PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Amir Hill (ranked 5308 p4p, 3546 weight class) and Xhek Roci (ranked 278 p4p, 218 weight class). Amir Hill has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Hill
vs
Roci

172 cm
18
135
0 - 1 - 0

174 cm
25
145
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Amir Hill!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Xhek Roci!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Russell Pearce and David Schapiro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Roci darts in and clinches Hill up against the ropes.

Roci breaks the clinch.
A head kick misses from Hill.

Roci gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Roci stalls.
Roci lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

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

Roci fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Hill, pushing him back against the ropes.

Roci pulls guard.
Hill trying to control but Roci is working from the bottom.
Roci wants to get back to his feet but Hill passes into half guard.
Roci really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hill. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Roci is trying to stand back up but Hill is controlling him

Hill is looking for a kimura but Roci is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Hill to get the leverage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hill is just content to waste time from the top position. Roci takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

Roci scrambles and gets back to his feet.

Hill tries to keep at a distance but Roci has taken the fight into the clinch.
Hill jumps guard but Roci turns him against the ropes and keeps the fight standing.
Hill looking to stall.

Roci has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Hill uses from the top position.
Hill has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Roci is proving hard to escape from.
Hill looking to sit in guard and control but Roci gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hill throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Roci wants to stand but Hill has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Roci wants to stand and escape but instead Hill has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Hill pushes down on Roci's leg and manages to get into half guard.

Hill is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Roci defends it well.
Hill is pressing down on Roci's thigh, looking to free his foot. Roci is holding on for now.
Roci has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hill tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Roci tries to kick Hill off but Hill keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Hill wants to take a breather but Roci is having none of it.
Hill is breathing heavily.
Roci wants to get back to his feet.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

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.
Hill tries to close the distance and clinch up but Roci swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Roci closes the distance and clinches.

Roci breaks from the clinch.

Roci takes the fight into the clinch.
Still in the clinch, Roci scores with a nice short uppercut.
Roci creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.

Roci jumps guard.

Hill decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Roci, up you get!

Roci clinches up against the ropes.
Roci lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

Roci drags the fight down to the ground.
Roci wants to stand and escape but Hill is having none of it.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Hill missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Hill is looking to stand up but Roci won't let him.
Hill looking to pass the guard.
Roci wants to get back to his feet but Hill is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's six 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.

Roci fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Hill, pushing him back against the ropes.
Roci misses with a knee strike.
A short uppercut from Roci.
Hill using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Roci has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Hill avoiding damage as Roci throws knees to the body.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Roci.
Roci makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Roci.
Roci scores with a hook to the body.
Roci softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Roci lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Hill backwards.
A right handed body shot lands from Roci.

Roci manages to break the clinch.
Xhek Roci seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Roci clinches up against the ropes.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Roci - that landed with a thud.

Roci breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Roci closes the distance and clinches.
Roci lands a nice uppercut.

Roci manages to pull guard.
Roci is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Hill trying to stand up but can't free himself from Roci's guard.
Roci wants to get back to his feet but Hill is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.

Roci uses the ropes to get back to his feet.

Roci closes the distance and pushes Hill back into the ropes.
Roci scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Roci lands a shoulder strike.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Roci jumps into guard, dragging Hill to the mat.
Hill won't allow Roci to get back to his feet.
Roci avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Roci is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Roci gets a clinch.
Roci lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Roci ties up his opponent against the ropes and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Roci no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Hill wants to get up but he can't break Roci's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Roci wants to stand but Hill is controlling the position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Xhek Roci dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Roci forces Hill back against the ropes and clinches.

Roci manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Hill has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Roci is proving hard to escape from.
Hill trying to control the position from guard on top but Roci is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Roci is looking to stand up but Hill isn't so interested in that idea.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hill stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Roci swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hill would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Hill throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Roci works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Roci utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

Roci has Hill up against the ropes in a clinch.

Roci breaks the clinch.

Roci gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Hill misses with a body punch.
Roci controlling the action here for a moment.

Roci pulls guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hill prevents Roci from getting back to his feet.
Hill postures up in Roci's guard and throws a big left but Roci blocks it.
Roci wants to stand but Hill is controlling the position.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Roci can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hill wants to stand but Roci is controlling his posture from full guard.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Amir Hill is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Roci gets a clinch.

Roci decides to pull guard.
Hill trying to control but Roci is working from the bottom.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hill is looking to stand up but Roci won't let him.
Hill trying to control the position from guard on top but Roci is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hill accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Roci keeping moving, preventing Hill from controlling successfully.
Roci has momentary wrist control but Hill slips an elbow through the middle.
Roci wants to stand up but Hill is controlling him.
Roci has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.

Hill gets tackled into the ropes by Roci. Roci maintains the clinch.

Roci jumps guard and drags Hill to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Hill with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hill tries to free his leg and advance position but Roci is retaining full guard.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Hill trying to move into half guard but instead Roci has managed to sweep!

Roci wanted to stand there but Hill had control of the position.

Roci gets to his feet - Hill follows without any prompting.

Hill tries to keep at a distance but Roci has taken the fight into the clinch.
Xhek Roci seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Roci taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Roci stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
A short uppercut from Roci.
Roci holding his opponent close, against the ropes.
Roci throws a knee to the head but misses.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Roci as Hill tries to tie him up.

Roci breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Roci moves into the clinch.
Roci lands a shot to the body.

Roci jumps guard and drags Hill to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Roci is looking to stand up but Hill isn't so interested in that idea.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Roci is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Roci instigates a clinch.

Roci's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's eight 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.

Roci gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Roci lands a nice shot to the body.
A short uppercut from Roci.

Roci breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Roci has taken the fight to the clinch.

Roci jumps guard and drags Hill to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Roci is looking to stand up but Hill isn't so interested in that idea.
Xhek Roci is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Hill trying to control but Roci is working from the bottom.
Hill won't allow Roci to get back to his feet.
Hill would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Roci is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Xhek Roci has got the better of the ground game so far.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Roci wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Hill manages to pass to side control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Roci looks like he's trying to stand up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Xhek Roci comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Roci has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 18:20
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 18:20
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 18:20

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Xhek Roci!