PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kooistra De Ridder (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vaclav Vilem (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vilem is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Coldplay. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

De Ridder
vs
Vilem

185 cm
19
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
19
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
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 Las Vegas, Kooistra De Ridder!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Vaclav Vilem!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Wesley Smith and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De Ridder misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
De Ridder fails in his attempt to clinch.
De Ridder swings and misses with a hook to the body.
De Ridder tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Vilem throws a hook to the side of De Ridder's head but De Ridder sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Vilem fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Vilem is trying hard to land a takedown here. De Ridder sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Vilem lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

De Ridder looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
De Ridder tries to pass to full mount but Vilem defends it.
Vilem is looking to improve his position.

De Ridder is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

De Ridder stands up from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

De Ridder gets the takedown into side control.

De Ridder goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Vilem has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for De Ridder but great work by Vilem.
Vilem trying to control the position but De Ridder is working away.
De Ridder on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if De Ridder tries to get out of the position.

Vilem thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

Vilem decides to take the fight back to the feet.

De Ridder closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

De Ridder tries for a kimura but Vilem is defending well.
De Ridder working the head with strikes.
Vilem is looking to reverse the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
De Ridder in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Vilem tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but De Ridder wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
De Ridder controls the position.

De Ridder tries for a kimura but Vilem is defending well.
Vilem seems a little lost for a moment, as De Ridder dominates the positioning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vilem is trying to control De Ridder's posture but De Ridder avoids it.

De Ridder stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Vilem tries to clinch there but De Ridder circles away.

De Ridder shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Vilem manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

Vilem isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. De Ridder stacks Vilem 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 De Ridder!
Vilem looks gassed!
De Ridder 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.
De Ridder lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Ridder controls the position.

De Ridder is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Vilem is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Vilem is trying to control De Ridder's posture but De Ridder avoids it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

De Ridder gets a takedown into half guard.
De Ridder is controlling the pace.
Vilem is trying to get back to full guard.
Vilem gets back to full guard.
De Ridder is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Vilem looking for a sweep. Not yet Vilem, not yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Ridder tries to free his leg and advance position but Vilem is retaining full guard.
De Ridder not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Kooistra De Ridder.

Excellent takedown into side control there by De Ridder.
Vilem is trying to control De Ridder's posture but De Ridder avoids it.
De Ridder cracks Vilem with a big elbow.
De Ridder lands a nice forearm strike.
Vilem is looking for a sweep.
De Ridder wants to lay and pray for a moment but Vilem keeps working.

De Ridder stands up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

De Ridder shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. De Ridder showed some decent athleticism there.
De Ridder is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
De Ridder controlling from mount.
De Ridder working away from the top, dropping strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Ridder lands a nice shot to the head.
Vilem keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Vilem takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
De Ridder wants to control the pace but Vilem is squirming around nicely.
De Ridder cracks Vilem with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
De Ridder controlling the position easily from mount.
De Ridder seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Vilem for as long as he can get away with.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vilem tries to reverse the position but De Ridder maintains control.
De Ridder controlling his opponent.
Vilem is trying to reverse the position but instead De Ridder has taken his back - oops!
De Ridder just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kooistra De Ridder dominated that second round.
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. This is the final round!

De Ridder lunges at Vilem with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Vilem's hand.
Vaclav Vilem seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

De Ridder gets a takedown into half guard.
De Ridder is taking a breather. Vilem says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Vilem is trying to maintain the position but De Ridder is very close to passing his half guard.
Vilem is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Vilem is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vilem trying to control from the bottom.
Vilem avoiding damage under a succession of punches from De Ridder.
De Ridder working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Vilem's thigh. Vilem counters though and makes it back to full guard.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
De Ridder ducks under a wild hook from Vilem.

De Ridder closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
De Ridder tries to pass the half guard into mount. Vilem knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
De Ridder uses his free foot to push down on Vilem's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Vilem.
Vilem takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Vilem is squirming around, avoiding De Ridder's attempts to control the action.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

De Ridder stands up from mount. Strange move.
Kooistra De Ridder is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Ridder closes the distance looking to clinch

and Vilem counters with a takedown into side control.
De Ridder striking from the bottom but nothing landed.
De Ridder tries to buck Vilem off but Vilem is having none of it.
De Ridder is working hard here to advance position.
Vilem is looking to take a break and control but De Ridder is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Kooistra De Ridder overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Ridder tries to strike but it doesn't land.

Vilem tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Vilem has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Vilem moves in looking to clinch but De Ridder pushes him off.

De Ridder shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Vilem's guard.
De Ridder controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Vilem is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Ridder controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
De Ridder has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Vilem is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and De Ridder defends well.
Vilem working a defensive guard here.
De Ridder sitting in guard, not really doing much.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kooistra De Ridder showed his dominance in that final round.
Well De Ridder has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:26
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kooistra De Ridder!