PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kevin Garbutt (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ludvig Ericsson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Garbutt comes into the arena with Saxon - Strong Arm of the Law blaring out of the sound system. 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.

Garbutt
vs
Ericsson

193 cm
23
215 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

186 cm
22
212 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

Great wrestler
Dangerous knees
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Voodoo Nutrition

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 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Kevin Garbutt!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ludvig Ericsson!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, Dean Styles and Anthony Taglia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Garbutt misses with a left hand
and Garbutt takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Nice takedown defense from Ericsson. No joy for Garbutt on that attempt.
Ericsson misses with a looping left.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Ericsson, right into the meat.
Ericsson has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.

Garbutt closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Garbutt lands in his opponent's guard.
Garbutt wants to control from the top but Ericsson keeps moving.
Ericsson looking for a sweep. Not yet Ericsson, not yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ericsson is still trying to improve position.
Ericsson bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Garbutt's guard.

Garbutt working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ericsson.
Garbutt seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ericsson trying to control but Garbutt is working from the bottom.
Ericsson throws a big right hand that misses.
Ericsson controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Garbutt looking to control.
Garbutt looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ericsson is one step ahead there.
Ericsson must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Garbutt is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Ericsson connects with a leg kick. Garbutt looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Garbutt pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Ludvig Ericsson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Garbutt falls off balance throwing a combination
and Ericsson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ericsson moves out of range of the strikes.
Garbutt with a hook.
Garbutt's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Ericsson connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Garbutt scrambles back to his feet.

Garbutt shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Ericsson manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Garbutt throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Ericsson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Garbutt trying to control the position from guard on top but Ericsson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ericsson trying to control the position.
Ericsson wants to sweep but no luck.
Ericsson controlling Garbutt's posture.
Garbutt trying to control but Ericsson is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garbutt postures up and lands a big shot to Ericsson's brow.
Garbutt scoring with punches to the head and body.
Garbutt stands up over Ericsson, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Garbutt postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Garbutt sitting in guard here, content to control.
Garbutt won't allow Ericsson to sweep him here.
Garbutt has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ericsson is trying to control the position but Garbutt postures up.
Garbutt preventing the sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Ludvig Ericsson will probably get the nod.
That's time! Garbutt's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Garbutt will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Garbutt shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Ericsson defends it nicely.
Ericsson throws a lazy head kick
and Garbutt counters with a leg kick.
Ericsson lands a nice leg kick that just misses Garbutt's sensitive parts.
Ericsson fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Ericsson ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Ericsson fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Garbutt.
Garbutt takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Garbutt closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Garbutt content to control rather than advance.
Garbutt thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Ericsson's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garbutt throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Garbutt thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Ericsson's head.
Garbutt throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Garbutt missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Ericsson is holding on to half guard well.
Garbutt seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Ericsson does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Ericsson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Garbutt.
Ericsson has his hands clasped together around Garbutt's back. He's all about the action.
Garbutt throws a strike but Ericsson avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

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.
Ericsson working a defensive guard but Garbutt manages to pass into side control anyway.
Ericsson avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Garbutt.
Garbutt is looking to take a break and control but Ericsson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Ericsson is trying to control Garbutt's posture but Garbutt avoids it.
Garbutt misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Ericsson misses with an elbow from the bottom.
Garbutt misses with the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garbutt trying to control the action but Ericsson is working from the bottom.
Garbutt is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Ericsson is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Garbutt working away.
Garbutt wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ericsson keeps working.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
A jab from Ericsson misses.
Garbutt half committed to a counter leg kick.

Garbutt looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Garbutt lands a nice short elbow.
Ericsson avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Garbutt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ericsson is concentrating on defense, preventing Garbutt from advancing position.
Ericsson wants to control but Garbutt passes into side.
Ericsson is looking for a sweep.
Ericsson sneaks back into half guard.
Ericsson keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Garbutt trying to control from half guard but Ericsson is working away.
Ericsson wants to control but Garbutt is keeping busy.
Kevin Garbutt overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Garbutt is trying to control. Ericsson wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kevin Garbutt dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Garbutt shoots in and drives through. Ericsson sprawls well.
Ericsson feints a counter leg kick.
Ericsson misses with a kick to the body.
Ericsson throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Ericsson looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Ericsson throws a front kick that sends Garbutt stumbling back into the cage.
Ericsson with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Garbutt scores with a jab to the jaw.
Ericsson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Ericsson lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Garbutt throws out a loose jab but Ericsson uses good head movement to avoid it.
The fighters circle momentarily. Ericsson darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Garbutt bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Garbutt thumps Ericsson with a low kick.
Ericsson checks a leg kick.
Ericsson follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garbutt catches Ericsson with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Ericsson lands an overhand right.
Ericsson scores with a jab. Garbutt acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Ericsson takes a swing at Garbutt's ribcage but misses.
Garbutt takes a swing at Ericsson's ribcage but misses.
Ericsson is looking for the big counter here.
Ericsson lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Ericsson looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Garbutt fires out a quick counter leg kick but Ericsson just manages to avoid it.
Garbutt shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Ericsson defends it nicely.
Ericsson thuds his shin into the meat of Garbutt's side.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garbutt swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Ericsson.
Garbutt looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
A slapping leg kick lands for Ericsson.
A low kick from Ericsson misses

so Garbutt counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ericsson wants to sweep here but Garbutt controlling him for the moment.
Garbutt working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Garbutt throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Ericsson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ericsson wants to sweep here but Garbutt controlling him for the moment.
Garbutt trying to control but Ericsson is working from the bottom.
Garbutt stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ericsson swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ericsson is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Garbutt content to stall in guard here.
Garbutt throws a big elbow that misses.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Ericsson cracks the inside of Garbutt's front leg.
Ludvig Ericsson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Garbutt finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Garbutt is looking to slow Ericsson down with leg kicks.
Garbutt throws a half hearted mid kick.
And Ericsson responds with a good body kick, but Garbutt manages to step out the way in time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garbutt misses with a low kick.
Ericsson lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Garbutt, right into the meat.
Ericsson leaves Garbutt with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kevin Garbutt. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ericsson feints and then cracks Garbutt's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Garbutt down.
Ericsson shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Garbutt eats them both and turns towards Ericsson to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Nice straight punches there by Ericsson. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Ericsson.
Ericsson throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Garbutt fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Ericsson avoids it really well and circles away.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ludvig Ericsson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Ericsson has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Joseph Jones scores the fight 28:29
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 29:29
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Ludvig Ericsson!