PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Billy West (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ed Ruth (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

West
vs
Ruth

192 cm
24
217 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

185 cm
22
213 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Billy West!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ed Ruth!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, William Gold and Colin Fotheringham.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

West shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than West was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
An elbow from West crashes against the mat.
West cracks Ruth with a big right hand but Ruth just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
West is putting a hurting on Ruth here, landing some big shots from side control.
West working away.
West works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
A bit of a lull in the action here.
West creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Ruth manages to work his way to half guard, despite West's best efforts.
West not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
West trying to control from half guard but Ruth is working away.
West is stalling here. Ruth is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! West seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Ruth has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ruth wants to lay and pray for a moment but West keeps working.
West avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Ruth.

That's one minute gone in the round.
West can't do much from the bottom here.
Ruth works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
West wants to control but Ruth postures up.
West tries to buck Ruth off but Ruth is having none of it.
Ruth misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
West gets back to half guard.
West is doing well to control the position and prevent Ruth from advancing to side control.
West wants to improve his position but Ruth is controlling well.
West manages to get to full guard.
Ruth keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of West's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruth throws a big right hand that misses.
West pulls Ruth in close to his closed guard and prevents Ruth from doing any damage or advancing position.
Ruth preventing the sweep.
Ruth lands a couple of decent looking shots.
West utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ruth working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of West's head.
West pulls Ruth in close to prevent any damage.
West 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.
Ruth must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Ruth lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruth trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
West lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Ruth has his hands on West's head, controlling the position.
West landing some decent shots from guard.
West missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
West keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Ruth's head.
West working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
We've been hearing that West has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Ruth looking for a sweep. Not yet Ruth, not yet.
West 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.
Ruth working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from West.
West is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruth has momentary wrist control but West slips an elbow through the middle.
Ruth 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.
West lands a couple of digs.
West postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
West lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
West lands a couple of decent looking shots.
West trying to control the position from guard on top but Ruth is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
West loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
West postures up.
West working some strikes from top position.
West throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Ruth works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ruth manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. West manages to get himself to full guard.

Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ruth stopping the sweep attempt from West.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Billy West dominated that round.
That's time! West's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

A cross from West lands.
Ruth connects with a single shot there.
Ruth scores with a jab to the body.
Ruth swings for the body but West moves out of range.
West throws a hook but Ruth blocks it.
West is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ruth can do to turn this around?
West tries to clinch there but Ruth circles away.
West connects with the punch.
West scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ruth takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Ruth takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Ruth fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
West takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.

It looks like Billy West has been cut.
West tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Ruth defends well and West ends up having to push Ruth into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
West works Ruth's body with a nice hook.
Ruth ducks under a wild hook from West.
West throws a predictable looking body shot
and Ruth counters with a straight right hand.
Ruth misses with a body shot.
West appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Billy West seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ruth lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Ruth takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Billy West is winning the standup battle so far.
Ruth defends well against a solid takedown attempt from West.
West gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Ruth.
Ruth has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Ruth there as he acknowledges the shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ruth misses with an uppercut.

A momentary lapse in concentration from West enables Ruth to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. West manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
West is trying to control the position but Ruth postures up.
Ruth trying to control but West is working from the bottom.
Ruth pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. West is keeping the position for now.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now West is on top in guard.

West being controlled here momentarily.
Ruth keeping moving, preventing West from controlling successfully.
West preventing the sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
West in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
West scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Ruth preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
West lands a couple of digs.
Ruth wants to sweep but no luck.
Ruth is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
West missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
West throwing strikes from guard but Ruth blocks nicely.
Ruth manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. West manages to get himself to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruth working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
West tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Ruth loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
West preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
West pulls Ruth in to control the position.
West wants to sweep but no luck.
Ruth is in close to West's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Ruth throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ruth trying to control but West is working from the bottom.
Ruth is looking to work some ground and pound but West has wrist control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Ed Ruth will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Billy West's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Decent striking displayed by Ruth there.
Ruth falls off balance throwing a combination
and West counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
West misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Ruth.
West swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Ruth misses with a wild body shot.
West swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Ruth works West's body with a nice hook.
Ruth looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ruth pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
West is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Ruth walks into a stiff left hand from West.

Ruth gets a double leg takedown into West's guard.
Billy West overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
West is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
West keeping moving, preventing Ruth from controlling successfully.
West manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Ruth manages to get himself to full guard.

Ruth has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
West makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as West accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
West with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
West keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Ruth's head.
Ruth is trying to control the position from the bottom.
West throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Ruth works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells West's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Ruth avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ruth 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.
West throws a big right hand that misses.
Ruth is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Ruth not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
West tries to get to full guard but Ruth has control of the leg.
West manages to get to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
West wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
West 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.
Ruth lands a couple of digs.
Ruth stopping the sweep attempt from West.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ruth accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ruth is looking to work some ground and pound but West has wrist control.
West is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

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.
Ruth won't allow West to sweep him here.
West trying to control the position here.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
West keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
West drops down looking for a counter takedown but Ruth sprawls and moves away.
West throws a jab when Ruth was well out of range.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Ruth! But no joy.
Ruth lands a lovely overhand right.
West throws a looping overhand right but Ruth ducks down to avoid it.
West misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Ruth.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
West on the wrong end of a nice hook.
West clobbers Ruth with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Ed Ruth.
I think Ruth 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 28:29
Judge William Gold scores the fight 30:27
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Ed Ruth!