PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sam Royal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joel Rehel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rehel is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: The Dark Knight. Sam Royal has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Royal
vs
Rehel

200 cm
24
216 lbs
4 - 1 - 1

190 cm
26
221 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

Decent wrestler
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 4 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Sam Royal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Joel Rehel!
The judges for this bout are Patrick Alders, Albert Achterberg and Wagner Zegers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Royal misses with a head kick.
Royal tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Rehel was well out of range. Poor timing from Royal.
Royal throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Royal takes one on the chin but seems OK.

It looks like Sam Royal has been cut.
Rehel misses with a jab, cross combination.
Rehel will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Royal tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Royal tried to score with a low kick but Rehel checks it.
Rehel lands a jab.
Royal tries a head kick but it misses.
Royal walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Royal plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Rehel tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Royal lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

Rehel lands a left and a right that send Royal crashing to the mat, dazed. Rehel thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!

Rehel shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Rehel was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Rehel stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.
Royal is breathing heavily.
Royal swings away with a leg kick that misses.

Rehel is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Royal's half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rehel missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Rehel decides to stand and escape the position.
Rehel cracks a nice hook into Royal's ribs.
Rehel fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Rehel throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Royal on the side of the head.
Royal misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Rehel fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Royal looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Royal ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rehel moves away.
Rehel takes a kick to the side of the head.
Rehel will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Royal throws a wild body kick that Rehel sees coming a mile off.
Royal connects with a body shot.
Rehel lands with a nice combination. Royal backs away looking to recover.

Sam Royal's cut is getting worse.
Left hook, right uppercut from Rehel.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
A punch combination from Rehel misses.
A head kick misses from Royal.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rehel lands with a nice combination. Royal backs away looking to recover.
Sam Royal is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A good leg kick by Royal.

Rehel looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Royal is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Rehel tries to free his leg and advance position but Royal is retaining full guard.
Royal is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Royal trying to mount his opponent but Rehel defends it.
Rehel moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Rehel controls Royal momentarily but Royal frees himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rehel throws his legs up looking for a submission but Royal uses it to pass to side control.

Royal looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Royal sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Rehel is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Rehel is trying to get back to his feet.
Rehel tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Royal looks up at the clock and then as Rehel takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Royal smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Royal sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Rehel is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.

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.

Royal is trying to get an arm triangle but Rehel is defending well.
Royal tries to stand but Rehel is controlling his head.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rehel throws a nice looking combination but Royal bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Royal misses with a head kick.
Rehel lands a two punch combo.

Sam Royal's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
Rehel scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Rehel lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Rehel is working the combinations to good effect here.

Rehel shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Rehel showed some decent athleticism there.
Royal makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Royal.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rehel is pushing down on Royal's leg trying to pass to half guard. Royal is fighting to maintain full guard but Rehel has managed to sneak the leg through.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joel Rehel dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Sam Royal's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Rehel darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Rehel is trying to control. Royal wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Royal looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Royal looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Rehel takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Rehel uses his free foot to push down on Royal's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Royal.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Royal keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Rehel dominating with strikes here.
Rehel takes Royal's back. Could be looking for a rear naked choke here - either way, Royal is in trouble.
Royal trying to get back to his feet but Rehel is in full control for now.
Rehel has the hooks in. Royal is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Royal looking very determined here, making life difficult for Rehel.
Rehel just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rehel tries to get the hooks in deep but Royal pushed the leg off.
Royal tries to break free.
Rehel is riding his opponent, not letting Royal buck him off.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Rehel's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.

Despite being in the dominant position, Joel Rehel just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Rehel closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Royal to the mat! Royal manages to get full guard.

Royal working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Rehel doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Rehel manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Royal is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rehel passes Royal's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Royal tries to kick Rehel off but Rehel keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Royal wants to improve his position but Rehel is controlling well.
Rehel moves nicely into side control.

Rehel stands up and beckons Royal to his feet.
Rehel fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Rehel falls off balance throwing a combination
and Royal counters with a thumping low kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rehel works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.

Jeez, Sam Royal's cut is really nasty now. The referee must be thinking about getting that checked.
Rehel throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
A slow jab from Royal misses its intended target.
Joel Rehel seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Rehel lands a jab.
Royal takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Royal throws a sloppy head kick and Rehel moves out of range easily.
Rehel scores with a jab. Royal acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Joel Rehel seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rehel bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Royal's head.
Rehel moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Rehel changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

Rehel closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Royal to the mat! Royal manages to get full guard.
Rehel forces his way into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rehel passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Royal!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Royal tries to lock up and control but Rehel gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joel Rehel showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Sam Royal's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Rehel scores with a three punch combo!
Rehel will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Rehel has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Royal lands a head kick. Rehel smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
A chopping leg kick lands by Royal.
Royal lands with a kick to the temple. Rehel shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Royal throws a head kick that misses.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Royal.
Rehel blocks a head kick by Royal.
Rehel is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Royal misses with a kick to the body.

Rehel feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Rehel looking to sit in guard and control but Royal gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Rehel manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Royal manages to get himself to full guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rehel pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Royal is keeping the position for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Royal looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

Rehel got a little sloppy there for a moment and Royal has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Rehel has managed to get both his arms back between Royal's legs - danger averted.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Rehel's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Royal controls Rehel momentarily but Rehel frees himself.
Rehel trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rehel stops Royal from standing up.

Royal escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Rehel gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rehel comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Rehel misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Sam Royal is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Royal fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rehel manages to avoid it.
Rehel dives in and grabs Royal's left leg, looking for a takedown. Royal pushes down on Rehel's head and hops out.
Royal connects with a high kick.
Royal tries a low kick but Rehel avoids it.
A left and a right from Rehel both land. Nice combination.
Rehel bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Royal slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Rehel throws a series of punches but Royal avoids them all with ease.
Royal scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Rehel throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Rehel misses with the combination.
Royal throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Rehel lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Royal throws a head kick that half lands.
Rehel lands a nice hook to Royal's body. Royal takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Rehel.
Rehel fails to land with a series of punches.
Royal connects with a high kick.
Royal throws a head kick but Rehel moves out of range.
Rehel lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Royal at a distance.
Rehel lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Royal circles away quickly and effectively.
Royal connects with a body shot.
Rehel shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Rehel throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Rehel throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Royal on the side of the head.
Rehel throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Royal.
Royal with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Royal moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Rehel throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Royal on the side of the head.
Royal walks into a straight right hand from Rehel.
Rehel looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Royal scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Rehel looks to land a combination but Royal avoids it well.
Rehel tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Sam Royal has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Royal throws a sloppy head kick and Rehel moves out of range easily.

Royal gets caught flat footed, as Rehel shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Royal is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Rehel defends well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rehel wants to control from the top but Royal keeps moving.
Royal throwing strikes off his back to little effect.

Rehel stands and steps away. Royal gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Rehel connects with a body shot.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Royal looks for the body kick but Rehel saw that one coming.
Royal throws a leg kick which misses Rehel's front leg but catches the back leg as Rehel tries to avoid it.
Rehel slips a jab from Royal.
Rehel showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Royal.

Royal gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Rehel to score an easy takedown into full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joel Rehel comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Rehel 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight 26:30
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 26:30
Judge Wagner Zegers scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joel Rehel!