PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Scott Gouken (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thomas Raith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Gouken
vs
Raith

179 cm
20
179 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

188 cm
28
175 lbs
17 - 16 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Determined

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Scott Gouken!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 16 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Thomas Raith!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Johanna Lukiainen and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Gouken lands a big head kick that sends Raith tumbling to the mat! Gouken takes a step backwards and waves Raith back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Raith is rocked!

It looks like Thomas Raith has been cut.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Raith darts in and clinches Gouken up against the cage.
Raith is still on wobbly legs! Can Gouken finish him?

Gouken's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Raith seems to have recovered his senses.
Raith is looking to clinch.
Gouken connects with a leg kick. Raith looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Gouken buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

Gouken fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Raith sprawls well initially but Gouken persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Raith slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Gouken with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Raith had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Gouken defends it easily.
Gouken landing some decent shots from guard.
Raith has momentary wrist control but Gouken slips an elbow through the middle.
Gouken passes into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gouken not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Gouken scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Gouken is nestled in close to Raith, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Gouken passes to side control.
Gouken is chipping away with strikes.
Gouken working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Gouken misses with the ground and pound.

Gouken is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Raith is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
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!
Gouken trying to control the action but Raith is working from the bottom.

Gouken tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Gouken landing a few strikes.
Raith dodges the ground and pound from Gouken.

Gouken tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Raith manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Gouken tries to get to full guard but Raith has control of the leg.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Gouken makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Gouken.

Gouken has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Raith can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raith postures up in Gouken's guard and throws a big left but Gouken blocks it.
Raith is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Gouken escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Raith gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Raith advances to half guard.
Gouken flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Raith is trying to control. Gouken wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Gouken actively working from the bottom here.
Raith passes to full mount!
Gouken working to try and regain half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gouken regains half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Gouken looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Raith trying to mount his opponent but Gouken defends it.

Gouken is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Raith pulls his head out easily.

Raith is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Gouken is not content to let Raith control the position.
Gouken regains full guard. Nicely done.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Scott Gouken dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Thomas Raith's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Raith on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Gouken. Gouken obviously looking to wear him down.
Gouken keeps Raith at a distance using the push kick.
Gouken connects with a leg kick. Raith looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Gouken throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Raith.
Gouken tries to bum rush Raith with a series of wild strikes but Raith uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Gouken looks to land a body kick but Raith moved away.
Gouken goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Gouken scores with a spinning back kick!
Gouken is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Raith can do to turn this around?
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Gouken clinches with his opponent.
Gouken scores with a shoulder strike.
Gouken cracks Raith with a nice body shot.
Gouken fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Gouken tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Raith's elbow.
Gouken is trying to force a seperation but Raith has the dominant position.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Raith.
Raith is trying to drag Gouken to the mat but Gouken just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Raith is breathing heavily.
Gouken tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Raith's elbow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raith is trying to maintain a safe position but Gouken gets an underhook and turns Raith into the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Gouken's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Gouken working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Raith tries for a takedown but Gouken manages to get underhooks.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Raith.

Gouken breaks the clinch.
Gouken dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Raith. That did some damage!
Scott Gouken seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gouken cracks Raith's jaw with two stiff jabs then ducks low and throws a soul-severing right uppercut to the mouth!! Raith slumps to the ground with blood on his lips. The referee steps in before Gouken can do further damage! This one is done, son!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:43 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Scott Gouken!
A very excited looking Scott Gouken made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.