PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Roland Magnier (ranked 5089 p4p, 5469 weight class) and Luca Yonic (ranked 136 p4p, 140 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Magnier
vs
Yonic

188 cm
20
240
1 - 0 - 0

195 cm
20
250
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Insanely flexible

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Roland Magnier!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Luca Yonic!
The judges for this bout are Ian Loll, Robert Douchet and Dillan Fox.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice body kick from Yonic.
Yonic tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Magnier was well out of range. Poor timing from Yonic.
Yonic throws a body kick that misses.
Yonic misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Magnier throwing a counter right hand but Yonic manages to avoid it.
Magnier seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Yonic misses with a wild body shot.

Magnier closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Yonic pushes Magnier off but Magnier dives into side control.
Yonic is being controlled here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yonic regains half guard.
Yonic looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Magnier trying to control the pace.
Magnier tries to pass to full mount but Yonic defends it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Yonic is trying to control but can't.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Magnier is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Magnier tries to pass the half guard into mount. Yonic knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Still in half guard, Magnier seems content to control.

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.
Magnier is thwarting Yonic's attempts to control the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Yonic takes a swing at Magnier's ribcage but misses.
Luca Yonic seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Yonic on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Yonic just misses with a punch to the body.
Yonic misses with a body kick.
Magnier swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Yonic misses with a hook
and Magnier counters with a straight right hand.
Yonic doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

Yonic gets caught napping as Magnier dives in and scores a takedown. Yonic manages to retain guard.
Magnier stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Yonic swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Magnier sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magnier's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Magnier postures up.
Magnier controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Magnier seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Yonic for as long as he can get away with.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Yonic throws a head kick that misses
and Magnier counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Yonic misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Magnier misses with a hook.
Yonic tries a quick counter leg kick but Magnier is wise to it.
Magnier lands with a straight right. Yonic didn't see that one coming.
Yonic swings for the body but Magnier moves out of range.

Magnier scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Yonic is trying to work for a sweep but Magnier has mounted him!
Magnier sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Magnier prevents Yonic from getting the reversal.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Roland Magnier dominated that round.
That's time! Magnier's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Magnier checks the leg kick.
Yonic is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Magnier rather than just go for the knockout.
Yonic lands a head kick!
Yonic ducks under a wild hook from Magnier.
Magnier is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Yonic can do to turn this around?
Magnier avoids the body shot from Yonic.
Yonic avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Yonic throws a head kick but Magnier moves out of range.
Magnier misses with a hook.
A slow jab from Magnier misses its intended target.
Magnier slips a jab and a cross from Yonic.
Yonic lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Magnier checks a low kick from Yonic.
An attempted straight right counter from Magnier misses the target.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Yonic blocks a jab.

Magnier scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Magnier tries to move to full mount but Yonic actually manages to regain half guard.
Yonic tries to get to full guard but Magnier has control of the leg.
Magnier content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yonic is looking to improve his position.
Yonic tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Magnier has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Yonic is looking to improve his position but Magnier isn't that keen on the idea.
Roland Magnier overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two 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.
Magnier content just to control the position here.
Yonic is just holding on here. Magnier manages to take his back.
Magnier really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Yonic.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Magnier has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Yonic is trying to stand back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Magnier has good solid back control here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Roland Magnier will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Magnier throws a looping overhand right but Yonic ducks down to avoid it.
Yonic connects with a body shot.
Yonic misses with a leg kick
and Magnier counters with a nice uppercut.
Yonic lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Magnier ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Yonic moves away.
Yonic misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Magnier.
A looping hook to the body misses from Magnier. Yonic does a little dance to reset his feet.
Yonic throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Yonic takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Yonic does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Yonic enables Magnier to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Yonic manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Yonic not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Yonic wants to sweep here but Magnier controlling him for the moment.
Magnier's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Magnier passes Yonic's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Yonic throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Magnier is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Magnier tries to pass the half guard into mount. Yonic knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Yonic takes a swing at Magnier's ribcage but misses.
Magnier misses with an uppercut. Yonic saw that one coming.
Yonic appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Yonic misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Magnier throws an overhand right that lands on Yonic's shoulder, as Yonic tries to avoid the shot.
It seemed like Yonic was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Yonic looks for the body kick but Magnier saw that one coming.
Magnier throws a good cross that connects.
Yonic connects with a nice looking jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Magnier looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Luca Yonic is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Yonic ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Magnier moves away.
Magnier misses with a hook. Yonic ducked under it nicely.
A shot to the body from Yonic misses
and Magnier counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Yonic thinking.
Yonic lands a nice shot to the body.
Magnier tests Yonic's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Yonic misses with a lunging right hand
and Magnier counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Yonic thinking.
A head kick from Yonic lands but Magnier takes it in his stride.
Yonic ducks right into an uppercut from Magnier.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Yonic.
Yonic throws a leg kick but Magnier checks it.
Yonic misses with a kick to the body.
Yonic lands the left hand.

Magnier shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Magnier showed some decent athleticism there.
Well, if Magnier is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Luca Yonic has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Magnier wants to pass the guard but Yonic is defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Magnier is thwarting Yonic's attempts to control the position.
Magnier wants to pass the guard but Yonic is defending well.
Yonic wants to improve his position but Magnier is controlling well.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Roland Magnier.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Magnier, 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 Ian Loll scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Roland Magnier!