PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Deandre Furgenson (ranked 24534 p4p, 25310 weight class) and Jicheng Ruan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Furgenson comes to the cage accompanied by call me revenge. Ruan has chosen Alright as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Furgenson
vs
Ruan

199 cm
22
155
0 - 4 - 0

180 cm
23
165
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Great low kicks
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Intelligent

Hakaka La'au Performance

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 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Deandre Furgenson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Jicheng Ruan!
The judges for this bout are Frank Dennis, Cecil Peabody and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Furgenson shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Ruan defends it nicely.

Ruan clinches up with Furgenson and pushes him back against the cage.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Furgenson.
Furgenson is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Furgenson gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ruan is leaning against Furgenson and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Furgenson misses with an elbow over the top.

Ruan successfully pulls guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Furgenson gets to his feet - Ruan follows without any prompting.
Furgenson avoids the head kick by Ruan.
Furgenson tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ruan manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Deandre Furgenson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Furgenson shoots in looking for a takedown but Ruan manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Furgenson's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Ruan looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
Furgenson throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Ruan counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Furgenson is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Ruan throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Furgenson's waist but Furgenson gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ruan off to one side.
Furgenson looks for a takedown but Ruan sprawls well.
Ruan is looking for the big counter here.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Deandre Furgenson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Furgenson.
A low kick from Furgenson misses
and Ruan counters with a three punch combo that has Furgenson backing up. Furgenson nods at Ruan to acknowledge the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruan lands a high kick!
Furgenson doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Ruan counters with a series of strikes. Furgenson will be more careful next time no doubt.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Furgenson tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ruan manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Ruan lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Ruan throws a head kick that misses.
Some wild striking there from Furgenson.
Furgenson is breathing heavily.
Furgenson shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Ruan as he avoids it easily.
Ruan throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Ruan throws a head kick that Furgenson semi-blocks.
Ruan lands with an uppercut that bounces Furgenson off the cage and back into range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Furgenson with a poor takedown
and Ruan counters with a left and a right that stings Furgenson.
Ruan goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Ruan scores with a head kick.
Ruan throws a head kick that misses.
Furgenson takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Ruan scores with a head kick.
Furgenson misses with a head kick.
Furgenson misses with a series of wild punches.
Ruan throws a head kick that looked like it stung.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ruan lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Ruan misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Furgenson is looking for a counter combo.
Ruan throws a head kick that misses.
A head kick from Ruan lands but Furgenson takes it in his stride.
Ruan lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Furgenson throws a head kick but Ruan moves out of range.
Furgenson takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Ruan plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Furgenson really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Ruan drives through with a takedown into Furgenson's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jicheng Ruan dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Furgenson darts in looking for a takedown but Ruan gets double underhooks and turns Furgenson into the cage.
Furgenson misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ruan.
Furgenson tries to pull guard but Ruan holds him up against the cage and eventually Furgenson drops back down to his feet.
Furgenson looking to slow down the pace here.
Ruan stalling.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Furgenson is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ruan to keep the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Deandre Furgenson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Furgenson has Ruan pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Ruan manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruan with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Furgenson has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Ruan is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Ruan gets control of Furgenson's arms and successfully pulls guard. Ruan will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Furgenson trying to control the position from guard on top but Ruan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Furgenson will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Ruan holds on and takes a little breather.
Furgenson won't allow Ruan to sweep him here.
Furgenson prevents Ruan from getting back to his feet.
Ruan has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Furgenson working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Ruan's head.
Ruan pulls Furgenson in close to prevent any damage.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Ruan throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Ruan throws a head kick that half lands.
Ruan misses with a head kick.
Ruan lands a head kick!
Furgenson gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Ruan counters with a left and a right that stings Furgenson.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruan throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
The fight stays on the outside here - Furgenson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ruan scores with a kick to the body.
Ruan displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Furgenson.

Ruan drives through with a takedown into Furgenson's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Furgenson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ruan postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ruan postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Ruan slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Ruan is pushing down on Furgenson's leg trying to pass to half guard. Furgenson is fighting to maintain full guard but Ruan has managed to sneak the leg through.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Ruan decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Ruan throws a head kick that Furgenson semi-blocks.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Furgenson throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Ruan counters with a three punch combo that has Furgenson backing up. Furgenson nods at Ruan to acknowledge the strikes.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jicheng Ruan showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Ruan goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Ruan throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Furgenson will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Furgenson blocks a head kick by Ruan.
Furgenson tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Ruan was well out of range. Poor timing from Furgenson.
Ruan scores with a head kick.
Ruan throws a sloppy head kick and Furgenson moves out of range easily.
Furgenson wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Furgenson looks for a takedown but Ruan sprawls well.
Despite the aggression on Ruan's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ruan throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick by Furgenson misses
and Ruan counters with a three punch combo that has Furgenson backing up. Furgenson nods at Ruan to acknowledge the strikes.
Furgenson shoots in looking for a takedown. Ruan tries to sprawl out of it but Furgenson keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Ruan manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Deandre Furgenson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ruan misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Furgenson takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Furgenson takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Jicheng Ruan seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Ruan lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Ruan lands a high kick!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Furgenson blocks a head kick by Ruan.
Furgenson shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Ruan counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Furgenson is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Ruan throws a series of strikes that have Furgenson backpedaling.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ruan throws a one two combo.
Furgenson takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
A head kick by Furgenson misses
and Ruan counters with a head kick. That will keep Furgenson thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Ruan plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Ruan defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Furgenson.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruan scores with a head kick.
Furgenson shoots in looking for a takedown but Ruan manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Furgenson's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Ruan lands a high kick!
Ruan throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Furgenson shoots in for a takedown but Ruan shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Ruan displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Ruan misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Furgenson is looking to counter with head kicks.

Ruan moves into the clinch.
Ruan is defending well against a takedown attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Furgenson fails to land.

Ruan breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Ruan rushes Furgenson and presses him up against the cage.
Ruan lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Ruan obliges.
Ruan lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Furgenson looking to slow down the pace here.
Deandre Furgenson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Jicheng Ruan is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Ruan has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Furgenson is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jicheng Ruan comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Ruan 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 Frank Dennis scores the fight 25:30
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 26:30
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jicheng Ruan!
Jicheng Ruan 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.