PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between John Gotti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shane Rik (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rik is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: The walking dead. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Gotti
vs
Rik

175 cm
23
160 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

174 cm
25
158 lbs
7 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, John Gotti!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Shane Rik!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, Steve Montenegro and John Kavanagh.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rik throws a leg kick
and Rik takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Rik wants to clinch up but Gotti keeps it at a distance.
Gotti just misses with a punch to the body.
Rik tries for a takedown but Gotti sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Gotti fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Rik wants to clinch up but Gotti keeps it at a distance.
Rik tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
A bone on bone clash there as Rik blocks the leg kick.
Gotti throws a leg kick
and Rik counters with a nice uppercut.
Rik fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Rik takes a shot to the body in his stride.
We've been hearing reports that Gotti has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Shane Rik seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Some wild striking there from Gotti.
Gotti keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Rik.
Gotti uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Rik.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gotti swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nice sprawl there from Gotti as Rik shoots in.
John Gotti has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shane Rik.

Gotti tries to keep at a distance but Rik has taken the fight into the clinch.
Rik swings wildly with an uppercut but Gotti uses good head movement to avoid it.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Rik tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Rik lands on the inside with an uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Rik fails to land.
Rik struggles to land a body shot inside as Gotti controls his hands.
Rik misses with a punch to the body.
Rik throws a punch but it's blocked by Gotti.
Rik looking to stall.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Rik.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Rik.
Rik lands an uppercut.
Rik throws a punch but it's blocked by Gotti.

Gotti pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rik fails with an attempt to clinch.
Rik with a lazy takedown attempt
enabling Gotti to counter with a crisp jab.
Gotti bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Rik's head backwards.
Rik closes this distance looking for a takedown but Gotti circles away.
Gotti scores with a three punch combo!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gotti lands a really nice looking cross but Rik seems unphased.
Rik moves to clinch but Gotti breaks away
and Gotti counters with a left to the body.
Gotti swats away the attempt to clinch by Rik.
Rik fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rik tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Gotti swivels and escapes.

Rik gets caught flat footed, as Gotti shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Rik wants to stand but Gotti is controlling the position.
Gotti's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Gotti trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rik is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Gotti loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Rik wants to stand and escape but Gotti is having none of it.
Gotti passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Gotti working the ground and pound from side control.

Gotti is trying to get an arm triangle but Rik is defending well.
Gotti just content to control the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rik is trying to buck Gotti off.
Gotti working the head and body with strikes.
Gotti is staying tight to Rik's torso, preventing him from escaping.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Rik can do anything to dispel that myth.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gotti trying to control the position but Rik is working away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rik is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Gotti controls the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Gotti dominated that 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.

Gotti misses the body punch
and Rik counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Gotti jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Gotti tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Rik was well out of range. Poor timing from Gotti.
A looping hook to the body misses from Gotti. Rik does a little dance to reset his feet.
Rik is looking to clinch but Gotti is avoiding it.
Rik lands a jab to the nose.
Nice takedown defense from Gotti. No joy for Rik on that attempt.
Gotti steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Rik. That one must have hurt.
Gotti lands with a right hand.
Gotti tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Rik is able to avoid easily.
Gotti keeps the fight on the outside.
Rik tries to clinch
letting Gotti counter with a right hand.
Rik tries to clinch there but Gotti circles away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Rik looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Gotti shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rik is trying to stand back up but Gotti is controlling him
Gotti thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Rik is trying to stand up here but Gotti is controlling him well.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Gotti in particular looking to stall.
Rik pushes Gotti off looking to stand but Gotti dives back in and keeps control.
Gotti stalling.
Rik wants to stand back up but Gotti manages to pass into side control.
Gotti trying to control the action but Rik is working from the bottom.
Gotti content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rik is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Rik is being controlled here.
Gotti prevents Rik from escaping the position.
Rik being controlled for a moment.
Rik is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rik is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Gotti is working Rik over with some ground and pound from side control.
You can see the frustration on Rik's face as Gotti controls the position.
Gotti's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Rik wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Rik trying to remain calm as Gotti controls from the top position.
Rik is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Gotti asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Gotti controls the position.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rik is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Gotti is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Gotti has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of John Gotti.
Rik tries to move into range but Gotti moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Rik tries to score a power double leg takedown but Gotti sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Rik somewhat.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gotti takes a swing at Rik's ribcage but misses.
Gotti throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gotti misses with a body kick.
Gotti throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Rik tries to clinch up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Gotti dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Rik looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Gotti misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rik.
Gotti circles away from the clinch attempt.
Gotti is looking to wear down Rik with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Rik doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Rik throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Gotti scores with a body shot.
Rik throws a lazy body kick
and Rik takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Rik wants to clinch
and Gotti counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Rik thinking.
Gotti ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Gotti scores with a hook to the body. Rik takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Rik is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Gotti fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Rik on the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gotti keeps the fight on the outside.
Rik shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Gotti as he jumps to the side.
A swing and a miss from Rik.
Gotti scores with a decent looking hook.
Gotti throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Rik fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
John Gotti has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shane Rik.
Gotti lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Rik at a distance.
Gotti darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
A punch combination from Gotti misses.

Rik decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Gotti is concentrating on defense, preventing Rik from advancing position.
John Gotti overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gotti is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gotti moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Gotti manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Rik manages to get himself to full guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gotti slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Gotti makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Gotti seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Rik wants to stand but Gotti is controlling the position.
Gotti's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Gotti looking to pass the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Rik keeping moving, preventing Gotti from controlling successfully.
Rik wants to stand and escape but Gotti is having none of it.

The ref stands the fighters back up because John Gotti just wasn't active enough.
Rik doesn't manage to clinch there - Gotti circles away.
Gotti gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Gotti ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rik moves away.
Rik shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Gotti as he jumps to the side.
Gotti stuffs the takedown.
Rik takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rik takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Rik tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Gotti makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rik gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Gotti counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Gotti lands a body shot.

Gotti scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Gotti lands a decent elbow from side control.
Gotti fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rik is letting Gotti control him for a moment.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rik wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

And that's the end of the fight!
John Gotti showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gotti, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Gotti!