PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Timo T A (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricky Venable (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Timo T A has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

T A
vs
Venable

185 cm
19
197 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

187 cm
21
194 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Knockout power

MMA's Best Nutrition
Golden Lilium

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Timo T A!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Ricky Venable!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Steven Brown and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
T A misses with a series of wild punches.
T A throws a series of punches but Venable moves out of range.
T A misses with a wild body shot.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
T A goes for a takedown in the clinch but Venable prevents it.

Venable manages to break the clinch.
Venable walks into a jab.
Venable throws a nice head kick!
Venable throws a sloppy head kick and T A moves out of range easily.

Venable clinches.
Venable taking a break, stalling in the clinch.

Venable manages to break the clinch.
T A throws a body punch but Venable moves out of range.
Venable tries to bum rush T A with a series of wild strikes but T A uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
No joy there for T A, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
T A misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Venable.
T A loads up on a big right hand but Venable slips the punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Venable throws a head kick that misses.
Timo T A seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
T A throws a left and a right that both miss

and Venable counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Venable.
Venable tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Come on Venable - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Venable digs a right hand into T A's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on T A's gas tank.

Venable manages to break the clinch.

Venable closes the distance and clinches.
Venable pressing his opponent against the cage.
Venable digs a right hand underneath T A's ribcage. T A let out a lung full of air as it connected.

Venable breaks the clinch.
T A avoids the head kick by Venable.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Venable throws a half hearted mid kick.
T A throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
T A misses with a jab, cross combination.
T A moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
T A looks to land a combination but Venable avoids it well.
Venable misses with a wild body shot.
T A misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
T A looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Venable lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.

Venable fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with T A, pushing him back against the cage.
Venable just leaning against T A, taking a breather.

Venable breaks the clinch.
A slow jab from T A misses its intended target.

Venable sets himself and throws a head kick that knocks T A to the ground! Venable dives into full mount looking to finish!

T A is rocked!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
T A tries to reverse the position but Venable maintains control.
Oh T A is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Venable fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
T A taking shots to the head.
T A is looking to improve his position but Venable isn't that keen on the idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
T A is breathing heavily.
Venable landing strikes from the mount and T A is in trouble!
Venable landing strikes from the mount and T A is in trouble!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Venable is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, T A has managed to escape the submission attempt.

Venable working for a submission but T A is keeping him at bay.
T A really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
T A seems to have got his legs back now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Venable punishing his opponent with strikes.
Venable controlling from mount.
T A is trying to escape the mount.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
T A is squirming around, avoiding Venable's attempts to control the action.
Venable lands a big shot there that rocks T A but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Venable prevents T A from getting the reversal.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Venable dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Venable plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
T A lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Venable at a distance.
T A throws a hook to the side of Venable's head but Venable sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

Venable has T A up against the cage in a clinch.
Venable can't find room to land a body shot as T A controls the action.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Venable.
T A wants a takedown but no success here.
Venable throws a knee to the head but misses.

Venable breaks from the clinch.
T A throws a looping overhand right but Venable ducks down to avoid it.

Venable closes the distance and clinches.
T A is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Venable gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
T A is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Venable gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Timo T A. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Venable breaks the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Venable rushes T A and presses him up against the cage.

Venable breaks from the clinch.
Venable throws a combination but it was largely blocked by T A.
A combination from T A does no damage.
T A misses the shot to the body.
Venable takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
T A pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Venable takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Venable on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Timo T A is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
T A misses with a combination

and Venable counters by clinching up.

Venable escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Venable throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Venable ducks down and throws a hook to the body but T A moves away.
T A takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Venable misses with a jab, cross combination.
Good leg kick by Venable there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Venable lands a nice looking kick to the body. T A takes a step back to recover.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
T A throws a lazy right hand but Venable sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
T A throws a shot from downtown. Venable moves away and avoids it.
T A on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Venable. Venable obviously looking to wear him down.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Venable stalls.

Venable breaks from the clinch.

Venable gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Venable breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
T A fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Venable manages to avoid it.
T A misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
T A's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and T A duly obliges.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
T A throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Venable on the side of the head.

Venable rushes T A and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Venable escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ricky Venable seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Venable has closed the distance and engaged T A in a clinch.
T A letting Venable take a breather here.
Venable lands an elbow that stopped T A in his tracks for a moment.
Venable landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.

Venable breaks from the clinch.

Venable instigates a clinch.
Venable lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Venable manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Venable breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
T A swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Venable counters by moving into the clinch.
Knees to the body from Venable.
Come on Venable - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
The crowd are getting on Venable's back here. They're not happy about his lack of aggression in the clinch.
Venable lands a nice elbow.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
T A is looking to control Venable's arms but Venable gets an underhook and turns him. Now T A has his back to the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Venable showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Venable blocks a jab.
Venable misses with an attempted mid kick.
T A misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Venable throws a sloppy head kick and T A moves out of range easily.
A punch combination from T A misses.

Venable darts in and clinches T A up against the cage.
Venable with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Venable pushes T A back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.

Venable breaks the clinch.

Venable closes the distance and clinches.
T A looking to slow down the pace here.
Venable throws a blind hook that connects with the side of T As head.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Venable unloads a knee to the mid-section. T A lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

Venable breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
T A avoids the head kick by Venable.
T A pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A combination from T A does no damage.
Venable misses with a few strikes there.

Venable has managed to clinch.
T A blocks an elbow strike from Venable.

Venable breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
T A falls off balance throwing a combination
and Venable counters with a flying knee. Nice.
A head kick misses from Venable.
T A fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
T A rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Venable moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Venable lands with a slapping head kick.
T A throws a hook but Venable avoids it easily.
T A missing with a left hand there. Venable was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
A telegraphed right hand from T A misses the target.
T A misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Venable.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Venable slips a jab and a cross from T A.
T A thows a body shot but no joy.
T A throws a jab when Venable was well out of range.
Venable with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Venable.
Venable scores with a nice body kick.
Venable throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Venable scores with a hook to the body. T A takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Venable cracks the inside of T A's front leg.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for leaving it all in the cage!
T A takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Venable misses with a wild body shot.
Venable looks to land a body kick but T A moved away.

Venable moves into the clinch successfully.
Venable is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.

Venable manages to break the clinch.
Venable has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Venable thuds his shin into the meat of T A's side.

T A tries to keep at a distance but Venable has taken the fight into the clinch.

Venable breaks from the clinch.
Venable has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
T A looks to land a combination but Venable avoids it well.
T A walks forward, straight into a front kick from Venable.

Venable clinches with his opponent.
Knees in the clinch landing for Venable.
Venable holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Venable lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Come on Venable - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Venable continues to stall. The referee tells him to work or he's going to break them up.

Venable breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Venable scores with a push kick.

Venable clinches with his opponent.

Venable manages to break the clinch.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Venable unloads a knee to the mid-section. T A lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Venable breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
T A throws a nice looking combination but Venable bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Venable takes the fight into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Venable really dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

T A takes a head kick and keeps coming.

T A tries to keep at a distance but Venable has taken the fight into the clinch.
A knee to the head by Venable.

Venable breaks the clinch.
Venable tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
T A scores with a jab to the body.
Venable wants to land a leg kick but T A is out of range.
T A goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
A head kick misses from Venable.

Venable closes the distance and clinches.
T A has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Venable avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.

Venable manages to break the clinch.
Venable displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as T A throws out the jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
T A misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Venable moves into the clinch.
Venable's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
T A looking for a takedown.

Venable breaks from the clinch.
A punch combination from T A misses.
T A swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Venable counters by clinching up.

Venable breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A head kick from Venable lands but T A takes it in his stride.
Both fighters circling a little - Venable finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
A punch combination from T A misses.
Venable scores with a head kick.

Venable moves into the clinch successfully.
Venable lands an elbow inside that T A shrugs off.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Venable breaks the clinch.
A combination from T A does no damage.
Venable throws a leg kick which misses T A's front leg but catches the back leg as T A tries to avoid it.

Venable drives through and clinches with T A against the cage.
Venable stalling against the cage.

Venable breaks the clinch.
T A throws a combination that misses

and Venable counters by moving into the clinch.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Venable takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

Venable breaks the clinch.
T A tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

Venable closes the distance and clinches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Venable breaks from the clinch.
Nice body punch from T A.
Venable takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.

Venable closes the distance and clinches.
Nice body punch from Venable.

Venable manages to break the clinch.
Venable scores with a jab to the jaw.
Venable pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Venable scores with a crisp jab that stopped T A in his tracks.
Venable fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Venable closes the distance and clinches.

Venable breaks from the clinch.
Venable looks to land a combination but T A avoids it well.
T A throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Venable.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Venable slips under a jab from T A.
Venable just misses with a punch to the body.
T A throws a combination that misses
and Venable counters with an outside leg kick.

Venable rushes T A and presses him up against the cage.

Venable breaks the clinch.

Venable clinches up with T A and pushes him back against the cage.
Venable lands an elbow inside that T A shrugs off.

Venable breaks from the clinch.
Venable throws a nice inside leg kick.
Venable throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
T A throws a left and a right that both miss
and Venable cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Venable misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from T A.
T A works over Venable's head and body with a nice combination.
Venable lets loose with a powerful body kick. T A will feel that in the morning.
A lazy left from Venable finds it's target.
T A doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Venable dominated that fourth round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Venable bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

Venable closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Venable holding his opponent close, against the cage.
T A is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

Venable breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Nice straight punches there by T A. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of T A.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Venable slips under a jab.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
T A smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Venable misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Venable throws a nice outside leg kick.

Venable moves into range and clinches up with T A.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Venable breaks from the clinch.
T A throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
T A will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Venable lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Venable throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
T A is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Venable slips under a jab.

Venable takes the fight into the clinch.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Venable.

Venable breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
T A throws a combination that misses
and Venable makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. T A really felt that one!

Venable has closed the distance and engaged T A in a clinch.

Venable manages to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
T A blocks a head kick by Venable.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Venable breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Donk. T A catches Venable right on the button with a cross.
Venable looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
T A will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
A left and a right from T A both land. Nice combination.
Venable with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
T A throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Venable holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Venable escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Venable throws a leg kick which misses T A's front leg but catches the back leg as T A tries to avoid it.
Venable tries a head kick but it misses.

Venable has T A up against the cage in a clinch.

Venable manages to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Venable pulls out of a head kick attempt.
T A throws a nice looking combination but Venable bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
T A throws an overhand right that lands on Venable's shoulder, as Venable tries to avoid the shot.
T A throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Venable.
T A misses with a looping left.
Venable is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down T A rather than just go for the knockout.

Venable closes the distance and clinches.
Knees in the clinch landing for Venable.

Venable breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Venable has T A up against the cage in a clinch.
Ricky Venable seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
T A blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Venable pressing his opponent against the cage.
Timo T A has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Venable misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Venable just leaning against T A, taking a breather.

Venable breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
T A lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
T A misses with a double jab

and Venable counters by clinching up.
Knees to the body from Venable.
Venable lands a left hand that snaps the head of T A backwards.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricky Venable comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Venable 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 44:50
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 43:50
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 44:50

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ricky Venable!
Ricky Venable is the new middleweight champion!