knox is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Knox blocks a body shot from Rossi.
Knox wants to break free but Rossi has control.

Knox breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Knox throws an off balance right hand
and Rossi counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Rossi has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Knox moves away from the strike by Rossi.
Knox throws a poor cross that misses
and Rossi counters with a one-two to the body.
Knox throws an overhand right that lands on Rossi's shoulder, as Rossi tries to avoid the shot.
Nice defenses there by Rossi.
Knox fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rossi manages to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rossi throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Knox throws out a loose jab but Rossi uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rossi doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.

Knox tries to keep at a distance but Rossi has taken the fight into the clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rossi tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Knox's elbow.

Knox breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rossi throws a hook but Knox blocks it.
Knox swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
A looping hook to the body misses from Knox. Rossi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Rossi waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Knox.
Knox throws a hook to the side of Rossi's head but Rossi sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Rossi scores with a head kick. Knox tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Knox missing with a left hand there. Rossi was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Rossi doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Knox on the wrong end of a nice jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rossi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Knox.
Rossi takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Knox throws an overhand right that lands on Rossi's shoulder, as Rossi tries to avoid the shot.
A countering left hand to the body from Rossi misses.
Knox thows a left - swing and a miss!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Rossi can't find room to land a body shot as Knox controls the action.
Rossi throws a head punch that misses.
Rossi blocks an uppercut.
Rossi tries a body shot but Knox blocks it.
Knox wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Rossi blocks an uppercut.
Rossi misses with a punch on the inside.
A frustrated look appears on Knox's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Rossi misses with some punches.
Knox's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Knox is trying to push Rossi away but Rossi has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Knox trying to control the position but instead, Rossi has worked for underhooks and has pushed Knox into the cage.
Rossi prevents Knox from breaking the clinch.
Rossi struggles to land a body shot inside as Knox controls his hands.
A nice right hand lands inside from Rossi.

Knox pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Knox misses with a looping right.
Knox rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Rossi moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Knox takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Knox closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Knox takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Rossi takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Rossi slips under a jab.
Knox fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mario Rossi comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Rossi 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 28:29
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mario Rossi!
In his post fight interview, Mario Rossi started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.