PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Harcin Meld (ranked 7028 p4p, 513 weight class) and Max Roberts (ranked 3487 p4p, 336 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Roberts's choice of entrance music: Break Stuff. Max Roberts is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Meld
vs
Roberts

175 cm
26
155 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

181 cm
31
169 lbs
9 - 11 - 0

Good wrestling
Dangerous knees
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Good gas tank

Aspire Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Harcin Meld!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Max Roberts!
The judges for this bout are Paul Tew, William Gold and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Roberts throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Meld quickly followed up with a counter body kick but doesn't connect.
Meld shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Roberts as he jumps to the side.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Meld crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Roberts - the referee stops the clock and Meld gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Roberts. Meld manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.

Meld shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Roberts's guard.

Roberts scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Nice sprawl there from Roberts as Meld shoots in.
Roberts throws a body punch but Meld moves out of range.
Roberts throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Meld tries to clinch there but Roberts circles away.
Roberts connects with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Meld misses with a takedown
and Roberts counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Meld is lucky that one didn't land flush.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Harcin Meld. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Meld with a lazy takedown attempt
and Roberts counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Meld misses with a head kick.

Meld clinches up against the cage.
Roberts is trying to push Meld away but Meld has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

Meld manages to break the clinch.
Roberts throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Meld was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.

Meld moves into the clinch.
Meld is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Roberts pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Roberts looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Roberts wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Meld manages to pull guard.
Meld pulls Roberts in close to prevent any damage.
Meld wants to stand up but Roberts is controlling him.
Meld working a defensive guard but Roberts manages to pass into side control anyway.
Meld can't do much from the bottom here.
Meld tries to control but end up mounted... ooooh, that's bad.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Meld wants to hold on but Roberts pushes him away.
Roberts manages to capitalize on a mistake by Meld to take his back!
Roberts controlling from the back.
Meld looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Roberts slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Meld is in bad spot here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Roberts avoiding Meld 's attempts to control his hands.
Roberts keeps control of the position as Meld tries to break free.
Meld is working hard here to advance position.
Will Roberts go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
Our spies down at at Heart Cave (8 elites, 4 double-elites, 1 triple) inform us that Roberts has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Meld trying to control the position but Roberts manages to sink in the hooks.
Meld is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Max Roberts 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.

Meld listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Meld's corner calls for a 1-2. Meld obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Meld avoids the head kick by Roberts.
Meld throws a right hand that misses
and Meld takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Roberts avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Roberts! But no joy.
Meld tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Roberts swivels and escapes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Meld fails with the takedown
and Roberts counters with a left and a right that stings Meld.
Meld tries to clinch but Roberts moves out of range.
Roberts swinging wildly here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice uppercut there from Roberts.
Meld fails to land the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Harcin Meld. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Meld tries for a takedown but Roberts sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Roberts now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Meld shoots in but Roberts avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Roberts ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Meld moves away.
Harcin Meld seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Roberts feints a jab promting Meld to slip. Roberts then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Meld slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Meld takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A combination from Roberts does no damage.
Meld fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Roberts throws out a loose jab but Meld uses good head movement to avoid it.
Meld swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Roberts cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Donk. Roberts catches Meld right on the button with a cross.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Meld shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Roberts scores with a jab to the head.
Roberts ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Meld moves away.
Roberts throws a looping overhand right but Meld ducks down to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

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

Meld escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Roberts throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Meld is looking for a counter combo.
A jab from Roberts misses.
Meld tries to counter with a takedown but Roberts is quick to defend against it.
Meld wants to clinch up but Roberts keeps it at a distance.
Meld looks to clinch
and Roberts counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Meld is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Roberts now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Meld throws a sloppy head kick and Roberts moves out of range easily.
Meld darts in looking for a takedown but Roberts gets double underhooks and turns Meld into the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Meld misses with a head kick.
Roberts takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Meld shoots in looking for a takedown but Roberts manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Meld's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Roberts has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Meld tries to clinch up.
Roberts looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Meld takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Meld scores with a takedown into Roberts's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Meld wants to control from the top but Roberts keeps moving.
Meld content to stall in guard here.
Meld wants to stand and escape but instead Roberts has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Max Roberts showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Meld shoots in for a double leg but Roberts sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Roberts now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Roberts scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Meld closes the distance but Roberts moves to the side
and Roberts counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Roberts throws a looping overhand right but Meld ducks down to avoid it.
Meld on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Meld fails with a takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Roberts throws out a loose jab but Meld uses good head movement to avoid it.
Meld pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Meld takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Meld throws a sloppy body shot
and Roberts connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Roberts swings away with a body shot that misses
and Roberts takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Meld tries for a takedown but Roberts circles away easily
enabling Roberts to counter with a crisp jab.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Harcin Meld. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Meld tries to close the distance and clinch up but Roberts swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Meld avoids the head kick by Roberts.
Meld takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Meld shoots in but Roberts avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Meld tries for a takedown but Roberts sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Meld with a poor takedown
and Roberts counters with a nice body shot.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Meld shoots in looking for a takedown but Roberts manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Meld's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Meld tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Roberts throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Roberts dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Meld shoots in for a takedown but Roberts shows good takedown defense.
Meld shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Roberts as he jumps to the side.
Max Roberts is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Roberts stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Roberts wants it to stay on the feet.
Roberts lands with an overhand left.
Meld shoots and misses
and Roberts counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Meld goes for a double leg but Roberts avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Roberts continues to drive forward.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot lands for Roberts.

Meld is rocked!
Roberts fakes a right and follows up with a big left that drops Meld to one knee - oooooh, he's wobbly! Meld looks to clinch but Roberts throws him off and pummels him into the canvas! Meld taps out under the strikes! The fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:16 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Max Roberts!
A very excited looking Max Roberts made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.