PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tom Rappenecker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sergi Lutsenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rappenecker comes to the cage accompanied by Burial - Untrue. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Rappenecker
vs
Lutsenko

185 cm
22
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

192 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Tom Rappenecker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Sergi Lutsenko!
The judges for this bout are Emerson Jorge, Edson Gomes and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lutsenko is looking to clinch but Rappenecker is avoiding it.
Lutsenko fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Lutsenko looks to land a combination but Rappenecker avoids it well.
Lutsenko wants to clinch.
Lutsenko tries to clinch up but Rappenecker circles away and keeps his distance.
Lutsenko throws a hook but Rappenecker blocks it.
Rappenecker circles away from the clinch attempt.
Rappenecker shoots in and drives through. Lutsenko sprawls well.
Rappenecker shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Lutsenko pinned against the cage. Lutsenko gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
No luck for Rappenecker with that takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tom Rappenecker. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lutsenko swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lutsenko scores with a hook.
Rappenecker has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Rappenecker fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Lutsenko tries to close the distance and clinch but Rappenecker swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Lutsenko throws a series of punches but Rappenecker avoids them all with ease.
Lutsenko fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rappenecker manages to avoid it.
Lutsenko rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Rappenecker moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Lutsenko is looking to clinch.
A combination from Lutsenko does no damage.
Lutsenko tries to clinch but Rappenecker moves out of range.
Rappenecker shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Lutsenko but Lutsenko pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Lutsenko scores with a one two! Rappenecker had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Lutsenko scores with a shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lutsenko tries to close the distance and clinch up but Rappenecker swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Rappenecker closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Lutsenko tries to kick Rappenecker off but Rappenecker keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Rappenecker winds up and cracks Lutsenko with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Rappenecker missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Rappenecker lands strikes from half guard.
Rappenecker trying to control the action but Lutsenko is working from the bottom.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Rappenecker connects with a nice short shot to Lutsenko's temple.
Rappenecker wants to lay and pray for a moment but Lutsenko keeps working.
Rappenecker lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rappenecker is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rappenecker is breathing heavily.

Lutsenko looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Rappenecker slips a nice elbow through Lutsenko's hands, connecting with Lutsenko's forehead.
Rappenecker not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Lutsenko is trying to stand.
Rappenecker is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Rappenecker working the head and body with strikes.
Lutsenko wants to improve his position but Rappenecker is controlling well.
Rappenecker thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Rappenecker lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Rappenecker throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Lutsenko is looking to improve his position.
Lutsenko regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Rappenecker.

Rappenecker stands and steps away. Lutsenko gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Rappenecker fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Rappenecker avoids a punch combination nicely.
Lutsenko lands a jab-cross combination.
Rappenecker stuffs the takedown attempt from Lutsenko. Lutsenko gets slowly back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Rappenecker dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Lutsenko wants to clinch up but Rappenecker keeps it at a distance.
Lutsenko stuffs the takedown.
Rappenecker has his takedown stuffed
and Lutsenko makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Lutsenko swinging wilding here.
Lutsenko is looking to clinch.
Rappenecker looks for a takedown but Lutsenko sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tom Rappenecker. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lutsenko tries to clinch but Rappenecker is having none of it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rappenecker shoots in but Lutsenko avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Lutsenko misses with a series of wild punches.
Lutsenko is looking to clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rappenecker on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Lutsenko moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Lutsenko tries to clinch but Rappenecker is having none of it.
Rappenecker showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Lutsenko.
Lutsenko is looking to clinch but Rappenecker is avoiding it.
Lutsenko is looking to clinch.
Some wild striking there from Lutsenko.

Rappenecker drives through with a takedown into guard.
Rappenecker controlling from the top position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rappenecker accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rappenecker is looking to work some ground and pound but Lutsenko has wrist control.
Rappenecker trying to control but Lutsenko is working from the bottom.
Lutsenko wants to sweep here but Rappenecker controlling him for the moment.

Lutsenko is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Lutsenko is trying to break free.
Lutsenko wants to break the clinch but can't.
Lutsenko wants a takedown.
Lutsenko trying to stall but Rappenecker improves his position.
Lutsenko looking to throw knees to the head but Rappenecker is blocking nicely.
Lutsenko wants to break free but Rappenecker has control.
Rappenecker has Lutsenko pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Lutsenko manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lutsenko wants to break free but Rappenecker has control.
Lutsenko wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Rappenecker has him pressed against the cage.

Rappenecker jumps guard.

Rappenecker had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Lutsenko is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Rappenecker Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Lutsenko's back instead.
Rappenecker throwing damaging strikes from the back! Lutsenko could be in trouble here!

Rappenecker goes for a risky armbar from back mount and it's not paid off. Lutsenko escapes and is now in half guard on top.
Lutsenko with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Rappenecker is pressing down on Lutsenko's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Lutsenko stopping the sweep attempt from Rappenecker.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rappenecker manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Lutsenko manages to get himself to full guard.
Rappenecker throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Rappenecker lands a couple of elbows.
Rappenecker working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Rappenecker trying to control the position from guard on top but Lutsenko is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rappenecker advances to half guard.
Rappenecker looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Rappenecker seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Lutsenko does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Rappenecker dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Rappenecker closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Lutsenko tries to kick Rappenecker off in order to stand up. Rappenecker Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Lutsenko is not content to let Rappenecker control the position.
Rappenecker is putting a hurting on Lutsenko here, landing some big shots from side control.
Rappenecker scores with punches from side control.

Rappenecker tries for a kimura but Lutsenko is defending well.
The ground and pound from Rappenecker seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Rappenecker scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Lutsenko to see if he's OK.
Rappenecker 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.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Lutsenko taking punishment in the form of punches.
Lutsenko is trying to control Rappenecker's posture but Rappenecker avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rappenecker lands some shots froms side control.
Lutsenko tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Rappenecker presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Rappenecker fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Rappenecker putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Rappenecker trying to control but Lutsenko is having none of it.
Lutsenko tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The referee warns Lutsenko that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Lutsenko regains half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lutsenko tries to roll over but Rappenecker keeps him under control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lutsenko is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Lutsenko pushes Rappenecker off looking to stand but Rappenecker dives back in and keeps control.
Rappenecker not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Lutsenko controlling the position for now.
Rappenecker trying to mount his opponent but Lutsenko defends it.

Rappenecker escapes and gets back to his feet.
The fight stays on the outside here - Lutsenko looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
No luck for Rappenecker with that takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Lutsenko.
Rappenecker shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Lutsenko pinned against the cage. Lutsenko gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Lutsenko throws a big shot that misses.

Rappenecker gets the takedown into side control.
Check out the look on Rappenecker's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Rappenecker cracks Lutsenko with a big elbow.
Lutsenko is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Rappenecker working the body and head with strikes.
Rappenecker landing strikes.
Rappenecker working the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rappenecker works to advance to full mount. Lutsenko defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Rappenecker landing strikes, looking to finish!

Lutsenko is rocked!
Rappenecker breaks from Lutsenko's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Lutsenko is still in real trouble! Can Rappenecker finish him?
A nice elbow there by Rappenecker.
Rappenecker unloading with bombs!
Rappenecker lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Rappenecker looking to finish Lutsenko with some ground and pound. This is bad for Lutsenko!
Lutsenko in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Rappenecker avoids the attempt from Lutsenko to control.
Lutsenko really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Rappenecker. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Rappenecker working Lutsenko over with strikes here.
Sergi Lutsenko has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lutsenko is bucking up trying to escape but Rappenecker cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Rappenecker cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

And that's the end of the fight!
Tom Rappenecker showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Rappenecker, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:26
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:27
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tom Rappenecker!