PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ijin Yu (ranked 3471 p4p, 3879 weight class) and Ruben Firot (ranked 428 p4p, 472 weight class). Firot has chosen Cano De Cali - Mi Momento as his entrance music. Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Yu
vs
Firot

181 cm
19
180
2 - 0 - 0

180 cm
19
177
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Solid chin

Seventh Circle Clothing
IC&E Nutrition (& 10% Laundry)

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ijin Yu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Ruben Firot!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Roosa Järviläinen and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Firot throws an off balance right hand
and Yu counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Firot misses with a jab to the body
and Yu counters with a straight right hand.
Yu with the inside leg kick.

Firot clinches up with Yu and pushes him back against the cage.
Firot doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Firot has Yu pressed against the cage, preventing Yu from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Firot missing with knees to the body.
Yu prevents a body shot from Firot.
Firot tries to work over Yu's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Yu dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
I was talking to Yu's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Firot tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Yu's elbow.
A right handed body shot lands from Firot.
Firot tries to throw a body punch but Yu avoids it by throwing Firot back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Firot lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Yu tries to throw a body punch but Firot avoids it by throwing Yu back against the cage.
Yu blocks a body shot from Firot.
Firot goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Firot tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Firot goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Yu misses with a hook to the ribs.
Firot struggles to land a body shot inside as Yu controls his hands.
Firot can't find room to land a body shot as Yu controls the action.
Firot tries a body shot but Yu blocks it.
Firot misses with a body punch.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Firot.
Firot misses with a punch to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Firot lands a left hand that snaps the head of Yu backwards.
Yu wants to get back to striking at distance but Firot won't allow it.
We've been informed that Firot has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Yu blocks a body shot from Firot.
Yu has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Yu managing to block the knees to the body from Firot.
Firot misses with a punch to the body.
Firot misses with a body punch.

Yu escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
That kick from Yu tenderised Firot's leg. Firot is trying to keep his angry face on.
A left and a right from Yu both land. Nice combination.
Yu tests Firot's chin there with a solid looking shot.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A nice combination there by Yu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A low kick from Firot is predictable there
and Yu counters with a stiff right hand.
Yu slips a straight right by Firot.
Yu misses with a wild combination.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Yu, as that shot connected.
Firot misses with a right hand
letting Yu counter with a right hand.
Yu scores with a head kick.
Ruben Firot seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Firot tries to clinch up
enabling Yu to counter with a crisp jab.
Firot misses with a right hand
and Yu counters with a two punch combo.
Firot throws a lazy uppercut
and Yu counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Firot thinking.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A jab from Firot misses.
Firot fails in his attempt to clinch.
Yu lands with a right hand.

Firot moves into the clinch.
Firot misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Yu can't find room to land a body shot as Firot controls the action.
Firot tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Yu's elbow.
Yu has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Yu wants to break the clinch but can't.
Yu tries to circle away but Firot has him pinned against the cage.
Firot tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Firot tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Yu's elbow.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ijin Yu dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Firot fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Yu lands with a nice body punch.
Yu lands a high kick!
Firot throws an off balance right hand
and Firot takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Yu scores with a decent looking hook.
Good shot there by Yu.

Yu gets tackled into the cage by Firot. Firot maintains the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Firot keeps control of Yu as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Firot misses with a punch on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Yu.
Firot tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Firot tries to work over Yu's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Firot misses with a punch to the body.
Firot tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ruben Firot seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Yu is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Firot goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Firot tries to work over Yu's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Firot fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Firot keeps control of Yu as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Firot misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Firot misses with a body punch.
Firot misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Yu prevents a body shot from Firot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Yu tries to break free but Firot pushes him back against the cage.
Firot tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Yu's elbow.
Firot trying to land knees to the body.
Firot swings wildly with an uppercut but Yu uses good head movement to avoid it.
Yu is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Firot can do to turn this around?

Yu pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Firot throws a leg kick
and Yu counters with a straight right hand.
Yu throws a head kick that Firot semi-blocks.

Firot has closed the distance and engaged Yu in a clinch.
Yu working hard to break the clinch.
Firot misses with some punches.
Yu tries to break free but Firot pushes him back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Firot tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Firot tries a body shot but Yu blocks it.
Firot goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Firot tries to land knees in the clinch but Yu avoids the damage to the body.
Firot tries to throw a body punch but Yu avoids it by throwing Firot back against the cage.
Firot tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Firot tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Firot misses with a body punch.
Firot misses with a hook to the ribs.
Firot doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Yu is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Yu blocks a body shot from Firot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Firot tries to work over Yu's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Yu tries to work over Firot's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Yu has had enough of the clinch but Firot keeps him there for the moment.
Firot misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Firot doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Firot misses with a punch to the body.

Yu manages to break the clinch.
A decent looking cross lands there for Yu.
Firot walks into a stiff left hand from Yu.
Firot throws a jab when Yu was well out of range.
Yu looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Firot lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Yu has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Yu and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Yu lands a jab-cross combination.
Yu lands a nice shot to the body.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ijin Yu dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Yu moves into range and connects with a jab.
Yu stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Yu wants it to stay on the feet.
Yu goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
A head kick by Yu misses

and Firot counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Firot stays in close to Yu's body and controls the position.
Yu wants to stand up but Firot is controlling him.
Yu is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Firot dives into side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yu wants to get back to his feet.
Firot controls the position from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Firot misses with the ground and pound.
Firot happy to just control the position for now.
Yu is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Firot asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Firot content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Yu pushes Firot away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Firot gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Ruben Firot has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

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.
Yu parries the strikes from Firot easily there. Firot is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Yu to escape.
Yu is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Firot asserts his dominance and retains side control.

Firot is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Yu is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Firot is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Yu knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
The strikes coming from Firot are missing the target in this wave of attacks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yu defending against the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Firot remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Yu is trying to buck Firot off.

Firot is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Yu is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Firot is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Yu is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Firot landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.

That's four 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.
Firot prevents Yu from escaping the position.
Firot looks up at the clock and then as Yu takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Firot smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Yu is trying to buck Firot off.
Firot in side control lands a decent elbow.
Yu takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Firot working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

Firot tries for a kimura but Yu is defending well.
Ijin Yu is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Firot prevents Yu from escaping the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ruben Firot comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Yu has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 29:28
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ijin Yu!
The defeated Ruben Firot had this to say: 'No regrets, no tears, no quit. Thank you to all the fans & please do check out IC&E Nutrition (6904) & Seventh Circle Clothing (6898) who have kindly sponsored me.'.