PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Isai Rosario (ranked 2671 p4p, 3019 weight class) and Roman Vitali (ranked 323 p4p, 356 weight class). Vitali has chosen ULKENDER - Machenskii as his entrance music. Roman Vitali acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Rosario
vs
Vitali

190 cm
26
180
5 - 0 - 0

180 cm
26
180
4 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
KO power

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Granite chin

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 5 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Isai Rosario!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 6 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Roman Vitali!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Daniel Franklin and Dirk Anderson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rosario throws a sloppy head kick

and Vitali counters with a takedown into side control.
Rosario struggling a bit here.
Rosario tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Rosario is trying to work for a sweep but Vitali has mounted him!
Rosario tries to reverse the position but Vitali maintains control.
Vitali throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vitali in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Vitali pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Vitali looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Rosario avoids a series of strikes thrown by Vitali.
Vitali has been taking part in the yoga sessions down at Cherokees Island Elite Gym. Presumably he's going to look for a slick submission... Or maybe he's looking to avoid one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vitali tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rosario tries to lock up and control but Vitali gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Vitali lands with some strikes.
Vitali tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Rosario tries to reverse the position but Vitali maintains control.
Rosario is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Vitali cracks Rosario with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rosario wants to hold on but Vitali pushes him away.
Vitali working Rosario over with strikes here.
Vitali scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Vitali prevents Rosario from getting the reversal.
Vitali trying to control but Rosario is having none of it.
Vitali working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Rosario is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Vitali landing punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vitali trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Rosario is looking to improve his position but Vitali isn't that keen on the idea.
BOOM! Vitali connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Rosario manages to control the position for a moment.
Rosario wants to hold on but Vitali pushes him away.
Vitali lands a couple of good shots and Rosario has given up his back, trying to escape the position!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vitali is looking to finish with some ground and pound!
Vitali is not going to allow Rosario to sit and survive in this position.
Vitali lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.
Vitali is trying to stick to Rosario's back but Rosario is turning into Vitali. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Vitali's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Rosario.
Rosario seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Rosario trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Vitali manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

Rosario has his foot on Vitali's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Vitali works his way back into a safe position though.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Roman Vitali dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Rosario scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Vitali is trying to maintain the position but Rosario is very close to passing his half guard.
Vitali tries to roll over but Rosario keeps him under control.
Rosario tries to pass the half guard into mount. Vitali knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Rosario looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Rosario is keen to just control but Vitali is a slippery customer.

Rosario is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vitali moves into full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vitali is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

Rosario drops back, looking for a kneebar! Vitali looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Vitali looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Vitali!

You can see the frustration on Rosario's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Vitali scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Rosario to see if he's OK.
Rosario is trying to buck Vitali off.
Vitali lands an elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rosario being controlled for a moment.
Rosario is looking for a sweep.
Vitali moves into full mount!
Rosario is in all sorts of trouble here.
Vitali trying to control but Rosario is having none of it.
Vitali landing strikes, looking to finish!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vitali pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Vitali looking to control and managing it successfully.
Rosario tries to lock up and control but Vitali gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Rosario tries to buck Vitali off but he can't manage it.
Rosario is wriggling around trying to escape.

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.
Rosario tries to hold on but Vitali pushes him away.
Rosario sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Rosario is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Vitali scores with a couple of nice shots.
Vitali trying to control the action but Rosario is working from the bottom.
Vitali controlling the pace.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Rosario wants to get back to his feet.
Rosario trying to control but Vitali postures up.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Roman Vitali showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. 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.

Rosario gets caught napping as Vitali dives in and scores a takedown. Rosario manages to retain guard.
Roman Vitali has got the better of the ground game so far.
Vitali throwing strikes but missing.

Rosario looking for subs off his back but Vitali has passed one foot through into half guard.
Vitali is keen to just control but Rosario is a slippery customer.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vitali seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Vitali is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rosario looking for submissions off his back.
Rosario is staying active underneath Vitali, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Rosario blocking the ground and pound attempt from Vitali.
Vitali sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rosario defending well though.
Rosario is looking to control Vitali's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Rosario avoid being mounted?
Vitali has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Rosario slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Vitali sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Rosario utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Vitali must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Rosario wants to stand up but Vitali is controlling him.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Vitali moves into the clinch successfully.

Rosario escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Rosario tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Vitali was well out of range. Poor timing from Rosario.
Rosario circles away from the clinch attempt.

Rosario throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Vitali was covering up waiting for the punch and Rosario finishes the takedown easily into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rosario wants to stand but Vitali has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Vitali seems keen to control Rosario's posture.
Vitali is continuing to stall.
Rosario throws an elbow that misses. Vitali uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Rosario's guard. Nice move by Vitali!

Rosario keeping moving, preventing Vitali from controlling successfully.

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.
Rosario looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Rosario has his hands on Vitali's head, controlling the position.
Rosario'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.
Rosario wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Vitali manages to pass to side control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Vitali scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

And that's the end of the fight!
Roman Vitali comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Vitali 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 Sandra Marshall scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Dirk Anderson scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Roman Vitali!
A relieved looking Roman Vitali thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.