PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between John Rydeland (ranked 820 p4p, 106 weight class) and Aldo Vurny (ranked 1266 p4p, 159 weight class). Rydeland comes to the cage accompanied by Robbery - Not sneak attack. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Rydeland
vs
Vurny

185 cm
29
185 lbs
15 - 13 - 0

187 cm
36
203 lbs
29 - 20 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Urban Fighter

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, John Rydeland!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 29 - 20 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Aldo Vurny!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Frank Dennis and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vurny's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Rydeland connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Vurny scrambles back to his feet.
Vurny jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Vurny slips a straight right by Rydeland.
Vurny scores with a decent looking hook.
Vurny jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Rydeland displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Vurny.
Rydeland is looking to counter the offense by Vurny and move into the clinch.
Vurny throws a good cross that connects.
Rydeland takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rydeland ducks under a wild hook from Vurny.
Rydeland swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Sloppy strikes from Vurny. Those never looked like landing.
Rydeland uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Vurny.
An attempted straight right counter from Rydeland misses the target.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Vurny scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Rydeland is looking for a sweep.
Rydeland taking a bit of punishment here - Vurny scoring with strikes.
Vurny is looking to take a break and control but Rydeland is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Vurny is working Rydeland over with some ground and pound from side control.
Rydeland tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Vurny wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Vurny has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Vurny lands a nice forearm strike.
Rydeland is trying to get back to half guard.
Vurny is looking to take a break and control but Rydeland is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Vurny works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vurny is chipping away with strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Vurny throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Rydeland is trying to get back to half guard.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Vurny working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Vurny tries to score with some ground and pound. Rydeland controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Vurny is putting a hurting on Rydeland here, landing some big shots from side control.
Vurny working the ground and pound.
Rydeland manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Vurny seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Vurny looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Vurny wants to pass to mount but Rydeland is defending the position.
Ground and pound from Vurny.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vurny passes to full mount!
Rydeland taking shots to the head.
Rydeland really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Vurny dominating with strikes here.
Vurny looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Rydeland manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Vurny throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Rydeland moves into full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Vurny with a nice head shot there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rydeland looking to hit a scissor sweep but Vurny is one step ahead there.
Vurny trying to move into half guard but instead Rydeland has managed to sweep!

Vurny looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rydeland is one step ahead there.
Vurny seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Rydeland postures up.
Vurny is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Rydeland postures up in Vurny's guard and throws a big left but Vurny blocks it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rydeland with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aldo Vurny dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Rydeland throws a jab but it's blocked by Vurny.
Vurny bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Rydeland's head.
Rydeland throws a big shot that misses.
Aldo Vurny seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Vurny tries for a takedown but Rydeland sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Vurny shoots in for a double leg but Rydeland sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Vurny moves away from the strike by Rydeland.
Vurny fails to land the takedown.
John Rydeland has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aldo Vurny.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Vurny gets the takedown into side control.

Vurny goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Rydeland has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Vurny but great work by Rydeland.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Vurny is trying to control Rydeland's posture but Rydeland avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vurny is looking for a sweep.
Rydeland scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Vurny to see if he's OK.
Vurny looking for a sweep but Rydeland has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Rydeland putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Rydeland is landing with some decent strikes but Vurny is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Rydeland landing strikes from the mount.
Rydeland cracks Vurny with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Rydeland connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Vurny wants to hold on but Rydeland pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Vurny that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Vurny can't escape the position.
Rydeland avoids the attempt from Vurny to control.
Rydeland tries to control but Vurny wriggling away.
BOOM! Rydeland connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Rydeland working the ground and pound effectively.
Rydeland fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Rydeland fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Vurny is trying desperately to improve position.
The referee warns Vurny that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rydeland wants to control the pace but Vurny is squirming around nicely.
Vurny is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Rydeland lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Rydeland landing strikes from the mount.
Rydeland lands a big elbow.
Rydeland cracks Vurny with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Rydeland landing strikes from the mount and Vurny is in trouble!
John Rydeland overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Vurny is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Rydeland raining down hammerfists from mount.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Vurny is working to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rydeland lands a nice shot to the head.

Vurny is rocked!
Rydeland lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Rydeland scoring with strikes but Vurny is staying in there.
Vurny is still in real trouble! Can Rydeland finish him?
Vurny is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Vurny seems to have recovered his senses.
Rydeland landing strikes, looking to finish!
Rydeland unloading with bombs!
Rydeland raining down shots from the mount!
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Vurny working to try and regain half guard.
Rydeland breaks from Vurny's wrist control and lands an elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Rydeland dominated that second 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.

Nice defenses there by Rydeland.
Rydeland wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Rydeland lands with a hook. Vurny tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Vurny shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Rydeland as he avoids it easily.
Rydeland looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Rydeland is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Vurny can do to turn this around?
Vurny throws a hook but Rydeland blocks it.
Rydeland uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Vurny.
Vurny rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Rydeland moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Rydeland stuffs the takedown.
Rydeland punishes Vurny's body with a nice straight punch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice uppercut lands for Vurny. That snapped Rydeland's head back.
The fighters circling - Rydeland throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Vurny throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.

Rydeland tries to sprawl but Vurny drives through with a takedown into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rydeland tries to get to full guard but Vurny has control of the leg.
Rydeland flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Rydeland moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Rydeland is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Vurny is looking to improve his position.
Rydeland winds up and cracks Vurny with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Vurny has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rydeland is working away from the top position though.
Rydeland takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vurny is looking to improve his position.
Vurny moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Rydeland postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Rydeland passes into half guard.
Vurny has hold of Rydeland's hands but Rydeland slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Rydeland missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Vurny is trying to get back to full guard.
Rydeland working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Rydeland working the head and body with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rydeland looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Vurny with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Vurny has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rydeland is working away from the top position though.
Vurny regains full guard. Nicely done.
Vurny wants to sweep but no luck.
Rydeland connects with a couple of short punches.
Vurny wants to sweep here but Rydeland controlling him for the moment.
Vurny manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Rydeland manages to get himself to full guard.

Rydeland wants to sweep here but Vurny controlling him for the moment.
Vurny pushes down on Rydeland's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vurny with the ground and pound but Rydeland uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Vurny is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Vurny chips away with some ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Vurny accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Vurny won't allow Rydeland to sweep him here.
Vurny working some strikes from top position.
Vurny preventing the sweep.
Rydeland keeping moving, preventing Vurny from controlling successfully.
Rydeland is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Rydeland winds up and cracks Vurny with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Rydeland clearly takes that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Vurny's jab looks to have found its range, popping Rydeland under the eye.
Vurny throws a jab but it's blocked by Rydeland.
Rydeland throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Vurny sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Vurny tests Rydeland's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Vurny blocks a jab.

Vurny scores with a takedown into Rydeland's guard.
Vurny seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Rydeland looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

Rydeland working for a triangle but Vurny defends it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rydeland wants to sweep but no luck.
Vurny throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Rydeland keeping moving, preventing Vurny from controlling successfully.
Rydeland looking for a sweep. Not yet Rydeland, not yet.
Vurny keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Rydeland's head.
Vurny with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Vurny postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Rydeland preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Vurny trying to control but Rydeland is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Rydeland is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Rydeland looking to hit a scissor sweep but Vurny is one step ahead there.
Vurny throwing strikes but missing.
Vurny is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Vurny stopping the sweep attempt from Rydeland.

Rydeland looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Vurny works over Rydeland with some ground and pound from guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vurny trying to control but Rydeland is working from the bottom.
Vurny is pushing down on Rydeland's leg trying to pass to half guard. Rydeland is fighting to maintain full guard but Vurny has managed to sneak the leg through.
Vurny looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Vurny throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Rydeland to regain full guard.
Rydeland keeping moving, preventing Vurny from controlling successfully.
Vurny content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Rydeland striking off his back but it's not causing Vurny any problems.

Rydeland looking for a guillotine here but Vurny defends easily.
Rydeland wants to sweep here but Vurny controlling him for the moment.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vurny with a nice head shot there.

Rydeland looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Vurny lands a couple of decent looking shots.

Rydeland had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Vurny defends it easily.
Vurny with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Vurny postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Vurny landing some decent shots from guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aldo Vurny dominated that fourth round.
That's time! Back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Nice shot by Rydeland.
Vurny misses with a takedown attempt
and Vurny takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Vurny misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Rydeland throws a jab but it's blocked by Vurny.
Rydeland uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Vurny.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice defenses there by Rydeland.
A big right from Rydeland misses.
Vurny misses with a takedown
and Rydeland counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
John Rydeland has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aldo Vurny.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rydeland throws out a loose jab but Vurny uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rydeland moves out of range of the strikes.
Rydeland uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Vurny has time to react.
John Rydeland is winning the standup battle so far.
Vurny looks to land a right hand but Rydeland moved out of range.
Vurny shoots in but Rydeland avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Rydeland throws the left hand but Vurny avoids the punch easily.
Rydeland misses with a looping right.
Vurny steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Rydeland.
Vurny is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Rydeland.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vurny misses with a hook.
Vurny fails with a takedown attempt.
Rydeland avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Vurny misses with an uppercut. Rydeland saw that one coming.
Vurny throws a poor cross that misses
enabling Rydeland to counter with a crisp jab.
Vurny throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
It looked like Rydeland wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Rydeland throws a big shot that misses.
Rydeland stuffs the takedown attempt from Vurny. Vurny gets slowly back to his feet.
A little feinted left hand from Rydeland on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vurny throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Rydeland looks to throw the jab but Vurny is out of range.
Vurny ducks under a wild hook from Rydeland.
Vurny feints the counter takedown.
Rydeland misses with a jab to the body
and Vurny counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Vurny uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Rydeland.
Rydeland throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Vurny closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Rydeland is looking to reverse the position.
Rydeland is working hard here to advance position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vurny creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Vurny landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Rydeland taking punishment in the form of punches.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Vurny looks up at the clock and then as Rydeland takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Vurny smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Vurny lands an elbow.
Vurny working the ground and pound from side control.
Rydeland manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Vurny has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rydeland is working away from the top position though.
Vurny moves into full guard.

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 John Rydeland.
Well Rydeland has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 47:48
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 48:47
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by split decision... John Rydeland!
A very excited looking John Rydeland made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.