PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Vevrin Betlach (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Charlie Runkle (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Betlach kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Higher Ground. Runkle comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Californication theme kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Betlach
vs
Runkle

176 cm
29
145 lbs
24 - 10 - 0

177 cm
25
147 lbs
19 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Gilop®
Resistance

Resistance
Milwaukee's Best 160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Vevrin Betlach!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 8 - 0, fighting out of New York, Charlie Runkle !
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Vladimir Khabensky and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Betlach feints a jab promting Runkle to slip. Betlach then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Runkle slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Betlach misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Runkle .
Some wild striking there from Betlach.
Vevrin Betlach seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A looping hook to the body misses from Betlach. Runkle does a little dance to reset his feet.
Betlach throws a nice inside leg kick.
A shot to the body from Betlach misses
and Runkle counters with a left to the body.
Runkle blocks a head kick by Betlach.
Runkle scores with a leg kick.
Runkle throws a hook to the side of Betlach's head but Betlach sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Betlach swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Runkle dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Runkle staying out of range there.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Runkle .
Betlach moves away from the strike by Runkle .

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Runkle throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Betlach throws a leg kick
and Runkle counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Runkle is looking to clinch.
Betlach missing with a left hand there. Runkle was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Betlach connects with a jab.
Betlach misses the shot to the body.
Runkle loads up on a big right hand but Betlach slips the punch.
Runkle misses with a body punch
and Betlach makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Runkle uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Betlach.
Runkle needs to keep his hands up - Betlach had a free shot at his head there.
A good leg kick by Runkle .
Betlach takes a swing at Runkle 's ribcage but misses.
Runkle is looking to clinch but Betlach is avoiding it.
Runkle slips under a jab from Betlach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Runkle scores with a nice body kick.
Betlach throws out a leg kick but Runkle moves out of range and Betlach only half commits.
Betlach drops his hands momentarily and Runkle takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Runkle drives through and clinches with Betlach against the cage.
Betlach tries to work over Runkle 's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Runkle misses with a punch on the inside.
Runkle misses with a hook to the ribs.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Betlach.
Runkle lands a nice shot to the body.
Runkle missing with knees to the body.
Runkle misses with a hook to the ribs.
Betlach managing to block the knees to the body from Runkle .
Runkle throws a knee to the head but misses.
Betlach letting Runkle take a breather here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Betlach lands a body shot.
Runkle 's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Runkle obliges.
Betlach on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Betlach blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Runkle using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Betlach has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Runkle misses with a body punch.
Runkle misses with a hook from the clinch.
Runkle tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Runkle managing to block the knees to the body from Betlach.
Runkle swings wildly with an uppercut but Betlach uses good head movement to avoid it.
Runkle misses with a knee strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Runkle misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Betlach.

Betlach's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Betlach throws a shot from downtown. Runkle moves away and avoids it.
Betlach scores with a three punch combo!
Runkle swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Betlach thows a body shot but no joy.
A combination from Betlach does no damage.
Runkle fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Betlach manages to avoid it.
Runkle bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Runkle tries to clinch there but Betlach circles away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Betlach connects with a body shot.
Runkle is looking to clinch but Betlach is avoiding it.
Runkle slips under a jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Charlie Runkle dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Betlach uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Runkle .
Betlach takes a swing at Runkle 's ribcage but misses.
Betlach lands with a cross.
A jab from Betlach does it's job there.
Betlach lands the left hand.
Betlach misses with a hook. Runkle ducked under it nicely.
Betlach throws a sloppy body shot
and Runkle counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Runkle avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Betlach lands a nice shot that snaps Runkle 's head back.
Betlach throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
A shot to the body from Runkle misses
and Betlach counters with a leg kick.
Runkle walks into a jab.
Vevrin Betlach is winning the standup battle so far.
Betlach misses with a body shot.
Betlach throws a jab when Runkle was well out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Betlach keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Runkle .
Runkle just misses with a punch to the body.
Betlach throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Betlach fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Betlach swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Betlach misses with a wild body shot.
Betlach turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Betlach closes this distance looking for a takedown but Runkle circles away.
Runkle is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Betlach misses the shot to the body.
Betlach throws a jab but it's blocked by Runkle .
Betlach rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Runkle counters with a nice leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Betlach throws an off balance right hand
and Runkle counters with a thumping low kick.
Runkle tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Betlach thows a left - swing and a miss!
Betlach moves out of range as Runkle throws a body kick.
Betlach swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Betlach throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Runkle 's head.
Betlach misses with a body shot.
Runkle keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Runkle pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Runkle ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Betlach moves away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Runkle looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Betlach throws a front kick aimed at Runkle 's knee but Runkle avoids it well.
Runkle thows a body shot but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Betlach misses with a body punch
and Betlach takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Runkle keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Betlach.
A swing and a miss from Betlach.
Betlach tried to score with a low kick but Runkle checks it.
Betlach throws a body kick that misses.
Runkle lands a nice looking body shot.
Runkle tries to close the distance and clinch up but Betlach swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Betlach tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Runkle was well out of range. Poor timing from Betlach.
Betlach throws a lazy right hand but Runkle sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Runkle turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Runkle with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Betlach dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Betlach scores with a sloppy right hand. Runkle should have avoided that one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Betlach lands a nice shot to the body.
Good shot there by Betlach.
Betlach scores with a shot to the body.
A left and a right from Betlach both land. Nice combination.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A chopping leg kick lands by Runkle .
Betlach wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Betlach takes a swing at Runkle 's ribcage but misses.
Runkle tries to clinch up but Betlach circles away and keeps his distance.
Runkle moves out of range of the leg kick from Betlach.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Betlach throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Runkle stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
A jab from Betlach misses.
Runkle takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Betlach fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Runkle manages to avoid it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vevrin Betlach 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!

Betlach is looking to score with low kicks.
A low kick from Betlach is predictable there
and Runkle counters with a stiff right hand.
Betlach keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Runkle uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Betlach.
Betlach throws a body punch but Runkle moves out of range.
A head kick misses from Betlach.
A nice inside leg kick there by Runkle . That's going to slow Betlach down.
Betlach circles away from the clinch attempt.

Betlach gets tackled into the cage by Runkle . Runkle maintains the clinch.
Runkle throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Betlach blocks it with crossed arms.
A head punch on the inside from Runkle fails to land.
Runkle lands a knee to the body.
Betlach on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Runkle blocks a body shot from Betlach.
Runkle lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Runkle can't find room to land a body shot as Betlach controls the action.
Betlach is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Runkle creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Betlach's defenses.
Betlach comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

It looks like Charlie Runkle has been cut.
Betlach blocks a body shot from Runkle .
Betlach swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Betlach can't find room to land a body shot as Runkle controls the action.
Runkle tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Betlach avoids it.
Runkle misses with a hook from the clinch.
Betlach misses with some punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Runkle lands an elbow that stopped Betlach in his tracks for a moment.
Runkle tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Runkle lands an elbow inside.
Betlach blocks the elbow strike.
Runkle with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Betlach blocks a body shot from Runkle .
Runkle tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Betlach avoids it.
Runkle tries to land a knee to the head but Betlach blocks with his arms.
Betlach managing to block the knees to the body from Runkle .
Runkle with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Runkle misses with a hook to the ribs.
A shot in the inside from Betlach.
A head punch on the inside from Runkle fails to land.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Betlach blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Betlach lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Runkle backwards.
Runkle throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Runkle tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Betlach's elbow.
Runkle tries to land a knee to the head but Betlach blocks with his arms.
Runkle looking to throw knees to the head but Betlach is blocking nicely.
Runkle unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Runkle struggles to land a body shot inside as Betlach controls his hands.
Betlach lands with a left to the head.
Runkle is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Betlach is defending well for now.
Betlach lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Runkle lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Runkle misses with some punches.
Runkle tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Betlach blocks a body shot from Runkle .

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Runkle goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Betlach blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Still in the clinch, Betlach scores with a nice short uppercut.
Runkle swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Betlach on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Betlach missing with knees to the body.
Runkle misses with a body punch.
Betlach working hard to break the clinch.
Betlach can't find room to land a body shot as Runkle controls the action.
Runkle trying to land knees to the body.
Betlach throws a head punch that misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Betlach has Runkle pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Runkle manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Betlach misses with a hook to the ribs.
Good body shot from Runkle .

And that's the end of the fight!
Charlie Runkle comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Runkle 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 Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 28:29
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Charlie Runkle !
Charlie Runkle took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, Vandal Fight Boutique (prices $8 - $30) for their support in the buildup to the fight.