PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Gage Ruehlen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mickael Riviere (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ruehlen comes to the cage accompanied by Can't Be Touched- Roy Jones. Gage Ruehlen has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Ruehlen
vs
Riviere

175 cm
18
158 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
22
166 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Enjoys gardening

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Gage Ruehlen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Mickael Riviere!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ruehlen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Riviere was well out of range. Poor timing from Ruehlen.
Ruehlen tries to clinch up but Riviere circles away and keeps his distance.

Ruehlen is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Riviere's half guard.
Ruehlen is trying to control the action in half guard but Riviere is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Riviere moves into full guard.
Ruehlen knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Riviere on the ground.
Ruehlen trying to control the position from guard on top but Riviere is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruehlen is really struggling to control Riviere but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Ruehlen with a flurry of punches that miss.
Riviere looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ruehlen is one step ahead there.
Riviere utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

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.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Riviere fails with a takedown attempt.
Ruehlen scores with a jab.
Ruehlen fails in his attempt to clinch.
Riviere avoids a punch combination nicely.
Gage Ruehlen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ruehlen lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruehlen tries to clinch there but Riviere circles away.
Ruehlen looks to land a combination. Riviere sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Ruehlen rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Riviere moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Ruehlen has his takedown stuffed

and Riviere counters with a shoot takedown. Ruehlen fights it but they end up in guard.
Ruehlen is trying to control the position from the bottom.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Riviere advances to half guard.
Riviere is controlling the pace.

Riviere is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Ruehlen still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Ruehlen has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruehlen trying to control the position but Riviere is working away.
Ruehlen in side control lands a decent elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Gage Ruehlen will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Riviere gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Ruehlen counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Ruehlen is trying to control. Riviere wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Ruehlen looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Riviere trying to control here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riviere is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Riviere holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Riviere is looking to control Ruehlen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Riviere avoid being mounted?
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ruehlen looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Ruehlen stalling away here and it's allowed Riviere to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

Riviere is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ruehlen is aware though and is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruehlen wants to control from the top but Riviere keeps moving.
Ruehlen keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Riviere's head.
Riviere throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Ruehlen postures up in Riviere's guard and throws a big left but Riviere blocks it.
Ruehlen has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Riviere is proving hard to escape from.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Ruehlen throws a big right hand that misses.

Riviere isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Ruehlen stacks Riviere on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Ruehlen!

Ruehlen stands up and beckons Riviere to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ruehlen misses with a combination

and Riviere decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Ruehlen's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Gage Ruehlen will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Ruehlen tries to clinch but fails miserably

so Riviere counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Riviere wants to control from the top but Ruehlen keeps moving.
Ruehlen tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Riviere wants to pass the guard but Ruehlen is keeping the position.

Ruehlen is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Riviere lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Riviere postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Riviere trying to control but Ruehlen is working from the bottom.
Ruehlen wants to stand up but Riviere is controlling him.
Mickael Riviere has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riviere advances to half guard.
Riviere wants to control but Ruehlen is keeping him busy.

Ruehlen looking for submissions off his back.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Riviere is working for a kimura but Ruehlen is defending it quite comfortably.

Riviere is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Ruehlen is just riding it out for now. Riviere eventually gives up the hold.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Riviere wants to work for an arm triangle but Ruehlen is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Ruehlen is looking to improve his position.
Riviere works his way into side control.
Riviere is looking to take a break and control but Ruehlen is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Gage Ruehlen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruehlen is trying to control Riviere's posture but Riviere avoids it.
Riviere trying to control the action but Ruehlen is working from the bottom.
Ruehlen tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Riviere wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
You can see the frustration on Ruehlen's face as Riviere controls the position.
Ruehlen on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Riviere looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Ruehlen is avoiding damage well.

That's four 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.
Ruehlen wants to control but Riviere postures up.

Riviere tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Riviere has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Ruehlen can't do much from the bottom here.
Ruehlen is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Riviere is controlling him well.
The ground and pound from Riviere seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Ruehlen stops Riviere from passing to mount.
Riviere trying to control the position but Ruehlen is working away.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mickael Riviere comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Ruehlen has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 29:28
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gage Ruehlen!