PBP Commentary

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

Riddell
vs
Wagstaff

186 cm
20
202 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

193 cm
21
216 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Experienced

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Powerful

Convicted
Hell's Balls 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 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ike Riddell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Lester Wagstaff!
The judges for this bout are Columbo Gatti, John Kavanagh and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Wagstaff lands a slapping body shot.
Riddell throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Wagstaff throws a right hand that Riddell ducks under and follows up with a left that Riddell also avoids with ease.
Riddell on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Riddell is breathing heavily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Wagstaff throws a lazy head kick

and Riddell counters by moving into the clinch.
A right hook to the body lands for Wagstaff.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Wagstaff.
Wagstaff pushes off an throws an elbow but Riddell leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Wagstaff crunches a lovely knee into Riddell's ribcage.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Wagstaff just misses with a elbow thrown towards Riddell's brow.
Wagstaff prevents Riddell from breaking the clinch.
Wagstaff with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

It looks like Ike Riddell has been cut.
Wagstaff unloads a knee to the mid-section. Riddell lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Wagstaff scores a nice knee to the body.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Wagstaff just misses with a elbow thrown towards Riddell's brow.
Wagstaff landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Riddell blocks an elbow strike from Wagstaff.
Wagstaff lands a right hand that snaps the head of Riddell backwards.
Wagstaff crunches a lovely knee into Riddell's ribcage.
Wagstaff crunches a lovely knee into Riddell's ribcage.
Wagstaff unloads a knee to the mid-section. Riddell lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Wagstaff landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Wagstaff lands a nice knee to the body.
Riddell takes a knee right on the jaw!
Wagstaff landing some nice looking knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wagstaff lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Riddell.
Wagstaff avoiding damage as Riddell throws knees to the body.
Wagstaff lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Wagstaff throws an elbow that misses.
Riddell takes a knee right on the jaw!
Wagstaff with a knee to the head.
Wagstaff prevents a body shot from Riddell.
Riddell is trying to stall.
Wagstaff lands a knee to the body.
Wagstaff unloads a knee to the mid-section. Riddell lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Wagstaff misses with an elbow over the top.
Wagstaff throws an elbow but it misses.
Wagstaff misses with a knee to the head.
Wagstaff lands a right hand that snaps the head of Riddell backwards.
Riddell wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Wagstaff landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Wagstaff.
Wagstaff with a knee to the head.
Wagstaff missing with knees to the body.
Wagstaff using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Wagstaff lands a knee to the head.
Wagstaff lands with a light punch inside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riddell fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Riddell tries to land a knee to the head but Wagstaff blocks with his arms.
Wagstaff crunches a lovely knee into Riddell's ribcage.
Riddell misses with the head strike.
Wagstaff looking to throw knees to the head but Riddell is blocking nicely.
Nice body punch from Wagstaff.
Wagstaff tries to land a knee to the head but Riddell blocks with his arms.
Wagstaff misses with a knee strike.

Riddell breaks from the clinch.
Riddell throws a sloppy head kick
and Wagstaff counters with a straight right hand.
Riddell is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Wagstaff throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Riddell.
A head kick by Wagstaff misses
and Riddell counters with a flying knee. Nice.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Riddell misses with a head kick.
Riddell misses with a body shot.
Wagstaff throws a head kick that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riddell checks the leg kick nicely there.
Lester Wagstaff is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Wagstaff circles away from the clinch attempt.
Wagstaff throws a leg kick

and Riddell counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Riddell content to control rather than advance.
Wagstaff works his way to full guard. Good work.
Riddell stands and throws Wagstaff's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Riddell wants to lay and pray for a moment but Wagstaff keeps working.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Riddell is really struggling to control Wagstaff but he's trying to hold on to the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wagstaff struggling a bit here.
Riddell is looking to take a break and control but Wagstaff is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Wagstaff can do anything to dispel that myth.
Riddell remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Wagstaff trying to control but Riddell flips him over like a cheap hooker and has his back!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lester Wagstaff dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ike Riddell's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Riddell takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Ike Riddell is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Wagstaff throws a front kick that sends Riddell stumbling back into the cage.
Wagstaff throws a predictable looking body shot

and Riddell counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Riddell.

Riddell has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Wagstaff uses from the top position.
Wagstaff sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Wagstaff has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Riddell is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Wagstaff is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Wagstaff looking to pass the guard.
Wagstaff not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riddell keeping moving, preventing Wagstaff from controlling successfully.

Riddell looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Wagstaff has picked Riddell up and slammed him! Riddell can't keep hold of the triangle and Wagstaff manages to pass to side control!
The referee asks Wagstaff politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Wagstaff prefers to stall for the moment though.
Riddell defending against the ground and pound.
Wagstaff moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.

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.
Riddell is not content to let Wagstaff control the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wagstaff tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Wagstaff landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riddell is trying to get back to half guard.
Riddell is letting Wagstaff control him for a moment.
Wagstaff throwing strikes but Riddell manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
The ground and pound from Riddell seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Riddell working away.

Despite being in the dominant position, Lester Wagstaff just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Riddell doesn't manage to clinch there - Wagstaff circles away.
A head kick misses from Wagstaff.
Wagstaff looks to throw the jab but Riddell is out of range.
Wagstaff misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Riddell tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Wagstaff counters with a stiff right hand.
Wagstaff throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Wagstaff tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Riddell paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Wagstaff avoids the head kick by Riddell.
Riddell tries to clinch but Wagstaff moves out of range.
Wagstaff tries to clinch but Riddell is having none of it.
Wagstaff tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A head kick by Riddell misses

and Wagstaff counters by moving into the clinch.
Wagstaff landing knees to the head.
Wagstaff is breathing heavily.
Wagstaff throws a knee to the head but misses.
Wagstaff blocks an elbow strike from Riddell.
Wagstaff is leaning against Riddell and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Riddell misses with the head strike.
Riddell tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Riddell misses with a hook from the clinch.
Wagstaff prevents a body shot from Riddell.
Wagstaff looking to throw knees to the head but Riddell is blocking nicely.
Riddell throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Riddell looking to slow down the pace here.
Wagstaff throws a punch but it's blocked by Riddell.
Riddell throws an elbow that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lester Wagstaff showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Ike Riddell's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Wagstaff has Riddell up against the cage in a clinch.
Riddell avoids a wild elbow strike from Wagstaff.
Wagstaff throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Wagstaff tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Riddell with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Riddell tries to land a knee to the head but Wagstaff blocks with his arms.
Riddell blocks an elbow strike.
Riddell stalling in the clinch but Wagstaff improves position.
Riddell blocks the elbow strike.
Wagstaff scores with a shot to the side of Riddell's head.
Wagstaff takes a knee right on the jaw!
Wagstaff misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Riddell.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Riddell just misses with a elbow thrown towards Wagstaff's brow.
Wagstaff scores with a nice hook to the head.
Wagstaff swings wildly with an uppercut but Riddell uses good head movement to avoid it.
Wagstaff missing with knees to the body.

Riddell has Wagstaff pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Riddell pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Wagstaff tumbling to the mat - Riddell dives into Wagstaff's guard.
Wagstaff has Riddell pulled in close to control his posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wagstaff manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Riddell manages to get himself to full guard.
Wagstaff takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Wagstaff trying to control the position from guard on top but Riddell is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Riddell looking to control.
Riddell keeping moving, preventing Wagstaff from controlling successfully.
Riddell tries to land a sweep but no joy.

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.
Riddell looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Wagstaff puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Riddell is staying active underneath Wagstaff, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Wagstaff throws a sloppy head kick

and Riddell counters by moving into the clinch.
Riddell has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Wagstaff is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Riddell has a couple of punches blocked by Wagstaff.
Wagstaff scores with a shot to the side of Riddell's head.
Wagstaff lands a nice shot to the body.
A short left from Wagstaff.
Wagstaff digs a right hand into Riddell's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Riddell's gas tank.
Wagstaff misses with a knee strike.
Wagstaff misses with a knee strike.
Wagstaff avoiding damage as Riddell throws knees to the body.
Riddell throws a punch but it's blocked by Wagstaff.
Riddell is looking to break free of the clinch but Wagstaff has double underhooks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riddell blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Riddell on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Riddell avoiding damage as Wagstaff throws knees to the body.
Riddell throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Wagstaff blocks it with crossed arms.
A right handed body shot lands from Wagstaff.
Wagstaff misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Riddell.
Riddell blocks a body shot from Wagstaff.

Riddell manages to break the clinch.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Riddell.
Riddell tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Lester Wagstaff is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Wagstaff lands with a nice body kick.
Wagstaff swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Wagstaff moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Lester Wagstaff seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Wagstaff tries a head kick but it misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Riddell creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Wagstaff avoiding damage as Riddell throws knees to the body.
Riddell drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ike Riddell. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wagstaff misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Riddell.
Riddell looking to stall.
Wagstaff with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Wagstaff struggles to land a body shot inside as Riddell controls his hands.
Wagstaff on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Lester Wagstaff seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Wagstaff pushes Riddell back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Wagstaff landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Wagstaff keeps control of Riddell as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Riddell blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Ike Riddell has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Wagstaff scores with a hook to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lester Wagstaff comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Wagstaff winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Columbo Gatti scores the fight for Lester Wagstaff!
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight for Lester Wagstaff!
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight for Lester Wagstaff!

Lester Wagstaff wins by unanimous decision!