PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Josip Ruzic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Scott Spade (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ruzic comes to the cage accompanied by Kid N Play - Gettin' Funky. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Ruzic
vs
Spade

185 cm
29
192 lbs
25 - 8 - 1

190 cm
30
196 lbs
24 - 12 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 25 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Josip Ruzic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 24 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Scott Spade!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Yukihiro Shimada and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Spade tries to clinch but Ruzic is having none of it.
Spade misses with a takedown attempt
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Spade fails to land with a series of punches.
Ruzic sizes up Spade with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Spade finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Jab from Ruzic.
Spade with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Ruzic to score with a decent uppercut.
Ruzic tries to land a front kick but Spade steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Ruzic lands with a hook. Spade tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Spade takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ruzic shoots in looking for a takedown. Spade tries to sprawl out of it but Ruzic keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Spade manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Spade throws a head kick but Ruzic moves out of range.
Ruzic shoots for a takedown but Spade saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Ruzic sizes up Spade with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Crunch! Ruzic slams his shin into Spade's torso.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spade chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Ruzic can pounce on him.
An inside leg kick from Ruzic misses.
Spade on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Ruzic throws a leg kick but Spade moved away.
Spade throws a head kick that misses.
Spade looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Ruzic scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
A slow jab from Spade misses its intended target.
Ruzic swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Spade fails to land the takedown.
Spade takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Ruzic chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Spade drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Ruzic swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spade lands with an overhand left.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ruzic fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ruzic throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Spade goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Spade takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Ruzic is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
A head kick by Spade misses
and Spade takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
A telegraphed right hand from Spade misses the target.
Spade cracks the inside of Ruzic's front leg.
Spade is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Spade throws a leg kick but Ruzic checks it.
Spade throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Spade tries to clinch there but Ruzic circles away.
Spade swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Ruzic on the wrong end of a nice jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spade stuffs the takedown attempt from Ruzic. Ruzic gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josip Ruzic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Spade ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Ruzic comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Spade shoots in for a double leg but Ruzic sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Spade is trying desperately to land a takedown but Ruzic is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Spade.
Ruzic catches Spade with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Spade throws a head kick but Ruzic moves out of range.
Good leg kick by Ruzic there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Spade throws a front kick aimed at Ruzic's knee but Ruzic avoids it well.
Spade throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Ruzic.
Spade throws the kick towards the body but Ruzic avoids it.
Spade takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Ruzic swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Spade avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruzic avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Spade ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Ruzic moves away.
Ruzic scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Spade doesn't seem bothered though.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A jab from Ruzic misses.
Ruzic lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Spade circles away quickly and effectively.
Spade tries to clinch but Ruzic moves out of range.
Ruzic shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Spade as he jumps to the side.
Spade rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Ruzic counters with a nice uppercut.
Spade throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Ruzic uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Spade misses with a shot to the kidneys.
A short left from Spade.
Ruzic tries to throw a body punch but Spade avoids it by throwing Ruzic back against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josip Ruzic dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Nice body kick there by Ruzic.
Spade scores with a head kick. Ruzic tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.

It looks like Josip Ruzic has been cut.
Ruzic throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Ruzic swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Spade throws a front kick aimed at Ruzic's knee but Ruzic avoids it well.
Ruzic moves out of range as Spade strikes.
Spade throws a head kick that misses.
Ruzic plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Ruzic steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Spade.
Spade shoots for a double leg takedown but Ruzic sprawls well. He's pushed Spade's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Spade is defended easily by Ruzic.
Ruzic misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Spade.
Ruzic fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Spade avoids it really well and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spade pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Ruzic fails with an attempt to clinch.
Spade swinging wildly here.
Spade takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Spade throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Ruzic thumps Spade with a low kick.
Ruzic drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Ruzic fails to land the takedown.
A jab from Spade misses.
Josip Ruzic is winning the standup battle so far.
Spade tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ruzic swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Spade has a takedown stuffed.
Josip Ruzic has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Scott Spade.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Spade misses the target.
Spade checks the leg kick nicely there.
Spade throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Spade throws a body kick that misses.
Ruzic dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Ruzic lands with a nice body punch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Spade staying out of range there.

Ruzic closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Ruzic tries for a kimura but Spade is defending well.
Ruzic working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruzic is putting a hurting on Spade here, landing some big shots from side control.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Ruzic trying to control the action but Spade is working from the bottom.
Spade is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Ruzic wants to take a breather but Spade is having none of it.
Spade gets back to full guard.
Spade trying to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Spade manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Ruzic manages to get himself to full guard.
Spade wants to control from the top but Ruzic keeps moving.
Spade wants to pass the guard but Ruzic is keeping the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ruzic is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Spade passes easily into side control. Nice work.
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 Josip Ruzic will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Josip Ruzic's cut.
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!

An inside leg kick from Ruzic misses.
Ruzic misses with a low kick.
Ruzic scores with a crisp jab that stopped Spade in his tracks.
Spade chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Ruzic can pounce on him.
Ruzic feints a jab promting Spade to slip. Ruzic then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Spade slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Spade dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Ruzic looks to land a left hand but Spade moved out of range nicely.
A head kick misses from Spade.
Nice body punch from Ruzic.
A clash of legs there as Spade blocks the low kick.
Ruzic misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Spade misses the shot to the body.
Ruzic tries to close the distance and clinch but Spade swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Spade misses with a head kick.
Spade misses with a low kick as Ruzic jumps back.
Ruzic throws a right and a left that both miss.
Spade takes a swing at Ruzic's ribcage but misses.
Ruzic throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ruzic lands a nice shot to the body.
Spade throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Ruzic counters with a right hand to the body.
Spade moves away from the strike by Ruzic.
A solid leg kick lands there for Ruzic.
Ruzic misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
A slow jab from Spade misses its intended target.

Ruzic throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Spade was covering up waiting for the punch and Ruzic finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Spade wants to get back to his feet but Ruzic is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Spade looking to control.
Spade manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ruzic is looking to improve his position but Spade isn't that keen on the idea.
Scott Spade has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ruzic sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Ruzic is refusing to be controlled, as Spade sits in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Spade scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Ruzic moves into full guard.

Ruzic had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Spade defends it easily.
Spade lands a couple of elbows.
Josip Ruzic is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Spade pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ruzic is keeping the position for now.
Ruzic is pulling down on Spade's head. It's preventing any offense from Spade, at least for the moment.
Spade must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Spade trying to control but Ruzic is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ruzic working for a triangle but Spade defends it easily.

Ruzic throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Josip Ruzic overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Spade trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Ruzic manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ruzic wants to pass the guard but Spade is keeping the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Josip Ruzic showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ruzic, 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 30:28
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Josip Ruzic!
Josip Ruzic decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.