PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Miles North (ranked 2991 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nils Ragnaar (ranked 2417 p4p, 0 weight class). Ragnaar is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Mustasch - The Wave. 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?

North
vs
Ragnaar

194 cm
35
191 lbs
12 - 11 - 0

188 cm
26
194 lbs
11 - 8 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 12 - 11 - 0, fighting out of New York, Miles North!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 8 - 0, fighting out of New York, Nils Ragnaar!
The judges for this bout are Russell Pearce, Chad Campbell and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
North misses with the combination.
Ragnaar wants to counter the offense by North and move into the clinch position.
North ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
North misses with a low kick.
North fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

North gets a takedown into half guard.
Ragnaar wants to control but North is keeping busy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ragnaar tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Ragnaar is looking to escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ragnaar gets back to full guard.
North looking to pass the guard.
North makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Ragnaar striking off his back but it's not causing North any problems.
Ragnaar throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
North postures up in Ragnaar's guard and throws a big left but Ragnaar blocks it.
North postures up.
North working some strikes from top position.
North 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.
Ragnaar bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in North's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ragnaar trying to control the position from guard on top but North is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ragnaar tries to free his leg and advance position but North is retaining full guard.
Ragnaar looking to sit in guard and control but North gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Ragnaar told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.

Ragnaar is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and North defends well.
North postures up in Ragnaar's guard and throws a big left but Ragnaar blocks it.
North passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Ragnaar tries to buck North off but North is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ragnaar wants to get back to his feet.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Ragnaar is trying to improve his position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
North cracks Ragnaar with a big right hand but Ragnaar just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ragnaar prevents North from moving into mount.
North landing strikes.
North in side control lands a decent elbow.
I wouldn't like to be where Ragnaar is right now.
Ragnaar is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, North asserts his dominance and retains side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
North scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Ragnaar to see if he's OK.
Ragnaar is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but North is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
North prevents Ragnaar from getting the reversal.
North in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Ragnaar wants to hold on but North pushes him away.
Ragnaar is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ragnaar tries to hold on but North postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Miles North dominated that round.
That's time! North's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

North throws an overhand right that lands on Ragnaar's shoulder, as Ragnaar tries to avoid the shot.
North misses with a wild combination.
North throws a combination that misses
and Ragnaar counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
North tries a head kick but it misses.
North swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Ragnaar makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
North lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Ragnaar cracks the inside of North's front leg.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
North throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Ragnaar throws a head kick that half lands.
North is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ragnaar can do to turn this around?
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
North looks to land a right hand but Ragnaar moved out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters circling - North throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Ragnaar fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt North.
North doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Ragnaar counters with a lovely straight right hand!

North shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Ragnaar manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Ragnaar has momentary wrist control but North slips an elbow through the middle.
North landing some decent shots from guard.
North landing some decent shots from guard.
Ragnaar tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
North keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Ragnaar's head.

Ragnaar looking for a guillotine here but North defends easily.
Ragnaar has control of North's left arm, preventing North from doing any damage.
North cracks Ragnaar with a solid left hand.
Ragnaar keeping moving, preventing North from controlling successfully.
Ragnaar utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ragnaar wants to sweep here but North controlling him for the moment.
North working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ragnaar keeping moving, preventing North from controlling successfully.
North scoring with some ground and pound.
Ragnaar is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
North postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
North is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ragnaar trying to control the position here.
North in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Ragnaar trying to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
A nice leg kick lands there from North.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A chopping leg kick lands by Ragnaar.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from North. Ragnaar shrugs it off though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Miles North dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

North dives in for a single leg takedown but Ragnaar sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Ragnaar looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A combination from North does no damage.
Ragnaar feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to North's calf.
Ragnaar feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to North's calf.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by North.
North swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Ragnaar feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to North's calf.
Ragnaar walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. North checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ragnaar thumps North with a low kick.
Ragnaar tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. North manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
A head kick by North misses
and Ragnaar counters with a nice uppercut.
Nils Ragnaar seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's one minute gone in the round.
North shoots for a double leg takedown but Ragnaar sprawls well. He's pushed North's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Ragnaar tries a quick counter leg kick but North is wise to it.
North closes the distance and clinches up with Ragnaar, looking for a takedown. North pushes Ragnaar against the cage but Ragnaar circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Miles North. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ragnaar scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
North moves out of range of the leg kick from Ragnaar.
North dives in and grabs Ragnaar's left leg, looking for a takedown. Ragnaar pushes down on North's head and hops out.
North is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Ragnaar tries a head kick but it misses.
North throws a leg kick

and Ragnaar moves into the clinch.
Ragnaar lands a knee to the body.
Ragnaar misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ragnaar prevents the takedown attempt.
North is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ragnaar to keep the fight standing.
Ragnaar lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Nils Ragnaar has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

North jumps guard and drags Ragnaar to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Ragnaar postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ragnaar wants to stand but North has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
North can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Ragnaar controls the pace.

North escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Ragnaar gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Ragnaar postures up in North's guard and throws a big left but North blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ragnaar throws an elbow that misses. North uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ragnaar's guard. Nice move by North!

North landing some decent shots from guard.
North passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Ragnaar is looking for a sweep.
Miles North is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
North wants to control but Ragnaar is keeping him busy.
Ragnaar is trying to control North's posture but North avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
North working the head and body with strikes.
Ragnaar has one of North's arms on lockdown, trying to prevent him from doing any damage.
North connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Ragnaar some visible discomfort.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ragnaar is trying to improve his position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nils Ragnaar comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think North 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 Russell Pearce scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Miles North!
Miles North decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.