PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Russ Rutger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Braeden Phillip (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rutger comes to the cage accompanied by Oh...Canada by Classified. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Rutger
vs
Phillip

172 cm
23
175 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

192 cm
20
182 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Russ Rutger!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Braeden Phillip!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Lombardi, Russell Pearce and Eddie Farnsworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Phillip swings away with a body shot that misses
and Rutger counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Phillip uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Rutger.
Phillip thows a leg kick but Rutger checks it

and Rutger counters with a single leg into guard. Phillip didn't expect that.
Rutger stopping the sweep attempt from Phillip.
Rutger throwing strikes but missing.
Phillip is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Rutger moves into full guard.
Rutger is adopting a defensive guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rutger wants to sweep here but Phillip controlling him for the moment.
Rutger is controlling Phillip's posture.
Phillip wants to pass the guard but Rutger is keeping the position.
Phillip must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Russ Rutger just wasn't active enough.
Phillip misses with a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Phillip slips under a jab from Rutger.
Phillip uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rutger.
Phillip tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Rutger closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Rutger working the ground and pound from side control.
Phillip wants to control but Rutger postures up.
Rutger scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Phillip to see if he's OK.
Rutger cracks Phillip with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Rutger working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Rutger trying to control the action but Phillip is working from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rutger working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rutger is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Phillip's shoulder. That is not cool.
Phillip takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Rutger controls the position.
Rutger cracks Phillip with a big elbow.
Rutger misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Phillip managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Rutger.
Rutger in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
The ground and pound from Rutger seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Phillip pushes Rutger away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Rutger gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Sloppy strikes there by Rutger.
Rutger scoring with punches from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Phillip tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Rutger wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Phillip taking a bit of punishment here - Rutger scoring with strikes.
Phillip is letting Rutger control him for a moment.
Rutger lands some shots froms side control.
Phillip takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Phillip on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Rutger working the ground and pound but Phillip is defending the strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rutger grinds an elbow into Phillip's temple.
Phillip looks gassed!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rutger throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Rutger in side control, just content to control the action for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Russ Rutger dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Rutger 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.
A lazy body kick from Phillip
and Rutger counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Rutger looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Phillip is fending him off so far but Rutger persists. Nope, Phillip circles away and we're back to standing.
Phillip digs a good body shot into Rutger's ribs.
Rutger waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Phillip.
Phillip tries a head kick but it misses.
Phillip throws a leg kick that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rutger throws a lazy right hand but Phillip sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Braeden Phillip seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Phillip pivots, looking for a leg kick but Rutger is out of range and Phillip settles back down.
Phillip tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Phillip throws a hook but Rutger blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Phillip rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Rutger counters with a right hand to the body.
Phillip uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rutger.
Phillip looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Phillip throws a sloppy head kick
and Rutger cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Phillip walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Rutger checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Phillip throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Rutger takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Rutger pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Rutger thows a left - swing and a miss!
A shot to the body from Phillip misses
and Rutger counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Phillip thinking.
Phillip walks into a left hand.
Rutger avoids the head kick by Phillip.
Phillip throws a leg kick

and Rutger counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Phillip's guard now.
Rutger showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Rutger's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Rutger wants to control from the top but Phillip keeps moving.
Rutger landing with the ground and pound.
Rutger throwing strikes from guard but Phillip blocks nicely.
Phillip really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Rutger. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Phillip has momentary wrist control but Rutger slips an elbow through the middle.
Rutger not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Rutger working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rutger stands and throws Phillip's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Rutger is looking to take a break and control but Phillip is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Rutger cracks Phillip with a big right hand but Phillip just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Phillip avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Rutger.
Rutger 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.
Rutger is chipping away with strikes.
Rutger throwing shots but missing, from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rutger working the ground and pound.
Rutger working the head and body with strikes.

It looks like Braeden Phillip has been cut.
Rutger trying to control the action but Phillip is working from the bottom.
Rutger scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Phillip to see if he's OK.
Phillip takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rutger wants to lay and pray for a moment but Phillip keeps working.
Rutger scores with a couple of short elbows.

That has opened up Braeden Phillip's cut even more.
Rutger 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.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
An elbow from Rutger crashes against the mat.
Phillip is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Russ Rutger dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Braeden Phillip's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Rutger sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.

The cut above Braeden Phillip's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Rutger scores with a jab. Phillip acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Rutger throws the left hand but Phillip avoids the punch easily.
Nice takedown defense from Phillip. No joy for Rutger on that attempt.
Phillip misses with a hook to the body
enabling Rutger to counter with a crisp jab.

Braeden Phillip's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters.
Rutger swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Phillip counters with an outside leg kick.
Phillip goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Phillip pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Rutger scores with a jab to the head.
A head kick by Phillip misses
and Rutger counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Rutger moves out of range of the leg kick from Phillip.
An inside leg kick from Rutger misses.
Phillip motions for Rutger to come forward. Phillip throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Rutger has a takedown stuffed.
Braeden Phillip is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Phillip throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Rutger shoots in looking for a takedown but Phillip manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Rutger's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Russ Rutger. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Phillip misses with a right hand
and Rutger counters with a nice body shot.
Phillip lands a nice leg kick that just misses Rutger's sensitive parts.
Rutger blocks the body kick.
A low kick from Phillip is predictable there

and Rutger counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Rutger.
Phillip looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Rutger trying to control the position from guard on top but Phillip is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rutger landing with the ground and pound.
Rutger controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rutger throws a big right hand that misses.
Rutger tries to free his leg and advance position but Phillip is retaining full guard.
Rutger with a flurry of punches that miss.
Rutger advances position into side control!

Rutger tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Rutger has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Braeden Phillip has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Phillip is trying to control Rutger's posture but Rutger avoids it.
Phillip takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rutger working the body and head with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rutger taking a breather here.
Phillip on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Russ Rutger is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Braeden Phillip's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:50 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Russ Rutger!