PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Michael Garibaldi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rutledge Vanderhorst (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Garibaldi might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to War. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Garibaldi
vs
Vanderhorst

190 cm
21
190 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

188 cm
23
203 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Firebird Designs
Broken Halo Pride Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Michael Garibaldi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Rutledge Vanderhorst!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Frank Dennis and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Vanderhorst throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Garibaldi tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Vanderhorst is in Garibaldi's guard.
Vanderhorst throwing strikes from guard but Garibaldi blocks nicely.
Vanderhorst trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Garibaldi trying to control the position.
Garibaldi looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Garibaldi working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Vanderhorst.
Garibaldi knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Vanderhorst on the ground.
Vanderhorst is looking to work some ground and pound but Garibaldi has wrist control.
Vanderhorst stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Garibaldi swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Vanderhorst trying to control the position from guard on top but Garibaldi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Garibaldi has control of Vanderhorst's left arm, preventing Vanderhorst from doing any damage.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Vanderhorst won't allow Garibaldi to sweep him here.
Vanderhorst is looking to work some ground and pound but Garibaldi has wrist control.
Vanderhorst has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garibaldi looking to hit a scissor sweep but Vanderhorst is one step ahead there.
Vanderhorst lands a couple of digs.
Garibaldi utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Garibaldi manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Vanderhorst manages to get himself to full guard.
Garibaldi stopping the sweep attempt from Vanderhorst.
Vanderhorst is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Vanderhorst has momentary wrist control but Garibaldi slips an elbow through the middle.
Garibaldi has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garibaldi with a flurry of punches that miss.
Vanderhorst working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Garibaldi.
Vanderhorst keeping moving, preventing Garibaldi from controlling successfully.
Vanderhorst looking to hit a scissor sweep but Garibaldi is one step ahead there.

Vanderhorst throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Garibaldi escapes and throws Vanderhorst's legs to the side, diving into side control!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Garibaldi wants to lay and pray for a moment but Vanderhorst keeps working.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vanderhorst takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Vanderhorst is looking for a sweep.
Vanderhorst can't do much from the bottom here.
Vanderhorst taking a bit of punishment here - Garibaldi scoring with strikes.
Garibaldi scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Vanderhorst to see if he's OK.
Garibaldi cracks Vanderhorst with a big elbow.
Vanderhorst tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Garibaldi wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Garibaldi is looking to take a break and control but Vanderhorst is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Garibaldi happy to just control the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vanderhorst is not content to let Garibaldi control the position.
Garibaldi happy to just control the position for now.
Vanderhorst is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Garibaldi's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Garibaldi is keen to just control but Vanderhorst is a slippery customer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Garibaldi dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Garibaldi fails with an attempt to clinch.
Garibaldi fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Vanderhorst swats away the attempt to clinch by Garibaldi.
Some wild striking there from Garibaldi.
Vanderhorst lands with a straight right. Garibaldi didn't see that one coming.
Vanderhorst walks into a jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vanderhorst misses with a body punch
and Garibaldi counters with a series of strikes. Vanderhorst will be more careful next time no doubt.
Garibaldi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A slow jab from Garibaldi misses its intended target.
Vanderhorst avoids the body shot from Garibaldi.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vanderhorst misses with a takedown

and Garibaldi counters by clinching up.
Vanderhorst tries to throw a body punch but Garibaldi avoids it by throwing Vanderhorst back against the cage.
Vanderhorst tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Vanderhorst goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Vanderhorst breaks from the clinch.
Garibaldi throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Garibaldi looks to score with a jab to the body but Vanderhorst is just out of range.
Vanderhorst misses with a double jab
and Garibaldi counters with a left to the body.
Vanderhorst misses with a straight right.
Vanderhorst tries to bum rush Garibaldi with a series of wild strikes but Garibaldi uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Garibaldi fails with an attempt to clinch.
Garibaldi tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's two 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.
Garibaldi scores with a nice right hand.
Garibaldi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Vanderhorst throws a sloppy body shot
and Garibaldi counters with a straight right hand.
Vanderhorst misses with a straight right.
Garibaldi takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Garibaldi is looking to wear down Vanderhorst with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Vanderhorst misses with a jab to the body
enabling Garibaldi to counter with a crisp jab.
Garibaldi throws a head kick but Vanderhorst moves out of range.
Garibaldi misses with a body punch
and Vanderhorst makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Vanderhorst shoots in looking for a takedown. Garibaldi tries to sprawl out of it but Vanderhorst keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Garibaldi manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Vanderhorst with a lazy takedown attempt
letting Garibaldi counter with a right hand.
Michael Garibaldi has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rutledge Vanderhorst.
Garibaldi tries to clinch up
and Vanderhorst counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garibaldi misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Vanderhorst counters with a shoot takedown. Garibaldi fights it but they end up in guard.
Garibaldi looking for a sweep. Not yet Garibaldi, not yet.
Garibaldi manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Garibaldi raining down shots from the mount!
Vanderhorst is looking to get to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Garibaldi landing strikes from the mount and Vanderhorst is in trouble!
Garibaldi lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Vanderhorst hang on?
Vanderhorst wants to control but Garibaldi is having none of it.
Garibaldi with a couple of short strikes.
Vanderhorst really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Vanderhorst is breathing heavily.
Garibaldi lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Garibaldi scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Vanderhorst?
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Garibaldi can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Vanderhorst is looking to escape.
Vanderhorst really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Garibaldi dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Garibaldi misses with a few strikes there.
A low kick from Vanderhorst is predictable there
and Garibaldi counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A looping hook to the body misses from Garibaldi. Vanderhorst does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nice body punch from Vanderhorst.
Garibaldi throws a half hearted mid kick.
Vanderhorst throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Vanderhorst throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Garibaldi defending well as Vanderhorst loads up on a big left hand.
Garibaldi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Garibaldi wants to clinch
and Vanderhorst counters with a body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vanderhorst misses with a wild body shot.
Garibaldi scores with a sloppy right hand. Vanderhorst should have avoided that one.
Garibaldi lands a nice looking body shot.
Garibaldi shoots in looking for a takedown. Vanderhorst tries to sprawl out of it but Garibaldi keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Vanderhorst manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Garibaldi looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Vanderhorst slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Vanderhorst wants to sweep here but Garibaldi controlling him for the moment.
Rutledge Vanderhorst has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vanderhorst working a defensive guard here.
Garibaldi working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Michael Garibaldi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Garibaldi is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Vanderhorst looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Garibaldi controlling from the top position.
Vanderhorst bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Garibaldi's guard.
Michael Garibaldi is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garibaldi trying to control the position.
Garibaldi manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Garibaldi can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Vanderhorst is looking to escape.
Garibaldi tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Garibaldi wants to control the pace but Vanderhorst is squirming around nicely.
Garibaldi prevents Vanderhorst from getting the reversal.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Garibaldi controlling the pace for now.
Garibaldi seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Vanderhorst for as long as he can get away with.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

We're going to have a standup here because Michael Garibaldi wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Garibaldi throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Garibaldi throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Vanderhorst swings for the body but Garibaldi moves out of range.

Garibaldi rushes Vanderhorst and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Michael Garibaldi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Garibaldi 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Michael Garibaldi!