PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jurmas Uusisto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Russ Rutger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Uusisto comes to the cage accompanied by System Of A Down - B.Y.O.B.. The crowd seem to be enjoying Rutger's choice of entrance music: Hall & Oates - Out of Touch. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Uusisto
vs
Rutger

177 cm
30
178 lbs
28 - 10 - 1

172 cm
34
175 lbs
32 - 14 - 1

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Hellbent
Milwaukee's Best 160

All 160
Heisenberg

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Jurmas Uusisto!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 32 - 14 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Russ Rutger!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, Chris Edwards and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Uusisto swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Rutger tries to clinch but Uusisto moves out of range.
A low kick from Uusisto is predictable there
and Rutger finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Uusisto scores with a jab to the jaw.
A head kick misses from Uusisto.
Uusisto throws the left hand but Rutger avoids the punch easily.
Rutger chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Uusisto can pounce on him.
Uusisto lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Rutger uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Uusisto.
Uusisto looks to land a combination but Rutger avoids it well.
Rutger uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A chopping leg kick lands by Uusisto.
Rutger misses with a low kick.
Nice shot lands for Uusisto.
Rutger takes one to the side of the head.
Uusisto has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Athletic Advantage in the buildup to the fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rutger swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Uusisto misses with a few strikes there.
Rutger throws a sloppy body shot
and Uusisto counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Rutger connects with an inside leg kick.
A solid leg kick lands there for Uusisto.
Uusisto throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Rutger on the side of the head.
Rutger misses with a body kick.
Rutger tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Uusisto is able to avoid easily.
Uusisto pushes Rutger away with a front kick.
Uusisto scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Uusisto fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Rutger looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Rutger throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Rutger throws a quick inside leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rutger scores with a jab to the jaw.
Rutger misses with a left hand
and Uusisto counters with a big head kick but Rutger shrugs it off.
Uusisto misses with a two punch combination.
Rutger blocks a jab.
Russ Rutger is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Uusisto shoots in looking for a takedown. Rutger tries to sprawl out of it but Uusisto keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Rutger manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Uusisto throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Good work by Uusisto as he checks the leg kick.
Rutger throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A clash of legs there as Rutger blocks the low kick.
Rutger bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rutger looks to score with a jab to the body but Uusisto is just out of range.
A nice leg kick lands there from Rutger.
Uusisto lands a head shot.
Uusisto swings for the body but Rutger moves out of range.

Uusisto gets tackled into the cage by Rutger. Rutger maintains the clinch.
Uusisto misses with a punch to the body.
Uusisto blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Uusisto lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Rutger lands a right hand that snaps the head of Uusisto backwards.
Uusisto effectively controlling the action here.
Rutger lands a left hand that snaps the head of Uusisto backwards.
Uusisto blocking some punches.
Uusisto is trying to pull guard but Rutger has him pressed against the cage.
Uusisto is trying to break the clinch but Rutger is controlling him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rutger tries a body shot but Uusisto blocks it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Uusisto.
Rutger lands a right hand that snaps the head of Uusisto backwards.
Uusisto is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Rutger gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jurmas Uusisto. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rutger lands a left hand that snaps the head of Uusisto backwards.
Uusisto can't find room to land a body shot as Rutger controls the action.
Rutger blocks a body shot from Uusisto.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Uusisto creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Rutger lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Rutger tries a body shot but Uusisto blocks it.
Rutger takes a shot to the head.
Rutger misses with a hook from the clinch.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Uusisto lands a hook to the side of the head.

Uusisto breaks the clinch.
Uusisto scores with a hook to the body. Rutger takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Uusisto drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Rutger is looking for a sweep.
Who's going to make the next move?
Rutger has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Rutger tries to bench press Uusisto off him but Uusisto keeps the position.
Uusisto is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Rutger will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

Uusisto looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Rutger is looking for a sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Uusisto taking a break here but Rutger is having none of it and regains half guard.
Rutger is looking for a sweep. Uusisto is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Rutger on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Rutger wants to get back to full guard.
Rutger is not content to let Uusisto control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Uusisto not doing much here.
Uusisto lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rutger is trying to get back to full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rutger controlling the position well.
Rutger is trying to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Uusisto is trying to control the action in half guard but Rutger is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Rutger makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Rutger.
Uusisto wants to control from the top but Rutger keeps moving.
Rutger wants to control the position but Uusisto says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Uusisto is trying to control the action in half guard but Rutger is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Uusisto looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Uusisto works his way into full mount!
Rutger is squirming around, avoiding Uusisto's attempts to control the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rutger manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Uusisto is thwarting Rutger's attempts to control the position.
Uusisto controlling the action here.
Uusisto trying to control from half guard but Rutger is working away.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rutger is trying to control but can't.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jurmas Uusisto dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Rutger lands an overhand right.
Nice cross by Uusisto.
Uusisto with a nice cross.
Nice shot by Uusisto.
Rutger takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Rutger tries to clinch but Uusisto is having none of it.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Rutger.
Rutger pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Uusisto scores with a jab to the jaw.
Rutger slaps away a takedown attempt from Uusisto, before circling back to the center of the mat.

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

Rutger has his foot on Uusisto's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Uusisto works his way back into a safe position though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Uusisto trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rutger keeping moving, preventing Uusisto from controlling successfully.
Uusisto throwing strikes from guard but Rutger blocks nicely.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Uusisto accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Uusisto content to stall in guard here.
Rutger wants to hit a switch here but Uusisto passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Rutger there!
Rutger in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Uusisto trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Rutger is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Uusisto controlling from the full mount.
Uusisto trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Uusisto looking to ground and pound but Rutger is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rutger really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Jurmas Uusisto overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Uusisto working the ground and pound effectively.
Uusisto prevents Rutger from getting the reversal.
Uusisto tries to control but Rutger wriggling away.
Uusisto with a couple of short strikes.
Rutger is squirming around, avoiding Uusisto's attempts to control the action.
Rutger is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Rutger working to try and regain half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Uusisto throws some wild stikes that Rutger manages to avoid easily.
Uusisto unloads with some shots from mount but Rutger bucks and avoids them well.
Rutger tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Uusisto lands a big elbow.
Uusisto lands with some strikes.
Uusisto controlling the pace for now.
The referee warns Rutger that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Uusisto controlling from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jurmas Uusisto clearly takes that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Rutger avoids the body shot from Uusisto.
Uusisto shoots in but Rutger avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Uusisto connects with a crisp jab.
Rutger slips a straight right by Uusisto.
Uusisto throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Uusisto fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Rutger sprawls well initially but Uusisto persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Uusisto seems to be working for a kimura but Rutger defends the submission attempt.
Uusisto keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rutger looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Rutger is pressing down on Uusisto's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

Rutger working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Uusisto doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Uusisto manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Uusisto trying to control but Rutger is working from the bottom.

Rutger is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Uusisto distracts Rutger with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rutger is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Uusisto advances to half guard.
Uusisto is stalling here. Rutger is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Uusisto seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Rutger has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Uusisto tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Rutger presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Uusisto is wriggling around trying to escape.
Rutger lands with some strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rutger is landing with some decent strikes but Uusisto is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Uusisto is trying to escape the mount.
Rutger wants to control the pace but Uusisto is squirming around nicely.
Rutger lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Uusisto tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Rutger content just to control the position here.
Rutger lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Uusisto sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Uusisto tries to roll over but Rutger keeps him under control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rutger is trying to control the action in half guard but Uusisto is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Rutger trying to control the pace.
Uusisto is looking to improve his position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rutger trying to control the action but Uusisto is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close fourth round but Russ Rutger will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Rutger takes one to the side of the head.
Rutger lands with a hook. Uusisto tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Uusisto misses with a hook.
Uusisto fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Rutger on the side of the head.
Uusisto lands a really nice looking cross but Rutger seems unphased.
Rutger avoids a kick to the body.
Uusisto throws the left hand but Rutger avoids the punch easily.
Rutger tries to close the distance and clinch but Uusisto swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Uusisto misses with a straight right.
Rutger tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Uusisto manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Rutger scores with a hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Uusisto missing with a left hand there. Rutger was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Uusisto with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Uusisto throws a nice looking combination but Rutger bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Uusisto throws a leg kick
and Rutger counters with a nice uppercut.
Uusisto lands with a right hand.
A slapping leg kick lands for Rutger.
Uusisto throws a right and a left that Rutger avoids nicely.
Rutger throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Uusisto looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Uusisto misses with a straight left.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Uusisto swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Rutger.
Rutger lands a slapping body shot.
Uusisto throws a right hand that misses

and Rutger counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Rutger.
Rutger tries to work over Uusisto's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rutger misses with a punch on the inside.
Rutger misses with a short punch on the inside.
Rutger throws a head punch that misses.
Rutger swings wildly with an uppercut but Uusisto uses good head movement to avoid it.
Uusisto lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Uusisto lands a left hand.
Rutger makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Russ Rutger has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rutger.
Uusisto has a couple of punches blocked by Rutger.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rutger goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Rutger lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Rutger cracks Uusisto with a nice body shot.
Uusisto struggles to land a body shot inside as Rutger controls his hands.
Rutger has Uusisto pressed against the cage, preventing Uusisto from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Rutger stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - a gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
Rutger misses with a punch to the body.
Uusisto blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Rutger swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Rutger gets through Uusisto's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Uusisto works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rutger swings wildly with an uppercut but Uusisto uses good head movement to avoid it.
Uusisto lands a nice shot to the body.
Good body shot from Rutger.
Jurmas Uusisto is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Uusisto goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Russ Rutger seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Rutger misses with a body punch.
Uusisto's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Rutger misses with a hook from the clinch.
Rutger gets through Uusisto's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Rutger tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Uusisto misses with a hook to the ribs.
Rutger throws a punch but it's blocked by Uusisto.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rutger lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Rutger.
Rutger swings away with an uppercut that misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Russ Rutger comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Uusisto has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 48:47
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 48:47
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jurmas Uusisto!
Jurmas Uusisto retains his welterweight title!
A relieved looking Jurmas Uusisto thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.