PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Al Russo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Adrian Rydel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Al Russo has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Russo
vs
Rydel

218 cm
18
177 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

188 cm
19
167 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Al Russo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Adrian Rydel!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Lombardi, Alyssa Summers and David Schapiro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Russo rushes Rydel and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Russo jumps guard but Rydel stands there with Russo around his waist. Russo gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Russo tries to circle away but Rydel has him pinned against the cage.

Rydel gets a trip takedown into half guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Rydel works his way into full mount!
Rydel trying to control but Russo is having none of it.

Rydel goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Russo turns into him and now he's in Rydel's guard.
Russo controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Russo accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Russo is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

Rydel is working an open guard so Russo takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

Rydel shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Russo manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rydel accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Russo will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Russo looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rydel is one step ahead there.
Russo wants to get back to his feet but Rydel is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Rydel has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Russo is proving hard to escape from.
Rydel must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rydel trying to control the position from guard on top but Russo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rydel loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Russo really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Russo is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Russo throwing shots but Rydel is blocking nicely.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rydel keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Russo controlling the pace.
Rydel keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Russo with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Russo decides to stand up.

Rydel closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Russo wants to break the clinch but can't.

Rydel lands a takedown into guard.
Russo thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Russo utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Rydel wants to control from the top but Russo keeps moving.
Rydel stopping the sweep attempt from Russo.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Russo tries to strike from the bottom.
Rydel is looking to advance position but Russo has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Russo wants to control the pace but Rydel is squirming around nicely.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rydel tries to hold on but Russo pushes him away.
Russo looking to control and managing it successfully.
Russo lands a big elbow.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Russo with shots to the head and body - Rydel looks very uncomfortable down there.
Russo controlling the position easily from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Al Russo will probably get the nod.
That's time! Russo's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Rydel moves into the clinch.
Russo stalling in the clinch but Rydel improves position.

Rydel gets a trip takedown into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Russo is in trouble now - Rydel has advanced to mount!
Russo regains half guard.
Russo moves into full guard.
Rydel throws an elbow that misses. Russo uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Rydel's guard. Nice move by Russo!
Rydel pulls Russo in to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Russo working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Rydel's head.
Rydel wants to stand but Russo is controlling the position.

Russo decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Rydel, up you get!

Rydel looking to score a takedown here. Russo is defending well but Rydel drives through and ends up in Russo's guard.
Rydel is breathing heavily.

Rydel stands up from Russo's guard - Rydel perhaps looking for a knockout.
Russo tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Rydel manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Russo tries to clinch there but Rydel circles away.

Rydel gets a clinch.

Russo decides to pull guard.
Russo scores with a couple of body punches from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Rydel postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Russo is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Rydel, into his guard.
Russo is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Rydel has his foot on Russo's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Russo works his way back into a safe position though.
Russo distracts Rydel with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Russo sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Russo postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Russo gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Sloppy strikes from Rydel. Those never looked like landing.

Russo has closed the distance and engaged Rydel in a clinch.
Russo is trying to maintain a safe position but Rydel gets an underhook and turns Russo into the cage.
Rydel is trying to break the clinch but Russo is controlling him.
Russo is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Russo tries to circle away but Rydel has him pinned against the cage.
Rydel is trying to break the clinch but Russo has him pressed against the cage.

Rydel turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Russo regains half guard.
Russo manages to get to full guard.
Al Russo overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Russo lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Rydel!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Russo takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Russo dominating with strikes here.
Russo content just to control the position here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Russo moves to the back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Al Russo dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. 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.

Rydel tries to sprawl but Russo drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Russo content to control rather than advance.
Rydel keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Russo lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Russo sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rydel defending well though.
Russo is nestled in close to Rydel, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Russo 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.

Russo postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Rydel to stand up.
Russo tries to clinch but Rydel is having none of it.

Rydel closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Russo quickly recovers to half guard.
Rydel takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Russo manages to get to full guard.
Russo keeping busy, throwing shots from the bottom.
Russo will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Russo throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Russo keeping moving, preventing Rydel from controlling successfully.
Rydel stopping the sweep attempt from Russo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rydel throwing strikes from guard but Russo blocks nicely.
Rydel passes Russo's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Rydel stalling away here and it's allowed Russo to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Russo keeping moving, preventing Rydel from controlling successfully.
Rydel wants to stand and escape but instead Russo has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Russo decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Some wild striking there from Rydel.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Russo gets caught napping as Rydel dives in and scores a takedown. Russo manages to retain guard.
Rydel won't allow Russo to sweep him here.
Russo scores with a short punch from the bottom.
Russo wants to stand and escape but Rydel is having none of it.
Russo is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Russo content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Russo has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rydel trying to control here.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Russo not doing much here.

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

Rydel shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Russo striking from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Al Russo showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Russo, 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 Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 30:27
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Al Russo!