PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Newton Ratliff (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and BJ Penn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Penn's choice of entrance music: Bebot-Black Eyed Pease. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Ratliff
vs
Penn

195 cm
18
177 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

183 cm
25
173 lbs
1 - 1 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Granite chin

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Newton Ratliff!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, BJ Penn!
The judges for this bout are Albert Achterberg, Paul Aken and Patrick Alders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ratliff shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Penn looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Ratliff is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Penn is looking for a sweep. Ratliff is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Penn is trying to stand back up but Ratliff is controlling him
Ratliff winds up and cracks Penn with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Ratliff thows a huge punch but Penn dodges it nicely.
Ratliff lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Ratliff winds up and cracks Penn with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Ratliff lands strikes from half guard.
Ratliff takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Ratliff is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ratliff really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Ratliff prevents Penn from improving his position.
Ratliff is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ratliff is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Ratliff looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Penn with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Ratliff controlling the pace.
Penn is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Penn wants to control but Ratliff is keeping busy.
Ratliff sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Ratliff takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Ratliff in particular looking to stall.
Penn is trying to maintain the position but Ratliff is very close to passing his half guard.
Penn tries to roll over but Ratliff keeps him under control.
Ratliff 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.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Ratliff drives through with a takedown into Penn's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Penn looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ratliff is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Ratliff is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Penn has momentary wrist control but Ratliff slips an elbow through the middle.
Ratliff lands a couple of digs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ratliff landing with the ground and pound.

Ratliff stands and steps away. Penn gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Ratliff has managed to clinch.
Penn tries a knee to the head but Ratliff blocks it.

Ratliff is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Penn can't fight it off and eventually Ratliff manages to take the fight to the floor. Penn looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Ratliff lands a couple of digs.
Ratliff landing with the ground and pound.
Penn looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ratliff keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Penn's head.
Ratliff connects with a couple of short punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ratliff drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Ratliff jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Ratliff scoring with punches to the head and body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ratliff lands a couple of digs.
Penn has momentary wrist control but Ratliff slips an elbow through the middle.
Ratliff will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Ratliff working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ratliff scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Penn is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Ratliff stands up from guard. Let's bang!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Ratliff clinches up against the cage.

Ratliff escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Penn keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Penn throws a sloppy head kick and Ratliff moves out of range easily.

Ratliff has managed to clinch.

Ratliff has picked Penn up - he's going for a ride! Ratliff dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Ratliff is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Penn has managed to free his arm - good work.
Newton Ratliff overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ratliff is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ratliff controlling the pace.
Ratliff is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ratliff is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Penn is breathing heavily.
Ratliff is nestled in close to Penn, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ratliff is working for a submission of some sort.
Penn wants to get back to full guard.
Penn taking some punishment here, with Ratliff in his half guard.
Ratliff landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Ratliff landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Ratliff working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

Ratliff is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Penn is trying to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Ratliff there.
Ground and pound from Ratliff.
Well, if Ratliff is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Ratliff connects with a nice short shot to Penn's temple.
Penn is trying to maintain the position but Ratliff is very close to passing his half guard.
Ratliff takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

Ratliff is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Penn sees it coming and defends easily.
Ratliff looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ratliff is nestled in close to Penn, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

Ratliff postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Penn to stand up.
Penn misses with a two punch combination.
Penn lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Ratliff missing with a left hand there. Penn was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Ratliff fails with a takedown attempt.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Ratliff.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ratliff clinches.

Ratliff pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ratliff fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Penn avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Newton Ratliff. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ratliff shoots in looking for a takedown but Penn manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Ratliff's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Penn scores with a decent looking hook.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ratliff dodges the punch combination from Penn.
Ratliff scores with a leg kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Newton Ratliff dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Ratliff drives through with a takedown into Penn's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Penn wants to sweep but no luck.
Ratliff slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Ratliff landing some decent shots from guard.
Penn wants to control the position but Ratliff says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Ratliff slips a nice elbow through Penn's hands, connecting with Penn's forehead.

Ratliff is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Penn defends it well.
Ratliff trying to control the pace.
Penn takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ratliff is looking for a kimura but Penn is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Ratliff to get the leverage.
Penn tries to roll over but Ratliff keeps him under control.
Ratliff is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Penn can do to turn this around?
Ground and pound from Ratliff.
Ratliff with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Ratliff lands strikes from half guard.
Ratliff drops an elbow to the side of Penn's head.
Penn has hold of Ratliff's hands but Ratliff slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Ratliff stands up out of the half guard.
Ratliff shoots in but no luck this time.
BJ Penn has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ratliff connects with a high kick.
Ratliff shoots in for a double leg but Penn sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Penn misses with a head kick.

Ratliff closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Penn to the mat! Penn manages to get full guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ratliff working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Penn wants to control but Ratliff passes easily into half guard.
Penn is trying to stand up here but Ratliff is controlling him well.
Ratliff prevents Penn from improving his position.
Penn has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Ratliff is working away from the top position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ratliff looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Ratliff landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Ratliff prevents Penn from improving his position.

Ratliff is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ratliff lands a nice short elbow.
Penn is trying to stand up here but Ratliff is controlling him well.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ratliff lands a nice short elbow.

Ratliff stands up from half guard.
Penn misses with a looping right.
Ratliff getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Ratliff shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Penn manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Ratliff content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

And that's the end of the fight!
Newton Ratliff showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Ratliff 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 Albert Achterberg scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 30:27
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Newton Ratliff!