PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Eliott Leighton (ranked 3453 p4p, 3001 weight class) and Ragnar Ragnarsson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Leighton comes to the cage accompanied by Bad to the Bone - George Thorogood. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Leighton
vs
Ragnarsson

191 cm
39
204
22 - 22 - 0

170 cm
30
220
18 - 13 - 0

BJJ Red Belt
Excellent MT
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 22 - 22 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Eliott Leighton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 13 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ragnar Ragnarsson!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Dmitry Maklakov and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Leighton throws a series of punches but Ragnarsson avoids them all with ease.
Ragnarsson looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Leighton 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.
Leighton misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Leighton slips a jab from Ragnarsson.
Leighton ducks under a wild hook from Ragnarsson.

Leighton gets a clinch.

Ragnarsson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Leighton scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Leighton moves in looking to clinch but Ragnarsson pushes him off.
Leighton displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Ragnarsson throws out the jab.
A counter left hand to the body from Leighton misses its target.
Leighton fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ragnarsson pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Leighton misses with a few strikes there.
Ragnarsson looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Leighton cracks Ragnarsson with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Leighton tries to clinch but Ragnarsson is having none of it.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Ragnarsson! But no joy.
Leighton throws the left hand but Ragnarsson avoids the punch easily.
Ragnarsson throws out a counter right but Leighton avoids it with no problem.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ragnarsson needs to keep his hands up - Leighton had a free shot at his head there.
Ragnarsson avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Jab, jab by Ragnarsson - just one landing.
Leighton tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ragnarsson paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Leighton fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ragnarsson lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Leighton will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Ragnarsson takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Leighton throws a wild body kick that Ragnarsson sees coming a mile off.
Ragnarsson scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Leighton lands a high kick!
Leighton throws a low kick but Ragnarsson moves out of range easily.
Ragnarsson takes a swing at Leighton's ribcage but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ragnarsson throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Leighton staying out of range there.
Leighton tries a head kick but it misses.
Leighton slips under a jab.
Leighton swings away with a body shot that misses
and Ragnarsson counters with a stiff right hand.
Leighton wants to clinch up but Ragnarsson keeps it at a distance.

Leighton has taken the fight to the clinch.
Leighton has Ragnarsson pressed against the cage, preventing Ragnarsson from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Ragnarsson has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Ragnarsson has had enough of the clinch but Leighton keeps him there for the moment.

Ragnarsson's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Leighton lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Leighton looks to clinch

and Ragnarsson counters with a nice right hand that sends Leighton toppling to the canvas! Leighton scrambles and gets back to his feet - can Ragnarsson finish him?!

Leighton is rocked!

Leighton moves into the clinch successfully.
Oh Leighton is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Ragnarsson on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ragnarsson is trying to break the clinch but Leighton has him pressed against the cage.
Leighton seems to have got his legs back now.

Leighton has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Ragnarsson uses from the top position.
Ragnarsson trying to control but Leighton is working from the bottom.

Leighton looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Ragnarsson really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Leighton. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Leighton looking for a guillotine here but Ragnarsson defends easily.

Leighton is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ragnarsson engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Leighton wants to stand but Ragnarsson is controlling the position.

Leighton is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ragnarsson is aware though and is defending well.

Leighton is actively looking for submissions from his back. He's worked himself a little space on the bottom and seems to be going for a triangle. No, he's switched into an armbar! That was slick! Ragnarsson rolls with it to try and escape but Leighton cranks on the arm and Ragnarsson is forced to tap out! This one is aaaaaaaaall over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Eliott Leighton!
After winning the bout, Eliott Leighton thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.