PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Andre Clay (ranked 1582 p4p, 73 weight class) and Samak Ruenroeng (ranked 2294 p4p, 106 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Clay might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Believe. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Clay
vs
Ruenroeng

170 cm
20
146 lbs
8 - 1 - 0

170 cm
21
144 lbs
4 - 3 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
KO power

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Freebok (85% Laundry)

IniTech Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Andre Clay!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Samak Ruenroeng!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Chris Downing and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Clay thows a leg kick but Ruenroeng checks it

and Ruenroeng holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Ruenroeng comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Clay misses with a knee strike.
Clay tries to work over Ruenroeng's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Ruenroeng crunches a lovely knee into Clay's ribcage.
Ruenroeng landing knees to the head.
Ruenroeng tries a knee to the head but Clay blocks it.
Clay looking to slow down the pace here.
Ruenroeng lands a nice uppercut.
Clay throws an elbow but it misses.
Ruenroeng crunches a lovely knee into Clay's ribcage.
A body shot lands from Ruenroeng.
Ruenroeng misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Clay wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Ruenroeng has him pressed against the cage.
Ruenroeng lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
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!
Clay avoiding damage as Ruenroeng throws knees to the body.
Clay takes a shot to the head.
Clay wants to break the clinch but can't.
Clay blocks the elbow strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short left from Ruenroeng.
Clay takes an elbow to the temple.
Ruenroeng lands a good knee to the midsection. Clay won't want to take too many of those.
Clay tries to pull guard but Ruenroeng forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Ruenroeng misses with a punch to the body.
Clay throws a head punch that misses.

Clay breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Clay moves out of range of the body kick from Ruenroeng.
Clay lands a jab to the head.
Ruenroeng bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Ruenroeng wants to clinch up but Clay keeps it at a distance.
Clay takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Ruenroeng tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Clay swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Clay misses with a jab to the body
and Ruenroeng counters with a stiff right hand.
Clay swings widly with a right hand
and Ruenroeng counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ruenroeng doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

Ruenroeng has Clay up against the cage in a clinch.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Ruenroeng creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruenroeng works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Ruenroeng unloads a knee to the mid-section.

Clay breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Good work by Ruenroeng as he checks the leg kick.
Clay misses with a looping right.
Ruenroeng tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Ruenroeng lands a glancing blow to the side of Clay's head.
Ruenroeng throws a head kick that misses.
Clay was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Clay blocks a head kick by Ruenroeng.
A left lands for Clay.
Clay throws a looping overhand right but Ruenroeng ducks down to avoid it.
Ruenroeng goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Ruenroeng throws a head kick that misses.
Clay scores with a sloppy right hand. Ruenroeng should have avoided that one.
Clay misses with an uppercut.
Ruenroeng misses the shot to the body.
It looked like Clay wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clay misses with a combination

and Ruenroeng counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Clay's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Clay managing to block the knees to the body from Ruenroeng.
A head punch on the inside from Clay fails to land.
Ruenroeng throws a knee to the head but misses.
Clay wants to break free but Ruenroeng has control.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
I was talking to Clay's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Clay is trying to pull guard but Ruenroeng has him pressed against the cage.
Clay is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ruenroeng to keep the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Andre Clay. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ruenroeng connects with a nasty looking knee right to Clay's face.
Clay scores with a shot to the side of Ruenroeng's head.
A nice right hand lands inside from Ruenroeng.
Clay is looking to take this one to the mat.
Clay managing to block the knees to the body from Ruenroeng.
Ruenroeng digs a right hand into Clay's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Clay's gas tank.
Ruenroeng lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Ruenroeng tries to throw a body punch but Clay avoids it by throwing Ruenroeng back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Clay throws a head punch that misses.
Ruenroeng lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ruenroeng misses with a knee strike.
Ruenroeng tries a body shot but Clay blocks it.
Ruenroeng looking to throw knees to the head but Clay is blocking nicely.
Ruenroeng misses with an elbow strike.
Clay jumps guard but Ruenroeng stands there with Clay around his waist. Clay gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Ruenroeng lands a left hand that snaps the head of Clay backwards.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Clay dodges an elbow strike from Ruenroeng.
Ruenroeng lands a nice shot to the body.
Ruenroeng putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Clay in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Clay misses with a body punch.
Ruenroeng misses with a punch to the body.
Ruenroeng lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Ruenroeng landing knees to the head.
Ruenroeng blocking some punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Samak Ruenroeng dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Ruenroeng lands a head kick. Clay smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Clay uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Ruenroeng.
Clay lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Andre Clay seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Clay throws a hook but Ruenroeng blocks it.
Clay throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Ruenroeng counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Clay is rocked!
Ruenroeng steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Clay.
Oh Clay is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Ruenroeng fakes the leg kick and cracks Clay in the body.
Clay seems to have got his legs back now.
Clay misses with a looping right.
Clay just misses with a punch to the body.
Ruenroeng lands a high kick!
Samak Ruenroeng seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Ruenroeng throws a front kick that sends Clay stumbling back into the cage.
Ruenroeng misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ruenroeng moves out of range of the strikes.
Clay takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Clay throws a jab when Ruenroeng was well out of range.
Clay has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Ruenroeng.
Ruenroeng slips under a jab.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Ruenroeng! But no joy.
Clay misses with a wild body shot.
Ruenroeng appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clay avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Clay throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Ruenroeng avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Ruenroeng with a jab.
A head kick misses from Clay.
Ruenroeng scores with a shot to the body.
Ruenroeng tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Clay paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Clay is looking to counter punch.
Ruenroeng throws the kick towards the body but Clay avoids it.
Ruenroeng looks to land a right hand but Clay moved out of range.
Clay shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Ruenroeng has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Sloppy strikes from Clay. Those never looked like landing.

Ruenroeng rushes Clay and presses him up against the cage.
Ruenroeng looking to throw knees to the head but Clay is blocking nicely.
Ruenroeng has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Clay seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Ruenroeng can turn it around.
Ruenroeng lands a nice knee to the body.
Ruenroeng landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Ruenroeng misses with a knee strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruenroeng landing some nice looking knees to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ruenroeng struggles to land a body shot inside as Clay controls his hands.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Ruenroeng.
Clay goes for a takedown attempt but Ruenroeng pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ruenroeng lands a nice shot to the body.
Ruenroeng lands with a kick to the ribs.
Clay gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Ruenroeng walks into a jab.
Ruenroeng cracks a nice hook into Clay's ribs.
Clay connects with a crisp jab.
Clay throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Ruenroeng looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Clay misses the jab.
Clay misses with a looping left.
Clay uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Ruenroeng.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clay walks into a jab.
A punch lands to the side of Clay 's head but he takes it in his stride.
A jab from Clay misses.
Ruenroeng throws a shot to the body.
Ruenroeng tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
It looked like Clay wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Clay jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Clay pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Ruenroeng wants to counter the offense by Clay and move into the clinch position.
Clay ducks under a wild hook from Ruenroeng.
Ruenroeng misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Clay appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Ruenroeng moves away from the strike by Clay.
Clay uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Ruenroeng.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Clay crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Ruenroeng - the referee stops the clock and Clay gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Ruenroeng. Clay manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Clay misses with a straight left.
Ruenroeng ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Clay swats away the attempt to clinch by Ruenroeng.
It looked like Clay wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruenroeng changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Ruenroeng scores with a kick to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ruenroeng with a jab.
Clay is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Ruenroeng.
Clay displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Ruenroeng throws out the jab.
Clay tried to counter with a leg kick but Ruenroeng avoided it.
Ruenroeng misses with the body kick
and Clay counters with a stiff right hand.
A cross from Ruenroeng lands.
Ruenroeng is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A shot to the liver by Clay. Beautiful body shot.
A jab from Ruenroeng does it's job there.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ruenroeng throws a sloppy head kick and Clay moves out of range easily.
Clay swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Clay on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Samak Ruenroeng showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

Clay pivots, looking for a leg kick but Ruenroeng is out of range and Clay settles back down.
Ruenroeng throws a big counter head kick but Clay avoids it with no problem.
Ruenroeng misses with a wild body shot.
Ruenroeng gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Clay throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Ruenroeng explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Ruenroeng throws a body kick that misses.
A counter left hand to the body from Clay misses its target.
Ruenroeng with a jab.
Clay will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Ruenroeng thuds his shin into the meat of Clay's side.
Clay drops his hands momentarily and Ruenroeng takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Ruenroeng tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ruenroeng checks the leg kick nicely there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ruenroeng throws a head kick but Clay moves out of range.
Ruenroeng throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Ruenroeng looks to score with a jab to the body but Clay is just out of range.
Ruenroeng throws a head kick that misses.
Clay is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Ruenroeng.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clay looks to land a right hand but Ruenroeng moved out of range.
Ruenroeng misses with an uppercut. Clay saw that one coming.
Ruenroeng uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Clay.
Clay comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

Ruenroeng has taken the fight to the clinch.
Clay tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ruenroeng landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Clay is trying to break free.
Ruenroeng prevents Clay from breaking the clinch.
Ruenroeng lands a damaging elbow.
Ruenroeng lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Clay backwards.
Ruenroeng lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Ruenroeng misses with an elbow strike.
Ruenroeng throws a knee to the head but misses.
Clay working hard to break the clinch.

Clay pulls guard successfully.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruenroeng slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Clay is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ruenroeng defends well.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ruenroeng is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Ruenroeng is continuing to stall.
Clay has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Clay can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Ruenroeng controls the pace.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruenroeng trying to control the position from guard on top but Clay is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Ruenroeng sitting in guard, not really doing much.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Crunch! Ruenroeng slams his shin into Clay's torso.
Ruenroeng lands a high kick!
Ruenroeng throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Ruenroeng keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Clay.
Ruenroeng fails in his attempt to clinch.
Clay throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ruenroeng jabs Clay to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Ruenroeng moves into range and connects with a jab.
Clay looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Andre Clay has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Clay.
Clay sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Clay swings away with a body shot that misses

and Ruenroeng counters by moving into the clinch.
Ruenroeng lands with a right to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Clay takes a knee to the side of the body.
Ruenroeng scores with a shot to the side of Clay's head.
Good body shot from Ruenroeng.
Ruenroeng lands a knee to the body.
A right handed body shot lands from Ruenroeng.
Ruenroeng lands a body punch.
A nice right hand lands inside from Ruenroeng.
A right hand to the body from Ruenroeng.
Ruenroeng landing knees to the body.
Ruenroeng connects with a nasty looking knee right to Clay's face.
Ruenroeng works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Ruenroeng lands an elbow just above Clay 's eye.
Ruenroeng lands with a short punch from the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Samak Ruenroeng comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Ruenroeng has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Tiny Johnson scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 27:30
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Samak Ruenroeng!