PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ben Gorden (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Riki Oh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gorden comes to the cage accompanied by Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up . Oh has chosen Burning down the House as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Gorden
vs
Oh

170 cm
30
142 lbs
19 - 9 - 0

168 cm
22
147 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Balco Boys - Hilo

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 19 - 9 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ben Gorden!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Riki Oh!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gorden staying out of range there.
Gorden throws a low kick, looking for Oh's leg but Oh calmly moves out of range.
Gorden shoots in but no luck this time.
Oh swinging wildly here.
Gorden misses with a lunging right hand
and Oh cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Gorden shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Oh pinned against the cage. Oh gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Oh scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Gorden slips under a jab from Oh.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Oh throws a hook but Gorden avoids it easily.
Nice defenses there by Gorden.
Gorden lunges at Oh with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Oh's hand.
Gorden gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Gorden takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ben Gorden. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Oh misses with a few strikes there.
Gorden ducks under a wild hook from Oh.
Oh fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Oh takes a swing at Gorden's ribcage but misses.
Oh slips under a jab.
Gorden displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Oh throws out the jab.
Oh checks a leg kick nicely.
Oh throws a hook but Gorden blocks it.
Gorden dives in and grabs Oh's left leg, looking for a takedown. Oh pushes down on Gorden's head and hops out.

Gorden looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Oh!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Oh wants to hold on but Gorden pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gorden postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Oh looks a forlorn figure.
Oh keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

Gorden jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Oh manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Gorden working away.
Gorden misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Gorden working the ground and pound from side control.
Gorden works to advance to full mount. Oh defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gorden throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Oh is trying desperately to improve position.
Poor strikes thrown by Gorden there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Oh holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Gorden tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Gorden working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Oh is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Gorden looking to ground and pound but Oh is blocking nicely.

Gorden has hold of Oh's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Oh manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gorden misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Gorden misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Gorden working Oh over with strikes here.
Gorden scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Oh?
Gorden unloads with some shots from mount but Oh bucks and avoids them well.
Gorden takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

Gorden goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Oh is on top in guard.
Gorden wants to sweep but no luck.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Gorden dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Gorden throws a sloppy head kick and Oh moves out of range easily.
Oh's jab looks to have found its range, popping Gorden under the eye.
Oh 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 slow jab from Gorden misses its intended target.
Gorden thuds a left hand into Oh's body.
Oh misses with a combination

and Gorden counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Gorden makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Gorden with a flurry of punches that miss.
Gorden in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Gorden is stalling in the full guard.
Gorden postures up in Oh's guard and throws a big left but Oh blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gorden trying to control the position from guard on top but Oh is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Gorden landing some decent shots from guard.

Oh is looking for a triangle but Gorden pushes his legs off easily.
Gorden trying to control but Oh is working from the bottom.
Oh utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Oh managing to control the position.

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.
Oh trying to control the position.
Gorden throws a big right hand that misses.
Gorden is looking to work some ground and pound but Oh has wrist control.
Oh pulls Gorden in close to prevent any damage.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Gorden trying to control but Oh is working from the bottom.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Riki Oh hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Oh moves out of range as Gorden throws a body kick.
Riki Oh is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Gorden throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Oh counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Gorden thinking.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gorden looks to land a right hand but Oh moved out of range.
Sloppy strikes from Gorden. Those never looked like landing.
Gorden misses with a looping right.
Gorden cracks Oh with a right hand to the side of the head.
Ben Gorden is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Oh slips under a jab.
Gorden lunges at Oh with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Oh's hand.
Oh throws the left hand but Gorden avoids the punch easily.
Oh swings for the body but Gorden moves out of range.
Gorden on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Gorden throws out a loose jab but Oh uses good head movement to avoid it.
Oh tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Oh throws a right hand that misses

and Gorden counters with a takedown into side control.
Oh managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Gorden.
Oh is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Oh is trying to control Gorden's posture but Gorden avoids it.
Gorden connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Oh some visible discomfort.
Gorden lands an elbow.
Gorden working the ground and pound.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Gorden landing strikes.
Gorden 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.
Oh tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Gorden wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Gorden throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Gorden dominated that second round.
That's time! Gorden's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. And we move into the final round!

Oh misses with the combination.
Oh lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Oh misses the shot to the body.
Oh loads up on a big right hand but Gorden slips the punch.
Oh misses with a wild combination.
Oh just misses with a punch to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gorden fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Gorden looks for a takedown but Oh sprawls well.
Gorden tries to score a power double leg takedown but Oh sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Gorden somewhat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ben Gorden. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gorden lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Gorden moves out of range as Oh strikes.
Oh steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Gorden.
Good shot there by Gorden.

Oh gets caught flat footed, as Gorden shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Gorden is working Oh over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Oh is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Gorden thows a big elbow that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gorden trying to control but Oh is working from the bottom.
Gorden is looking to work some ground and pound but Oh has wrist control.
Oh controls Gorden momentarily but Gorden frees himself.
Gorden trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Oh can't keep his opponent in guard - Gorden advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Gorden controlling the action here.
Ben Gorden is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Gorden is nestled in close to Oh, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Oh keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

Gorden is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Gorden content to control rather than advance.

Gorden is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Oh has managed to free his arm - good work.
Riki Oh has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Gorden is nestled in close to Oh, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Oh is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Oh trying to control from the bottom.
Gorden works his way into side control.
Gorden is looking to take a break and control but Oh is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gorden throws a strike aimed at the side of Oh's head but Oh avoids it well.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Gorden showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gorden, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Gorden!