PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Rex Ruger (ranked 2400 p4p, 125 weight class) and Dan Sergeant (ranked 1956 p4p, 104 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Ruger
vs
Sergeant

169 cm
30
145 lbs
10 - 7 - 0

175 cm
31
139 lbs
16 - 12 - 1

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Solid chin

XFighter Clothing

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 10 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rex Ruger!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Dan Sergeant!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Luis Engracia and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sergeant throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Sergeant cracks Ruger with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.

Ruger closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Ruger wants to control but Sergeant is keeping him busy.
Ruger cracks Sergeant with a big elbow.
Sergeant can't do much from the bottom here.
Sloppy strikes there by Ruger.
Sergeant gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Sergeant is in a horrible position here. Ruger smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ruger can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Sergeant is looking to escape.
Sergeant holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Ruger tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruger working the ground and pound effectively.
Ruger 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.
Ruger cracks Sergeant with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Sergeant bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Sergeant in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Sergeant with a nice head shot there.
Ruger managing to control the position.
Ruger looking to hit a scissor sweep but Sergeant is one step ahead there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sergeant trying to control the position from guard on top but Ruger is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sergeant trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Sergeant works a leg free and moves into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Still in half guard, Sergeant seems content to control.
Ruger is controlling Sergeant's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Sergeant is looking to take a break and control but Ruger is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruger trying to control from the bottom.
Ruger on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Ruger tries to get out of the position.
Sergeant lands with a punch from half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Sergeant is working for a kimura but Ruger is defending it quite comfortably.
Sergeant is thwarting Ruger's attempts to control the position.
Ruger controlling the position well.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Sergeant throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ruger is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Sergeant's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Sergeant's back!
Ruger has the hooks in. Sergeant is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Sergeant trying to control the action but Ruger just sinks the hooks in.
Ruger lands shots from the back.
Sergeant turns into Ruger and is now in his guard.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Ruger holds on and takes a little breather.
Sergeant wants to control from the top but Ruger keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rex Ruger dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Ruger connects with a good right hand that stumbles Sergeant. Sergeant circles away out of range and recomposes himself.

Sergeant gets a double leg takedown into Ruger's guard.
Sergeant sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Sergeant trying to control but Ruger is working from the bottom.
Sergeant postures up.
Ruger controlling Sergeant's posture.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ruger wants to sweep here but Sergeant controlling him for the moment.
Sergeant trying to control the position from guard on top but Ruger is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sergeant thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Ruger punching to the body, from the bottom.
Ruger looking to control.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Sergeant fails with a takedown attempt.
Sergeant looks for a takedown but Ruger sprawls well.
Sergeant scores with a sloppy right hand. Ruger should have avoided that one.
Ruger lunges at Sergeant with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Sergeant's hand.

Sergeant closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Ruger's guard.

Ruger wriggles free and stands up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ruger tries to sprawl but Sergeant drives through with a takedown into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ruger preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Sergeant seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Ruger does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Ruger gets back to full guard.
Sergeant being controlled here momentarily.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Ruger is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ruger avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Sergeant working a defensive guard here.
Ruger controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Sergeant is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Ruger won't allow Sergeant to sweep him here.

Sergeant scrambles and gets back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sergeant closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Ruger to the mat! Ruger manages to get full guard.
Sergeant postures up.
Ruger tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Sergeant slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Ruger prevents Sergeant from improving position.
Ruger struggling a bit here.
Sergeant working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Ruger sneaks back into half guard.
Ruger wants to control but Sergeant is keeping busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Dan Sergeant will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Ruger drives through with a takedown into guard.
Sergeant trying to keep a closed guard but Ruger is proving a slippery customer.
Ruger is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Sergeant wants to stand up but Ruger is controlling him.
Ruger lands a couple of digs.

Sergeant is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ruger is aware though and is defending well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ruger is looking to work some ground and pound but Sergeant has wrist control.
Ruger working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ruger is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Ruger keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Sergeant's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruger with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ruger working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ruger content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Sergeant keeping full guard, as Ruger tries to pass.
Sergeant keeping moving, preventing Ruger from controlling successfully.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Ruger's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Sergeant looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Ruger works over Sergeant with some ground and pound from guard.
Rex Ruger overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sergeant has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Ruger off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

Sergeant closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Sergeant lands in his opponent's guard.
Sergeant is in close to Ruger's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Sergeant wants to control from the top but Ruger keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruger wants to stand and escape but Sergeant is having none of it.
Sergeant won't allow Ruger to sweep him here.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Ruger gets caught flat footed, as Sergeant shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Ruger tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Ruger controls Sergeant momentarily but Sergeant frees himself.
Sergeant controlling from the top position.
Ruger is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sergeant engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Ruger looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Sergeant trying to control but Ruger is working from the bottom.
Ruger is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Sergeant moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ruger throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Sergeant is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Sergeant displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Ruger.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Dan Sergeant.
I think Sergeant has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:27
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 28:29
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Dan Sergeant!