PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sylvester Ritter (ranked 1348 p4p, 159 weight class) and Pierre Van Gogh (ranked 1958 p4p, 236 weight class). Van Gogh has chosen Outro - By: M83 as his entrance music. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Ritter
vs
Van Gogh

190 cm
27
278 lbs
11 - 9 - 0

195 cm
29
264 lbs
13 - 12 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Sportivité

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sylvester Ritter!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Pierre Van Gogh!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Ian Loll and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ritter ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Van Gogh moves away.
Ritter throws a leg kick but Van Gogh moved away.
Pierre Van Gogh seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ritter tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Van Gogh was well out of range. Poor timing from Ritter.
Ritter misses with a low kick.
Ritter misses with a hook.
Van Gogh scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Ritter takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Van Gogh thumps Ritter with a low kick.
Ritter throws a body punch but Van Gogh moves out of range.
Ritter fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Van Gogh manages to avoid it.
Van Gogh lands a glancing blow to the side of Ritter's head.
Ritter fails with the takedown
and Van Gogh counters with a two punch combo.
Ritter walks into a straight right hand from Van Gogh.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ritter looks to score with a jab to the body but Van Gogh is just out of range.
Ritter misses with a leg kick.
Van Gogh avoids the body shot from Ritter.
Van Gogh misses the jab.
Van Gogh scores with a nice right hand.
Ritter blocks a jab.
Van Gogh scores with a shot to the body.
Van Gogh lands the left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Gogh moves into range and connects with a jab.
A looping hook to the body misses from Ritter. Van Gogh does a little dance to reset his feet.
Ritter throws a body punch but Van Gogh moves out of range.
Ritter throws a low kick but Van Gogh avoids it.
Ritter swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Ritter misses the jab.
Ritter misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Van Gogh.
Van Gogh checks a low kick from Ritter.
Ritter on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Van Gogh connects with the punch.

Ritter closes the distance and clinches.

Van Gogh breaks from the clinch.
Van Gogh jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Ritter misses with a body shot.
Ritter tries to close the distance and clinch up but Van Gogh swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Van Gogh throws a big shot that misses.
Ritter dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ritter tries to move into range but Van Gogh moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
A jab from Van Gogh does it's job there.
Van Gogh misses with an uppercut. Ritter saw that one coming.
Ritter was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.

Ritter rushes Van Gogh and presses him up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ritter misses with a punch to the body.
Van Gogh lands a damaging elbow.

It looks like Sylvester Ritter has been cut.
Ritter pushes Van Gogh back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Van Gogh misses with the head strike.
Van Gogh told us before the fight that he's been working on his elbows. An under utilised technique these days - let's see if it can sway the outcome of the fight.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Van Gogh.
Van Gogh working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Ritter tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Van Gogh's elbow.
Van Gogh creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Ritter's defenses.
Van Gogh lands with a right to the head.
Ritter goes for a takedown attempt but Van Gogh pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Ritter swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Van Gogh wants to counter with a clinch but Ritter pushes him away.
Ritter takes a swing at Van Gogh's ribcage but misses.
Van Gogh misses with a hook. Ritter ducked under it nicely.

Ritter clinches with his opponent.

Van Gogh pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Van Gogh misses with an uppercut.
Van Gogh moves in looking to clinch but Ritter pushes him off.
Ritter looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Ritter takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Van Gogh misses with a looping right.
Ritter swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Gogh missing with a left hand there. Ritter was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Van Gogh ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Ritter moves away.
A slow jab from Ritter misses its intended target.
Pierre Van Gogh is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Van Gogh uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Ritter.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Van Gogh.
Ritter throws a body punch but Van Gogh moves out of range.
Ritter's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Van Gogh connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Ritter scrambles back to his feet.
Van Gogh blocks a low kick nicely.
Ritter looks to score with a jab to the body but Van Gogh is just out of range.
Van Gogh scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Ritter throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Van Gogh misses with an uppercut. Ritter saw that one coming.
Van Gogh moves into range and connects with a jab.
Van Gogh paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Van Gogh misses with an uppercut
and Ritter counters with a nice body shot.
Ritter is looking to wear down Van Gogh with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Ritter walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Van Gogh keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Van Gogh pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Ritter back to the cage. Van Gogh follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Van Gogh scores with a nice right hand.
Van Gogh lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ritter fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Van Gogh is out of range.
Ritter throws a leg kick but Van Gogh checks it.
Ritter has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Ritter there as he acknowledges the shot.
Van Gogh avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Van Gogh lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Ritter swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Van Gogh tries to counter by closing the distance.
Danga de danga de dang - Van Gogh scores with a four punch combination!
Van Gogh is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Ritter had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
Van Gogh takes one on the chin but seems OK.
A slow jab from Ritter misses its intended target.
Ritter doesn't manage to clinch there - Van Gogh circles away.
Ritter avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A looping hook to the body misses from Ritter. Van Gogh does a little dance to reset his feet.
Ritter throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Van Gogh.
Van Gogh scores with a decent looking hook.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ritter misses with a shot to the body
and Van Gogh connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Ritter takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Ritter uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Van Gogh.
Van Gogh keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Van Gogh connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Ritter's hands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pierre Van Gogh dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Sylvester Ritter's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Ritter throws a leg kick but Van Gogh checks it.
Decent striking displayed by Van Gogh there.
Ritter scores with a shot to the body.
Van Gogh lunges at Ritter with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Ritter's hand.
Ritter ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Van Gogh moves away.
Ritter has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Van Gogh.
Van Gogh turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Ritter tries to close the distance and clinch but Van Gogh swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Van Gogh scores with a push kick.
The crowd cheers as Van Gogh lands an impressive looking overhand right. Ritter doesn't seem phased though.
Ritter throws a leg kick but Van Gogh checks it.
Van Gogh wants to counter with a clinch but Ritter pushes him away.
Ritter throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ritter ducks right into an uppercut from Van Gogh.
Ritter misses with a wild body shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Van Gogh takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Ritter tries to land a leg kick but Van Gogh saw it coming and moves away.
Ritter uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Van Gogh.
A quick step to the side and Ritter tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Van Gogh uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Ritter.
Ritter drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Ritter tries to move into range but Van Gogh moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Van Gogh gets tackled into the cage by Ritter. Ritter maintains the clinch.
Ritter has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Van Gogh is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
A short uppercut from Ritter.

Van Gogh breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Ritter misses with a body punch
and Van Gogh counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Van Gogh tries to bum rush Ritter with a series of wild strikes but Ritter uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Some wild striking there from Van Gogh.
A big right from Van Gogh misses.
Van Gogh misses with a hook.
Ritter takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Van Gogh keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ritter lands a jab to the nose.
Ritter moves into range and connects with a jab.
Van Gogh cracks Ritter with a good jab.
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!
Van Gogh will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Ritter throws a series of punches but Van Gogh moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van Gogh moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Ritter just misses with a punch to the body.
Van Gogh bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Ritter swings for the body but Van Gogh moves out of range.
Nice uppercut there from Van Gogh.
Van Gogh moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Ritter.
Van Gogh connects with a looping right hand.
Van Gogh slips a jab and a cross from Ritter.
Van Gogh keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Van Gogh.
Van Gogh tests Ritter's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Ritter steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Van Gogh.
Van Gogh lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Nice shot by Van Gogh.

Ritter gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Van Gogh manages to break the clinch.
Van Gogh thuds his shin into the meat of Ritter's side.
Ritter tries to move into range but Van Gogh moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ritter swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Van Gogh lands an overhand right.
Van Gogh stuffs the takedown attempt from Ritter. Ritter gets slowly back to his feet.
Ritter tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Van Gogh is able to avoid easily.
Van Gogh is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Ritter.
Van Gogh's jab looks to have found its range, popping Ritter under the eye.
Ritter avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Ritter swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Van Gogh throws a quick inside leg kick.
Ritter looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Ritter moves forwards but Van Gogh connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Ritter just misses with a punch to the body.
Van Gogh lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Van Gogh tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ritter misses with a body shot.
Ritter moves out of range of the strikes.
Van Gogh keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Van Gogh lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Ritter throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Ritter slips a straight right by Van Gogh.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Gogh lands a really nice looking cross but Ritter seems unphased.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Van Gogh cracks Ritter with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Van Gogh throws a hook to the side of Ritter's head but Ritter sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Van Gogh scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Van Gogh scores with the left hand. Ritter knows he should have avoided that one.
Van Gogh avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Van Gogh looks to land a left hand but Ritter moved out of range nicely.
Van Gogh uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Ritter.
Ritter misses with a looping right.
Van Gogh looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Van Gogh circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ritter is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Ritter uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Van Gogh.
Van Gogh connects with a good right hand that stumbles Ritter. Ritter circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A slow jab from Ritter misses its intended target.
Van Gogh keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ritter looks to score with a jab to the body but Van Gogh is just out of range.
Ritter keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Van Gogh.
Van Gogh scores with a nice head shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pierre Van Gogh showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Sylvester Ritter's cut.
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. This is the final round!

Van Gogh moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Pierre Van Gogh seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Ritter moves forwards but Van Gogh connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Ritter wants to clinch.
Van Gogh throws a hook to the side of Ritter's head but Ritter sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Van Gogh has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Van Gogh ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Van Gogh avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Van Gogh scores with a punch to the head.
Ritter doesn't manage to clinch there - Van Gogh circles away.
Ritter keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Van Gogh.
Ritter connects with a body shot that sends Van Gogh's belly button to the back.
Some wild striking there from Ritter.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jab, jab by Van Gogh - just one landing.
Van Gogh darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Van Gogh misses with a hook.
Ritter misses with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ritter does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Van Gogh slips under a jab.
Ritter sets himself, and Van Gogh steps forward looking for the clinch! Ritter avoids it this time.
Van Gogh throws a series of punches but Ritter avoids them all with ease.
Ritter appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
No joy there for Ritter, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Ritter takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Ritter does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Ritter takes one to the side of the head.
Van Gogh slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Van Gogh loads up on a big right hand but Ritter slips the punch.
Ritter lands with a good body shot.
Ritter walks into a left hand.
Van Gogh avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Van Gogh steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Ritter.
Ritter swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Van Gogh is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Van Gogh lands a leg kick that knocks Ritter off balance momentarily.
Van Gogh misses the jab.
Van Gogh throws a good cross that connects.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ritter has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Van Gogh finds it's way round the side to connect with Ritter's head.
A good leg kick by Van Gogh.
Ritter misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Van Gogh.
It seemed like Van Gogh was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ritter tries to close the distance and clinch but Van Gogh swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ritter swings for the body but Van Gogh moves out of range.
Van Gogh misses with a wild combination.
Ritter walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Van Gogh moves out of range of the leg kick from Ritter.
Van Gogh scores with a jab to the head.
Van Gogh checks a low kick from Ritter.
A solid leg kick lands there for Van Gogh.
Ritter takes one on the chin but seems OK.
The crowd cheers as Van Gogh lands an impressive looking overhand right. Ritter doesn't seem phased though.
Sylvester Ritter has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Van Gogh throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Ritter stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
A slow jab from Ritter misses its intended target.
Ritter finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Ritter scores with a hook.
Ritter looks to score with a jab to the body but Van Gogh is just out of range.
Ritter swings widly with a right hand
and Van Gogh counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Gogh lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Van Gogh throws a quick inside leg kick.
Van Gogh lands a really nice looking cross but Ritter seems unphased.
Van Gogh takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Van Gogh connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Van Gogh looks to land a right hand but Ritter moved out of range.
Ritter takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Van Gogh pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Van Gogh throws a shot from downtown. Ritter moves away and avoids it.
Ritter scores with a nice strike.
Ritter is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Van Gogh.
Van Gogh wants to counter with a clinch but Ritter pushes him away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ritter looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ritter takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Ritter tries to score with a low kick but Van Gogh moves his leg out of the way.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Van Gogh, as that shot connected.
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!
Ritter misses with a wild body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A slapping leg kick lands for Van Gogh.
Van Gogh moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Ritter takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Van Gogh throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Ritter sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Van Gogh throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Van Gogh scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Ritter doesn't seem bothered though.
Ritter looks to score with a jab to the body but Van Gogh is just out of range.
Ritter sets himself, and Van Gogh steps forward looking for the clinch! Ritter avoids it this time.
Van Gogh works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Van Gogh works the jab nicely.
Ritter scores with a jab to the jaw.
Ritter throws a good cross that connects.
Van Gogh is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Ritter throws a hook but Van Gogh blocks it.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Van Gogh scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
A slow jab from Van Gogh misses its intended target.
Van Gogh jabs Ritter right on the nose. Ritter blinks but takes it well.
Van Gogh works Ritter's body with a nice hook.

And that's the end of the fight!
Pierre Van Gogh comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Van Gogh 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 Steve Smith scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 27:30
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pierre Van Gogh!
Pierre Van Gogh decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.