PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Daniel Roth (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lorenzzo Abiatty (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lorenzzo Abiatty has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Roth
vs
Abiatty

181 cm
20
186 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

170 cm
19
174 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Cardio machine

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Intelligent

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Daniel Roth!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Lorenzzo Abiatty!
The judges for this bout are Eliza Hachem, John Mangel and Skip Squint.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Abiatty pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Roth misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Abiatty cracks the inside of Roth's front leg.

Roth drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Roth is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Roth wants to pass the guard but Abiatty is keeping the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Roth is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Roth working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Abiatty really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Roth. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Roth 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.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Daniel Roth just wasn't active enough.
Roth moves out of range as Abiatty throws a body kick.
Abiatty misses with a combination

and Roth counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Roth sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Roth connects with a couple of short punches.
Roth controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Abiatty utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Roth postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Roth postures up in Abiatty's guard and throws a big left but Abiatty blocks it.
Roth has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

Roth thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

Roth thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Roth pushes down on Abiatty's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Well, if Roth is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Abiatty wants to get back to his feet.
Roth takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Roth seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Abiatty for as long as he can get away with.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Roth swings for the body but Abiatty moves out of range.
Abiatty looks to score with a jab to the body but Roth is just out of range.
Abiatty loads up on a big right hand but Roth slips the punch.
Abiatty pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Roth drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Roth slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Daniel Roth dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Roth bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
A lull in the action here as Roth stalls from top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Daniel Roth wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Roth shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Roth controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Roth working Abiatty over with strikes.
Roth keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Daniel Roth.

Roth closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Abiatty did well to prevent Roth getting side control.
Roth looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Roth is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Roth wants to work for an arm triangle but Abiatty is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Roth content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Daniel Roth dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Roth throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Abiatty tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Roth is in Abiatty's guard.
Roth distracts Abiatty with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Abiatty can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Roth controls the pace.
Roth passes Abiatty's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Roth perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Daniel Roth overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Daniel Roth wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Roth gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Abiatty tries to circle away but Roth has him pinned against the cage.

Roth gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Roth pushing down on Abiatty's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Roth frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Roth lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Abiatty takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Abiatty is in a horrible position here. Roth smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Roth raining down hammerfists from mount.
Roth pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Roth controlling from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Abiatty should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Abiatty tries to hold on but Roth postures up.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

We're going to have a standup here because Daniel Roth wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Roth drives through with a takedown into guard.
Roth not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Lorenzzo Abiatty has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Daniel Roth is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Roth working some strikes from top position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Daniel Roth showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Roth, 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 Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:26
Judge John Mangel scores the fight 30:25
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Daniel Roth!