PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Maurice Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mendy Ripstein (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Smith
vs
Ripstein

161 cm
20
160 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

190 cm
25
140 lbs
5 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Maurice Smith!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Mendy Ripstein!
The judges for this bout are Chris Dean, Summer Carpenter and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Smith looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Ripstein looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Smith slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Ripstein wants to get back to his feet but Smith is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Ripstein has momentary wrist control but Smith slips an elbow through the middle.
Smith lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Smith stops Ripstein from standing up.
Smith stays in close to Ripstein's body and controls the position.
Smith landing some decent shots from guard.
Smith not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ripstein has momentary wrist control but Smith slips an elbow through the middle.
Smith keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Ripstein's head.
Ripstein is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Smith controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Smith keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Ripstein's head.
Smith passes Ripstein's left leg - he's now in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Smith seems to be working for a kimura but Ripstein defends the submission attempt.
Smith stalling.
Ripstein on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Ripstein is defending against the submission attempts here by Smith.
Ripstein pushes Smith off looking to stand but Smith dives back in and keeps control.

Smith seems to be looking for submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Smith looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Smith scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Smith sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Smith landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith working over Ripstein with some ground and pound. Ripstein looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Smith controlling the pace.
Ripstein looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Smith is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Smith slips a nice elbow through Ripstein's hands, connecting with Ripstein's forehead.
Smith 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.
Smith with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Smith has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maurice Smith 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.

Ripstein gets caught napping as Smith dives in and scores a takedown. Ripstein manages to retain guard.
Smith not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Smith content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Smith forces his way into half guard.

Smith seems to be looking for submissions.
Smith slips a nice elbow through Ripstein's hands, connecting with Ripstein's forehead.
Smith performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Ripstein is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ripstein is breathing heavily.
Ripstein taking some punishment here, with Smith in his half guard.
Ripstein tries to kick Smith off but Smith keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Smith is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ripstein can do to turn this around?
Smith drops an elbow to the side of Ripstein's head.
Smith perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Smith scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Smith lands with a punch from half guard.
Smith landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

Ripstein is rocked!
Ripstein taking some punishment here, with Smith in his half guard.
Ripstein is still in real trouble! Can Smith finish him?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Well, if Smith is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Ripstein seems to have recovered his senses.

Maurice Smith has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Smith scores with a jab to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Smith scores with a takedown into Ripstein's guard.
Smith content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Smith connects with a couple of short punches.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Smith with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Smith controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Smith working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Smith's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Smith drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Smith jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Smith is stalling in the full guard.
Smith chips away with some ground and pound.
Smith pushes down on Ripstein's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Smith trying to control the pace.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ripstein taking some punishment here, with Smith in his half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maurice Smith 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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Smith swings for the body but Ripstein moves out of range.

Smith drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Smith distracts Ripstein with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Smith stays in close to Ripstein's body and controls the position.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Ripstein takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

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

Smith throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Ripstein was covering up waiting for the punch and Smith finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Smith not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Smith distracts Ripstein with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Smith keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Ripstein's head.
Smith postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Smith slips nicely into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Smith seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Smith is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Still in half guard, Smith seems content to control.
Smith is nestled in close to Ripstein, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith slows the pace down in half guard.
Smith lands strikes from half guard.
Smith stalling.
Smith working the head and body with strikes.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Maurice Smith wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Ripstein takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Maurice Smith is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Smith scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Smith scoring with punches from side control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Smith is staying tight to Ripstein's torso, preventing him from escaping.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Smith seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Ripstein for as long as he can get away with.

And that's the end of the fight!
Maurice Smith showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Smith 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 Chris Dean scores the fight 30:24
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 30:25
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 30:24

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Maurice Smith!
After the big win, Maurice Smith made sure to do all the important stuff like thanking his sponsors Brazil War House (Laundry 90%) and telling the interviewer how much he loves him.