PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Steven Rutherford (ranked 1986 p4p, 2038 weight class) and Toby Vertongen (ranked 216 p4p, 0 weight class). Steven Rutherford could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Toby Vertongen's chin.

Rutherford
vs
Vertongen

183 cm
47
149
33 - 9 - 3

170 cm
23
155
2 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Urban Fighter

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 33 - 9 - 3, fighting out of Las Vegas, Steven Rutherford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Toby Vertongen!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Wesley Smith and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vertongen slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Vertongen misses with a takedown attempt - Rutherford sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Vertongen throws a body shot but no joy.
Rutherford appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Vertongen jabs Rutherford to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Vertongen is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Rutherford.
Vertongen connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Vertongen cracks Rutherford with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Rutherford tries to clinch but Vertongen is having none of it.
Vertongen fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Rutherford is out of range.
Vertongen takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Rutherford just misses with a punch to the body.
That kick from Vertongen tenderised Rutherford's leg. Rutherford is trying to keep his angry face on.
Vertongen misses with a straight left.
Rutherford displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Vertongen throws out the jab.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Vertongen misses with a looping right.
Rutherford tries to clinch up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vertongen with a nice cross.
Rutherford misses with a low kick.
Rutherford looks to land a right hand but Vertongen moved out of range.
Vertongen shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Vertongen scores with a body shot.
Vertongen has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.

Rutherford clinches with his opponent.
Vertongen lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Vertongen creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A bit of stalling here from Rutherford.
Rutherford has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Rutherford misses with some punches.
Come on Rutherford - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Vertongen misses with the head strike.
Vertongen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Vertongen fails to land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vertongen misses with a punch to the body.
Vertongen lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Vertongen is working Rutherford over against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Rutherford escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Rutherford throws a hook but Vertongen avoids it easily.
Vertongen steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Rutherford.
Rutherford tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Vertongen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Rutherford scores with a crisp jab that stopped Vertongen in his tracks.
Rutherford misses with a straight left.
Vertongen scores with a leg kick.
Vertongen moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Vertongen moves out of range of the body kick from Rutherford.
Rutherford takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Rutherford wants to clinch but Vertongen slips to the side
and Vertongen counters with a nice body shot.
Vertongen fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Vertongen drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Vertongen moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Rutherford taking a bit of punishment here - Vertongen scoring with strikes.
Rutherford takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Vertongen is working Rutherford over with some ground and pound from side control.
Rutherford is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Vertongen cracks Rutherford with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Rutherford gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vertongen lands a heavy elbow.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Vertongen raining down hammerfists from mount.
Vertongen fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Vertongen scoring with strikes but Rutherford is staying in there.
The referee warns Rutherford that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Rutherford is trying to stand up.
Vertongen with the ground and pound from mount.
Vertongen scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Rutherford?

Rutherford is rocked!
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Vertongen won't let Rutherford get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Vertongen lands a big shot there that rocks Rutherford but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Oh Rutherford is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Vertongen breaks from Rutherford's wrist control and lands an elbow.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Toby Vertongen dominated that round.
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.

Rutherford fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Rutherford seems to have got his legs back now.
Rutherford motions for Vertongen to come forward. Rutherford throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Rutherford doesn't manage to clinch there - Vertongen circles away.
Jab by Vertongen.
Rutherford doesn't manage to clinch there - Vertongen circles away.
Vertongen ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Vertongen lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Rutherford doesn't manage to clinch there - Vertongen circles away.
Vertongen misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Rutherford counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Toby Vertongen seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Vertongen looks to throw the jab but Rutherford is out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vertongen throws a chopping leg kick but Rutherford manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Rutherford really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Rutherford shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Nice body punch from Vertongen.
Vertongen scores with a hook to the body. Rutherford takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Rutherford throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rutherford tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Steven Rutherford is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A slow jab from Rutherford misses its intended target.
Vertongen throws a leg kick
and Rutherford counters with a low kick, right behind Vertongen 's knee.
Vertongen fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Vertongen throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Vertongen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rutherford moves away.
Rutherford tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rutherford throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Rutherford takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Rutherford attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Rutherford getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Rutherford lands a nice shot that snaps Vertongen's head back.
Rutherford 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.
Vertongen slips a straight right by Rutherford.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Vertongen drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rutherford is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Vertongen asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Vertongen in side control lands a decent elbow.
Toby Vertongen has got the better of the ground game so far.
Vertongen happy to just control the position for now.
Rutherford is trying to get back to his feet.
Vertongen controlling from side mount.
Rutherford wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vertongen misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Vertongen prevents Rutherford from escaping the position.
Vertongen trying to control the action but Rutherford is working from the bottom.
Rutherford is pushing Vertongen's head away, looking to escape. Vertongen manages to hold on to the position though.
Vertongen misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

That's four 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.
Rutherford is trying to buck Vertongen off.
Vertongen in side control, throwing shots but Rutherford defends.
Vertongen lands a few punches from side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Vertongen postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
The strikes coming from Vertongen are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Vertongen with the ground and pound but Rutherford regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Vertongen stops Rutherford from getting back to his feet.
Well, if Vertongen is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Vertongen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Toby Vertongen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! 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.

A nice leg kick from Vertongen, right into the meat of the thigh.
Rutherford misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Vertongen.
Rutherford connects with a body shot that sends Vertongen's belly button to the back.
Rutherford misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Vertongen.
Vertongen takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Vertongen looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Rutherford is fending him off so far but Vertongen persists. Nope, Rutherford circles away and we're back to standing.
Rutherford slips under a jab from Vertongen.
Vertongen has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Vertongen lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Rutherford takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Rutherford throws a shot from downtown. Vertongen moves away and avoids it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vertongen scores with a head kick.
Rutherford 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.
Vertongen has a takedown stuffed.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vertongen just misses with a punch to the body.
Rutherford swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Rutherford throws a body punch but Vertongen moves out of range.
Steven Rutherford seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rutherford lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Vertongen displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Rutherford throws out the jab.
Rutherford looks to land a body kick but Vertongen moved away.
Rutherford lands with a thumping leg kick.
Rutherford wants to clinch.
Vertongen lands a right hook to the body.
Rutherford throws a poor cross that misses

and Vertongen counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Vertongen.
Vertongen can't find room to land a body shot as Rutherford controls the action.
Toby Vertongen is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rutherford lands a right hand.
Rutherford tries to throw a body punch but Vertongen avoids it by throwing Rutherford back against the cage.
Rutherford has Vertongen pressed against the cage.
Vertongen tries to work over Rutherford's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Rutherford just leaning against Vertongen, taking a breather.
Vertongen prevents a body shot from Rutherford.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rutherford breaks the clinch.
Rutherford walks forward, straight into a front kick from Vertongen.
Rutherford lands with an overhand left.
Vertongen throws an overhand right that lands on Rutherford's shoulder, as Rutherford tries to avoid the shot.
Rutherford is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Vertongen.
Rutherford is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Rutherford lands a nice shot that snaps Vertongen's head back.
A chopping leg kick lands by Vertongen.
Rutherford misses the shot to the body.
Rutherford misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Vertongen.
Rutherford moves out of range as Vertongen throws a body kick.
Vertongen with a nice calf kick.
Vertongen lands a slapping body shot.
Rutherford chopping away at his opponent's legs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
An inside leg kick lands from Vertongen.
A solid leg kick lands there for Vertongen.
Vertongen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rutherford moves away.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Vertongen checks a leg kick.
Vertongen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Vertongen throws a low kick but Rutherford moves out of range easily.
Vertongen scores with a nice strike.
A swing and a miss from Rutherford.
Rutherford tries to close the distance and clinch up but Vertongen swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Rutherford misses with an uppercut.
Vertongen closes the distance and clinches up with Rutherford, looking for a takedown. Vertongen pushes Rutherford against the cage but Rutherford circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
As Vertongen tries to get set, Rutherford tries to push him back and clinch up but Vertongen manages to avoid the attempt.
Steven Rutherford has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Toby Vertongen.
Rutherford drops his hands momentarily and Vertongen takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Vertongen lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Steven Rutherford has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rutherford 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.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Toby Vertongen.
Well Vertongen has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Gwen Towbar scores the fight 27:30
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 27:30
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Toby Vertongen!
Toby Vertongen decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.