PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Krisko Kurtev (ranked 1844 p4p, 1592 weight class) and Ralphie White (ranked 269 p4p, 237 weight class). 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.

Kurtev
vs
White

189 cm
31
193
15 - 20 - 0

191 cm
39
200
12 - 16 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Heavy handed

Vegan Gains

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 15 - 20 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Krisko Kurtev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ralphie White!
The judges for this bout are Nard Betker, Saam Ante and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kurtev dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
White tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kurtev was well out of range. Poor timing from White.

Kurtev throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. White was covering up waiting for the punch and Kurtev finishes the takedown easily into guard.
White is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Kurtev is looking to work some ground and pound but White has wrist control.
White has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Kurtev postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Kurtev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kurtev lands a couple of decent looking shots.
White is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
White has his hands on Kurtev's head, controlling the position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kurtev accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurtev stopping the sweep attempt from White.
Kurtev missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
White is trying to keep Kurtev in close.
Kurtev with a nice head shot there.
White is trying to control the position but Kurtev postures up.
Kurtev working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kurtev won't allow White to sweep him here.
White keeps trying to improve his position.
Kurtev stands and throws White's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Kurtev working the head with strikes.
White defending against the ground and pound.
White is looking to regain half guard here but Kurtev keeps moving and retains side control.
Kurtev working the body and head with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
White wants to control but Kurtev postures up.
Kurtev throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Kurtev misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
White defending against the ground and pound.
Kurtev remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
White wants to control but Kurtev postures up.
Kurtev in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
What's White going to do here then? He's in a bit of a pickle.
Kurtev grinds an elbow into White's temple.

Kurtev looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
White is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
White is not content to let Kurtev control the position.
Kurtev lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
White sneaks back into half guard.
White avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Kurtev.
Kurtev missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Kurtev is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and White defends it well.
White is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Kurtev jumps into side control!
White is looking to reverse the position.
White gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
White wants to control but Kurtev is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
White wants to improve his position but Kurtev is controlling well.
Kurtev looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Kurtev throwing shots but White is blocking nicely.
Kurtev sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. White defending well though.
White avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Kurtev.
White is looking for a sweep. Kurtev is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
White trying to control from the bottom.
White is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Kurtev scores with a couple of nice shots.
Kurtev is trying to control. White wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
White tries to get to full guard but Kurtev has control of the leg.
Kurtev lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Kurtev working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Kurtev trying to control the action but White is working from the bottom.
White is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Ground and pound from Kurtev.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Krisko Kurtev dominated that round.
That's time! Kurtev's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Kurtev shoots in for a double leg but White sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Kurtev moves in looking to clinch but White pushes him off.
White with a hook.
Kurtev lands a jab-cross combination.
Krisko Kurtev is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
White misses the shot to the body.
White thuds a left hand into Kurtev's body.
Kurtev tries to clinch but White is having none of it.

White gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
White looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kurtev is one step ahead there.
White keeping moving, preventing Kurtev from controlling successfully.
White is trying to keep Kurtev in close.
White preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
White looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kurtev is one step ahead there.
Kurtev 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.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now White is on top in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
White wants to control from the top but Kurtev keeps moving.
Kurtev thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Kurtev thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.

Kurtev throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
White's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Kurtev managing to control the position.
White preventing the sweep.
Krisko Kurtev overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kurtev trying to keep a closed guard but White is proving a slippery customer.
Kurtev keeping moving, preventing White from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Kurtev throwing strikes off his back to little effect.

Kurtev is looking for a triangle but White pushes his legs off easily.
White slips nicely into half guard.
White wants to pass the guard but Kurtev is defending well.
White blocks the strikes from Kurtev.
White not doing much here.
Kurtev is trying to maintain the position but White is very close to passing his half guard.
White wants to take a breather but Kurtev is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kurtev misses with some strikes from the bottom.
White moves into side control, avoiding the strikes from Kurtev.
Kurtev manages to work his way to half guard, despite White's best efforts.
Kurtev missing with punches from the bottom.
White content to control rather than advance.
Kurtev manages to get to full guard.
White trying to control but Kurtev is working from the bottom.
Kurtev striking off his back but it's not causing White any problems.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Kurtev throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
White wants to control from the top but Kurtev keeps moving.
White controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
White slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
White wants to control but Kurtev is keeping him busy.
Kurtev tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but White wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Kurtev seems a little lost for a moment, as White dominates the positioning.

White is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Kurtev has escaped the position, nice work there.
You can see the frustration on Kurtev's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
White is looking to take a break and control but Kurtev is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Ralphie White will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

White avoids a punch combination nicely.
Kurtev looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Kurtev moves out of range of the leg kick from White.
Kurtev appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
White works the jab nicely.

Kurtev closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Kurtev lands in his opponent's guard.
White tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Kurtev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kurtev is looking to work some ground and pound but White has wrist control.
Kurtev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
White avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
White lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kurtev keeping moving, preventing White from controlling successfully.

Kurtev is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurtev keeping moving, preventing White from controlling successfully.
White 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.
White wants to control from the top but Kurtev keeps moving.
Kurtev tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Kurtev throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Kurtev is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
White is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
White must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kurtev working a defensive guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
White advances position into side control!

White stands up.
Kurtev takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.

Kurtev gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Kurtev is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that White can do to turn this around?
Kurtev is looking for a takedown up against the cage. White gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
White misses with a knee strike.
White gets underhooks to prevent Kurtev's takedown attempt.
Kurtev is trying to work for a single leg takedown but White pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Krisko Kurtev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
White is looking to control Kurtev's arms but Kurtev gets an underhook and turns him. Now White has his back to the cage.
Kurtev looking for a takedown.
White avoiding damage.
White manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
White goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
White is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Kurtev goes for a takedown attempt but White pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Kurtev shoots in for a double leg but White sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
White dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Kurtev. That did some damage!

Kurtev clinches up with White and pushes him back against the cage.
White dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
White has a couple of punches blocked by Kurtev.
Kurtev blocks an uppercut.

Kurtev lands a takedown into guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Kurtev's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kurtev trying to control the position from guard on top but White is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kurtev won't allow White to sweep him here.

White pushes Kurtev off and scrambles back to his feet.
White scores with the left hand. Kurtev knows he should have avoided that one.
This has been an exciting period of action!
White throws a sloppy head kick and Kurtev moves out of range easily.

Kurtev closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Kurtev lands in his opponent's guard.
Kurtev throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as White works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
White controls Kurtev momentarily but Kurtev frees himself.
Kurtev is fighting to break White's control of his arms but White is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Kurtev working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ralphie White comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think White has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Nard Betker scores the fight 28:29
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ralphie White!
An out of breath Ralphie White thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.