PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Rick Ashton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rafael Suez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Ashton might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Ashton
vs
Suez

170 cm
31
155 lbs
16 - 6 - 0

175 cm
26
150 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

Powerful takedowns
Good kicks
Powerful

Vandal Fight Boutique & Laundry
Fury Nutrition Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Rick Ashton!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rafael Suez!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, William Peck and Alec Ball.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Suez has closed the distance and engaged Ashton in a clinch.

Suez's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ashton shoots and misses
and Suez counters with a nice body kick.
Suez throws a right and a left that both miss.
Suez dodges the punch combination from Ashton.
Suez has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Ashton is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Ashton throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Suez just misses with a punch to the body.

Ashton closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Suez tries to roll over but Ashton keeps him under control.
Ashton working over Suez with some ground and pound. Suez looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

Suez actively working from the bottom here.
Suez won't allow Ashton to pass to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Suez wants to improve his position but Ashton is controlling well.
Still in half guard, Ashton seems content to control.

Suez actively working from the bottom here.
Suez preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Ashton wants to control but Suez is keeping him busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Suez looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Ashton trying to mount his opponent but Suez defends it.
Suez is trying to maintain the position but Ashton is very close to passing his half guard.
Ashton is controlling the pace.
Suez is trying to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ashton working Suez over with strikes.
Suez is trying to control but can't.
Ashton is looking to advance position but Suez won't allow it.
Suez is trying to maintain the position but Ashton is very close to passing his half guard.
Ashton lands strikes from half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ashton frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Suez wants to hold on but Ashton pushes him away.
Ashton controlling the pace for now.
Ashton lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Suez takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Suez throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Suez tries to lock up and control but Ashton gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rick Ashton dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Ashton looks to land a combination. Suez sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Ashton scores with a hook.
A punch combination from Ashton misses.
Suez stuffs the takedown attempt from Ashton. Ashton gets slowly back to his feet.
Horrible takedown by Suez or perhaps it was just good defense by Ashton which made him look bad.
Ashton circles away from the clinch attempt.
A swing and a miss from Ashton.
Ashton scores with a hook to the body. Suez takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Ashton stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Ashton wants it to stay on the feet.
Ashton swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Suez counters by clinching up.

Suez breaks the clinch.
Ashton fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Suez manages to avoid it.
Ashton shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Suez pinned against the cage. Suez gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Suez misses with a wild combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Suez.
Ashton dives in and grabs Suez's left leg, looking for a takedown. Suez pushes down on Ashton's head and hops out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rick Ashton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ashton dodges the punch combination from Suez.
Suez swinging wildly here.
Suez lands a jab.
Rick Ashton seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ashton's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Suez connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Ashton scrambles back to his feet.
Some wild striking there from Ashton.
Suez looks to land a body kick but Ashton moved away.
Ashton misses with a body shot.
No luck for Suez with that takedown attempt.
Suez tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ashton manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Suez fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Ashton avoids it really well and circles away.
Ashton fails to land with a series of punches.
A solid body kick from Suez.
Ashton misses with a combination
and Suez counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.

Ashton fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Suez sprawls well initially but Ashton persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Suez is looking for a sweep. Ashton is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Suez looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Ashton seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ashton passes into side control, despite Suez's attempt to control the position.
Suez tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Ashton wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Suez regains half guard.
Ashton is trying to control the action in half guard but Suez is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Suez is trying to control but can't.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Suez is looking to improve his position.
Ashton is pressing down on Suez's thigh, looking to free his foot. Suez is holding on for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Suez is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ashton pulls his head out easily.
Suez wants to get back to full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ashton works his way into full mount!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Suez is looking to improve his position but Ashton isn't that keen on the idea.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Rick Ashton will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Ashton shoots in and bounces Suez off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Suez is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Suez looking for subs off his back but Ashton has passed one foot through into half guard.
Suez is looking to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Suez looking for submissions off his back.
Ashton moves into full mount! Suez won't be happy about that!
Ashton cracks Suez with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Ashton tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Suez sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ashton prevents Suez from improving his position.
Suez is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Suez actively working from the bottom here.
Ashton slows the pace down in half guard.
Suez is refusing to be controlled, as Ashton sits in half guard.
Rafael Suez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Suez tries to get to full guard but Ashton has control of the leg.
Rick Ashton overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ashton is looking to stall here but Suez recovers full guard.
Suez wants to improve his position but instead Ashton has moved into half guard.
Suez manages to get to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ashton throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Suez works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ashton looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

Suez is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Suez is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ashton is aware though and is defending well.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Rick Ashton.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ashton, 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 Trevor Gratis scores the fight 29:28
Judge William Peck scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rick Ashton!
Rick Ashton took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, CEC Nutrition Q160 for their support in the buildup to the fight.