PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Semba Rua (ranked 2640 p4p, 3191 weight class) and TJ Mitchell (ranked 344 p4p, 394 weight class). Semba Rua had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Rua
vs
Mitchell

184 cm
19
183
2 - 0 - 0

183 cm
19
169
4 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Cardio machine

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

Redemption ink

Fenrir Fightgear - Anno 2013
SpeeDee BBQ

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Semba Rua!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, TJ Mitchell!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Matti Vanhoillinen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mitchell throws a head kick that misses.
Rua misses with a straight right.
Mitchell takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Mitchell's coach down at DK MMA was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Mitchell's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Rua avoids the head kick by Mitchell.
Mitchell misses with a body shot.
Rua seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Mitchell uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Rua.
Rua throws a hook but Mitchell avoids it easily.
Mitchell slips under a jab.
Despite the aggression on Mitchell's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Rua misses with a looping left.
A swing and a miss from Rua.
A head kick misses from Mitchell.
Semba Rua seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Mitchell moves out of range of the strikes.
Mitchell gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Rua with a nice cross.
Mitchell ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
The fighters circle momentarily. Mitchell darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A telegraphed right hand from Rua misses the target.
Mitchell is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Mitchell takes one to the side of the head.
Mitchell avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Mitchell throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Rua.
Mitchell looks for the body kick but Rua saw that one coming.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua works the jab nicely.
Mitchell uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Rua.
Danga de danga de dang - Mitchell scores with a four punch combination!
Rua is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Mitchell pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Rua back to the cage. Mitchell follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

Rua closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Mitchell's guard.
Rua controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Rua stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Mitchell swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Mitchell wants to stand but Rua is controlling the position.
Rua forces his way into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rua trying to mount his opponent but Mitchell defends it.
Rua trying to control the pace.
Rua prevents Mitchell from improving his position.
Rua looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Rua has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rua passes the guard and advances to mount!
Rua takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rua's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Rua.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Semba Rua 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.

Mitchell misses with a body kick.
Nice shot lands for Rua.
A telegraphed right hand from Rua misses the target.
Mitchell keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Rua.
Mitchell moves away from the strike by Rua.
Mitchell pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Mitchell connects with a single shot there.
Mitchell misses with a hook.
Mitchell slips a jab from Rua.
Mitchell looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
Mitchell lands with a slapping head kick.
Rua is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Mitchell can do to turn this around?
Rua looks to land a right hand but Mitchell moved out of range.
Mitchell moves out of range of the strikes.
Rua misses with a straight left.
Mitchell bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Mitchell blocks a jab.

Rua is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Mitchell's half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rua content to control rather than advance.
Mitchell wants to improve his position but Rua is controlling well.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rua is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Rua prevents Mitchell from standing back up.
Mitchell missing with punches from the bottom.
Rua stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Semba Rua overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Rua moves nicely into side control.
Rua controlling the position from side mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mitchell gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Rua content just to control the position here.
Mitchell working to try and regain half guard.
Rua looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mitchell tries to lock up and control but Rua gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Rua controlling the pace for now.

Rua looking to secure an arm triangle but Mitchell defends it well.
Rua controlling from the full mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mitchell tries to hold on but Rua postures up.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Semba Rua dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Mitchell tries a head kick but it misses.
Rua misses with a hook
and Mitchell counters with a two punch combo.
Mitchell throws a head kick but Rua moves out of range.
Mitchell tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Mitchell throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Mitchell lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Rua backs up against the cage.
Rua looks to land a left hand but Mitchell moved out of range nicely.

Mitchell gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Rua to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Rua slips nicely into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rua controlling the action here.
Mitchell is looking to escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua works his way into full mount!
Rua tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Further stalling from Rua.
Semba Rua is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mitchell is trying to stand up.
Rua controlling the pace for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rua seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Mitchell for as long as he can get away with.
Mitchell is trying to escape the mount.
Rua controlling the position easily from mount.
Mitchell is desperately trying to improve his position but Rua has a good base and remains in mount.
Rua controlling the pace for now.

That's four 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.
Mitchell wants to control but Rua is having none of it.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Rua controlling the position easily from mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Semba Rua showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Rua, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Semba Rua!
Semba Rua was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.