PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Van Gray (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kenric Nyyrikki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Gray
vs
Nyyrikki

175 cm
18
177 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

183 cm
23
170 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Van Gray!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Kenric Nyyrikki!
The judges for this bout are Micheangelo Fripello, Jeff Smith and Ryoma Takatsuka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gray shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Nyyrikki as he jumps to the side.
Nyyrikki looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Nyyrikki gets caught napping as Gray dives in and scores a takedown. Nyyrikki manages to retain guard.
Gray in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Gray slips nicely into half guard.
Gray is controlling the pace.
Gray seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Nyyrikki for as long as he can get away with.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nyyrikki avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Gray.
Well, if Gray 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Van Gray wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Gray fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Nyyrikki to the ground. Gray is now in Nyyrikki's guard.
Gray is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Our spies down at at Cozad MMA Hilo inform us that Nyyrikki has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Nyyrikki can do anything to dispel that myth.
Gray throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nyyrikki works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Gray stands up and waves to Nyyrikki to follow him.

Nyyrikki gets a clinch.
Still in the clinch, Gray scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nyyrikki tries to break free but Gray pushes him back against the cage.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Gray.

Gray breaks the clinch.
Nyyrikki uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Gray.
Nyyrikki throws a sloppy head kick and Gray moves out of range easily.

Gray shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Nyyrikki manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Nyyrikki can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Gray controls the pace.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gray 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.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Gray stands up from Nyyrikki's guard - Gray perhaps looking for a knockout.

Gray looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nyyrikki is trying to control but can't.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Van Gray dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Gray closes the distance and pushes Nyyrikki back into the cage.
Gray lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

Nyyrikki pulls guard successfully.
Gray passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Gray is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Nyyrikki's shoulder. That is not cool.
An elbow from Gray crashes against the mat.
Gray cracks Nyyrikki with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Nyyrikki is breathing heavily.
Nyyrikki is being controlled here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gray stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Kenric Nyyrikki seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nyyrikki moves out of range as Gray strikes.
Gray has a takedown stuffed.

Gray bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Gray lands a decent elbow from side control.
Nyyrikki seems a little lost for a moment, as Gray dominates the positioning.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gray connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Nyyrikki some visible discomfort.
Gray controlling the position from side mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
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 because Van Gray just wasn't active enough.
Gray shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Nyyrikki but Nyyrikki pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Nyyrikki displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Gray.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Van Gray. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gray rushes Nyyrikki and presses him up against the cage.
Nyyrikki tries to stall but Gray uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Still in the clinch, Gray scores with a nice short uppercut.

Nyyrikki has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Gray uses from the top position.
Gray content to stall in guard here.
Gray chips away with some ground and pound.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gray controlling from the top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Van Gray dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Gray shoots in looking for a takedown. Nyyrikki tries to sprawl out of it but Gray keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Nyyrikki manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Nyyrikki lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

Nyyrikki moves into the clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Nyyrikki misses with a knee strike.

Gray breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Gray shoots in for a takedown but Nyyrikki shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Nyyrikki throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nyyrikki takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gray closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Gray perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Nyyrikki looks like he's trying to stand up.
Gray throwing shots but Nyyrikki is blocking nicely.
Gray controlling the pace.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Van Gray wasn't doing enough on the ground.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Gray.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Van Gray. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nyyrikki pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Gray darts in looking for a takedown but Nyyrikki gets double underhooks and turns Gray into the cage.
Gray swings wildly with an uppercut but Nyyrikki uses good head movement to avoid it.

Gray escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Gray will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Gray shoots in and drives through. Nyyrikki sprawls well.

Nyyrikki moves into range and clinches up with Gray.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Nyyrikki breaks from the clinch.

Gray fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Nyyrikki sprawls well initially but Gray persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Nyyrikki trying to control here.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Gray connects with a nice short shot to Nyyrikki's temple.
Still in half guard, Gray seems content to control.
Nyyrikki is trying to get back to full guard.
Gray 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.
Gray is controlling the pace.
Van Gray overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

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

Gray closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Nyyrikki is looking to reverse the position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gray lands some shots froms side control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gray is working Nyyrikki over with some ground and pound from side control.
Nyyrikki takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Kenric Nyyrikki has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Van Gray is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Gray is staying tight to Nyyrikki's torso, preventing him from escaping.

And that's the end of the fight!
Van Gray showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Gray 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 Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Van Gray!