PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kiovani Aro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Ruth (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Aro
vs
Ruth

187 cm
24
193 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

178 cm
23
195 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
Excellent boxer
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 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kiovani Aro!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Ruth!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Aro connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Aro works over Ruth's head and body with a nice combination.
Ruth ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Ruth feints the counter takedown.
Ruth stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Aro keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Ruth.
Ruth displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Aro throws out the jab.
Aro lands the left hand.
A nice inside leg kick there by Aro. That's going to slow Ruth down.
Aro takes one on the button.
Ruth takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ruth ducks under a wild hook from Aro.
Aro tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ruth swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aro fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Ruth with the counter takedown but Aro avoids it easily.
Ruth throws an overhand right that lands on Aro's shoulder, as Aro tries to avoid the shot.
Aro gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Aro is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Ruth.
Aro throws a series of punches but Ruth avoids them all with ease.
Ruth with the counter takedown but Aro avoids it easily.
Kiovani Aro is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Aro getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Ruth throws a jab but it's blocked by Aro.
Aro definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

Aro has taken the fight to the clinch.
Aro misses with the head strike.
A head punch on the inside from Aro fails to land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aro misses with some punches.
Ruth stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Aro.
A bit of stalling here from Ruth.
Ruth misses with some punches.
A shot in the inside from Aro.
Ruth misses with some punches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ruth lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Aro tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ruth's elbow.
Ruth leaning against his opponent.
Ruth blocking some punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruth lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Aro.
A nice right hand lands inside from Aro.
Ruth looking to slow down the pace here.
Aro letting Ruth take a breather here.
A short left from Aro.
Aro lands a hook to the side of the head.
Aro blocking some punches.
With the fighters up against the cage, Aro throws an elbow but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruth is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Aro gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Aro tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ruth is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Ruth tries to score a body lock takedown but Aro shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Aro crunches a lovely knee into Ruth's ribcage.
Ruth lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Aro backwards.
Ruth prevents a body shot from Aro.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ruth taking a breather.
Aro can't find room to land a body shot as Ruth controls the action.
Aro tries to land a knee to the head but Ruth blocks with his arms.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kiovani Aro dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Aro tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ruth manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Ruth is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Aro.
Aro closes the distance and lands a one-two.
A big right from Ruth misses.
Ruth bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Aro's head.
Kiovani Aro seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ruth misses with an uppercut.
Aro tests Ruth's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Ruth throws a right hand that misses
and Aro counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Aro feints a jab promting Ruth to slip. Aro then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Ruth slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Aro feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Ruths jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aro throws a series of punches but Ruth avoids them all with ease.
Ruth feints the counter takedown.
Aro connects with an inside leg kick.
A jab from Ruth misses.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Aro working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Aro is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ruth can do to turn this around?
Aro tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ruth's elbow.
Ruth is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Aro lands with a short shot to the head.
Kiovani Aro has scored more points in the clinch so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruth misses with a punch on the inside.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Aro.
Ruth's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Aro lands a body shot in the clinch.
Aro has Ruth pressed against the cage.
Ruth swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Aro tries to work over Ruth's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Aro throws a head punch that misses.
Aro missing with knees to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ruth wants a takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruth swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Aro lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Ruth taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Aro is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Ruth swings wildly with an uppercut but Aro uses good head movement to avoid it.
Aro blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Ruth pulls guard successfully.
Ruth keeping moving, preventing Aro from controlling successfully.
Aro is really struggling to control Ruth but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Ruth looking to hit a scissor sweep but Aro is one step ahead there.
Aro has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aro throwing strikes but missing.
Ruth looking to hit a scissor sweep but Aro is one step ahead there.
Aro controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Ruth controls Aro momentarily but Aro frees himself.
Ruth trying to control the position here.
Let's hope that Ruth has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kiovani Aro dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Aro uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Ruth.
Aro throws a body punch but Ruth moves out of range.
Aro is looking to clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Aro looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
And Ruth tries to counter it with a takedown but Aro pushes his down on his head and steps out.

Aro pushes Ruth up against the cage in a clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ruth leaning his opponent against the cage.
Aro working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stalling in the clinch from Ruth.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Aro just misses with a elbow thrown towards Ruth's brow.
Aro pushes off an throws an elbow but Ruth leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Aro blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ruth.
Ruth leaning against his opponent.
Aro misses with the head strike.
Ruth throws a punch but it's blocked by Aro.
Aro blocks a punch to the side of the head.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ruth.
A head punch on the inside from Aro fails to land.
John Ruth has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aro tries to land a knee to the head but Ruth blocks with his arms.
Ruth tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ruth throws a head punch that misses.
Aro blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Aro.
Aro misses with some punches.
Aro blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Aro scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Ruth goes for a takedown attempt but Aro pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Ruth fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Aro throws a head kick that misses.
Aro tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ruth paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Ruth changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice shot lands for Aro.
Ruth throws a lazy uppercut
and Aro counters with a straight right hand.
Kiovani Aro is winning the standup battle so far.
Aro moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Ruth misses with a hook
and Aro counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
A left lands for Aro.
Aro with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Ruth might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Ruth misses with a right hand
and Aro counters with a series of strikes. Ruth will be more careful next time no doubt.
Aro throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Aro bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Ruth's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ruth pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Aro appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Aro defending well as Ruth loads up on a big left hand.
Aro lands with a nice combination. Ruth backs away looking to recover.
Ruth looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Aro is fending him off so far but Ruth persists. Nope, Aro circles away and we're back to standing.
Kiovani Aro has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Ruth.
Aro throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Kiovani Aro is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Aro blocks a jab.
Ruth stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Aro.
Aro looks to land a combination but Ruth avoids it well.
And Ruth tries to counter it with a takedown but Aro pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Ruth takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Aro scores with a jab to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kiovani Aro showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Aro, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kiovani Aro!
Kiovani Aro seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.