PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Amon Amarth (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jere Ruutikainen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Amarth's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Anyway. Both fighters really staring eachother down here, as Jere Ruutikainen enters the cage!

Amarth
vs
Ruutikainen

184 cm
24
185 lbs
13 - 3 - 1

182 cm
23
195 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Solid boxing
Very strong

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Amon Amarth!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Jere Ruutikainen!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Matheus Silva and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ruutikainen misses with a takedown
letting Amarth counter with a right hand.
Amarth doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Ruutikainen tries to clinch up but Amarth circles away and keeps his distance.
Ruutikainen misses with a combination
and Amarth counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Ruutikainen throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Amarth's waist but Amarth gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ruutikainen off to one side.
Amarth throws a jab but it's blocked by Ruutikainen.
Amarth tries to move into range but Ruutikainen moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Ruutikainen misses with a hook
and Amarth counters with a nice body shot.
Ruutikainen wants to land a leg kick but Amarth is out of range.
Ruutikainen tries for a takedown but Amarth circles away easily

and Amarth counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Ruutikainen's guard now.
Amon Amarth has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jere Ruutikainen.
Ruutikainen looking to control.
Amarth throwing strikes but missing.
Amarth throws a strike but Ruutikainen rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruutikainen looking to pass the guard.
Ruutikainen sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Ruutikainen working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ruutikainen is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Ruutikainen wants to pass the guard but Amarth is keeping the position.
Ruutikainen's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's two 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.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Jere Ruutikainen.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Amarth enables Ruutikainen to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Amarth manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Amarth wants to sweep here but Ruutikainen controlling him for the moment.
Ruutikainen wants to control from the top but Amarth keeps moving.
Ruutikainen trying to stand up but can't free himself from Amarth's guard.
Amarth is controlling Ruutikainen's posture.
Ruutikainen showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Jere Ruutikainen was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Ruutikainen uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Amarth.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ruutikainen shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Ruutikainen tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Amarth holds on for dear life.
Amarth wants to control but Ruutikainen is having none of it.
Ruutikainen lands a heavy elbow.
Ruutikainen is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Amarth can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Ruutikainen controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Amarth has worked his way to half guard, taking advantage of Ruutikainen's lack of action.
Amarth is not content to let Ruutikainen control the position.
Amarth avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Ruutikainen.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Jere Ruutikainen wasn't active enough on the ground.
Ruutikainen shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Amarth counters with a nice double leg into side control. Ruutikainen won't be happy with that.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Amarth wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ruutikainen keeps working.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Amon Amarth will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Ruutikainen decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Amarth gets back to full guard.
Ruutikainen controlling from the top position.
Ruutikainen throws and elbow that misses. Amarth uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ruutikainen's guard. Nice move by Amarth!
Ruutikainen lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Amarth!
Jere Ruutikainen has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ruutikainen controlling his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruutikainen sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Amarth is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Ruutikainen lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Ruutikainen has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Ruutikainen controlling from mount.
Ruutikainen's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruutikainen trying to control but Amarth is having none of it.
Ruutikainen controlling the pace for now.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Ruutikainen wants to control the pace but Amarth is squirming around nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Jere Ruutikainen wasn't active enough on the ground.
Ruutikainen looks to clinch
and Amarth counters with a left to the body.
Ruutikainen throws a lazy uppercut

and Amarth decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Ruutikainen's guard.
Amarth has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Ruutikainen is adopting a defensive guard.
Ruutikainen keeping moving, preventing Amarth from controlling successfully.

Ruutikainen has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Amarth off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Some wild striking there from Ruutikainen.
Amarth misses with a takedown attempt - Ruutikainen sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Ruutikainen misses with a body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruutikainen throws a combination that misses
and Amarth counters with a right hand to the body.
Ruutikainen throws a leg kick but Amarth sees it coming and moves out of range.
A punch combination from Ruutikainen misses.

Ruutikainen gets the takedown into side control.
Ruutikainen wants to control but Amarth is keeping him busy.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ruutikainen content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Ruutikainen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Amarth keeps working.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jere Ruutikainen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Ruutikainen gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Amarth counters with a nice double leg into side control. Ruutikainen won't be happy with that.
Ruutikainen tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Amarth wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Amarth working away.
Ruutikainen manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Ruutikainen is pressing down on Amarth's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Amarth looking to pass the guard.
Amarth trying to control the position from guard on top but Ruutikainen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ruutikainen looking to control.
Amarth passes into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Amarth throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Ruutikainen gets back to full guard.
Ruutikainen is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Amarth dives into side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ruutikainen pushes Amarth away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Amarth gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Amarth trying to control the position but Ruutikainen is working away.
Amarth postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Ruutikainen has one of Amarth's arms on lockdown, trying to prevent him from doing any damage.
Amarth controlling from side mount.

That's two 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.
Ruutikainen is trying to get back to half guard.

Amarth working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Ruutikainen tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Amarth wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Ruutikainen defending against the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruutikainen keeping his opponent close.
Amarth creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Ruutikainen sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Ruutikainen sneaks back into half guard.
Amarth trying to control the action but Ruutikainen is working from the bottom.
Amarth working over Ruutikainen with some ground and pound. Ruutikainen looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Ruutikainen holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Ruutikainen is looking to escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruutikainen is trying to control but can't.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Jere Ruutikainen.
Amarth tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ruutikainen throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Amarth.

Ruutikainen scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Amarth is not content to let Ruutikainen control the position.
Amarth defending against the ground and pound.
Ruutikainen wants to take a breather but Amarth manages to regain guard - a lesson learnt for Ruutikainen.
Ruutikainen wants to control from the top but Amarth keeps moving.

And that's the end of the fight!
Amon Amarth showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Amarth 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Amon Amarth!