PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Derek Riggs (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rick Ross (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Ross's choice of entrance music: Show me how to live. Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Riggs
vs
Ross

177 cm
26
168 lbs
17 - 9 - 0

179 cm
30
167 lbs
18 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Perkele!
Brute

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 17 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Derek Riggs!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rick Ross!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Timothy Bukovac and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ross feints and then cracks Riggs's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Riggs down.
Ross pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Riggs scores with a decent looking hook.
Riggs takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Ross scores with the left hand. Riggs knows he should have avoided that one.
Ross attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Ross throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Riggs stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Ross lands with a thumping leg kick.
Ross scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Riggs throws an overhand right that lands on Ross's shoulder, as Ross tries to avoid the shot.
Ross throws a body kick that misses.
Ross misses with a hook. Riggs ducked under it nicely.
Ross bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ross uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Riggs.
Ross lands with an uppercut that bounces Riggs off the cage and back into range.
Ross ducks under a wild hook from Riggs.
Riggs misses the shot to the body.
Riggs lands with a cross.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ross uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Riggs.
Riggs lands a jab to Ross's midsection.
Ross just misses with a punch to the body.
Ross connects with a single shot there.
Ross misses with an uppercut. Riggs saw that one coming.
The fighters circling - Riggs throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Riggs swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nice defenses there by Ross.
Ross fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Riggs has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Riggs takes a swing at Ross's ribcage but misses.
Riggs throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ross fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Riggs tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Ross was well out of range. Poor timing from Riggs.
Derek Riggs seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ross throws a push kick but Riggs slaps the foot to one side.
Ross slips a jab from Riggs.
Ross throws a solid leg kick but Riggs takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Ross.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ross looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ross doesn't manage to clinch there - Riggs circles away.
Ross with a body punch. A glancing blow.
A head kick misses from Ross.
A slow jab from Riggs misses its intended target.
Ross throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Riggs moves away from the strike by Ross.
Rick Ross is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Ross tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Riggs on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Ross. Ross obviously looking to wear him down.
Riggs lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Riggs takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Ross is looking to slow Riggs down with leg kicks.
Ross looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Ross throws a leg kick

and Riggs counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Ross!
Riggs throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Riggs unloads with some shots from mount but Ross bucks and avoids them well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ross blocking the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ross is desperately trying to improve his position but Riggs has a good base and remains in mount.
Riggs throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Ross because Riggs loaded up on that one.
Ross is looking to improve his position but Riggs isn't that keen on the idea.
Riggs sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Ross is desperately trying to improve his position but Riggs has a good base and remains in mount.
Riggs throws a strike there. Ross manages to avoid it well and slips a leg under to get to half guard.
Ross is trying to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Riggs stops Ross from getting back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Riggs wants to take a breather but Ross is having none of it.
Riggs 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.
Ross blocking the ground and pound attempt from Riggs.
Ross is not content to let Riggs control the position.
Riggs working Ross over with strikes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ross is trying to stand up here but Riggs is controlling him well.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Riggs works his way into side control.
Riggs scores with punches from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Rick Ross will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

A big right from Riggs misses.
A slapping leg kick lands for Ross.
Ross missing with a left hand there. Riggs was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Riggs shoots in but Ross avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Ross explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
A big right from Riggs misses.
Ross looks to land a right hand but Riggs moved out of range.
Ross lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Riggs misses with a straight right.
Ross fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Riggs has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Ross connects with a body shot.
Ross dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Ross fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Ross fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Riggs.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Riggs misses with an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riggs jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Ross lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Riggs is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Ross dodges the punch combination from Riggs.
Ross throws a wild body kick that Riggs sees coming a mile off.
Ross keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Riggs.
Riggs dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Ross throws a lazy head kick
and Riggs counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Riggs misses with a hook.
Ross avoids a punch combination nicely.
Riggs misses with a right hand
and Ross counters with a good low kick that Riggs was not able to check.
Ross ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Riggs moves away.
An inside leg kick lands from Ross.
Crunch! Ross slams his shin into Riggs's torso.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riggs shoots in for a takedown but Ross shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Jab, jab by Ross - just one landing.
Riggs is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Riggs takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Ross tries to close the distance and clinch but Riggs swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ross tests Riggs's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Ross pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Ross pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Riggs loads up on a big right hand but Ross slips the punch.
A jab from Ross misses.
Ross fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ross throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Riggs misses with a looping right.
Riggs shoots in for a double leg but Ross sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Derek Riggs. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Riggs misses with a looping left.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riggs with a jab.
Ross throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Ross on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Ross avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Riggs throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Ross counters with a leg kick.
Ross ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Ross throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Ross fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Riggs on the side of the head.
Ross throws a nice outside leg kick.
Ross lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Ross throws a leg kick which misses Riggs's front leg but catches the back leg as Riggs tries to avoid it.
Ross steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Riggs.
Riggs misses with an uppercut
and Ross counters with a good low kick that Riggs was not able to check.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ross feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Riggss jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Riggs just misses with a punch to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ross slips a jab from Riggs.

Riggs manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Ross on his heels. He'll look to pass Ross's guard now, I'm sure.
Ross utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Riggs postures up.
Ross is looking to stand up but Riggs isn't so interested in that idea.
Riggs stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ross swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Riggs missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ross keeping moving, preventing Riggs from controlling successfully.
Riggs pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ross is keeping the position for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rick Ross showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

A head kick misses from Ross.
Riggs checks a low kick from Ross.
Ross displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Riggs throws out the jab.
Ross is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Riggs misses with a wild body shot.

Riggs looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Riggs wants to pass to mount but Ross is defending the position.
Riggs is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Riggs throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riggs is trying to control the action in half guard but Ross is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Riggs trying to control the pace.
Ross trying to control from the bottom.
Riggs lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Riggs is looking to advance position but Ross won't allow it.
Riggs is keen to just control but Ross is a slippery customer.
Riggs thows a huge punch but Ross dodges it nicely.
Riggs misses with a head shot. Ross uses the momentum to regain guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riggs postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Riggs looking to pass the guard.
Riggs trying to control the position from guard on top but Ross is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ross lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Riggs!
Derek Riggs has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ross prevents Riggs from getting the reversal.
Rick Ross is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riggs regains half guard.
Riggs tries to get to full guard but Ross has control of the leg.

Ross stands up and beckons Riggs to join him on the feet.
Ross connects with a high kick.
Good leg kick by Ross there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Riggs clobbers Ross with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Riggs throws a left and a right that both miss
and Ross counters with a low kick, right behind Riggs 's knee.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Riggs lands a jab to the nose.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Riggs avoids the head kick by Ross.
Riggs throws a hook but Ross avoids it easily.
Riggs throws a big shot that misses.
A slapping leg kick lands for Ross.
Ross moves out of range of the strikes.
Riggs has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Ross.
An inside leg kick lands from Ross.
A telegraphed right hand from Riggs misses the target.
Ross throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Riggs takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
A slow jab from Riggs misses its intended target.
Ross throws a wild body kick that Riggs sees coming a mile off.
Ross lands a nice leg kick that just misses Riggs's sensitive parts.

And that's the end of the fight!
Derek Riggs showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Ross 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 28:29
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 28:29
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rick Ross!
During a confident post fight interview, Rick Ross thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.