PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Rodrick Sherman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Omar Little (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Omar Little looks lathargic as he enters the arena. Wake up son, you're about to have a fight!

Sherman
vs
Little

181 cm
19
151 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
20
150 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rodrick Sherman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Omar Little!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Anni Minnemäki and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A nice inside leg kick there by Little. That's going to slow Sherman down.

Sherman clinches up with Little and pushes him back against the cage.
Little lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Sherman backwards.

Sherman breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Little throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Little tries for a takedown but Sherman circles away easily
and Sherman counters with a flying knee. Nice.

Little gets the takedown into side control.
Sherman is trying to get back to his feet.
Sherman tries to buck Little off but Little is having none of it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sherman is trying to buck Little off.
Sherman tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Little wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sherman is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Little off and has taken his back!

That's one minute gone in the round.
I would not like to be Little right now.
Little trying to control the hands but Sherman won't let him.
Even with his hooks in, Sherman manages to miss with strikes from the back.
Sherman punishes Little with strikes from the back mount.
Sherman trying to control.
Sherman throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sherman throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Sherman throws a big right hand but he misses and hits the mat. Ouch.
Sherman 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.
Little can't escape the position.
Sherman missing with strikes from the back.
Sherman lands a shot to the head.
Little is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Sherman.
Sherman punches Little on the ear.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sherman lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Sherman misses with an elbow to the head.
Sherman scores with a nice shot to the head of his opponent. Little is looking for a way out.
Sherman gets his hands free as Little looks to control.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sherman scores with punches from the back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Little rolls, trying to escape but Sherman keeps control of the position.
Little manages to reverse the position and now he's in Sherman's guard. Nice work there by Little.
Little looks winded!

Sherman has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Little has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
Sherman just leaning against Little, taking a breather.

Little successfully pulls guard.
Sherman sitting in guard here, content to control.
Sherman is in close to Little's body, working some short punches and elbows.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Little not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rodrick Sherman dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Sherman stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Sherman wants it to stay on the feet.

Sherman moves into the clinch.

Sherman pulls guard successfully.
Sherman is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Little got a little sloppy there for a moment and Sherman has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Little has managed to get both his arms back between Sherman's legs - danger averted.
Sherman not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Little won't allow Sherman to get back to his feet.
Sherman is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Little can do to turn this around?
Sherman working a defensive guard but Little passes into half guard.
Little really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sherman. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sherman wants to improve his position but Little is controlling well.
Sherman is trying to stand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sherman is trying to get back to full guard.
Little takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Sherman is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Sherman is trying to escape back to his feet but Little uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Little happy to just control the position for now.

That's two 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.
Sherman defending against the ground and pound.
Little fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Sherman regains half guard.
Sherman is pressing down on Little's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Little is breathing heavily.
Little's corner is telling him to maintain position.

Sherman kicks Little off and gets to his feet.
Sherman tries to close the distance and clinch up but Little swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Little wants to counter with a clinch but Sherman pushes him away.
Omar Little seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Sherman moves into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Little's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Little shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Sherman defends it nicely.
Little lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Sherman circles away quickly and effectively.
Sherman keeps Little at a distance using the push kick.

Sherman pushes Little up against the cage in a clinch.
Sherman wants to break the clinch but can't.
Sherman drops down looking for an ankle pick but Little pulls his leg out and moves away.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Little.
Rodrick Sherman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Omar Little.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Little throws a big shot that misses.

Sherman clinches.
Sherman tries to circle away but Little has him pinned against the cage.
Sherman is trying to pull guard but Little turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Sherman pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Little gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Little is trying to pull guard but Sherman has him pressed against the cage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sherman wants to break the clinch but can't.
Little tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Little is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

Sherman pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rodrick Sherman dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Sherman tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Little swivels and escapes.
Little misses with a head kick.

Little closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Sherman pulls guard effortlessly.
Sherman trying to control the position.
Little preventing the sweep.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Little's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Sherman manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.
Little takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Little is trying to break the clinch but Sherman is controlling him.

Sherman decides to pull guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Little scoring with some ground and pound.
Little preventing the sweep.
Little scoring with punches to the head and body.

Sherman has his feet on Little's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Sherman avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

Sherman fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Little to the ground. Sherman is now in Little's guard.
Sherman working some strikes from top position.
Sherman missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Little wants to hit a switch here but Sherman passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Little there!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
BOOM! Sherman connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Sherman lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sherman lands a couple of good shots and Little has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Little tries to break free.
Little takes a big shot to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Oooh a big shot gets through from Sherman. Many more shots like that and the referee will have to think about stepping in!
Sherman scores with punches from the back.
Little grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.
Sherman lands with a hammerfist to the side of Little's head.
Sherman lands a shot to the head.
Sherman struggling to land strikes to the head as Little covers up.
Sherman lands a couple of good shots to his opponent's body and a final shot to the head. Good little attack there by Sherman.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sherman punishes Little with strikes from the back mount.
Little avoids the strikes from Sherman.
Sherman loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Little hold on?
Little covers up after that shot from Sherman.
Little wants to escape the position.
Rodrick Sherman overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sherman is throwing strikes from the back here. Oh that last one was to the back of the head. Sherman gets a warning from the referee. He throws another strike to the back of the head straight away though and the referee has seen enough. He breaks up the two fighters and stands them back up. Sherman gets a real talking to here and is lucky not to get a point deducted. Sherman apologises and we restart here on the feet.
Little throws a right and a left that both miss.
Omar Little has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rodrick Sherman is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Sherman plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!

And that's the end of the fight!
Rodrick Sherman showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sherman 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rodrick Sherman!