PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rocky Balboa (ranked 3960 p4p, 4500 weight class) and Tommy Robertson (ranked 419 p4p, 458 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Balboa
vs
Robertson

176 cm
25
156
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
164
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Rocky Balboa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Tommy Robertson !
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Leandro Rodrigues and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Robertson looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
It looked like Balboa was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Robertson throws a sloppy head kick

and Balboa counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

Robertson makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Robertson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Balboa drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Balboa misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

Balboa decides to stand back up.
Balboa avoids the head kick by Robertson .

Balboa scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Robertson wants to get back to his feet.
Balboa landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Robertson wants to get back to his feet.
Balboa sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Balboa has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Robertson tries to get to full guard but Balboa has control of the leg.

Robertson manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Robertson darts in trying to clinch
and Balboa counters with a two punch combo.
Balboa throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Balboa tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Robertson swivels and escapes.
Balboa cracks Robertson with a right hand to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Robertson with a poor takedown
and Balboa counters with a three punch combo that has Robertson backing up. Robertson nods at Balboa to acknowledge the strikes.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Balboa clinches up with Robertson and pushes him back against the cage.
Robertson working Balboa over with knees to the body.
Robertson lands an elbow inside that Balboa shrugs off.
Balboa is defending well against a takedown attempt.

Robertson manages to pull guard.
Balboa prevents Robertson from getting back to his feet.
Robertson looks winded!
Robertson is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

Balboa stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Balboa changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Robertson looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.

Robertson bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
Balboa has a takedown stuffed.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Balboa drives through and clinches with Robertson against the cage.
Balboa jumps guard but Robertson turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rocky Balboa. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Robertson tries to land knees in the clinch but Balboa avoids the damage to the body.
Robertson is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Balboa is defending well for now.
Balboa has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Robertson avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Robertson unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Robertson throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Robertson prevents a takedown attempt there.
Balboa jumps guard but Robertson turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Robertson is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Balboa gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Robertson .

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Balboa manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Robertson postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Balboa looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Balboa knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Robertson on the ground.
Balboa working a defensive guard here.
Robertson pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Balboa is keeping the position for now.
Robertson throwing strikes but missing.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Tommy Robertson will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Robertson throws a head kick but Balboa moves out of range.
Robertson tries to clinch up.

Balboa fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Robertson to the ground. Balboa is now in Robertson 's guard.
Robertson is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Robertson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Tommy Robertson has got the better of the ground game so far.
Robertson wants to stand but Balboa is controlling the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Robertson keeping full guard, as Balboa tries to pass.
Balboa stops Robertson from standing up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Balboa stands and steps away. Robertson gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Robertson tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Balboa counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Balboa closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Robertson 's guard.

Robertson kicks Balboa off and gets to his feet.
Robertson throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Balboa.
Robertson is breathing heavily.
Robertson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Balboa swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A nice combination there by Balboa.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Robertson takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Robertson wants to clinch up but Balboa keeps it at a distance.
Robertson stuffs the takedown attempt from Balboa. Balboa gets slowly back to his feet.

Balboa rushes Robertson and presses him up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Robertson lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Robertson tries to land knees in the clinch but Balboa avoids the damage to the body.
Robertson tries to land knees in the clinch but Balboa avoids the damage to the body.
Robertson connects with a knee to the head.

It looks like Rocky Balboa has been cut.
Balboa looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Balboa looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Balboa escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Balboa closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Robertson did well to prevent Balboa getting side control.

Robertson pushes Balboa off and gets back to his feet.

Balboa pushes Robertson up against the cage in a clinch.
Balboa is trying to force a seperation but Robertson has the dominant position.
Balboa is looking for a takedown.
Robertson misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Balboa.
Tommy Robertson seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Balboa jumps guard and drags Robertson to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Robertson wants to control from the top but Balboa keeps moving.
Balboa controlling the position.
Balboa looking to control.
Robertson passes Balboa's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Balboa avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Robertson .
Robertson throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Robertson trying to mount his opponent but Balboa defends it.
Balboa is looking to control Robertson 's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Balboa avoid being mounted?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Robertson is keen to just control but Balboa is a slippery customer.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Robertson lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Balboa controlling the position for now.
Balboa wants to control but Robertson is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Robertson passes the guard and advances to mount!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Tommy Robertson will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Rocky Balboa's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Robertson throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Balboa's head.
Robertson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Balboa swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Robertson doesn't manage to clinch there - Balboa circles away.

Balboa instigates a clinch.
Balboa tries to break free but Robertson pushes him back against the cage.
Balboa fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Robertson putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Balboa in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Robertson keeps control of Balboa as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Robertson landing knees to the head.
A knee to the head by Robertson .
Robertson using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Balboa avoiding damage as Robertson throws knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balboa takes a knee to the side of the body.
Robertson with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Robertson lands a good knee to the midsection. Balboa won't want to take too many of those.
Robertson lands an elbow just above Balboa 's eye.
Balboa tries to pull guard but Robertson won't allow it.
Balboa content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Robertson scores with a shot to the side of Balboa's head.
Balboa is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rocky Balboa. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Robertson unloads a knee to the mid-section. Balboa lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Balboa takes an elbow to the temple.
Robertson is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Robertson connects with a nasty looking knee right to Balboa's face.
Robertson displaying some good clinch control by pressing Balboa up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Balboa prevents a takedown attempt there.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Robertson misses with a body punch.
Balboa is trying to break free.
Robertson is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Balboa gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

Balboa breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Robertson misses with a head kick.
Robertson tries to clinch there but Balboa circles away.
Balboa blocks a head kick by Robertson .
Robertson pulls out of a head kick attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Balboa has taken the fight to the clinch.
Balboa goes for a takedown attempt but Robertson pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Balboa has managed to clinch.
Balboa working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Robertson keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Balboa's efforts to push away.
Robertson connects with a knee to the head.
Balboa avoiding damage as Robertson throws knees to the body.

Balboa's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Balboa fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Robertson avoids it really well and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Robertson throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Balboa's waist but Balboa gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Robertson off to one side.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Robertson enables Balboa to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Robertson manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

Robertson kicks Balboa off and gets to his feet.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rocky Balboa is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Balboa drives through with a takedown into Robertson 's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Balboa is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Robertson not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Balboa controlling from the top position.
Robertson not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Rocky Balboa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tommy Robertson is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Balboa prevents Robertson from getting back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tommy Robertson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Robertson winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight 27:30
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 27:30
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tommy Robertson !
Tommy Robertson thanked the fans post fight for their support.