PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Karl Thompson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Rampage (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Thompson
vs
Rampage

188 cm
25
220 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

182 cm
37
218 lbs
25 - 17 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Karl Thompson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 17 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Mike Rampage!
The judges for this bout are Paul Gruel, Ryoma Takatsuka and Micheangelo Fripello.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thompson looks to throw the jab but Rampage is out of range.
Thompson tests Rampage's chin there with a solid looking shot.
A punch combination from Thompson misses.
Thompson misses with a body shot.

Thompson dives in and scores a takedown into Rampage's guard.
Thompson working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Rampage is trying to control the position but Thompson postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Thompson postures up in Rampage's guard and throws a big left but Rampage blocks it.
Thompson throws a strike but Rampage rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Rampage postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Rampage throws an elbow that misses. Thompson uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Rampage's guard. Nice move by Thompson!
Thompson is working Rampage over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
We've been hearing that Thompson has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Rampage being controlled here, momentarily.
Rampage controls Thompson momentarily but Thompson frees himself.
Thompson throwing strikes but missing.
Rampage is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Thompson throws a big right hand that misses.
Thompson lands a couple of digs.
Rampage is adopting a defensive guard.
Rampage is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rampage lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Thompson!
Thompson slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Thompson controlling the position for now.
Thompson tries to roll over but Rampage keeps him under control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rampage is thwarting Thompson's attempts to control the position.
Thompson gets full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rampage preventing the sweep.
Thompson is controlling Rampage's posture.
Rampage trying to control the position from guard on top but Thompson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Thompson holds on and takes a little breather.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Karl Thompson.
Rampage doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Rampage works Thompson's body with a nice hook.
Thompson moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Thompson comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rampage throws a body punch but Thompson moves out of range.
Thompson lands a body shot.
Thompson throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Rampage stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Rampage tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Thompson was well out of range. Poor timing from Rampage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Thompson throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Rampage stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.

Thompson shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Thompson was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Rampage is trying to control Thompson's posture but Thompson avoids it.
Thompson working the ground and pound but Rampage is defending the strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Thompson in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Rampage is looking to reverse the position.
Thompson misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Thompson creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Rampage sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karl Thompson dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Rampage moves out of range of the strikes.
Rampage misses with a hook. Thompson ducked under it nicely.
Thompson is looking to chop away at Rampage's legs.
Nice cross by Thompson.
Some bone on bone action there as Thompson checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Rampage misses with a kick to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Rampage. Thompson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Thompson tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Thompson swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Rampage tries to sprawl but Thompson drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Thompson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Rampage's head.
Thompson 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.
Thompson is just content to waste time from the top position. Rampage takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Thompson slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Thompson passes into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson trying to mount his opponent but Rampage defends it.
Thompson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rampage defending well though.
Rampage is trying to control but can't.
Thompson wants to take a breather but Rampage is having none of it.
Rampage moves into full guard.
Thompson trying to control but Rampage is working from the bottom.
Thompson lands a couple of digs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rampage is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Thompson controlling the position for now.
Thompson trying to control from the bottom.
Thompson is concentrating on defense, preventing Rampage from advancing position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Thompson is looking for a sweep. Rampage is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Rampage misses with a head shot. Thompson uses the momentum to regain guard.
Thompson managing to control the position.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Rampage in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rampage postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Thompson has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Thompson manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Thompson connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Thompson looking to control but Rampage is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Thompson lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Rampage is squirming around, avoiding Thompson's attempts to control the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rampage is trying desperately to improve position.
Rampage blocking the ground and pound.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rampage slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Rampage is refusing to be controlled, as Thompson sits in half guard.
Thompson performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Rampage is looking to control Thompson's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Rampage avoid being mounted?
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rampage avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Thompson.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karl Thompson dominated that second round.
That's time! Thompson's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. 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.

Thompson dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
A decent looking cross lands there for Thompson.
Thompson throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Rampage shoots in and drives through. Thompson sprawls well.
Rampage misses with a straight left.
Thompson lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Thompson lands a really nice looking cross but Rampage seems unphased.
Thompson lands a lovely overhand right.
Thompson misses with a series of wild punches.
Rampage on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Thompson pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Rampage tried to score with a low kick but Thompson checks it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rampage throws a hook to the side of Thompson's head but Thompson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Thompson looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thompson lands a jab-cross combination.
A slow jab from Rampage misses its intended target.
Thompson lands a nice shot that snaps Rampage's head back.
Thompson throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Thompson works Rampage's body with a nice hook.
Thompson bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Rampage's head backwards.
A nice leg kick lands there from Thompson.
Rampage uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Thompson.
Thompson takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Thompson works Rampage's body with a nice hook.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Rampage takes a kick to the side of the head.
Rampage moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Thompson feints and then cracks Rampage's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Rampage down.
Rampage thows a left - swing and a miss!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thompson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rampage misses with a body shot.
Thompson scores with a hook.
Rampage slips a straight right by Thompson.
Thompson throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Rampage sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Nice straight punches there by Rampage. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Rampage.
Thompson throws a jab when Rampage was well out of range.
Rampage on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Thompson. Thompson obviously looking to wear him down.
Rampage lands with a hook. Thompson tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Thompson lands with a cross.
Thompson attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Thompson cracks the inside of Rampage's front leg.
Thompson defending well as Rampage loads up on a big left hand.
Thompson throws out a leg kick but Rampage moves out of range and Thompson only half commits.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot lands for Thompson.
Rampage throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Thompson swings for the body but Rampage moves out of range.
Rampage swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Thompson misses with a leg kick.
Thompson throws a hook but Rampage avoids it easily.
Thompson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Thompson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rampage can do to turn this around?
Thompson looks to land a right hand but Rampage moved out of range.
Rampage avoids the body shot from Thompson.
Thompson shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Rampage as he avoids it easily.
Rampage gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Thompson.
Thompson bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Nice defenses there by Thompson.
Mike Rampage has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Rampage bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Thompson connects with a right hand. Rampage shakes it off.
Thompson uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Rampage.
A thudding body kick lands there by Rampage!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rampage doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

Rampage scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Thompson manages to work his way to half guard, despite Rampage's best efforts.
Thompson is pressing down on Rampage's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Rampage loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Thompson wants to sweep but no luck.
Rampage throws a big elbow that misses.
Thompson looking for a sweep. Not yet Thompson, not yet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Karl Thompson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Thompson 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 Paul Gruel scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 30:27
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Karl Thompson!
Karl Thompson seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.