PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Ruarc Bowell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kevin Knight (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ruarc Bowell has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Bowell
vs
Knight

175 cm
24
155 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

170 cm
25
148 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Experienced

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Determined

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 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ruarc Bowell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Kevin Knight!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Daniel Blasius and Radbod Blank.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Bowell shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Knight manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Bowell controlling from the top position.
Knight keeping full guard, as Bowell tries to pass.
Knight keeping moving, preventing Bowell from controlling successfully.

Knight is looking for a triangle but Bowell pushes his legs off easily.
Knight keeping moving, preventing Bowell from controlling successfully.
Knight looking to hit a scissor sweep but Bowell is one step ahead there.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Bowell stays in close to Knight's body and controls the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Knight looking for subs off his back but Bowell has passed one foot through into half guard.

Bowell wants to work for an arm triangle but Knight is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Bowell is working for a kimura here but Knight manages to reverse the position and he's now in Bowell's guard.
Bowell not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Bowell is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Knight is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Knight throwing strikes from guard but Bowell blocks nicely.

Bowell working for a triangle but Knight defends it easily.
Knight trying to control but Bowell is working from the bottom.
Knight working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

Bowell is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Bowell keeping moving, preventing Knight from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bowell is trying to hold Knight in close to prevent damage but Knight has managed to pass into half guard.
Bowell slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Bowell working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Knight doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Knight manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Bowell looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Bowell controls Knight momentarily but Knight frees himself.
Knight wants to control from the top but Bowell keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Knight is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bowell keeping full guard, as Knight tries to pass.
Bowell is trying to keep Knight in close.
Bowell avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Bowell controlling the position.
Knight trying to control the position from guard on top but Bowell is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Knight got a little sloppy there for a moment and Bowell has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Knight has managed to get both his arms back between Bowell's legs - danger averted.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Knight wants to control from the top but Bowell keeps moving.

Bowell is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Knight is aware though and is defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ruarc Bowell dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Kevin Knight's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Knight drives through and clinches with Bowell against the cage.

Knight gets control of Bowell's arms and successfully pulls guard. Knight will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.

Knight working for a triangle but Bowell defends it easily.

Bowell drops back looking for a leg! Knight is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Knight manages to kick Bowell off! Bowell jumps back into Knight's guard.
Bowell is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knight keeping moving, preventing Bowell from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Knight keeping full guard, as Bowell tries to pass.
Bowell trying to control the position from guard on top but Knight is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Bowell tries to free his leg and advance position but Knight is retaining full guard.
Knight keeping moving, preventing Bowell from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Ruarc Bowell wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Bowell shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Bowell showed some decent athleticism there.
Bowell is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Knight!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bowell controlling the pace for now.

Bowell jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Knight is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Knight and Bowell has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Knight tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Bowell wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

Bowell tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Bowell has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Bowell working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Bowell is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Knight has escaped the position, nice work there.

Bowell working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

Bowell is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Knight has escaped the position, nice work there.

Bowell looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Bowell looking to control but instead Knight has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Knight trying to hold on to Bowell's head to control him but Bowell postures up.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Bowell trying to control the action but Knight is working from the bottom.
Knight is trying to get back to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ruarc Bowell dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Kevin Knight's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Knight fails with the takedown

and Bowell counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Knight!

Bowell working for a submission but Knight is keeping him at bay.
Bowell looking to control but Knight is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Bowell controlling the position easily from mount.
Bowell is looking to work his way around to Knight's back. He needs to be careful though, as he's in danger of losing this dominant position.

Bowell moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Knight has worked his arm free - good work by Knight!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bowell is trying to get an arm triangle but Knight is defending well.
Knight is trying to improve his position.
Bowell wants to control but Knight is keeping him busy.

Bowell goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Knight rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Bowell's guard! Nice work there by Knight!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Bowell looking for a guillotine here but Knight defends easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Knight postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Bowell has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Knight can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Knight throws and elbow that misses. Bowell uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Knight's guard. Nice move by Bowell!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bowell wants to control from the top but Knight keeps moving.
Bowell pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Knight is keeping the position for now.
Bowell is fighting to break Knight's control of his arms but Knight is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

Bowell is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Knight is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Knight has escaped and now he's on top!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Bowell is looking for a triangle here but Knight uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
You can see the frustration on Bowell's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Bowell is looking for a sweep.
Ruarc Bowell is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Knight is trying to ground and pound but Bowell uses the momentary lack of control by Knight to regain half guard.
Knight controlling the pace.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ruarc Bowell showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Bowell, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Saam Ante scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 30:27
Judge Radbod Blank scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ruarc Bowell!