PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rich Varner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marc De Ertu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Marc De Ertu was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Varner
vs
De Ertu

183 cm
19
169 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

182 cm
20
170 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rich Varner!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Marc De Ertu!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Roosa Järviläinen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

De Ertu throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Varner tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. De Ertu is in Varner's guard.
Varner is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
De Ertu sitting in guard here, content to control.

De Ertu stands up from guard. Let's bang!
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Varner crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from De Ertu - the referee stops the clock and Varner gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says De Ertu. Varner manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
A shot to the liver by Varner. Beautiful body shot.
De Ertu lands with a kick to the ribs.
Varner dodges the punch combination from De Ertu.
De Ertu throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
De Ertu throws a nice looking combination but Varner bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Ertu shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Varner but Varner pushes him off and we're back to square one.

De Ertu fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Varner to the ground. De Ertu is now in Varner's guard.
De Ertu won't allow Varner to sweep him here.
De Ertu is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as De Ertu accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
De Ertu stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Varner swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Varner looking for a sweep. Not yet Varner, not yet.
Varner pulls De Ertu in close to prevent any damage.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Varner misses with a straight right.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

De Ertu shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Varner's guard.
Varner trying to keep a closed guard but De Ertu is proving a slippery customer.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Varner keeping moving, preventing De Ertu from controlling successfully.
Varner utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
De Ertu throws a big elbow that misses.
Varner wants to improve his position but instead De Ertu has moved into half guard.
De Ertu stops Varner from getting back to his feet.
Varner knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for De Ertu on the ground.
De Ertu lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Ertu trying to control from half guard but Varner is working away.

De Ertu escapes and gets back to his feet.

De Ertu has managed to clinch.
De Ertu fails to pull the fight into his guard.
De Ertu displaying some good clinch control by pressing Varner up against the cage.
Varner is trying to push De Ertu away but De Ertu has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from De Ertu.

De Ertu breaks from the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

De Ertu drives through and clinches with Varner against the cage.

De Ertu escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
De Ertu throws a solid leg kick but Varner takes the impact on his shin and smiles at De Ertu.
De Ertu moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Varner misses with a looping left.
Marc De Ertu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
De Ertu tries to clinch there but Varner circles away.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
De Ertu avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

De Ertu drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Varner is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marc De Ertu dominated that round.
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.

De Ertu wants to clinch.
Varner stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Varner wants it to stay on the feet.
Varner displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from De Ertu.
A swing and a miss from Varner.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Ertu tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Varner throws a poor cross that misses

and De Ertu counters with a nice double leg into guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Varner is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
De Ertu tries to stand but Varner is controlling from the bottom.
Varner wants to hit a switch here but De Ertu passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Varner there!
Varner is looking to get to half guard.
Varner is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Poor strikes thrown by De Ertu there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Varner wants to control but De Ertu is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Ertu throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Varner is trying to escape the mount.
Varner is trying to reverse the position but instead De Ertu has taken his back - oops!
Will De Ertu go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
De Ertu somehow managing to miss with a strike from the back.
Varner looking very determined here, making life difficult for De Ertu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Varner just looking to survive in the bad position.

De Ertu looking for the choke but no joy.
De Ertu trying to control.
I really don't envy Varner right now.
Varner turns into De Ertu and is now in his guard.

De Ertu escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Varner gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Varner stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. De Ertu swivels though and keeps the full guard.
De Ertu looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Varner trying to control the position from guard on top but De Ertu is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Varner trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but De Ertu manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Varner keeping moving, preventing De Ertu from controlling successfully.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Varner pulls De Ertu in close to prevent any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marc De Ertu showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Varner's corner calls for a 1-2. Varner obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from De Ertu is defended easily by Varner.
A combination from De Ertu does no damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Varner looks to land a left hand but De Ertu moved out of range nicely.
De Ertu is trying hard to land a takedown here. Varner sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
De Ertu shoots in looking for a takedown but Varner manages to keep the fight standing, pushing De Ertu's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Rich Varner has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marc De Ertu.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Ertu steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Varner.
De Ertu shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Varner sprawls well. Varner wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. De Ertu gets slowly back to his feet.
Rich Varner is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The fight stays on the outside here - De Ertu looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
De Ertu takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Varner jabbing away but nothing is landing.
De Ertu has a takedown stuffed.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Ertu will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
A head kick misses from De Ertu.

De Ertu scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Varner wants to control but De Ertu postures up.
Varner holding on.
Varner is looking for a sweep.
Varner struggling a bit here.
Varner tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Rich Varner has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Varner is not content to let De Ertu control the position.
De Ertu taking a breather here.
Varner is trying to get back to half guard.
Varner struggling a bit here.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Varner uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before De Ertu has time to react.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Ertu tries to close the distance and clinch but Varner swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
De Ertu shoots in but no luck this time.
De Ertu looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
De Ertu misses with a wild combination.
Varner waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract De Ertu.
De Ertu has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Varner finds it's way round the side to connect with De Ertu's head.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
De Ertu shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rich Varner showed his dominance in that final round.
Well De Ertu has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 28:29
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 28:29
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marc De Ertu!
In his post fight interview, Marc De Ertu started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.