PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Toby Keith Yrkje (ranked 279 p4p, 277 weight class) and Carter Wright (ranked 41 p4p, 40 weight class). Yrkje comes to the cage accompanied by As Good As I Once Was. 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.

Yrkje
vs
Wright

187 cm
33
180
28 - 17 - 0

180 cm
33
181
26 - 13 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Conviction
Bondi MMA 🏝️

Hoarse Pills
Northern Zombie

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 28 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Toby Keith Yrkje!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 13 - 1, fighting out of New York, Carter Wright!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Matheus Silva and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yrkje fails with an attempt to clinch.
Wright looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Wright misses with a hook
and Wright takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Yrkje throws a jab when Wright was well out of range.
Wright swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
A swing and a miss from Yrkje.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wright checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Yrkje throws a leg kick but Wright sees it coming and moves out of range.
Yrkje looking to land some kicks to the body here.
It seemed like Wright was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Wright 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yrkje lands with a thumping leg kick.
Yrkje takes one on the button.

It looks like Toby Keith Yrkje has been cut.
Wright swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Yrkje counters by clinching up.
A head punch on the inside from Yrkje fails to land.
Yrkje dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Yrkje has Wright pushed against the cage.

Yrkje jumps guard and drags Wright to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Wright trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Wright is fighting to break Yrkje's control of his arms but Yrkje is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yrkje looking to hit a scissor sweep but Wright is one step ahead there.
Yrkje looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

Yrkje is looking for a triangle but Wright pushes his legs off easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wright wanted to stand there but Yrkje had control of the position.
Yrkje is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Yrkje controlling the pace.
Yrkje tries to pass to full mount but Wright defends it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Yrkje prevents Wright from improving his position.
Wright has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Yrkje is working away from the top position though.
Wright tries to get to full guard but Yrkje has control of the leg.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Wright trying to hold on to Yrkje's head to control him but Yrkje postures up.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Toby Keith Yrkje dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Toby Keith Yrkje's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Yrkje cracks Wright with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Wright throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Yrkje counters with a nice body kick.
Yrkje is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Wright can do to turn this around?
Wright throws an off balance right hand
letting Yrkje counter with a right hand.
Yrkje steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Wright.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A low kick from Yrkje is predictable there

and Wright counters with a crisp one two that drops Yrkje! Wright thinks about following him to the mat for a moment but instead steps back and waves Yrkje to his feet! Yrkje is in big trouble!
Yrkje fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Wright on the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wright misses with a hook
and Yrkje counters with a low kick, right behind Wright 's knee.
Yrkje is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Yrkje tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Wright manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Wright is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Yrkje avoids the body shot from Wright.
Wright keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Yrkje.
Wright appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Yrkje slips a straight right by Wright.
Wright swings widly with a right hand
and Yrkje cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Yrkje looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Wright throws a combination that misses
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yrkje throws an overhand right that lands on Wright's shoulder, as Wright tries to avoid the shot.
Wright is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Yrkje with a body shot.
A big left from Wright misses.
Wright misses with a looping right.
Carter Wright seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Wright throws the left hand but Yrkje avoids the punch easily.
Wright misses the jab.
Yrkje wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Yrkje avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Yrkje takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wright misses with a looping right.
Yrkje tries to score with a low kick but Wright moves his leg out of the way.
Yrkje connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Wright might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
A solid body kick from Yrkje.
Yrkje moves out of range of the strikes.
And Yrkje counters with a quick kick to the body but Wright blocks it.
Wright misses with a lunging right hand
and Yrkje counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Yrkje throws a low kick but Wright moves out of range easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wright dips to his left and cracks Yrkje with an uppercut!
Wright swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Yrkje counters with an outside leg kick.
Crunch! Yrkje slams his shin into Wright's torso.
Yrkje lands a nice shot that snaps Wright's head back.
Wright throws a body kick that misses.
Yrkje tried to counter with a leg kick but Wright avoided it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Yrkje fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Wright has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Yrkje.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Toby Keith Yrkje dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Toby Keith Yrkje's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Yrkje ducks under a wild hook from Wright.
Carter Wright has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Wright lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Wright misses with a kick to the body
and Yrkje counters with a nice uppercut.
Toby Keith Yrkje is winning the standup battle so far.
Wright throws a jab when Yrkje was well out of range.
Yrkje defending well as Wright loads up on a big left hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wright stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Yrkje.
Wright blocks a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wright throws a hook but Yrkje blocks it.
Wright looks to land a left hand but Yrkje moved out of range nicely.
Yrkje swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Nice body kick there by Yrkje.
Yrkje lands a jab to the head.
Wright throws out a loose jab but Yrkje uses good head movement to avoid it.
Yrkje tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Wright manages to circle out of the way.
Wright misses the shot to the body.
Yrkje showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Wright.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yrkje moves out of range of the body kick from Wright.
Yrkje half committed to a counter leg kick.
Yrkje uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Wright.
Wright misses with a left hand
and Yrkje counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Yrkje is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Wright.
Wright throws a counter combo.
Wright takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Wright throws a right hand that misses

and Yrkje counters by moving into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Wright.
Yrkje is trying to maintain a safe position but Wright gets an underhook and turns Yrkje into the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Wright.
Yrkje throws a punch but it's blocked by Wright.
Yrkje has a couple of punches blocked by Wright.
Yrkje tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Wright presses Yrkje against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Yrkje blocks an uppercut.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Yrkje.
Yrkje fails to pull guard.

Wright escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Wright throws out a loose jab but Yrkje uses good head movement to avoid it.
Wright misses with the combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yrkje tries to clinch up
and Wright counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Wright throws a right hand that misses
and Yrkje counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Wright throws a poor cross that misses
and Yrkje counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Toby Keith Yrkje is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Wright connects with a jab.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Carter Wright.
Well Yrkje has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Seu Braga scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Toby Keith Yrkje!
An out of breath Toby Keith Yrkje thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.