PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Daniel Rua (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and That Punk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rua comes to the cage accompanied by Rocky. Daniel Rua had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Rua
vs
Punk

192 cm
21
246 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

200 cm
21
265 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Daniel Rua!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, That Punk!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, Dillan Fox and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Punk wants to clinch up but Rua keeps it at a distance.
Punk on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Rua tries to clinch up but Punk circles away and keeps his distance.
Rua throws a push kick but Punk slaps the foot to one side.
Punk circles away from the clinch attempt.
Punk takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Punk changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Rua tries to avoid it but Punk manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Rua to the ground. Rua escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Rua shoots and misses
and Punk counters with a head kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Punk shoots in for a double leg but Rua sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Punk gets tackled into the cage by Rua. Rua maintains the clinch.
Rua is trying to break the clinch but Punk has him pressed against the cage.
Punk is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Rua to keep the fight standing.
Daniel Rua has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of That Punk.
Rua pushes Punk back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

Rua pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rua goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Rua throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Rua shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Punk sprawls well. Punk wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Rua gets slowly back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rua tries to keep at a distance but Punk has taken the fight into the clinch.
Rua wants to break free but Punk has control.
Punk avoiding damage as Rua throws knees to the body.
A head punch on the inside from Punk fails to land.
Punk fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Rua tries to break the clinch but Punk is controlling the position.
Punk goes for a takedown in the clinch but Rua prevents it.

Rua jumps guard.
Rua is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Punk dives into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rua is trying to control Punk's posture but Punk avoids it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Punk moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Rua stops Punk from passing to mount.
Rua gets back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Punk passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Rua!
Rua tries to hold on but Punk postures up.
Punk trying to control but Rua is having none of it.
Rua is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rua is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Punk looking to control but Rua is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Rua tries to control Punk's body but Punk pushes him off. Rua squirms to his side and now Punk has his back!
Rua staying busy and making it hard for Punk to control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Punk controlling the positon.
A lull in the action here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Daniel Rua will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Rua drives through and clinches with Punk against the cage.

Rua escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Rua breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rua tries to clinch but Punk moves away

and Punk counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Punk keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Rua's efforts to push away.
Punk jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Rua walks away with a smile on his face. Punk gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Punk stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Punk wants it to stay on the feet.
Punk tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Rua paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Rua throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Rua shoots in looking for a takedown. Punk tries to sprawl out of it but Rua keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Punk manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua throws a right hand that Punk ducks under and follows up with a left that Punk also avoids with ease.
Rua fails in his attempt to clinch.
Daniel Rua is winning the standup battle so far.
A nice combination there by Rua.
Nice defenses there by Rua.
Punk tries to clinch up.
Punk tries to clinch but Rua moves out of range.
Rua misses with a body kick.
Punk tries to clinch but Rua moves out of range.
Rua throws a combination. Punk tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Punk shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Rua pinned against the cage. Rua gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Punk closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Rua's guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rua not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Rua bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Punk's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rua stopping the sweep attempt from Punk.
Punk is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Punk is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Rua is aware though and is defending well.
Rua is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Punk wants to sweep but no luck.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Punk is on top in guard.
Rua is trying to keep Punk in close.
Punk would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Punk slips nicely into half guard.
Rua tries to roll over but Punk keeps him under control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Punk wants to pass to mount but Rua is defending the position.
Rua is trying to escape back to his feet but Punk uses the scramble to pass into side control.

Punk thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rua is trying to improve his position.
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 Daniel Rua will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Rua throws a front kick aimed at Punk's knee but Punk avoids it well.
The fighters circle momentarily. Rua darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Punk misses with an uppercut.
Punk tries to clinch up but Rua circles away and keeps his distance.
Punk is looking to clinch.
Rua tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Punk manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Daniel Rua seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A clash of legs there as Punk blocks the low kick.
Rua throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
No joy there for Rua, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Punk tries a head kick but it misses.
Rua misses with a series of wild punches.
Rua cracks Punk with a right hand to the side of the head.
Punk changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Rua tries to avoid it but Punk manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Rua to the ground. Rua escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua doesn't manage to clinch there - Punk circles away.
Punk takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Punk shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Punk missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Rua tries to kick Punk off but Punk keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Punk lands with a punch from half guard.
Punk is trying to control. Rua wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Punk seems to be working for a kimura but Rua defends the submission attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rua avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Punk.
Punk is keen to just control but Rua is a slippery customer.
Rua wants to control but Punk is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Punk not doing much here.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Punk trying to control from Rua's half guard. Rua has other ideas though and has regained full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rua is working an open guard so Punk takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Punk fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Rua clinches up with Punk and pushes him back against the cage.

Rua manages to break the clinch.
Rua works Punk's body with a nice hook.
Good standup being displayed there by Rua as he connects with a hook.
Rua tries to clinch but Punk moves out of range.
Rua fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Rua shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Punk eats them both and turns towards Rua to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Punk bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Punk happy to just control the position for now.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rua struggling a bit here.
Rua is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
That Punk has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Daniel Rua is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Punk stands up and beckons Rua to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to That Punk.
I think Rua 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 Gregory Folan scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 29:29
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!