PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Robert The Sponge (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Iko Ruhian (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ruhian has chosen Kendang Pencak as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

The Sponge
vs
Ruhian

179 cm
22
160 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

180 cm
22
170 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Counter fighter
KO power

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

THE END 32

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 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Robert The Sponge!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Iko Ruhian!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Shigeki Sano and Yukihiro Shimada.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The Sponge takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Ruhian lunges at The Sponge with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by The Sponge's hand.

The Sponge shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
The Sponge won't allow Ruhian to sweep him here.
The Sponge trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The Sponge scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Ruhian really doesn't want to stay on the ground with The Sponge. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The Sponge trying to control but Ruhian is working from the bottom.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Ruhian can do anything to dispel that myth.
The Sponge working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The Sponge distracts Ruhian with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

Ruhian pushes The Sponge off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Iko Ruhian seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The Sponge dives in and grabs Ruhian's left leg, looking for a takedown. Ruhian pushes down on The Sponge's head and hops out.
Ruhian ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruhian lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
The Sponge definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Ruhian fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. The Sponge looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
No joy there for Ruhian, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Ruhian misses with a wild body shot.
The Sponge is looking to counter the offense by Ruhian and move into the clinch.
Ruhian tries to bum rush The Sponge with a series of wild strikes but The Sponge uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
The Sponge half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Ruhian fakes high and swings low for a body shot but The Sponge manages to avoid it.
The Sponge went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Ruhian misses with a low kick.
Ruhian throws a body shot but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruhian fakes high and swings low for a body shot but The Sponge manages to avoid it.
Ruhian throws a front kick aimed at The Sponge's knee but The Sponge avoids it well.
The Sponge appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Ruhian lands a leg kick that knocks The Sponge off balance momentarily.
The Sponge blocks a head kick by Ruhian.
Ruhian misses with a combination

and The Sponge counters with a takedown into side control.
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!

The Sponge is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Ruhian is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
The strikes coming from The Sponge are missing the target in this wave of attacks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruhian is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, The Sponge asserts his dominance and retains side control.
The Sponge sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Ruhian is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
The Sponge lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Ruhian down.
The Sponge trying to control the position but Ruhian is working away.
Ruhian is trying to control The Sponge's posture but The Sponge avoids it.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

The Sponge stands up and beckons Ruhian to his feet.
Ruhian throws out a leg kick but The Sponge moves out of range and Ruhian only half commits.
The Sponge feinted with a counter takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruhian misses with a body punch

and The Sponge holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Ruhian can't break the clinch.

The Sponge pulls guard effortlessly.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now The Sponge is on top in guard.

The Sponge landing some decent shots from guard.
The Sponge 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.
The Sponge trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The Sponge trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
The Sponge preventing the sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Iko Ruhian will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Ruhian lands a nice looking body shot.
Ruhian works the jab nicely.
Ruhian tries to work over The Sponge's front leg with a kick but The Sponge checks it.
Ruhian throws a right hand that misses

and The Sponge counters with a shoot takedown. Ruhian fights it but they end up in guard.
Robert The Sponge overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ruhian is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst The Sponge is controlling him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The Sponge trying to control the position from guard on top but Ruhian is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The Sponge drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Ruhian manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now The Sponge has Ruhian in his guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruhian throwing strikes from guard but The Sponge blocks nicely.
We've been informed that Ruhian has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.

The Sponge is working actively from the bottom, looking for submissions. He's escaped his hips to the side and he's going for an armbar! Ruhian has his hands clasped together but The Sponge extends and breaks Ruhian's desperate grasp, forcing a tap out due to armbar! Nice BJJ displayed there by The Sponge.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:46 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Robert The Sponge!
A very excited looking Robert The Sponge made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.