PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Abner Applegate (ranked 305 p4p, 42 weight class) and Rip Snorten (ranked 423 p4p, 61 weight class). Snorten comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Sound of Silence kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Applegate
vs
Snorten

182 cm
32
180 lbs
17 - 6 - 1

180 cm
35
180 lbs
19 - 10 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Abner Applegate!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 10 - 0, fighting out of London, Rip Snorten!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Blasius, Radbod Blank and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Snorten lands a nice shot that snaps Applegate's head back.
Applegate misses with a leg kick
and Snorten counters with a stiff right hand.

Applegate takes the fight into the clinch.
Snorten lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Snorten blocks a body shot from Applegate.
Snorten takes a knee to the side of the body.
Applegate has a couple of punches blocked by Snorten.
Snorten fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Snorten tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Applegate's elbow.
Applegate misses with the head strike.
Snorten lands with a short shot to the head.
Our sources have told us that Applegate has been working on his elbows in the gym.
Nice body punch from Snorten.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Snorten creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Snorten digs a right hand into Applegate's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Applegate's gas tank.
Snorten takes an elbow to the forehead.
Snorten misses with a hook from the clinch.
Applegate lands an elbow just above Snorten 's eye.
Snorten changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Applegate fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Sloppy strikes from Snorten. Those never looked like landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Applegate swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Applegate backing away here, and Snorten unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
A chopping leg kick lands by Snorten.
Applegate lands a nice shot to the body.
Snorten throws a hook to the side of Applegate's head but Applegate sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Applegate checks the leg kick nicely there.
Applegate scores with a jab.
Snorten lands a nice shot that snaps Applegate's head back.
Applegate looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Jab, jab by Snorten - just one landing.

Applegate moves into the clinch successfully.
Applegate misses with some punches.
Snorten looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Applegate throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Snorten drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Applegate.
A right hand to the body from Snorten.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Applegate tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Applegate tries to break the clinch but Snorten is controlling the position.
Snorten jumps guard but Applegate turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Abner Applegate has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rip Snorten.
Applegate stalling in the clinch but Snorten improves position.
Snorten blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Applegate lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Snorten misses with a punch to the body.
Snorten tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Applegate smiles and moves away.
A bone on bone clash there as Snorten blocks the leg kick.
Snorten displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Snorten chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Snorten looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Snorten jabs at Applegate's body.
Snorten thows a left - swing and a miss!
Applegate takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Applegate lands a slapping body shot.

Applegate rushes Snorten and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Snorten jumps guard and drags Applegate to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Snorten looking for a sweep. Not yet Snorten, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Applegate's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Applegate has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Applegate is looking to stand up but Snorten won't let him.
Applegate postures up.
Snorten 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.
Applegate is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Applegate tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Snorten counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Applegate wants to clinch up but Snorten keeps it at a distance.
Applegate misses with a double jab
and Snorten counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Applegate throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Snorten wants to slow Applegate down by chopping away at his legs.
Snorten throws a hook but Applegate blocks it.
Snorten lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Applegate tries to clinch but Snorten is having none of it.
Snorten swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Snorten scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
A jab from Snorten misses.

Applegate forces Snorten back against the cage and clinches.
Applegate scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Snorten lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Applegate.
Snorten misses with a punch on the inside.
Snorten drops down looking for an ankle pick but Applegate pulls his leg out and moves away.
A nice inside leg kick there by Applegate. That's going to slow Snorten down.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rip Snorten dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Snorten throws a leg kick which misses Applegate's front leg but catches the back leg as Applegate tries to avoid it.
Applegate lands with a shot to the body.
Applegate tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Snorten manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Snorten swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Applegate is looking to score with low kicks.

Applegate clinches.
Applegate keeps control of Snorten as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Snorten misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Applegate gets underhooks to prevent Snorten's takedown attempt.

Snorten jumps guard.
Applegate is stalling in the full guard.
Applegate stopping the sweep attempt from Snorten.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Snorten is pulling down on Applegate's head to control his posture.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Snorten looking to hit a scissor sweep but Applegate is one step ahead there.
Snorten is pulling down on Applegate's head to control his posture.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Applegate stopping the sweep attempt from Snorten.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Snorten lands with a straight right. Applegate didn't see that one coming.
Applegate lands the left hand.
Snorten jabs at Applegate's body.
Snorten throws a leg kick which misses Applegate's front leg but catches the back leg as Applegate tries to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Applegate.

Applegate pushes Snorten up against the cage in a clinch.
Applegate trying to land knees to the body.
Applegate lands a damaging elbow.

Snorten breaks the clinch.
Snorten closes this distance looking for a takedown but Applegate circles away.
Applegate throws a right and a left that both miss.
Snorten fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Applegate has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Applegate moves into the clinch successfully.
Applegate swings wildly with an uppercut but Snorten uses good head movement to avoid it.
Snorten prevents a body shot from Applegate.
Snorten tries to work over Applegate's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A frustrated look appears on Snorten's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Abner Applegate has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Applegate lands a shot to the body.
Snorten wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Applegate digs a right hand underneath Snorten's ribcage. Snorten let out a lung full of air as it connected.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Snorten throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Applegate is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Snorten throws a punch but it's blocked by Applegate.
Applegate throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Snortens head.
Snorten makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Snorten tries to score a body lock takedown but Applegate shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Abner Applegate has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rip Snorten.
Applegate tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Snorten manages to pull guard.
Snorten wants to hit a switch here but Applegate passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Snorten there!
Snorten is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Applegate takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Snorten slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Snorten wants to get back to full guard but Applegate has passed into side control.
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 Abner Applegate will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Applegate fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Snorten has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Applegate moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Applegate lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Applegate will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Snorten throws a chopping leg kick but Applegate manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Snorten scores with a hook to the body. Applegate takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Snorten throws a body shot but no joy.
Applegate moves away from the strike by Snorten.
Applegate wants to clinch
and Snorten counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Snorten scores with a nice right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Applegate throws a low kick, looking for Snorten's leg but Snorten calmly moves out of range.
Snorten is looking to land body kicks.
Snorten misses with a wild body shot.
Snorten tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Applegate was well out of range. Poor timing from Snorten.
Snorten avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Snorten tries to land a leg kick but Applegate saw it coming and moves away.
Applegate seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Applegate connects with a solid leg kick.
Applegate moves in looking to clinch but Snorten pushes him off.
Snorten lands with a right hand.
Applegate throws a half hearted mid kick.
Good shot there by Snorten.
The fight stays on the outside here - Applegate looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Applegate shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Snorten misses with a two punch combination.
Applegate wants to clinch.
Applegate looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Abner Applegate seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Applegate tries to clinch but Snorten moves out of range.
A slapping leg kick lands for Snorten.

Applegate gets a clinch.
Snorten dodges an elbow strike from Applegate.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Snorten fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Applegate lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Applegate misses with a hook to the ribs.
Snorten is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Applegate is defending well.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
A nice glancing elbow lands by Applegate.
Snorten is trying to break the clinch but Applegate has him pressed against the cage.
Applegate looking to throw knees to the head but Snorten is blocking nicely.
Applegate tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Snorten's elbow.
Snorten throws a head punch that misses.

Snorten manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Snorten can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Applegate controls the pace.

Snorten is working an open guard so Applegate takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Snorten keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Snorten throws out a powerful jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Snorten pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Applegate moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Snorten misses with a body shot.
Applegate looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Snorten looks to score with a jab to the body but Applegate is just out of range.
Applegate slips under a jab.
Applegate feints and then cracks Snorten's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Snorten down.
A low kick from Applegate is predictable there

and Snorten counters with a single leg into guard. Applegate didn't expect that.

Applegate pushes Snorten off and gets back to his feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Applegate pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Applegate throws a leg kick that misses.
Applegate tries to clinch up.
Applegate walks into a left hand.
Applegate misses with a hook
and Snorten counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Applegate doesn't manage to clinch there - Snorten circles away.
Rip Snorten seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Applegate changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Applegate tries to clinch but Snorten moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Applegate takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Snorten throws the left hand but Applegate avoids the punch easily.
Nice uppercut lands for Snorten. That snapped Applegate's head back.
Snorten walks into a stiff left hand from Applegate.
Snorten misses with an uppercut.
Applegate is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Snorten.
Snorten circles away from the clinch attempt.
Applegate fails with an attempt to clinch.
Snorten tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Nice takedown defense from Snorten. No joy for Applegate on that attempt.
It seemed like Snorten was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Applegate walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Applegate wants to clinch up but Snorten keeps it at a distance.
Applegate swings widly with a right hand
and Snorten counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Snorten cracks Applegate with a right hand to the side of the head.
That kick from Snorten tenderised Applegate's leg. Applegate is trying to keep his angry face on.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Snorten throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Applegate lands a body shot.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Rip Snorten.
I think Snorten 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 Daniel Blasius scores the fight 28:29
Judge Radbod Blank scores the fight 28:29
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rip Snorten!
Rip Snorten seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.