PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rick Knuckles (ranked 3675 p4p, 2138 weight class) and Jero Wolf (ranked 425 p4p, 278 weight class). Wolf is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Better Together. The key to victory for Rick Knuckles has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Knuckles
vs
Wolf

179 cm
20
167
4 - 3 - 0

176 cm
21
161
4 - 2 - 1

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very strong

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Rick Knuckles!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Jero Wolf!
The judges for this bout are Ian Loll, Dillan Fox and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Knuckles throws an overhand right that lands on Wolf's shoulder, as Wolf tries to avoid the shot.
Wolf drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Knuckles defends it well.
Knuckles throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A big left from Wolf misses.
Knuckles swings for the body but Wolf moves out of range.
Wolf now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Wolf throws a hook but Knuckles avoids it easily.
Wolf throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Knuckles looks to land a left hand but Wolf moved out of range nicely.
Knuckles misses with a left hand
and Wolf counters with a straight right hand.
Wolf avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Knuckles throws a looping overhand right but Wolf ducks down to avoid it.
Knuckles misses with a looping right.
Wolf now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Knuckles swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wolf is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Wolf swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Knuckles counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Knuckles cracks Wolf with an open hand slap.
Knuckles misses with a hook. Wolf ducked under it nicely.
A jab from Wolf misses.
Wolf takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Wolf clinches up with Knuckles and pushes him back against the cage.
Knuckles is working Wolf over against the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Knuckles as Wolf tries to tie him up.
Wolf taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Wolf misses with a body punch.
Wolf swings wildly with an uppercut but Knuckles uses good head movement to avoid it.
Knuckles tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Knuckles lands a left hand that snaps the head of Wolf backwards.

Knuckles breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Rick Knuckles seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A jab from Knuckles misses.
Nice shot lands for Knuckles.
Wolf takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
The fighters circling - Wolf throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Wolf slips under a jab from Knuckles.
Knuckles bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Wolf misses the shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wolf throws a body punch but Knuckles moves out of range.
Knuckles misses the shot to the body.
Knuckles misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Wolf.
Wolf defending well as Knuckles loads up on a big left hand.
Wolf avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Wolf doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Knuckles scores with a jab to the head.
Knuckles looks to land a right hand but Wolf moved out of range.
Knuckles throws a shot from downtown. Wolf moves away and avoids it.
Knuckles lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Knuckles missing with a left hand there. Wolf was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Wolf keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Knuckles.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Wolf! But no joy.
Knuckles just misses with a punch to the body.
Wolf keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Knuckles fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Wolf displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Knuckles throws out the jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knuckles throws an overhand right that lands on Wolf's shoulder, as Wolf tries to avoid the shot.
Wolf throws a jab but it's blocked by Knuckles.
Knuckles seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Knuckles misses with an uppercut
and Wolf counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Knuckles throws a hook to the side of Wolf's head but Wolf sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Knuckles throws a poor cross that misses
and Wolf counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Wolf digs a good body shot into Knuckles's ribs.
Wolf throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Knuckles is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Wolf throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Knuckles's waist but Knuckles gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Wolf off to one side.
Knuckles swings widly with a right hand
and Wolf makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Knuckles waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Wolf.
Wolf avoids a punch combination nicely.
A jab from Knuckles misses.
Knuckles bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Wolf's head backwards.
Wolf looks to score with a jab to the body but Knuckles is just out of range.

Wolf dives in and scores a takedown into Knuckles's guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Wolf pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Knuckles is keeping the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Knuckles is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Wolf missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Wolf with a flurry of punches that miss.
Wolf trying to control the position from guard on top but Knuckles is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Wolf throws a big elbow that misses.
Wolf is in close to Knuckles's body, working some short punches and elbows.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wolf passes into half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Rick Knuckles dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Wolf takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
A slow jab from Wolf misses its intended target.
Knuckles fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Wolf manages to avoid it.
Wolf needs to keep his hands up - Knuckles had a free shot at his head there.
Knuckles defending well as Wolf loads up on a big left hand.
A slow jab from Knuckles misses its intended target.
A swing and a miss from Knuckles.
Knuckles misses with a body shot.
Rick Knuckles is winning the standup battle so far.
Knuckles throws a shot from downtown. Wolf moves away and avoids it.
Wolf moves away from the strike by Knuckles.
Knuckles throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Wolf! But no joy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knuckles uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Wolf.
Wolf throws an overhand right that lands on Knuckles's shoulder, as Knuckles tries to avoid the shot.
Knuckles steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Wolf.
Wolf throws a predictable looking body shot
and Knuckles cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Wolf.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Knuckles prevents Wolf from moving into mount.
Knuckles gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Wolf throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Knuckles avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Wolf.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Wolf working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Wolf looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

Wolf wants to work for an arm triangle but Knuckles is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Knuckles knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Wolf on the ground.

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.
Wolf thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Knuckles's head.
Wolf trying to pass the guard but Knuckles defending well.
Knuckles trying to control here.
Wolf throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Wolf drops an elbow to the side of Knuckles's head.
Wolf is looking to take a break and control but Knuckles is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Knuckles on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Knuckles tries to get out of the position.
Knuckles is looking to control Wolf's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Knuckles avoid being mounted?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knuckles controlling the position well.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Wolf uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Knuckles.
Knuckles looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Knuckles misses with an uppercut.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Wolf! But no joy.
Knuckles throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Wolf looks for a takedown but Knuckles sprawls well.
Knuckles was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.

Wolf scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Wolf seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Knuckles does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Wolf wants to free his trapped foot but Knuckles is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Knuckles trying to hold on to Wolf's head to control him but Wolf postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Knuckles makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Knuckles.
Knuckles keeping full guard, as Wolf tries to pass.
Knuckles keeping moving, preventing Wolf from controlling successfully.
Wolf postures up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Knuckles is controlling Wolf's posture.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
The fighters circling - Knuckles throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Wolf ducks under a wild hook from Knuckles.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jero Wolf showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Wolf avoids the body shot from Knuckles.
A shot to the liver by Knuckles. Beautiful body shot.
Wolf uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Knuckles.
Wolf tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Knuckles misses with a looping right.
Knuckles throws a body shot but no joy.
Knuckles throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Wolf fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Knuckles looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Knuckles throws a hook but Wolf avoids it easily.
Wolf avoids a punch combination nicely.

Knuckles moves into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Wolf.
Wolf misses with some punches.
Wolf tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Knuckles lands with a short punch from the clinch.

Knuckles breaks from the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wolf looks to score with a jab to the body but Knuckles is just out of range.
Knuckles takes a swing at Wolf's ribcage but misses.
Knuckles lands with an uppercut that bounces Wolf off the cage and back into range.
Rick Knuckles is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Wolf shoots in for a takedown but Knuckles shows good takedown defense.
Knuckles misses with a wild body shot.
Knuckles misses with a wild combination.
Knuckles is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Wolf looks to score with a jab to the body but Knuckles is just out of range.
Knuckles slips a straight right by Wolf.
Knuckles smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Knuckles swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Wolf counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Knuckles!
Wolf trying to control the position but Knuckles is working away.
Knuckles defending against the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Wolf controls the position from side control.

Wolf tries for a kimura but Knuckles is defending well.
Wolf trying to control the action but Knuckles is working from the bottom.
Knuckles is trying to control Wolf's posture but Wolf avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Wolf wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Knuckles, who protects the arm well.
Knuckles is looking to reverse the position.
Knuckles prevents Wolf from improving position.

Wolf goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Knuckles has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Wolf but great work by Knuckles.
Wolf is trying to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wolf wants to control but Knuckles postures up.
Wolf is looking to reverse the position.
Wolf can't do much from the bottom here.
Wolf is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Knuckles's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Wolf is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Wolf keeps trying to improve his position.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Rick Knuckles.
I think Knuckles 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 Ian Loll scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rick Knuckles!