PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Roger Schwarzeneg (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ryan Baxter (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Schwarzeneg
vs
Baxter

181 cm
43
190 lbs
29 - 48 - 0

185 cm
33
148 lbs
23 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 29 - 48 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Roger Schwarzeneg!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ryan Baxter!
The judges for this bout are Paul Gruel, Jeff Smith and Micheangelo Fripello.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Baxter has managed to clinch.
Baxter misses with a punch on the inside.
Baxter using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Schwarzeneg has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Schwarzeneg jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Baxter walks away with a smile on his face. Schwarzeneg gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Baxter has taken the fight to the clinch.
Baxter throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Schwarzenegs head.
Baxter tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Schwarzeneg avoids it.
Baxter misses with a body punch.
Baxter keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Schwarzeneg's efforts to push away.
Baxter is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Baxter breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Baxter thumps Schwarzeneg with a low kick.
Ryan Baxter seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Baxter throws a series of punches but Schwarzeneg avoids them all with ease.
Baxter lands with a nice combination. Schwarzeneg backs away looking to recover.

It looks like Roger Schwarzeneg has been cut.

Baxter forces Schwarzeneg back against the cage and clinches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Baxter tries to land a knee to the head but Schwarzeneg blocks with his arms.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baxter lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

Schwarzeneg breaks from the clinch.
Schwarzeneg throws a series of strikes that have Baxter backpedaling.

Baxter takes the fight into the clinch.
Baxter comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Schwarzeneg jumps guard but Baxter turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Schwarzeneg is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Baxter to keep the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Roger Schwarzeneg. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A nice left hand lands by Baxter.
Baxter landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Schwarzeneg tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Baxter lands a right hand that snaps the head of Schwarzeneg backwards.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

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

Baxter clinches with his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baxter lands with a light punch inside.
Baxter lands a nice uppercut.
Schwarzeneg's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Baxter using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Schwarzeneg has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Baxter lands a nice shot to the body.
Still in the clinch, Baxter scores with a nice short uppercut.

Baxter breaks from the clinch.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Baxter misses with a two punch combination.
Baxter lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Baxter avoids the head kick by Schwarzeneg.
Schwarzeneg looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Baxter gets through Schwarzeneg's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Schwarzeneg takes a shot to the head.
Baxter scores with a shoulder strike.

Baxter manages to break the clinch.
Baxter throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Baxter leaves Schwarzeneg with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Baxter lands a head kick!

Baxter moves into range and clinches up with Schwarzeneg.
Baxter tries a knee to the head but Schwarzeneg blocks it.
Baxter is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Schwarzeneg is defending well for now.
Schwarzeneg jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Baxter walks away with a smile on his face. Schwarzeneg gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Baxter throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Baxter misses with an attempted mid kick.

Baxter has managed to clinch.
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!

Baxter pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Baxter misses with a wild combination.
Baxter swats away the attempt to clinch by Schwarzeneg.
Baxter throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Schwarzeneg will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Baxter throws a series of strikes that have Schwarzeneg backpedaling.
Schwarzeneg takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

Baxter rushes Schwarzeneg and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Baxter breaks the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Baxter lands a head kick. Schwarzeneg smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Baxter scores with a head kick.
Schwarzeneg doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Baxter counters with a lovely straight right hand!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ryan Baxter dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Roger Schwarzeneg's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Schwarzeneg shoots in and drives through. Baxter sprawls well.
Schwarzeneg tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Baxter defends well and Schwarzeneg ends up having to push Baxter into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

Baxter has closed the distance and engaged Schwarzeneg in a clinch.
Baxter misses with a hook to the ribs.
Good body shot from Baxter.
Baxter connects with a nasty looking knee right to Schwarzeneg's face.
A body shot lands from Baxter.
Schwarzeneg is looking to break free of the clinch but Baxter has double underhooks.
Baxter has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Schwarzeneg leaning his opponent against the cage.

Baxter pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Baxter moves into the clinch.
A shot in the inside from Baxter.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baxter lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Schwarzeneg backwards.
Baxter pushes Schwarzeneg back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Baxter lands an uppercut.
Baxter digs a right hand into Schwarzeneg's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Schwarzeneg's gas tank.

Baxter breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Baxter tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Schwarzeneg tries to clinch up but Baxter circles away and keeps his distance.

The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Schwarzeneg gets tackled into the cage by Baxter. Baxter maintains the clinch.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Baxter creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Baxter works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Schwarzeneg fails to pull the fight into his guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Roger Schwarzeneg. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Baxter pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ryan Baxter is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Baxter looks to land a combination. Schwarzeneg sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Baxter. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baxter struggles to land a body shot inside as Schwarzeneg controls his hands.
Schwarzeneg tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Schwarzeneg avoiding damage as Baxter throws knees to the body.
Baxter softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Ryan Baxter seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Baxter works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Baxter prevents a takedown attempt there.
A short right from Baxter.

Baxter's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Schwarzeneg shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Baxter defends it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baxter's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Baxter duly obliges.
Schwarzeneg dodges the punch combination from Baxter.
Baxter lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Baxter, right into the meat.
Baxter misses with a jab, cross combination.
As Baxter looks to move away, Schwarzeneg throws a big counter combo bu Baxter just gets out of the way.

Baxter gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Baxter breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Baxter goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Baxter gets a clinch.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Baxter creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Baxter misses with the head strike.
Baxter misses with a knee to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Schwarzeneg blocks an elbow strike.
Baxter lands a nice elbow.
Baxter lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Baxter misses with a hook from the clinch.
Baxter tries to throw a body punch but Schwarzeneg avoids it by throwing Baxter back against the cage.
Schwarzeneg is looking to take this one to the mat.
Baxter working aggressively here.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Baxter.

Baxter manages to break the clinch.
Schwarzeneg shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Baxter defends it nicely.
Baxter unleashes a big counter combination but Schwarzeneg bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ryan Baxter showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Roger Schwarzeneg's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Baxter has taken the fight to the clinch.
Baxter lands a left hand that snaps the head of Schwarzeneg backwards.
Baxter throws a knee to the head but misses.
Baxter gets through Schwarzeneg's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Baxter misses with an elbow over the top.
Schwarzeneg managing to block the knees to the body from Baxter.
Baxter lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Baxter lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Schwarzeneg or not.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Baxter lands an uppercut.
Schwarzeneg tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Baxter smiles and moves away.
Ryan Baxter seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Schwarzeneg tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Baxter defends well and Schwarzeneg ends up having to push Baxter into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Baxter stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Baxter closes the distance and pushes Schwarzeneg back into the cage.
Baxter working some nice short punches in the clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Baxter.

Baxter pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Schwarzeneg showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Baxter.
Schwarzeneg appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Roger Schwarzeneg is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Baxter throws a one two combo.

Baxter drives through and clinches with Schwarzeneg against the cage.
Baxter working hard to break the clinch.
Baxter tries to land knees in the clinch but Schwarzeneg avoids the damage to the body.
Schwarzeneg has Baxter pressed against the cage, preventing Baxter from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Schwarzeneg fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Roger Schwarzeneg. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Schwarzeneg is trying to break the clinch but Baxter has him pressed against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baxter lands an elbow that stopped Schwarzeneg in his tracks for a moment.

Baxter breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Baxter jabs Schwarzeneg to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Baxter has closed the distance and engaged Schwarzeneg in a clinch.
Baxter lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Schwarzeneg backwards.
A right hand to the body from Baxter.
Baxter scores with a shot to the side of Schwarzeneg's head.

Baxter pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Baxter pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Baxter misses with a wild combination.
Roger Schwarzeneg has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A combination from Baxter does no damage.

Baxter darts in and clinches Schwarzeneg up against the cage.

Baxter breaks from the clinch.

Schwarzeneg gets a double leg takedown into Baxter's guard.
Schwarzeneg with a flurry of punches that miss.
Baxter looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Schwarzeneg working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Schwarzeneg landing some decent shots from guard.
Schwarzeneg 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.
Baxter has Schwarzeneg pulled in close to control his posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Schwarzeneg trying to control but Baxter is working from the bottom.
Baxter controlling the position.

Schwarzeneg stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Baxter throws a series of punches but Schwarzeneg avoids them all with ease.
A head kick misses from Baxter.
A chopping leg kick lands by Baxter.
Schwarzeneg throws a one two combo.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Baxter gets a clinch.

Schwarzeneg jumps guard and drags Baxter to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Baxter is in close to Schwarzeneg's body, working some short punches and elbows.

Baxter decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ryan Baxter comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Baxter 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 Paul Gruel scores the fight 25:30
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 25:30
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ryan Baxter!
Ryan Baxter was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.