PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Mad Max (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Paul Bruens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Bruens's choice of entrance music: River Below. Mad Max has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Max
vs
Bruens

179 cm
27
160 lbs
13 - 5 - 0

168 cm
33
170 lbs
27 - 16 - 1

Great wrestler
Excellent MT
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Mad Max!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 16 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Paul Bruens!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Viktor Lagutenko and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Max throws a leg kick but Bruens sees it coming and moves out of range.
Nice uppercut lands for Max. That snapped Bruens's head back.
Bruens throws a solid leg kick but Max takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Bruens.
Bruens scores with a punch to the head.
Bruens throws a leg kick

and Max counters with a takedown into side control.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Max tries to advance to mount but Bruens denies him.
Max is looking to take a break and control but Bruens is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Max will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Bruens is being controlled here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bruens is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Max wants to control but Bruens is keeping him busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A lull in the action here.

Mad Max has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Bruens cracks Max with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Bruens misses with a looping right.
Max lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

It looks like Paul Bruens has been cut.
Max is trying hard to land a takedown here. Bruens sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Bruens moves out of range of the leg kick from Max.
Max throws a lazy body kick
and Bruens counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Max thinking.
Bruens swings for the body but Max moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Max misses with the body kick
and Bruens counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Bruens pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Max throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Bruens counters with a thumping low kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Max tries to land a body kick
and Bruens counters with a nice leg kick.
Bruens keeps the fight on the outside.
Bruens misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Max.
Max shoots in for a takedown but Bruens shows good takedown defense.

Max darts in and clinches Bruens up against the cage.
Bruens misses with the head strike.
Bruens working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Bruens goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Bruens swings wildly with an uppercut but Max uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bruens lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Bruens lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Max tries to work over Bruens's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Bruens scores with a shot to the side of Max's head.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Bruens wants to break the clinch but can't.
Bruens tries to work over Max's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Bruens goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bruens tries a body shot but Max blocks it.
Bruens tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Bruens misses with a hook to the ribs.

Bruens breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Bruens circles away from the clinch attempt.
Max is looking to clinch.
Bruens waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Max.
Max throws a leg kick but Bruens checks it.
Bruens fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Max manages to avoid it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Max tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Bruens manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Max misses with a head kick.
Max explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mad Max dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Paul Bruens's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Bruens looks to score with a jab to the body but Max is just out of range.
Max throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Mad Max is winning the standup battle so far.
Max closes the distance and clinches up with Bruens, looking for a takedown. Max pushes Bruens against the cage but Bruens circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Max looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Max is defended easily by Bruens.
Max tries to clinch but Bruens moves out of range.
Mad Max is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Max falls off balance throwing a combination
and Bruens counters with a nice body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bruens cracks the inside of Max's front leg.
Max swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Bruens swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Max uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bruens.
Max throws a body kick, spinning off balance

and Bruens counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Bruens.
Max wants to sweep but no luck.
Max being controlled here, momentarily.
Max keeping moving, preventing Bruens from controlling successfully.
Max is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bruens trying to control but Max is working from the bottom.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Max is trying to keep Bruens in close.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Paul Bruens wasn't active enough on the ground.
Max looks to score with a jab to the body but Bruens is just out of range.
Max sizes up Bruens with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Max doesn't manage to clinch there - Bruens circles away.
Bruens scores with a head kick.
Max throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bruens scores with a jab to the body.
Max shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Bruens sprawls well. Bruens wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Max gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mad Max. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Max chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Bruens can pounce on him.
Max misses with a body kick.
Max misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Max.
Max throws a head kick but Bruens moves out of range.
Bruens throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Max sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Bruens is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Max rather than just go for the knockout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Max misses with a jab, cross combination.
No luck for Max with that takedown attempt.
Bruens thows a body shot but no joy.
Bruens is looking to clinch but Max is avoiding it.

Max moves into the clinch successfully.
Bruens digs a right hand underneath Max's ribcage. Max let out a lung full of air as it connected.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Bruens.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Max prevents a body shot from Bruens.
Bruens lands a right hand.

Bruens breaks the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paul Bruens showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Paul Bruens's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Bruens moves out of range as Max throws a body kick.
Bruens looks to score with a jab to the body but Max is just out of range.
Bruens slips a jab from Max.
Bruens lands a slapping body shot.
Max checks a low kick from Bruens.
Max moves out of range as Bruens throws a body kick.
Max tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Bruens counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Bruens lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Max has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Max and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Max fails with a takedown attempt.
Max takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Max throws a head kick that misses.
Max shoots in for a takedown but Bruens shows good takedown defense.
Bruens displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Max.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mad Max. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Max shoots in looking for a takedown but Bruens manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Max's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Sloppy strikes from Bruens. Those never looked like landing.
Nice jab there from Max.

Max scores a takedown into full mount!
Bruens working to try and regain half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Max avoids the attempt from Bruens to control.
Max prevents Bruens from getting the reversal.
Bruens tries to hold on but Max pushes him away.
Bruens is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
Bruens really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bruens is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Max content just to control the position here.
Bruens is wriggling around trying to escape.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Max is landing with some decent strikes but Bruens is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Max can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Bruens is looking to escape.
Bruens working to try and regain half guard.
Max takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Max prevents Bruens from getting the reversal.
Max controlling from mount.
Bruens is in all sorts of trouble here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Max looking to control but Bruens is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Max controlling from the full mount.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Bruens tries to lock up and control but Max gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Bruens is working to get back to half guard.
Bruens is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Bruens tries to lock up and control but Max gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Bruens is desperately trying to improve his position but Max has a good base and remains in mount.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bruens wants to hold on but Max pushes him away.
Max controlling the position easily from mount.
Max lands a big elbow.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Mad Max.
I think Max has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 29:28
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 28:29
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 29:28

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