PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Rocco Damato (ranked 1593 p4p, 2015 weight class) and Arthur Pugsley (ranked 151 p4p, 175 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Damato might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Thunderstruck. The key to victory for Rocco Damato has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Damato
vs
Pugsley

170 cm
34
150
18 - 37 - 0

150 cm
28
145
12 - 8 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Decent knees
Fast

Silverguard Outfitters 🛡

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 37 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rocco Damato!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Arthur Pugsley!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Aafke Stam and Albert Achterberg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Damato throws the left hand but Pugsley avoids the punch easily.
Damato misses with an uppercut.
Damato thows a leg kick but Pugsley checks it

and Pugsley counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Damato is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Pugsley dives into side control.

You can see the frustration on Damato's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Damato is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Pugsley working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Damato is letting Pugsley control him for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pugsley landing strikes.
Damato is trying to get back to half guard.
Pugsley taking a break here but Damato is having none of it and regains half guard.

Pugsley is working for a kimura but Damato is defending it quite comfortably.
Still in half guard, Pugsley seems content to control.

That's two 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.
Pugsley thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Damato is staying active underneath Pugsley, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Pugsley is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Damato doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Pugsley.
Pugsley working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pugsley lands strikes from half guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Pugsley wants to lay and pray for a moment but Damato keeps working.
Pugsley uses his free foot to push down on Damato's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Damato.

Damato defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Pugsley.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damato sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.

Damato kicks Pugsley off and gets back to his feet.
Damato throws a right hand that Pugsley ducks under and follows up with a left that Pugsley also avoids with ease.
Damato swings widly with a right hand

and Pugsley counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Pugsley.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Damato keeping moving, preventing Pugsley from controlling successfully.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Pugsley works over Damato with some ground and pound from guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Arthur Pugsley dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Pugsley uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Damato.

Damato shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Damato was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Damato fails to land a wild elbow strike.
The ground and pound from Damato seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

Damato tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Damato has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Pugsley is looking for a sweep.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Damato lands a nice forearm strike.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Damato tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Damato tries to advance position but instead Pugsley slips a leg back in to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damato thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Pugsley's head.
Pugsley moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Damato stands up over his opponent, looking to dive in with a big punch. Here he comes, superman style! Oh, the punch misses and Pugsley has got him in a triangle choke for good measure! Oh no! Damato manages to get his head free but now Pugsley has transitioned to an armbar! Damato grimaces and is forced to tap! Beautiful Jiu Jitsu from Pugsley! I'd be surprised if that didn't end up as submission of the night!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:40 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Arthur Pugsley!