PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Thabiso Rowan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Enzo The Little Italian (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying The Little Italian's choice of entrance music: la dibla. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the fighters buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Rowan
vs
The Little Italian

180 cm
29
193 lbs
10 - 7 - 0

189 cm
26
185 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Determined

Prestige Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Thabiso Rowan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Enzo The Little Italian!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The Little Italian closes the distance looking to clinch

and Rowan counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Rowan thows a huge punch but The Little Italian dodges it nicely.
The Little Italian has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rowan is working away from the top position though.
The Little Italian wants to get back to his feet.
Rowan thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed The Little Italian's head.
Rowan looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks The Little Italian with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Rowan scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Rowan stops The Little Italian from getting back to his feet.
The Little Italian has hold of Rowan's hands but Rowan slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Rowan wants to take a breather but The Little Italian is having none of it.
Rowan thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Rowan thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
The Little Italian is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Rowan scores with a couple of nice shots.
Rowan slips a nice elbow through The Little Italian's hands, connecting with The Little Italian's forehead.
Rowan drops an elbow to the side of The Little Italian's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The Little Italian is refusing to be controlled, as Rowan sits in half guard.
Rowan sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. The Little Italian defending well though.
Rowan throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if The Little Italian can do anything to dispel that myth.
The Little Italian has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rowan is working away from the top position though.
The Little Italian is looking to escape.
The Little Italian is staying active underneath Rowan, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Rowan not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rowan is nestled in close to The Little Italian, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Rowan working over The Little Italian with some ground and pound. The Little Italian looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Rowan looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks The Little Italian with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Rowan landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Nice strikes from Rowan there.
Rowan looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The Little Italian is trying to control but can't.
Ground and pound from Rowan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The Little Italian slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Rowan postures up.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rowan accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The Little Italian wants to stand and escape but Rowan is having none of it.
Rowan is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Rowan throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Rowan passes easily into side control. Nice work.
The Little Italian is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Rowan's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
The Little Italian blocking the ground and pound attempt from Rowan.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rowan not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
The Little Italian is looking for a sweep. Rowan is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The Little Italian is trying to maintain the position but Rowan is very close to passing his half guard.
Rowan passes to full mount!
The Little Italian really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Rowan. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rowan lands a big elbow.
Rowan in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
The Little Italian tries to lock up and control but Rowan gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Rowan dominating with strikes here.
The Little Italian working to try and regain half guard.
The Little Italian looks gassed!
The Little Italian is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Rowan pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Rowan prevents The Little Italian from getting the reversal.
Rowan fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
The Little Italian is trying desperately to improve position.
Rowan controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rowan landing shots from mount.
Rowan is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. The Little Italian can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The Little Italian is trying desperately to improve position.
Rowan controlling from mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The Little Italian wants to hold on but Rowan pushes him away.
The Little Italian tries to reverse the position but Rowan maintains control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thabiso Rowan dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Rowan blocks a head kick by The Little Italian.
Rowan avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Rowan blocks a head kick by The Little Italian.
The Little Italian moves in looking to clinch but Rowan pushes him off.
Rowan fakes high and swings low for a body shot but The Little Italian manages to avoid it.
Rowan misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
A looping hook to the body misses from Rowan. The Little Italian does a little dance to reset his feet.

The Little Italian closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Rowan wants a takedown but no success here.
Rowan wants a takedown but no success here.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thabiso Rowan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The Little Italian with an attempt at a knee that misses.

Rowan lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Rowan landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
The Little Italian is looking for a sweep. Rowan is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Rowan is thwarting The Little Italian's attempts to control the position.
Thabiso Rowan overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Rowan scoring with strikes to the body and head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The Little Italian avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Rowan.
Rowan scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Rowan prevents The Little Italian from standing back up.
The Little Italian is breathing heavily.
The Little Italian trying to hold on to Rowan's head to control him but Rowan postures up.
The Little Italian tries to get to full guard but Rowan has control of the leg.
The Little Italian tries to kick Rowan off but Rowan keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Rowan 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.
Rowan seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Rowan is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
The Little Italian is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Rowan scores with a couple of nice shots.
The Little Italian is trying to stand.
Rowan scoring with strikes to the body and head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rowan controlling the action here.
Rowan lands strikes from half guard.
Rowan passes the guard and advances to mount!
The Little Italian takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Rowan landing strikes from the mount.
Rowan working The Little Italian over with strikes here.
Rowan working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Rowan fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rowan lands a nice shot to the head.
Rowan lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The Little Italian tries to hold on but Rowan pushes him away.
Rowan content just to control the position here.
Rowan working the ground and pound effectively.
The Little Italian is trying desperately to improve position.
Rowan raining down hammerfists from mount.
Rowan tries to control but The Little Italian wriggling away.
Rowan scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Rowan scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Rowan lands a nice shot to the head.
The Little Italian is in a horrible position here. Rowan smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The Little Italian is working to get back to half guard.
Rowan lands a big shot there that rocks The Little Italian but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
The Little Italian sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
The Little Italian keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Rowan prevents The Little Italian from standing back up.
Rowan is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that The Little Italian can do to turn this around?
The Little Italian regains full guard. Nicely done.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The Little Italian is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Rowan is controlling him.
Rowan is working The Little Italian over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The Little Italian has momentary wrist control but Rowan slips an elbow through the middle.
Rowan is working The Little Italian over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Rowan missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thabiso Rowan dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Rowan rushes The Little Italian and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
The Little Italian lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Rowan fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Rowan drags the fight down to the ground.
The Little Italian postures up in Rowan's guard and throws a big left but Rowan blocks it.
The Little Italian postures up in Rowan's guard and throws a big left but Rowan blocks it.
The Little Italian stopping the sweep attempt from Rowan.
Rowan throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
The Little Italian postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rowan keeping moving, preventing The Little Italian from controlling successfully.
The Little Italian is looking to stand up but Rowan won't let him.
The Little Italian takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
The Little Italian throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Rowan works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Rowan throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rowan has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Rowan lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for The Little Italian!
Rowan landing punches.
Rowan working the ground and pound effectively.
Rowan working The Little Italian over with strikes here.
The Little Italian is desperately trying to improve his position but Rowan has a good base and remains in mount.
Rowan scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish The Little Italian?
Rowan lands a nice shot to the head.
Rowan lands with some vicious ground and pound - can The Little Italian hang on?
The Little Italian is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rowan scores with a couple of good head shots there.
The Little Italian tries to reverse the position but Rowan maintains control.
Rowan putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Rowan unloading with bombs!
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!
Rowan lands a big elbow.
The Little Italian tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Enzo The Little Italian has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rowan wants to control the pace but The Little Italian is squirming around nicely.
Rowan cracks The Little Italian with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
The Little Italian tries to hold on but Rowan postures up.
Rowan lands with some strikes.
The Little Italian working to try and regain half guard.
The Little Italian wants to control but Rowan is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rowan lands a big elbow.
The Little Italian working to try and regain half guard.
Rowan breaks from The Little Italian's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Rowan is landing with some decent strikes but The Little Italian is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
BOOM! Rowan connects with a massive shot to the dome!
The Little Italian is in all sorts of trouble here.
Rowan with shots to the head and body - The Little Italian looks very uncomfortable down there.
Rowan looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Rowan with good strikes from the mount here!
Rowan trying to control but The Little Italian is having none of it.
The Little Italian wants to control but Rowan is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rowan lands a heavy elbow.
The Little Italian tries to lock up and control but Rowan gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Rowan landing punches.
Rowan looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Rowan is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. The Little Italian can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Rowan lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Rowan fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rowan looking to finish The Little Italian with some ground and pound. This is bad for The Little Italian!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rowan lands a heavy elbow.
Rowan punishing his opponent with strikes.
The Little Italian swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Thabiso Rowan is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Rowan is landing with some decent strikes but The Little Italian is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thabiso Rowan showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Rowan, 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 30:25
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 30:25
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Thabiso Rowan!