PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Eduard Sporw (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Eerik Rikkonen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Eduard Sporw has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Sporw
vs
Rikkonen

180 cm
18
175 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

180 cm
18
170 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Eduard Sporw!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Eerik Rikkonen!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, Daniel Bishop and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sporw swings widly with a right hand

and Rikkonen counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Sporw fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Rikkonen wants a takedown.
Sporw misses with the head strike.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sporw.
Rikkonen working aggressively here.
A head punch on the inside from Sporw fails to land.

Rikkonen pulls guard successfully.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Rikkonen is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Sporw trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Sporw content to stall in guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Eduard Sporw wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Sporw moves into range and clinches up with Rikkonen.
Rikkonen avoids a wild elbow strike from Sporw.
Sporw tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Rikkonen trying to control the position but instead, Sporw has worked for underhooks and has pushed Rikkonen into the cage.

Rikkonen escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rikkonen closes the distance and clinches up with Sporw, looking for a takedown. Rikkonen pushes Sporw against the cage but Sporw circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Rikkonen shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Sporw as he jumps to the side.
Eduard Sporw has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Eerik Rikkonen.
Rikkonen rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Sporw moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Rikkonen avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
The fight stays on the outside here - Rikkonen looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Rikkonen shoots for a double leg takedown but Sporw sprawls well. He's pushed Rikkonen's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
A big left from Sporw misses.
No luck for Rikkonen with that takedown attempt.
Rikkonen tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Sporw counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sporw content to stall in guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sporw tries to free his leg and advance position but Rikkonen is retaining full guard.
Our spies down at at Rift Fighting Academy inform us that Rikkonen has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Sporw is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Eduard Sporw.
Sporw misses with a low kick as Rikkonen jumps back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rikkonen changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Sporw tries to avoid it but Rikkonen manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Sporw to the ground. Sporw escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Sporw avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Rikkonen will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Rikkonen looks winded!
Rikkonen gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Sporw counters with a single leg into guard. Rikkonen didn't expect that.
Sporw sitting in guard here, content to control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eduard Sporw dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Eduard Sporw's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Sporw throws a jab when Rikkonen was well out of range.
Rikkonen shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Sporw as he jumps to the side.
Sporw just misses with a punch to the body.
Rikkonen closes the distance but Sporw moves to the side

and Sporw counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Sporw is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Sporw controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sporw knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Rikkonen on the ground.
Rikkonen will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Sporw slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Eduard Sporw.

Sporw shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Sporw was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rikkonen wants to get back to his feet.
Rikkonen manages to work his way to half guard, despite Sporw's best efforts.
Sporw performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Sporw seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Rikkonen for as long as he can get away with.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Eduard Sporw overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

We're going to have a standup here because Eduard Sporw wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Rikkonen shoots in but Sporw avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Rikkonen tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Sporw swivels and escapes.
Eduard Sporw has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Eerik Rikkonen.
Rikkonen is breathing heavily.
Horrible takedown by Rikkonen or perhaps it was just good defense by Sporw which made him look bad.
Rikkonen looks to clinch

and Sporw counters with a shoot takedown. Rikkonen fights it but they end up in guard.
Sporw is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rikkonen is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Eduard Sporw.
Sporw misses with a wild body shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sporw fails to land with a series of punches.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rikkonen looks to land a combination but Sporw avoids it well.
Sporw looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Rikkonen showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Sporw.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eduard Sporw dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Eduard Sporw's cut.
That's time! Sporw's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

No luck with that takedown attempt from Rikkonen.
Rikkonen wants to clinch up but Sporw keeps it at a distance.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Rikkonen is defended easily by Sporw.
Rikkonen looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Sporw is fending him off so far but Rikkonen persists. Nope, Sporw circles away and we're back to standing.
Eduard Sporw has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Eerik Rikkonen.

Sporw gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Sporw is trying to force a seperation but Rikkonen has the dominant position.
Rikkonen takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rikkonen is trying to break the clinch but Sporw has him pressed against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rikkonen letting Sporw take a breather here.
Rikkonen is trying to maintain a safe position but Sporw gets an underhook and turns Rikkonen into the cage.
Sporw tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Rikkonen lands with a right to the head.
Rikkonen being controlled against the cage.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Sporw for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
Sporw throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Sporw misses with the head strike.
Sporw pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Sporw using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rikkonen has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rikkonen tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Sporw just stands there and leans against the cage.
Sporw just leaning against Rikkonen, taking a breather.
Sporw misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sporw misses with a hook from the clinch.
Rikkonen blocks an uppercut.
Rikkonen wants a takedown but no success here.
Rikkonen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Sporw takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rikkonen.
Sporw swings wildly with an uppercut but Rikkonen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rikkonen goes for a takedown attempt but Sporw pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Rikkonen tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Sporw manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rikkonen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rikkonen tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Sporw throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Rikkonen has a takedown stuffed.
Sporw swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Rikkonen shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Sporw as he jumps to the side.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rikkonen shoots in looking for a takedown. Sporw tries to sprawl out of it but Rikkonen keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Sporw manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Sporw looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Eduard Sporw is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Sporw moves into the clinch.
Sporw has a couple of punches blocked by Rikkonen.
Sporw creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Rikkonen avoids the elbow strike from Sporw, against the cage.
Rikkonen dodges an elbow strike from Sporw.
Eerik Rikkonen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sporw blocks an elbow strike from Rikkonen.

And that's the end of the fight!
Eduard Sporw showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sporw 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 Donald Grub scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eduard Sporw!