PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Akuma Manivong (ranked 761 p4p, 1474 weight class) and Myles Ruth (ranked 105 p4p, 194 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Manivong
vs
Ruth

193 cm
23
266
4 - 3 - 0

195 cm
26
250
8 - 4 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Akuma Manivong!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Myles Ruth!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Reed Andrews and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Manivong with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Ruth throws a series of punches but Manivong avoids them all with ease.
Manivong tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ruth swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Ruth throws a looping overhand right but Manivong ducks down to avoid it.
Manivong looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Ruth looks to land a right hand but Manivong moved out of range.
Manivong scores with a leg kick.
Manivong takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Ruth scores with a jab to the body.
Ruth looks to score with a jab to the body but Manivong is just out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ruth scores with a hook.
Manivong throws a shot to the body.
Ruth ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Manivong moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manivong misses with a right hand
and Ruth counters with a stiff right hand.
Ruth connects with a body shot that sends Manivong's belly button to the back.
Ruth ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Ruth lands with a shot to the body.

Manivong darts in and clinches Ruth up against the cage.
Ruth misses with a hook from the clinch.
Manivong wants a takedown but no success here.
A right hand to the body from Ruth.
Ruth lands with a short punch from the clinch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Manivong.
Ruth misses with some punches.
Manivong lands on the inside with an uppercut.
A shot in the inside from Ruth.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ruth blocks an uppercut.
Ruth tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ruth misses with a hook to the ribs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manivong lands a left hand.
Ruth blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Manivong 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.
Ruth tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ruth misses with the head strike.
Ruth lands a shoulder strike.
Ruth is trying to stall.
Manivong lands a shoulder strike.
Ruth gets through Manivong's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Manivong lands a left hand.
Ruth working aggressively here.
Manivong lands an uppercut.
Manivong lands a shoulder strike.

Ruth's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Manivong takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Ruth misses with a hook.
Ruth misses with an uppercut
and Manivong counters with a leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruth throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Myles Ruth seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ruth waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Manivong.
Ruth swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Ruth takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Nice cross by Ruth.
Manivong swings for the body but Ruth moves out of range.

Manivong moves into the clinch.
Manivong fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Manivong can't find room to land a body shot as Ruth controls the action.
Ruth softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Manivong lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Manivong tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Manivong tries for a takedown but Ruth manages to get underhooks.
Manivong softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Manivong breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Manivong takes a body punch but keeps moving.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ruth lands with a good body shot.
Manivong takes a jab right on the kisser.
Ruth connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Manivong momentarily.
Ruth throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Manivong ducks under a wild hook from Ruth.
A nice leg kick lands there from Manivong.
Ruth takes a swing at Manivong's ribcage but misses.
Ruth tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Manivong was well out of range. Poor timing from Ruth.
Good standup being displayed there by Manivong as he connects with a hook.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Myles Ruth 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.

Manivong takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Ruth throws a combination that misses
and Manivong counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Manivong has taken the fight to the clinch.
Ruth trying to stall but Manivong improves his position.
Manivong drops down looking for an ankle pick but Ruth pulls his leg out and moves away.
Ruth throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ruth tries to bum rush Manivong with a series of wild strikes but Manivong uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nice jab there from Ruth.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ruth lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Manivong circles away quickly and effectively.
Ruth slips under a jab from Manivong.
Manivong looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manivong throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Ruth stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Manivong fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Ruth has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Manivong tries to work over Ruth's front leg with a kick but Ruth checks it.
Myles Ruth seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Manivong scores with a kick to the midsection.
No joy there for Ruth, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
It appears Manivong was looking to counter with a kick there.
Ruth clobbers Manivong with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Ruth takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Ruth misses with a wild body shot.
Ruth throws a series of punches but Manivong avoids them all with ease.
An attempted straight right counter from Manivong misses the target.
Ruth jabs Manivong right on the nose. Manivong blinks but takes it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Manivong has closed the distance and engaged Ruth in a clinch.
Ruth makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ruth lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Ruth misses with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Ruth fails to land.
Manivong blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ruth misses with the head strike.

Manivong lands a takedown into guard.
Manivong would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Ruth looking to hit a scissor sweep but Manivong is one step ahead there.
Manivong wants to stand but Ruth has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Ruth looking to control but Manivong passes into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manivong thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Manivong blocks the strikes from Ruth.
Ruth works his way to full guard. Good work.
Ruth looking to control.
Manivong trying to control the position from guard on top but Ruth is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ruth is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Ruth is trying to keep Manivong in close.
Manivong engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Ruth holds on and takes a little breather.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Manivong wants to stand but Ruth has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
A nice combination there by Ruth.
Manivong is looking to clinch.
Ruth looks to land a left hand but Manivong moved out of range nicely.
Manivong moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Ruth misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Manivong.
Manivong looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Ruth misses with a body shot.
Manivong appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Myles Ruth will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Ruth moves out of range of the strikes.
Ruth swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Ruth on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Manivong takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Manivong slips under a jab.
Ruth misses with a left hand
and Manivong counters with a nice uppercut.
Ruth takes a swing at Manivong's ribcage but misses.
Manivong feinted there with a counter leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Manivong takes a jab right on the kisser.

Manivong drives through and clinches with Ruth against the cage.
Manivong lands a shoulder strike.
Ruth lands with a short head shot on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruth misses with a punch on the inside.
Manivong working aggressively here.
A nice left hand lands by Manivong.

Manivong breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Ruth swinging wildly here.
Manivong fires out a quick counter leg kick but Ruth just manages to avoid it.
Manivong throws a leg kick
and Ruth connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Manivong pushes Ruth away with a front kick.
Ruth just misses with a punch to the body.
Manivong connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Ruth momentarily.
Manivong connects with a crisp jab.
Ruth throws a predictable looking body shot
and Manivong counters with a huge left! Ruth is in big trouble! He's backing up but Manivong isn't giving him chance to recover. Under a barage of punches the ref has to step in to save Ruth from any more damage. A dominating finish by Manivong!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:55 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Akuma Manivong!
Akuma Manivong retains his heavyweight title!
Akuma Manivong 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.