PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rickie Langley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tata Utog (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rickie Langley has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Langley
vs
Utog

221 cm
21
161 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

178 cm
19
155 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Can Moonwalk

Kore Fight Nutrition [TG]

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rickie Langley!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Tata Utog!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Igor Prikhodko and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Langley fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Langley manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Utog on his heels. He'll look to pass Utog's guard now, I'm sure.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Utog utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Langley accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Langley trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Utog working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Langley.

Utog pushes Langley off and scrambles back to his feet.
Utog displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Langley.

Utog gets a takedown into half guard.

Utog decides to stand and escape the position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
That kick from Utog tenderised Langley's leg. Langley is trying to keep his angry face on.
Tata Utog seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Utog feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Langley wants to sweep but no luck.
Langley is looking to stand up but Utog isn't so interested in that idea.
Utog really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Langley. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Utog slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Langley wants to stand up but Utog is controlling him.
Langley 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.
Langley is breathing heavily.
Utog not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Tata Utog.
Utog thuds a left hand into Langley's body.
Langley leaves Utog with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Langley is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Utog.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Utog lands a body shot.
Langley tries to close the distance and clinch but Utog swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Some wild striking there from Utog.

Utog shoots in and gets a takedown into Langley's guard.

Langley looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Langley trying to control the position.
Utog is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Langley is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Utog is controlling him.
Utog must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Langley had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Utog defends it easily.

Utog is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Langley escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Utog gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Utog stands up over Langley, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Utog slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Utog wants to get up but he can't break Langley's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Utog prevents Langley from getting back to his feet.
Utog won't allow Langley to sweep him here.
Langley really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Langley not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Langley has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Utog has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.

Utog lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.

Utog is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Langley is staying active underneath Utog, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Utog is thwarting Langley's attempts to control the position.
Langley is trying to stand back up but Utog is controlling him
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Utog content to control rather than advance.
Langley looks like he's trying to stand up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tata Utog dominated that 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.

Utog throws a combination. Langley tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

Utog looking for a takedown here - he's got it.

Langley is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Utog is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Tata Utog has got the better of the ground game so far.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Langley holds on and takes a little breather.

That's one minute gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Utog postures up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Rickie Langley.
Utog fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Utog takes the fight into the clinch.
Langley is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

Langley breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Langley throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Utog tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Langley is in Utog's guard.
Utog is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Utog is breathing heavily.
Langley throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Utog works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Langley stopping the sweep attempt from Utog.
Utog manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Langley manages to get himself to full guard.
Langley will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Langley wants to get back to his feet but Utog is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Langley is trying to keep Utog in close.

Langley is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Utog sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Utog trying to control but Langley is working from the bottom.
Langley is looking to stand up but Utog isn't so interested in that idea.

Langley is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Langley with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Langley lands an elbow inside that Utog shrugs off.

Langley escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Utog shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Langley tries to roll over but Utog keeps him under control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Utog wants to stand but Langley has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Langley pushes Utog off looking to stand but Utog dives back in and keeps control.

Utog stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Langley to get to his feet.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Langley enables Utog to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Langley manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Langley is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Utog is controlling him.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Utog tries to free his leg and advance position but Langley is retaining full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Tata Utog will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Utog closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Langley's guard.
Utog sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Utog prevents Langley from getting back to his feet.

Utog thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

Langley has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Utog off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

Utog closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Langley tries to improve position but can't.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Langley tries to escape but Utog is in control.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Utog tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Utog trying to control the position but Langley is working away.
Langley wants to control but Utog postures up.
Utog staying calm.
Langley is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Utog asserts his dominance and retains side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Utog remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Utog scoring with punches from side control.
Utog working the ground and pound.
Langley wants to get back to his feet.
Langley is looking to reverse the position.
Langley regains half guard.
Langley wants to get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Langley is trying to maintain the position but Utog is very close to passing his half guard.
Utog perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Langley moves into full guard.
Utog tries to free his leg and advance position but Langley is retaining full guard.
Langley is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Utog showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tata Utog was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Utog with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Langley to score with a decent uppercut.
Langley scores with a push kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Utog avoids the head kick by Langley.
Nice body punch from Utog.

Utog throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Langley was covering up waiting for the punch and Utog finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Langley wants to stand and escape but Utog is having none of it.
Utog slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Utog stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Langley swivels though and keeps the full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Langley manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Utog manages to get himself to full guard.
Rickie Langley has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tata Utog is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Utog is pulling down on Langley's head. It's preventing any offense from Langley, at least for the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tata Utog comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Utog winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 27:30
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tata Utog!