PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rapha Mathis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vladimir Tretiak (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mathis comes to the cage accompanied by Metallica / Whiplash. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Mathis
vs
Tretiak

190 cm
29
212 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

195 cm
31
216 lbs
18 - 13 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

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 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rapha Mathis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Vladimir Tretiak!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Tarja Halkonen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mathis throws a big shot that misses.
Mathis scores with a hook.
Tretiak fails to land the takedown.
Tretiak slips a jab from Mathis.
Mathis throws a left and a right that both miss

and Tretiak counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Tretiak stopping the sweep attempt from Mathis.
Tretiak has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Mathis is proving hard to escape from.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mathis 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.
Mathis seems keen to control Tretiak's posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mathis is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Tretiak preventing the sweep.
Tretiak wants to control from the top but Mathis keeps moving.
Mathis is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Tretiak looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Mathis is fending him off so far but Tretiak persists. Nope, Mathis circles away and we're back to standing.
Mathis throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Tretiak shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Mathis as he jumps to the side.
Rapha Mathis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vladimir Tretiak.
Tretiak tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mathis throws a hook to the side of Tretiak's head but Tretiak sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Tretiak takes one to the chin there.
Tretiak slips a jab and a cross from Mathis.
Mathis misses the shot to the body.
Tretiak shoots and misses
and Mathis counters with a nice uppercut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mathis lands with a cross.
A jab from Mathis misses.
Rapha Mathis is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Tretiak manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Mathis on his heels. He'll look to pass Mathis's guard now, I'm sure.
Tretiak looks gassed!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mathis looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

Tretiak drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Mathis dives on top into guard.
Mathis stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Tretiak swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Mathis forces his way into half guard.
Mathis looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tretiak is trying to get back to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tretiak is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Tretiak is trying to control but can't.
Mathis performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Rapha Mathis wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Mathis lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Tretiak circles away quickly and effectively.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tretiak is trying hard to land a takedown here. Mathis sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rapha Mathis dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Tretiak will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Tretiak chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Mathis can pounce on him.
Mathis ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Tretiak moves away.
Mathis throws a big shot that misses.
Tretiak shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Mathis defends it nicely.
Mathis thuds his right hand into Tretiak's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Mathis thumps Tretiak with a low kick.
Both fighters circling a little - Mathis finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Tretiak is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mathis scores with a hook.
Mathis throws a big shot that misses.
Tretiak moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Mathis scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Rapha Mathis is winning the standup battle so far.
A looping hook to the body misses from Mathis. Tretiak does a little dance to reset his feet.
Mathis drops Tretiak with a straight left! Oh this is bad for Tretiak! Mathis dives in and starts dropping bombs - the referee has no choice but to step in and save him!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:42 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Rapha Mathis!
Rapha Mathis seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.