PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rodney Pickard (ranked 7560 p4p, 673 weight class) and Bobby Rutten (ranked 25347 p4p, 722 weight class). Rutten is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Hail and Kill by Manowar. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Pickard
vs
Rutten

184 cm
18
208 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

185 cm
19
215 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Tends to cut

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rodney Pickard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Bobby Rutten!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Viktor Lagutenko and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Pickard darts in and clinches Rutten up against the cage.
Rutten throws a head punch that misses.
Pickard wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for Rutten.
Pickard blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Pickard is looking to break free of the clinch but Rutten has double underhooks.
Pickard wants to break free but Rutten has control.
Rutten fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Rutten is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Pickard is defending well for now.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Rutten obliges.
Pickard is breathing heavily.
Rutten misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Pickard.
Rutten landing some nice looking knees to the body.
A knee to the head by Rutten.

It looks like Rodney Pickard has been cut.
Rutten throws a head punch that misses.
Rutten looking to throw knees to the head but Pickard is blocking nicely.
Rutten connects with a knee to the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Knees in the clinch landing for Rutten.
Rutten lands a nice knee to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rutten trying to land knees to the body.

Rutten drops Pickard with a big knee straight up the middle! Pickard is covering up against the cage but manages to escape and gets back to his feet!

Pickard is rocked!
Pickard blocks the body kick.
Rutten has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Pickard is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Rutten scores with a spinning back kick!
Rutten thows a body kick. Pickard tries to catch it but that hurt him.
A nice leg kick lands there from Rutten.
Rutten throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Rutten throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Pickard avoids the head kick by Rutten.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rutten throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Pickard sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Pickard avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Rutten tries a head kick but it misses.
Rutten throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Bobby Rutten seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rutten throws a head kick but Pickard moves out of range.
Pickard is looking to counter punch.
Rutten tries to land a front kick but Pickard steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rutten moves forwards but Pickard connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Pickard connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Pickard on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Pickard blocks the body kick.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Rutten misses with a knee to the head.
Pickard looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Pickard is trying to break the clinch but Rutten is controlling him.
Rutten looking to throw knees to the head but Pickard is blocking nicely.
Rutten has Pickard pressed against the cage, preventing Pickard from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Rutten lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Pickard is working for takedown but Rutten is calmly controlling the position for now.
Rutten misses with a hook to the ribs.
Rutten tries to land knees in the clinch but Pickard avoids the damage to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pickard managing to block the knees to the body from Rutten.
Rutten scores with a knee to the head.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Rutten just misses with a elbow thrown towards Pickard's brow.
Rutten tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Rutten trying to land knees to the body.
Rutten prevents Pickard from breaking the clinch.
Rutten looking to throw knees to the head but Pickard is blocking nicely.
Pickard on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Rutten throws a knee to the head but misses.
Pickard tries to circle away but Rutten has him pinned against the cage.
Rutten tries to land knees in the clinch but Pickard avoids the damage to the body.
Rutten has Pickard pressed against the cage, preventing Pickard from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Rutten misses with a punch on the inside.
Rutten landing knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rutten misses with a knee to the head.
Rutten blocks the elbow strike.
Rutten with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Rutten with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Rutten looking to throw knees to the head but Pickard is blocking nicely.
Rutten throws an elbow that misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Rutten.
Pickard throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Pickard is trying to break the clinch but Rutten has him pressed against the cage.
Rutten avoiding damage as Pickard throws knees to the body.
Rutten throws a knee to the head but misses.
Rutten looking to throw knees to the head but Pickard is blocking nicely.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pickard has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Rutten misses with a knee to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bobby Rutten dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Rodney Pickard's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Rutten throws a half hearted mid kick.
Rutten throws a nice head kick!
Pickard jabs Rutten to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Rutten has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Pickard avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Rutten throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Rutten tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rutten throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A quick step to the side and Pickard tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Rutten throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Pickard cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
We've been told by Pickard's head coaches at St Petersburg MMA Gym that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Pickard stuns Rutten with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Pickard cracks Rutten with a right hand to the side of the head.
Rutten avoids a punch combination nicely.
Bobby Rutten seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Pickard gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Knees in the clinch landing for Rutten.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Pickard on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rutten tries a knee to the head but Pickard blocks it.
Pickard avoiding damage as Rutten throws knees to the body.
Rutten landing knees to the body.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Rutten creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Rutten using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Pickard has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Pickard managing to block the knees to the body from Rutten.
Rutten comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

Rodney Pickard's cut is getting worse.
Rutten lands an elbow inside.
Rutten trying to land knees to the body.
With the fighters up against the cage, Rutten throws an elbow but misses.
Nice elbow from Rutten.
A short uppercut from Rutten.

Pickard breaks the clinch.
Rutten is looking to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rutten throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
A good leg kick by Rutten.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Pickard pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Rutten connects with a body shot.
Nice defenses there by Pickard.
Rutten pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Rutten tries to close the distance and clinch up but Pickard swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Rutten thows a leg kick but Pickard checks it
enabling Pickard to counter with a crisp jab.
Rutten tries to score with a low kick but Pickard moves his leg out of the way.
Both fighters circling a little - Rutten finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Rutten thuds his shin into the meat of Pickard's side.
Rutten shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Rutten misses with an uppercut. Pickard saw that one coming.
Rutten does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Rutten throws a head kick but Pickard moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rutten throws a shot to the body.
Pickard connects with the punch.
Rutten pivots, looking for a leg kick but Pickard is out of range and Rutten settles back down.
Rutten lands with a nice body kick.
Rutten looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Pickard throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Pickard moves out of range of the leg kick from Rutten.
Rutten looks to score with a jab to the body but Pickard is just out of range.
Pickard tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rutten misses with a body kick.
Rutten misses with a head kick.
Rutten moves in looking to clinch but Pickard pushes him off.
Rutten misses with a body kick.
Rutten throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rutten needs to keep his hands up - Pickard had a free shot at his head there.
Rutten throws a hook but Pickard avoids it easily.
Rutten ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Pickard moves away.
Rutten walks into a stiff left hand from Pickard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A left lands for Pickard.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Rutten.
Rutten throws out a powerful jab.
Rutten misses with an attempted mid kick.
A bone on bone clash there as Pickard blocks the leg kick.
An attempted straight right counter from Pickard misses the target.
Nice uppercut there from Pickard.
Rutten scores with a head kick. Pickard tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Rutten throws a body kick that misses.
Rutten tries to land a body kick

and Pickard counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Rutten is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Pickard is defending well for now.
Rutten using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Pickard has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bobby Rutten showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Rodney Pickard's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Rutten avoids a punch combination nicely.
Rutten throws a sloppy head kick and Pickard moves out of range easily.
A low kick from Rutten misses

and Pickard counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Pickard.
Rutten throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Pickard blocks it with crossed arms.
Pickard avoids the elbow strike from Rutten, against the cage.
Rutten doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Rutten is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Pickard is defending well for now.
Rutten tries a knee to the head but Pickard blocks it.
Rutten pushes Pickard back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rutten can't find room to land a body shot as Pickard controls the action.
Rutten takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rutten tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Pickard looks to throw an elbow but misses.

Pickard escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Pickard moves into range and connects with a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rutten throws a lazy head kick
and Rutten takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Pickard blocks a head kick by Rutten.
Pickard tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Rutten closes the distance and pushes Pickard back into the cage.
Rutten tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Rutten misses with a short punch on the inside.
Rutten with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Pickard blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Pickard tries to break the clinch but Rutten is controlling the position.

Pickard escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Rutten swinging wildly here.
Pickard lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pickard lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Nice straight punches there by Pickard. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Pickard.
Rutten throws a head kick that misses
and Pickard counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Rutten throws a leg kick that misses.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rutten on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Pickard misses with a head kick.
Rutten throws a leg kick
and Pickard counters with a series of strikes. Rutten will be more careful next time no doubt.
Pickard will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Rutten throws a leg kick
and Pickard connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Rutten fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Pickard has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Pickard scores with a nice right hand.
Rutten tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Pickard is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Rutten throws a chopping leg kick but Pickard manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
As Rutten tries to get set, Pickard tries to push him back and clinch up but Rutten manages to avoid the attempt.
Rutten takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Pickard lands with a right hand.
Rutten throws a quick inside leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pickard lands with an uppercut that bounces Rutten off the cage and back into range.
Rutten misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Rutten throws a sloppy head kick
and Pickard counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Rutten throws a push kick but Pickard slaps the foot to one side.
Rutten throws a head kick that misses.
Pickard connects with a right hand. Rutten shakes it off.
Pickard stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

Rutten is rocked!
The crowd cheers as Pickard lands an impressive looking overhand right. Rutten doesn't seem phased though.
Rutten is still on wobbly legs! Can Pickard finish him?
Pickard smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Rodney Pickard has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Pickard lands an uppercut out of nowhere! Rutten falls backwards - clearly groggy! Pickard dives in and finishes the fight with more strikes for a TKO finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:39 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Rodney Pickard!