PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Rubin Carter (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Burza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Carter comes to the cage accompanied by Bob Dylan - Hurricane. Burza comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Metallica - Enter Sandman kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Carter
vs
Burza

185 cm
33
190 lbs
17 - 6 - 1

185 cm
37
195 lbs
20 - 12 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Fast

The Big Kabosh

Ultra Fight Gear
Dragon

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 6 - 1, fighting out of London, Rubin Carter!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, John Burza!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, Phil Schofield and William Gold.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Burza throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Carter tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Burza is in Carter's guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Burza passes Carter's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Burza wants to control but Carter is keeping him busy.
Carter slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Burza is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Carter has his feet on Burza's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Carter misses the jab.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Burza has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Carter misses with a body shot
letting Burza counter with a right hand.
Burza avoids a punch combination nicely.
Burza lands with a hook. Carter tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Carter takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Burza misses with a jab, cross combination.
Burza swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Burza scores with a jab to the head.
Carter misses with a hook

and Burza counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Carter is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Burza preventing the sweep.
Burza pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Carter is keeping the position for now.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Carter has his hands on Burza's head, controlling the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Rubin Carter just wasn't active enough.
Burza thuds a left hand into Carter's body.
A big left from Carter misses.
Carter takes a swing at Burza's ribcage but misses.
Carter throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
John Burza seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Burza throws a nice looking combination but Carter bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Burza looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Carter is fending him off so far but Burza persists. Nope, Carter circles away and we're back to standing.
Burza misses with a hook
and Carter counters with a three punch combo that has Burza backing up. Burza nods at Carter to acknowledge the strikes.

Burza shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Carter's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Carter 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.
Burza trying to control the position from guard on top but Carter is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Carter wants to sweep here but Burza controlling him for the moment.
Carter has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Burza has passed into side control.

Burza is trying to get an arm triangle but Carter is defending well.
Carter wants to control but Burza postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burza trying to control the position but Carter is working away.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Burza tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Burza has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Carter is trying to get back to half guard.

Burza goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Carter has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Burza but great work by Carter.

Carter stands up and beckons Burza to his feet.
Carter misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Carter showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Burza.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Burza dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Carter throws a right and a left that both miss.
Burza punishes Carter's body with a nice straight punch.
Burza throws a jab but it's blocked by Carter.
Carter cracks Burza with an open hand slap.
Carter just misses with a punch to the body.
Burza throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Burza rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Carter moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Carter misses with a series of wild punches.
Burza throws a nice looking combination but Carter bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Burza shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Carter defends it nicely.
John Burza seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burza moves away from the strike by Carter.
Carter lands a jab to the head.
Burza moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Burza throws a left and a right that both miss
and Carter counters with a one-two to the body.

Burza is rocked!

Carter bobbing and weaving well here. And he's unloaded with a massive right hand that drops Burza! He dives into his guard looking to finish!
Burza is still in real trouble! Can Carter finish him?
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Burza is looking to sweep but instead, Carter has passed into half guard.
Burza on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Burza is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Carter not doing much here.
Burza is staying active underneath Carter, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Burza seems to have recovered his senses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burza avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Carter.
Burza trying to control from the bottom.
Carter lands with a punch from half guard.
Burza is looking for a sweep. Carter is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Burza gets back to full guard.
Carter with a nice head shot there.

Burza escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Carter gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Burza keeping moving, preventing Carter from controlling successfully.
Carter postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burza keeping moving, preventing Carter from controlling successfully.
Burza pulls Carter in close to prevent any damage.
Burza wants to sweep but no luck.
Carter trying to control but Burza is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Rubin Carter.
Burza dives in and grabs Carter's left leg, looking for a takedown. Carter pushes down on Burza's head and hops out.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Burza.
Rubin Carter has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Burza.
Carter takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Carter bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burza shoots in looking for a takedown but Carter manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Burza's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Burza throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Carter.
Carter swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Carter missing with a left hand there. Burza was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Carter misses with a jab, cross combination.
Carter shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Burza eats them both and turns towards Carter to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Some wild striking there from Carter.
A left lands for Carter.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Burza throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Burza fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rubin Carter dominated that second 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. And we move into the final round!

Carter misses with a body shot.
Horrible takedown by Burza or perhaps it was just good defense by Carter which made him look bad.
Burza shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Carter pinned against the cage. Carter gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Carter drops Burza with a nice combination! Carter dives into Burza's guard, looking to finish!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Carter looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Carter slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Carter connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Burza some visible discomfort.
Burza is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Carter's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Carter is trying to control. Burza wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Carter thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Burza's head.
Burza is looking for a sweep. Carter is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Burza gets back to full guard.
Burza lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Carter!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Carter wants to hold on but Burza pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Carter slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Carter tries to get to full guard but Burza has control of the leg.
Carter is working hard here to advance position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Burza is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Carter looking for a sweep. Not yet Carter, not yet.
Carter controlling the position.
Carter trying to keep a closed guard but Burza is proving a slippery customer.
Carter keeping moving, preventing Burza from controlling successfully.
Carter looking for a sweep. Not yet Carter, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burza pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Carter is keeping the position for now.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Rubin Carter.
Burza misses with a series of wild punches.
Burza shoots in for a takedown but Carter shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Rubin Carter has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Burza.
Burza has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Carter finds it's way round the side to connect with Burza's head.
Burza lands a nice shot that snaps Carter's head back.
Burza keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Burza is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Carter.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burza throws a looping overhand right but Carter ducks down to avoid it.
Carter throws a lazy right hand but Burza sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Burza fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Burza manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Carter on his heels. He'll look to pass Carter's guard now, I'm sure.
Burza works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Carter has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Burza is working away from the top position though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Carter moves into full guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Carter working a defensive guard here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rubin Carter showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Carter has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 29:28
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 29:28
Judge William Gold scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rubin Carter!