PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sammy Larozza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ariel Martinez Jr (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Larozza
vs
Martinez Jr

185 cm
22
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
20
200 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Sammy Larozza!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ariel Martinez Jr!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, John Roberts and Anthony Taglia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Martinez Jr shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Larozza shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Martinez Jr's guard.

Larozza stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Jab from Martinez Jr.

Larozza gets a takedown into half guard.
Larozza looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Martinez Jr looks gassed!
Martinez Jr is not content to let Larozza control the position.
Martinez Jr is trying to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Larozza moves nicely into side control.
Larozza lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Martinez Jr down.
Larozza wants to lay and pray for a moment but Martinez Jr keeps working.

Larozza decides to stand up, so the ref orders Martinez Jr to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Martinez Jr has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.

It looks like Ariel Martinez Jr has been cut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Martinez Jr moves out of range as Larozza throws a body kick.

Larozza gets a clinch.

Larozza decides to pull guard.

Martinez Jr avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Martinez Jr wanted to stand there but Larozza had control of the position.
Larozza looking to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Larozza wants to sweep but no luck.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Larozza is on top in guard.
Larozza scoring with punches to the head and body.
Martinez Jr is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Larozza is controlling him.
Larozza trying to control the position from guard on top but Martinez Jr is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Larozza is really struggling to control Martinez Jr but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Larozza postures up.

That's four 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.
Larozza passes Martinez Jr's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Martinez Jr trying to control from the bottom.
Larozza lands with a punch from half guard.
Martinez Jr is refusing to be controlled, as Larozza sits in half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Larozza looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Larozza landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sammy Larozza dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ariel Martinez Jr's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Larozza fails in his attempt to clinch.
Martinez Jr with a lazy takedown attempt

so Larozza counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Larozza tries to stand but Martinez Jr is controlling from the bottom.
Larozza wants to control from the top but Martinez Jr keeps moving.
Larozza stays in close to Martinez Jr's body and controls the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Larozza with a nice head shot there.
Martinez Jr is breathing heavily.
Larozza wants to control from the top but Martinez Jr keeps moving.

Larozza stands up and waves to Martinez Jr to follow him.

Larozza moves into the clinch.
Larozza slows down the pace here.

Larozza breaks from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Larozza tries to clinch but Martinez Jr is having none of it.
Larozza tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Martinez Jr paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Martinez Jr tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

Larozza shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Martinez Jr napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Larozza is chipping away with strikes.
Larozza wants to control but Martinez Jr is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Larozza is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Martinez Jr is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Larozza tries for a kimura but Martinez Jr is defending well.
Larozza trying to control the position but Martinez Jr is working away.

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.
Larozza advances to mount.
Martinez Jr tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Larozza trying to control but Martinez Jr is having none of it.

Larozza with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Larozza postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Martinez Jr looks a forlorn figure.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sammy Larozza dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Ariel Martinez Jr's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Larozza changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Martinez Jr looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Martinez Jr prevents Larozza from improving position.
Martinez Jr is not content to let Larozza control the position.
Martinez Jr is looking to regain half guard here but Larozza keeps moving and retains side control.

Larozza stands up.
Martinez Jr takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Larozza gets a takedown into half guard.
Larozza wants to take a breather but Martinez Jr is having none of it.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Sammy Larozza just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
No luck for Larozza with that takedown attempt.
Larozza throws a leg kick but Martinez Jr checks it.

Larozza shoots in and bounces Martinez Jr off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Larozza pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Martinez Jr is keeping the position for now.
Larozza with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Larozza slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Larozza is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Larozza looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Larozza trying to control but Martinez Jr is working from the bottom.
Larozza with a nice head shot there.
Larozza passes Martinez Jr's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Larozza is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Martinez Jr!
Larozza controlling from mount.
Larozza pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Larozza controlling his opponent.
Larozza lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Larozza looking to control but Martinez Jr is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Larozza is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Martinez Jr can do to turn this around?
Larozza lands a big elbow.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sammy Larozza showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Larozza has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Lou da Vinci scores the fight 30:26
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 30:26
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sammy Larozza!