PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tshering Wangchuck (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lewis Ridgeon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Wangchuck comes to the cage accompanied by Rapa - Rang Sem Kar Ga Mikar. Ridgeon has chosen Skulls as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Tshering Wangchuck has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Wangchuck
vs
Ridgeon

197 cm
27
294 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

200 cm
27
311 lbs
9 - 7 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Great elbows
Granite chin

Olympic wrestler
Brawler
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tshering Wangchuck!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Lewis Ridgeon!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Wangchuck tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Wangchuck tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ridgeon fails with a takedown attempt.
Ridgeon shoots in but Wangchuck avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Wangchuck darts in trying to clinch

and Ridgeon counters with a nice double leg into side control. Wangchuck won't be happy with that.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Wangchuck is trying to get back to his feet.
Ridgeon wants to control but Wangchuck is keeping him busy.
Wangchuck can't do much from the bottom here.
Wangchuck knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Ridgeon on the ground.
Wangchuck is trying to get back to his feet.
Ridgeon wants to control but Wangchuck is keeping him busy.
Ridgeon tries to move into full mount but can't pass Wangchuck's legs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ridgeon remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Wangchuck wants to get back to his feet.
Ridgeon trying to control the action but Wangchuck is working from the bottom.
Ridgeon cracks Wangchuck with a big right hand but Wangchuck just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An elbow from Ridgeon crashes against the mat.

Ridgeon is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Wangchuck is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Ridgeon misses with the ground and pound.
Ridgeon wants to lay and pray for a moment but Wangchuck keeps working.
Sloppy strikes there by Ridgeon.
Ridgeon wants to control but Wangchuck is keeping him busy.
Ridgeon grinds an elbow into Wangchuck's temple.
Ridgeon has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wangchuck is not content to let Ridgeon control the position.
Wangchuck defending against the ground and pound.
Ridgeon throws an elbow but Wangchuck slips to the side and avoids it well.

Ridgeon is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Wangchuck is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Ridgeon working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Wangchuck wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Ridgeon with the ground and pound but Wangchuck regains half guard under the barage of strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ridgeon is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Ridgeon lands strikes from half guard.
Wangchuck is staying active underneath Ridgeon, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Wangchuck keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Wangchuck is looking to control Ridgeon's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Wangchuck avoid being mounted?
Ridgeon working the head and body with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lewis Ridgeon dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Ridgeon keeps the fight on the outside.
Ridgeon fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Ridgeon is defended easily by Wangchuck.
Wangchuck wants to clinch up but Ridgeon keeps it at a distance.
Ridgeon keeps the fight on the outside.
Tshering Wangchuck seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ridgeon shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Wangchuck pinned against the cage. Wangchuck gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Tshering Wangchuck has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lewis Ridgeon.
Wangchuck doesn't manage to clinch there - Ridgeon circles away.
Wangchuck doesn't manage to clinch there - Ridgeon circles away.
The fighters circling - Ridgeon throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Ridgeon has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
Wangchuck tries to clinch up

and Ridgeon decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Wangchuck's guard.
Ridgeon not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Wangchuck working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ridgeon.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wangchuck keeping full guard, as Ridgeon tries to pass.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ridgeon passes into half guard.
Ridgeon winds up and cracks Wangchuck with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Wangchuck keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Ridgeon is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Ground and pound from Ridgeon.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ridgeon lands a nice short elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ridgeon throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Ridgeon throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Ridgeon working over Wangchuck with some ground and pound. Wangchuck looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Wangchuck is in trouble now - Ridgeon has advanced to mount!

Ridgeon jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Wangchuck manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Wangchuck is pushing Ridgeon's head away, looking to escape. Ridgeon manages to hold on to the position though.
Ridgeon in side control lands a decent elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ridgeon trying to control the position but Wangchuck is working away.
Ridgeon lands a decent elbow from side control.
Ridgeon looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Wangchuck is avoiding damage well.
Ridgeon fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Ridgeon throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Ridgeon landing strikes.
Ridgeon wants to control but Wangchuck is keeping him busy.
Ridgeon has knee on belly and moves into mount.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Wangchuck is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ridgeon thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Wangchuck in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Ridgeon wants to control but instead Wangchuck manages to regain half guard.
Ridgeon keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Wangchuck is not content to let Ridgeon control the position.
Ridgeon takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lewis Ridgeon showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Wangchuck's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Wangchuck fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ridgeon checks a leg kick.
Ridgeon chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Wangchuck can pounce on him.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Wangchuck fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ridgeon fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Wangchuck avoids it really well and circles away.
Ridgeon is trying hard to land a takedown here. Wangchuck sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Wangchuck connects with a leg kick. Ridgeon looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Ridgeon shoots for a double leg takedown but Wangchuck sprawls well. He's pushed Ridgeon's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Tshering Wangchuck has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lewis Ridgeon.
Ridgeon misses with a takedown attempt - Wangchuck sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Wangchuck tries to clinch but Ridgeon moves out of range.
Wangchuck chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Wangchuck 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.
Wangchuck tries to clinch but Ridgeon moves out of range.
Wangchuck tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ridgeon manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ridgeon keeps the fight on the outside.
Wangchuck is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wangchuck tries to clinch up but Ridgeon circles away and keeps his distance.
Wangchuck throws a sloppy head kick and Ridgeon moves out of range easily.
Wangchuck is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
We've been told by Wangchuck's head coaches at Miletich Xtreme Fighting Systems that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Wangchuck tries to clinch there but Ridgeon circles away.
Wangchuck tries to clinch but Ridgeon is having none of it.

Wangchuck gets caught napping as Ridgeon dives in and scores a takedown. Wangchuck manages to retain guard.
Ridgeon content to stall in guard here.
Ridgeon throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Wangchuck works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ridgeon not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Wangchuck is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wangchuck keeping moving, preventing Ridgeon from controlling successfully.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Ridgeon passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Ridgeon trying to control the action but Wangchuck is working from the bottom.
Ridgeon has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
An elbow from Ridgeon crashes against the mat.
Lewis Ridgeon is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wangchuck is letting Ridgeon control him for a moment.
Ridgeon tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Ridgeon working the head and body with strikes.
Wangchuck tries to improve position but can't.
Ridgeon is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wangchuck prevents Ridgeon from moving into mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Wangchuck is trying to escape the position but Ridgeon is controlling the position.
Tshering Wangchuck has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Lewis Ridgeon hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Ridgeon fails with a takedown attempt.
Wangchuck pulls out of a head kick attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Lewis Ridgeon.
I've got Ridgeon winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 27:30
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 26:30
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lewis Ridgeon!
Lewis Ridgeon decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.