PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight kickboxing rules bout between Eli Rutherford (ranked 7621 p4p, 455 weight class) and Cahal Jefferson (ranked 8309 p4p, 485 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Rutherford
vs
Jefferson

175 cm
18
160 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

150 cm
20
142 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

World class boxer
Granite chin

Excellent MT
Solid chin

Power Matrix Nutrition

Real Men Supplements

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Eli Rutherford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Cahal Jefferson!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Shigeki Fujiwara and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Jefferson takes the fight into the clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rutherford.
Rutherford leaning against his opponent.
Jefferson struggles to land a body shot inside as Rutherford controls his hands.
Rutherford prevents a body shot from Jefferson.
A nice left hand lands by Jefferson.

Rutherford breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rutherford throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Jefferson on the side of the head.
Jefferson tries to close the distance and clinch but Rutherford swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Jefferson moves in looking to clinch but Rutherford pushes him off.
Jefferson is looking to clinch but Rutherford is avoiding it.
Rutherford wants to land a leg kick but Jefferson is out of range.
Jefferson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Rutherford paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Jefferson closes the distance and pushes Rutherford back into the ropes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rutherford wants to break the clinch but can't.
Jefferson being controlled against the ropes.
Jefferson tries to throw a body punch but Rutherford avoids it by throwing Jefferson back against the ropes.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rutherford takes a swing at Jefferson's ribcage but misses.
Jefferson steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Rutherford.
Jefferson takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Rutherford changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

Jefferson closes the distance and clinches.
Jefferson lands with a right to the head.
Rutherford has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Jefferson misses with some punches.
Jefferson misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Jefferson misses with a short punch on the inside.
Rutherford's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Rutherford blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Rutherford working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Jefferson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Rutherford blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Jefferson trying to stall but Rutherford improves his position.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Jefferson.
Jefferson missing with knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rutherford gets through Jefferson's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Rutherford lands a right hand.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rutherford tries to stall but Jefferson uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Jefferson swings wildly with an uppercut but Rutherford uses good head movement to avoid it.
A head punch on the inside from Jefferson fails to land.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rutherford.
Jefferson is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Rutherford prevents a body shot from Jefferson.
Rutherford taking a break, stalling in the clinch.

Rutherford breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Jefferson is looking to clinch but Rutherford is avoiding it.
A jab from Rutherford does it's job there.
The fight stays on the outside here - Jefferson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Jefferson slips under a jab from Rutherford.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Eli Rutherford will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Jefferson rushes Rutherford and presses him up against the ropes.
Jefferson lands a shoulder strike.
Rutherford is trying to stall.
Jefferson throws a punch but it's blocked by Rutherford.
Rutherford lands an uppercut.
Jefferson throws a head punch that misses.
Jefferson misses with a hook to the ribs.
Jefferson misses with some punches.
Jefferson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Jefferson misses with a body punch.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.
Jefferson lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jefferson has Rutherford pressed against the ropes, preventing Rutherford from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Rutherford lands with a light punch inside.

Rutherford breaks the clinch.
Rutherford throws a head kick that misses.
Jefferson appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Rutherford lunges at Jefferson with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Jefferson's hand.
Rutherford is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rutherford scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Jefferson doesn't seem bothered though.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

Jefferson clinches up against the ropes.
Rutherford avoiding damage as Jefferson throws knees to the body.
Jefferson lands with a left to the head.
Rutherford wants to get back to striking at distance but Jefferson won't allow it.
Rutherford is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Jefferson is keeping busy.
Rutherford is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
Jefferson stalling in the clinch but Rutherford improves position.
A head punch on the inside from Jefferson fails to land.
Jefferson misses with a punch on the inside.
Jefferson lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Rutherford backwards.
Jefferson makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Rutherford trying to control the position but instead, Jefferson has worked for underhooks and has pushed Rutherford into the ropes.
Rutherford avoiding damage as Jefferson throws knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rutherford blocking some punches.
Jefferson trying to stall but Rutherford improves his position.
Rutherford taking a breather.
Rutherford blocking some punches.
Jefferson putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Rutherford in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Rutherford blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Jefferson.
Rutherford stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Rutherford as Jefferson tries to tie him up.
A shot in the inside from Jefferson.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rutherford can't find room to land a body shot as Jefferson controls the action.
Rutherford blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Rutherford trying to stall but Jefferson improves his position.
Jefferson putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Rutherford in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Rutherford blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cahal Jefferson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Rutherford ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Jefferson moves away.
Jefferson tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in to close the distance. Rutherford manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Jefferson tries to clinch there but Rutherford circles away.
Rutherford went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Jefferson walks into a stiff left hand from Rutherford.
Rutherford dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Rutherford keeps the fight on the outside.
Rutherford dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Jefferson has Rutherford up against the ropes in a clinch.
Jefferson keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Rutherford's efforts to push away.
Jefferson working aggressively here.
Rutherford tries to circle away but Jefferson has him pinned against the ropes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jefferson swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Jefferson throws a head punch that misses.
Jefferson prevents a body shot from Rutherford.
Rutherford tries to break free but Jefferson pushes him back against the ropes.
Jefferson has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Rutherford seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Jefferson can turn it around.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Jefferson creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rutherford throws a looping overhand right but Jefferson ducks down to avoid it.
Eli Rutherford seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rutherford smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Jefferson tries to clinch but Rutherford is having none of it.
Jefferson tries to clinch up but Rutherford circles away and keeps his distance.
Jefferson avoids the body shot from Rutherford.
Rutherford misses with a body shot.
Jefferson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Rutherford swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Rutherford lands a nice shot to the body.
Jefferson tries to close the distance and clinch but Rutherford swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Rutherford cracks Jefferson with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Rutherford misses with the combination.
Rutherford is looking to wear down Jefferson with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Rutherford stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Rutherford throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Jefferson doesn't manage to clinch there - Rutherford circles away.

Jefferson clinches with his opponent.
Jefferson gets through Rutherford's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
A nice right hand lands inside from Jefferson.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Jefferson misses with some punches.
Jefferson looking to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jefferson throws a punch but it's blocked by Rutherford.
Jefferson swings wildly with an uppercut but Rutherford uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rutherford blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Jefferson looking to throw knees to the head but Rutherford is blocking nicely.
Jefferson digs a right hand underneath Rutherford's ribcage. Rutherford let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Rutherford lands a body punch.
The referee calls for Rutherford to work.
Rutherford takes a shot to the head.
Jefferson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rutherford.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Jefferson takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Jefferson throws a head punch that misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Eli Rutherford.
I think Rutherford has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 29:28
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eli Rutherford!