PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Cleobaldo Robert (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and west sadel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). sadel has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. Both fighters really staring eachother down here, as west sadel enters the cage!

Robert
vs
sadel

182 cm
18
204 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

192 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 3 - 1

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Cleobaldo Robert!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, west sadel!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Robert shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in sadel's guard.
sadel looks gassed!
Robert showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Robert decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
sadel defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Robert.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Knees in the clinch landing for Robert.

Robert successfully pulls guard.
Robert looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Robert looking to hit a scissor sweep but sadel is one step ahead there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Robert bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in sadel's guard.
Robert works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Robert is taking a breather. sadel says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
sadel is looking for a sweep. Robert is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Robert takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
sadel avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Robert.
Robert is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Robert seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Robert has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Robert trying to mount his opponent but sadel defends it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
sadel taking some punishment here, with Robert in his half guard.
Robert passes to side control.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Robert working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
sadel trying to remain calm as Robert controls from the top position.
Robert'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.
sadel takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Robert controlling the position from side mount.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Cleobaldo Robert just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Robert looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? sadel is fending him off so far but Robert persists. Nope, sadel circles away and we're back to standing.
Robert tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but sadel swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Cleobaldo Robert. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Robert fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Robert shoots in looking for a takedown. sadel tries to sprawl out of it but Robert keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. sadel manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
sadel circles away from the clinch attempt.
sadel checks a low kick from Robert.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cleobaldo Robert dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

A head kick misses from Robert.
Robert doesn't manage to clinch there - sadel circles away.
Robert shoots in for a takedown but sadel shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Robert fails with an attempt to clinch.
Cleobaldo Robert is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
sadel stuffs the takedown.
Robert shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Cleobaldo Robert. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Robert misses with a two punch combination.
Robert tries for a takedown but sadel sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
sadel throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Robert's head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Robert is looking to clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Robert tries to clinch but sadel moves out of range.

Robert looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
sadel trying to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Robert slips nicely into half guard, despite the strikes coming from sadel.
sadel is looking to improve his position.
sadel trying to control but Robert postures up.
Robert is controlling the pace.

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.
Robert looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks sadel with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Robert 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.
sadel has hold of Robert's hands but Robert slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Robert content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Robert seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down sadel for as long as he can get away with.
Robert moves nicely into side control.

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.
Robert is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt sadel will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
sadel is not content to let Robert control the position.

Robert stands up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Robert is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cleobaldo Robert dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. 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.

sadel displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Robert.

Robert decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Robert performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Robert lands with a punch from half guard.
sadel takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Robert tries to pass the half guard into mount. sadel knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Robert winds up and cracks sadel with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
sadel is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Robert scores with a couple of nice shots.

Robert looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Robert thows a huge punch but sadel dodges it nicely.

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.
Robert thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Robert content to control rather than advance.
Robert knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for sadel on the ground.
Robert trying to control the action but sadel is working from the bottom.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Cleobaldo Robert just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Robert throws a right hand that sadel ducks under and follows up with a left that sadel also avoids with ease.

Robert closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Robert seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.

Robert decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Cleobaldo Robert is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Robert is looking to clinch but sadel is avoiding it.
sadel leaves Robert with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
sadel misses with a jab, cross combination.
Robert fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Cleobaldo Robert. That's going to take a lot out of him.
sadel tries to close the distance and clinch but Robert swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Robert looks for a takedown but sadel sprawls well.
sadel keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
sadel throws a sloppy head kick and Robert moves out of range easily.
Robert fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Robert blocks a head kick by sadel.
Robert tries to clinch up.
sadel fails with the takedown

and Robert counters with a takedown into side control.
sadel being controlled for a moment.

Robert decides to take the fight back to the feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cleobaldo Robert showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Robert, 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cleobaldo Robert!