PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dominic Donnelly (ranked 1424 p4p, 188 weight class) and Godofredo Ruiz (ranked 1988 p4p, 252 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Donnelly
vs
Ruiz

185 cm
21
192 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

189 cm
28
188 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

KOMBAT KLOTHING

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 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Dominic Donnelly!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Godofredo Ruiz!
The judges for this bout are Winston Howard, Skip Squint and Ron Honeybunn.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Donnelly ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Ruiz uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Donnelly.
Ruiz throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Donnelly - that will leave a mark!

Ruiz rushes Donnelly and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Donnelly breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Ruiz thows a left - swing and a miss!
Ruiz works over Donnelly's head and body with a nice combination.
A looping hook to the body misses from Ruiz. Donnelly does a little dance to reset his feet.
Ruiz misses with a wild body shot.
Donnelly throws a good cross that connects.
Ruiz stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Donnelly just misses with a punch to the body.
A jab lands there for Ruiz.
Ruiz has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Ruiz there as he acknowledges the shot.
Donnelly ducks under a wild hook from Ruiz.
Donnelly is looking to counter the offense by Ruiz and move into the clinch.
Donnelly tries to bum rush Ruiz with a series of wild strikes but Ruiz uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Donnelly throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Donnelly swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Ruiz fails to land with a series of punches.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Donnelly. Ruiz shrugs it off though.
Donnelly misses with a body kick.
Ruiz on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Donnelly lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Donnelly lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
A jab from Ruiz does it's job there.
Donnelly tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Ruiz wants to counter with a clinch but Donnelly pushes him away.
Donnelly lunges at Ruiz with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Ruiz's hand.
Ruiz misses with a jab to the body
and Donnelly counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Donnelly throws a sloppy head kick

and Ruiz moves into the clinch.
Donnelly blocking some punches.
Ruiz misses with a short punch on the inside.
I was talking to Donnelly's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Donnelly misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ruiz throws a head punch that misses.
Ruiz lands a left hand that snaps the head of Donnelly backwards.
Donnelly has a couple of punches blocked by Ruiz.
Ruiz stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Donnelly doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ruiz tries to throw a body punch but Donnelly avoids it by throwing Ruiz back against the cage.
Donnelly lands with a short shot to the head.
Ruiz lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Donnelly backwards.
Donnelly misses with an elbow over the top.
Donnelly lands an elbow inside that Ruiz shrugs off.

It looks like Godofredo Ruiz has been cut.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Ruiz.
Ruiz throws a punch but it's blocked by Donnelly.
Ruiz lands a nice uppercut.
Ruiz blocking some punches.
Ruiz has a couple of punches blocked by Donnelly.
Ruiz can't find room to land a body shot as Donnelly controls the action.
Ruiz misses with a punch on the inside.
Donnelly creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.

Donnelly escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donnelly pushes Ruiz away with a front kick.

Donnelly has closed the distance and engaged Ruiz in a clinch.
Ruiz prevents Donnelly from breaking the clinch.
A nice right hand lands inside from Donnelly.

Donnelly breaks from the clinch.
Ruiz shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Donnelly eats them both and turns towards Ruiz to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Donnelly throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Ruiz holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Donnelly swings wildly with an uppercut but Ruiz uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ruiz tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Ruiz.
Donnelly fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A short right from Donnelly.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Ruiz pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Donnelly throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Donnelly fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruiz just misses with a punch to the body.
Ruiz on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Ruiz 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.
Ruiz showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Donnelly.
Ruiz misses the shot to the body.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Donnelly, right into the meat.
Donnelly throws a chopping leg kick but Ruiz manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Donnelly looks to throw the jab but Ruiz is out of range.
Ruiz wants to counter the offense by Donnelly and move into the clinch position.
Donnelly digs a good hook to Ruiz's body.
Donnelly misses with a straight right.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ruiz avoids the body shot from Donnelly.
Donnelly looks to score with a jab to the body but Ruiz is just out of range.
Donnelly lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Donnelly throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
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 Dominic Donnelly will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Godofredo Ruiz'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.

Donnelly with a hook.
A jab from Ruiz finds it's way through Donnelly's defenses.
Ruiz rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Donnelly counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Ruiz is lucky that one didn't land flush.
The fighters circling - Ruiz throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Donnelly wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Ruiz throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Donnelly sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Ruiz keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Donnelly sets himself, and Ruiz steps forward looking for the clinch! Donnelly avoids it this time.
Ruiz misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Ruiz takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Donnelly misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Donnelly slips a jab from Ruiz.
Donnelly digs a good body shot into Ruiz's ribs.
Ruiz throws a right hand that misses

and Donnelly moves into the clinch.
Ruiz swings wildly with an uppercut but Donnelly uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ruiz misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Ruiz misses with a punch to the body.
Ruiz avoids the elbow strike from Donnelly, against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ruiz taking a break, stalling in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Ruiz fails to land.
A short body shot lands from Donnelly as the two fighters clinch.
Godofredo Ruiz seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Donnelly's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Ruiz misses with a hook from the clinch.
Donnelly is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Ruiz is defending well for now.
Donnelly working aggressively here.
Donnelly throws an elbow that misses.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Donnelly.
Ruiz misses with a short punch on the inside.
Donnelly blocks a punch to the side of the head.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Donnelly just misses with a elbow thrown towards Ruiz's brow.
Donnelly pushes Ruiz back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Ruiz doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Donnelly prevents a body shot from Ruiz.
Ruiz misses with the head strike.
Donnelly prevents a body shot from Ruiz.
Donnelly throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Ruiz throws a head punch that misses.
Donnelly lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Ruiz or not.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Donnelly breaks from the clinch.
Dominic Donnelly is winning the standup battle so far.
Donnelly lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Donnelly scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ruiz on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Donnelly scores with a sloppy right hand. Ruiz should have avoided that one.
Donnelly slips under a jab from Ruiz.
Nice body kick there by Donnelly.

Ruiz clinches up with Donnelly and pushes him back against the cage.
A head punch on the inside from Donnelly fails to land.
Ruiz lands a hook that snaps the head of Donnelly backwards.
Donnelly swings wildly with an uppercut but Ruiz uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ruiz tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ruiz throws a head punch that misses.
Donnelly blocking some punches.
Ruiz tries to throw a body punch but Donnelly avoids it by throwing Ruiz back against the cage.
Donnelly swings wildly with an uppercut but Ruiz uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruiz misses with some punches.
Donnelly tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Donnelly digs a right hand into Ruiz's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Ruiz's gas tank.
Ruiz throws a punch but it's blocked by Donnelly.

Ruiz breaks from the clinch.
Donnelly just misses with a punch to the body.
Donnelly fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Ruiz manages to avoid it.
It seemed like Ruiz was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.

Donnelly has Ruiz up against the cage in a clinch.
Donnelly tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ruiz working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Ruiz lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

Donnelly's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ruiz ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Ruiz keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Donnelly.
Donnelly scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Donnelly misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Ruiz.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Donnelly fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Ruiz has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
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!
Ruiz cracks Donnelly with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.

Ruiz gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Ruiz tries to throw a body punch but Donnelly avoids it by throwing Ruiz back against the cage.
Donnelly works on Ruiz's body with a couple of short punches.
Ruiz is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Donnelly throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Donnelly blocks a body shot from Ruiz.
Ruiz swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ruiz avoids a wild elbow strike from Donnelly.
Donnelly presses Ruiz against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Ruiz digs a right hand into Donnelly's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Donnelly's gas tank.
Donnelly tries to work over Ruiz's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Donnelly lands a nice uppercut.
Ruiz swings wildly with an uppercut but Donnelly uses good head movement to avoid it.
Donnelly blocks a punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dominic Donnelly dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Godofredo Ruiz'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!

The fighters circling - Ruiz throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Ruiz scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Donnelly lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
A telegraphed right hand from Donnelly misses the target.
Donnelly sets himself, and Ruiz steps forward looking for the clinch! Donnelly avoids it this time.
Donnelly misses with an uppercut. Ruiz saw that one coming.
Donnelly swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Donnelly tries a low kick but Ruiz avoids it.
Ruiz throws a big shot that misses.
Donnelly is looking to counter the offense by Ruiz and move into the clinch.
Donnelly throws a hook but Ruiz avoids it easily.
Ruiz bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Donnelly throws a big shot that misses.
Dominic Donnelly is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ruiz moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Donnelly steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Ruiz.
Donnelly bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Dominic Donnelly seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ruiz misses with a hook. Donnelly ducked under it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruiz scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Ruiz changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Nice defenses there by Donnelly.
Ruiz looks to land a combination but Donnelly avoids it well.
Donnelly takes one on the button.
Donnelly scores with the left hand. Ruiz knows he should have avoided that one.
Donnelly will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Ruiz fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Ruiz just misses with a punch to the body.
Donnelly fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Ruiz.
Donnelly misses with a leg kick.
Ruiz wants to counter the offense by Donnelly and move into the clinch position.
Godofredo Ruiz has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dominic Donnelly is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruiz looks to score with a jab to the body but Donnelly is just out of range.
Ruiz moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ruiz throws a body punch but Donnelly moves out of range.
Donnelly just misses with a punch to the body.
Ruiz steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Donnelly.
Donnelly throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Donnelly 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.
Ruiz takes a swing at Donnelly's ribcage but misses.

Ruiz has taken the fight to the clinch.
Ruiz is looking to control Donnelly's arms but Donnelly gets an underhook and turns him. Now Ruiz has his back to the cage.
Donnelly lands a nice shot to the body.
Donnelly softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Ruiz blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ruiz pushes Donnelly back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Ruiz lands with a left to the head.
Donnelly misses with a punch on the inside.
Ruiz throws a punch but it's blocked by Donnelly.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruiz softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
A right hook to the body lands for Ruiz.
Donnelly blocks an uppercut.
Ruiz misses with a punch to the body.
Ruiz makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Donnelly swings wildly with an uppercut but Ruiz uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ruiz throws a head punch that misses.
Donnelly gets through Ruiz's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Ruiz misses with a punch to the body.
Ruiz throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Donnellys head.

Ruiz's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Donnelly pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Donnelly sets himself, and Ruiz steps forward looking for the clinch! Donnelly avoids it this time.
Ruiz throws a body punch but Donnelly moves out of range.
As Ruiz tries to get set, Donnelly tries to push him back and clinch up but Ruiz manages to avoid the attempt.
Ruiz avoids a kick to the body.
Ruiz takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Donnelly tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Donnelly lands a nice leg kick that just misses Ruiz's sensitive parts.
Donnelly misses with a body shot.
Ruiz tries to counter with a clinch but Donnelly shakes him off and moves away.

Ruiz pushes Donnelly up against the cage in a clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Donnelly tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ruiz's elbow.
Ruiz's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Donnelly blocks an uppercut.
Donnelly tries to work over Ruiz's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

Donnelly breaks the clinch.

Donnelly instigates a clinch.
Donnelly blocking some punches.
Ruiz throws a head punch that misses.
Donnelly scores with a shoulder strike.
Donnelly lands with a light punch inside.
Donnelly tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Donnelly throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Ruiz throws a head punch that misses.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ruiz.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Godofredo Ruiz.
I think Donnelly 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 Winston Howard scores the fight 30:28
Judge Skip Squint scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ron Honeybunn scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dominic Donnelly!
A relieved looking Dominic Donnelly thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.