PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between John Trenedad (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jeff Rickson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Trenedad
vs
Rickson

186 cm
25
202 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Granite chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Trenedad!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jeff Rickson!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Daniel Franklin and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rickson shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Rickson was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Trenedad tries to hold on but Rickson postures up.
Trenedad is wriggling around trying to escape.
Rickson misses with a head shot.
Trenedad sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Trenedad is looking to improve his position.
Rickson wants to lay and pray for a moment but Trenedad keeps working.
Trenedad trying to control but Rickson postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Trenedad actively working from the bottom here.
Rickson is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Trenedad looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Rickson trying to control the position from guard on top but Trenedad is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rickson is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Trenedad striking off his back but it's not causing Rickson any problems.
Trenedad is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

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.
Rickson wants to get back to his feet.
Rickson tries to get to full guard but Trenedad has control of the leg.
Rickson is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Trenedad moves into side control, avoiding a weak kimura attempt from Rickson.
Trenedad just content to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rickson is trying to improve his position.
Trenedad trying to control the position but Rickson is working away.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rickson is trying to improve his position.
Trenedad is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Rickson will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

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.
Rickson gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Trenedad looking to finish with strikes here!
Rickson is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Trenedad looking to ground and pound but Rickson is blocking nicely.
Rickson is desperately trying to improve his position but Trenedad has a good base and remains in mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Trenedad misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Trenedad thowing shots but they're missing.
Trenedad content just to control the position here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Trenedad dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Trenedad moves into the clinch.
Rickson tries for a takedown but Trenedad manages to get underhooks.

Trenedad gets control of Rickson's arms and successfully pulls guard. Trenedad will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Rickson trying to control but Trenedad is working from the bottom.
Rickson thows a big elbow that misses.
Rickson preventing the sweep.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rickson stands and throws Trenedad's legs to the side, diving into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Trenedad is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
You can see the frustration on Trenedad's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Rickson tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Trenedad is being controlled here.
Trenedad tries to control but Rickson manages to take his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Trenedad trying to control the hands but Rickson breaks the grip.
Rickson doesn't have the hooks in and Trenedad manages to turn into his guard.
Rickson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Trenedad.

Rickson has his foot on Trenedad's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Trenedad works his way back into a safe position though.

Rickson kicks Trenedad off and gets to his feet.
Trenedad is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Trenedad.
Trenedad has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Rickson.
Rickson shoots and misses

and Trenedad moves into the clinch.
Rickson is looking to control Trenedad's arms but Trenedad gets an underhook and turns him. Now Rickson has his back to the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rickson goes for a takedown in the clinch but Trenedad prevents it.
John Trenedad has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jeff Rickson.
Rickson jumps guard but Trenedad stands there with Rickson around his waist. Rickson gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Rickson has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Trenedad is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Rickson is breathing heavily.
Rickson looking to stall.

Trenedad gets a trip takedown into half guard.

Trenedad stands up and beckons Rickson to join him on the feet.

Trenedad pushes Rickson up against the cage in a clinch.
Trenedad tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

Trenedad pulls Rickson into guard.
Rickson postures up.

Trenedad working for a triangle but Rickson defends it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rickson trying to control the position from guard on top but Trenedad is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Trenedad wants to control but Rickson passes easily into half guard.

Rickson gets to his feet - back to striking we go!

Rickson fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Trenedad sprawls well initially but Rickson persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that John Trenedad will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Rickson changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Trenedad looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Trenedad sneaks back into half guard.
Rickson is trying to control the action in half guard but Trenedad is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Rickson slows the pace down in half guard.
Trenedad works his way to full guard. Good work.
Trenedad controls Rickson momentarily but Rickson frees himself.
Trenedad looking for a sweep. Not yet Trenedad, not yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

Rickson drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Trenedad manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Rickson has Trenedad in his guard.
Rickson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Trenedad is one step ahead there.
Rickson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Rickson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Rickson might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Trenedad kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Trenedad is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Trenedad passes Rickson's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
John Trenedad overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Trenedad thows a huge punch but Rickson dodges it nicely.
Trenedad frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Trenedad looking to ground and pound but Rickson is blocking nicely.
Trenedad controlling the pace for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rickson wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Trenedad.

Trenedad stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.
Rickson fails with the takedown

and Trenedad counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Trenedad.
Rickson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rickson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Trenedad accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Trenedad pushes down on Rickson's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Rickson is looking to control Trenedad's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Rickson avoid being mounted?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Trenedad thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Trenedad thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Trenedad wants to stand up but Rickson is controlling the position.
Trenedad takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Trenedad wants to control but Rickson is keeping him busy.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Trenedad is taking a breather. Rickson says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Jeff Rickson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
John Trenedad is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

The ref stands the fighters back up. John Trenedad wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Rickson shoots in but no luck this time.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Trenedad showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Trenedad, 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Trenedad!