PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Barney Rubble (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Blackhead (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Rubble
vs
Blackhead

150 cm
19
205 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

185 cm
24
217 lbs
1 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Very strong

Good wrestler
Brawler
Powerful

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 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Barney Rubble!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Mike Blackhead!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Johanna Lukiainen and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Some wild striking there from Blackhead.
Blackhead throws a right and a left that both miss.
Blackhead lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rubble circles away quickly and effectively.

Rubble feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Rubble works over Blackhead with some ground and pound from guard.
Rubble missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Rubble won't allow Blackhead to sweep him here.
Rubble is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Rubble distracts Blackhead with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Rubble stays in close to Blackhead's body and controls the position.
Rubble 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.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rubble accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Rubble is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Rubble won't allow Blackhead to sweep him here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blackhead keeping moving, preventing Rubble from controlling successfully.
Rubble postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Blackhead looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rubble is one step ahead there.
Rubble might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Rubble thows a big elbow that misses.
Rubble is looking to work some ground and pound but Blackhead has wrist control.
Rubble stopping the sweep attempt from Blackhead.
Rubble controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Rubble postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Blackhead really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Rubble. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Blackhead keeping moving, preventing Rubble from controlling successfully.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Blackhead gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Rubble wants to control from the top but Blackhead keeps moving.
Rubble is really struggling to control Blackhead but he's trying to hold on to the position.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Blackhead can do anything to dispel that myth.
Rubble is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Blackhead looking to control.
Rubble lands a couple of elbows.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rubble lands a couple of elbows.
Rubble loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Rubble postures up.
Rubble trying to control the position from guard on top but Blackhead is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rubble seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Blackhead keeping moving, preventing Rubble from controlling successfully.
Blackhead utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Rubble with a flurry of punches that miss.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Blackhead fails to land with a series of punches.
Blackhead misses with a series of wild punches.

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.
Blackhead throws a series of punches but Rubble moves out of range.
Blackhead looks to land a combination but Rubble avoids it well.
Blackhead throws a series of punches but Rubble moves out of range.

Blackhead gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Blackhead is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Blackhead avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Rubble throwing strikes but missing.
Rubble trying to control the position from guard on top but Blackhead is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rubble throwing strikes but missing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Barney Rubble dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Blackhead fails to land with a series of punches.
Blackhead looks to land a combination but Rubble avoids it well.
Blackhead swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Blackhead misses with a series of wild punches.
Blackhead throws a series of punches but Rubble avoids them all with ease.
Blackhead will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Blackhead misses with a series of wild punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Blackhead fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Blackhead is breathing heavily.
Blackhead throws a right and a left that Rubble avoids nicely.
Blackhead throws a nice looking combination but Rubble bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Rubble throws out a leg kick but Blackhead moves out of range and Rubble only half commits.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blackhead fails to land with a series of punches.
Mike Blackhead is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Rubble shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Rubble 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.
Rubble looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Blackhead taking some punishment here, with Rubble in his half guard.
Blackhead is trying to stand up here but Rubble is controlling him well.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Rubble landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Rubble takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blackhead taking some punishment here, with Rubble in his half guard.
Blackhead is looking to improve his position.
Rubble thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Rubble drops an elbow to the side of Blackhead's head.
Rubble throwing shots but Blackhead is blocking nicely.
Blackhead is staying active underneath Rubble, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Rubble not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rubble not doing much here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Blackhead throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Rubble ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Blackhead moves away.
Rubble slips a jab and a cross from Blackhead.
Blackhead rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Rubble moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Rubble dodges the punch combination from Blackhead.
Blackhead throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Rubble.

Rubble shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Blackhead manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Rubble seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Rubble with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rubble not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Blackhead working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rubble.
Rubble wants to control from the top but Blackhead keeps moving.
Rubble missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Barney Rubble overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Rubble is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Rubble trying to control but Blackhead is working from the bottom.
Rubble with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Rubble connects with a couple of short punches.
Blackhead trying to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Barney Rubble dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Rubble closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Blackhead is looking to reverse the position.
The ground and pound from Rubble seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Rubble sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Blackhead is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Rubble in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Blackhead is looking to regain half guard here but Rubble keeps moving and retains side control.
Blackhead takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Blackhead is looking for a sweep.
Rubble scores with punches from side control.
Blackhead is trying to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blackhead is letting Rubble control him for a moment.
Blackhead takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rubble wants to control but Blackhead is keeping him busy.
Rubble misses with the ground and pound.
Blackhead avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Rubble.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Rubble slips a jab and a cross from Blackhead.
Blackhead throws a right hand that Rubble ducks under and follows up with a left that Rubble also avoids with ease.
Blackhead misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Blackhead fails to land with a series of punches.

Rubble decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Rubble working over Blackhead with some ground and pound. Blackhead looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Rubble content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Rubble looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Blackhead with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Rubble not doing much here.
Rubble is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rubble drops an elbow to the side of Blackhead's head.
Rubble looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Blackhead with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Rubble is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Blackhead is trying to stand back up but Rubble is controlling him
Rubble is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Rubble looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Rubble slows the pace down in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Barney Rubble just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Blackhead throws a right and a left that Rubble avoids nicely.
Blackhead throws a right and a left that both miss.
Blackhead swinging wildly here.
A punch combination from Blackhead misses.
Mike Blackhead is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Blackhead misses with a wild combination.

Rubble drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Barney Rubble showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Rubble 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Barney Rubble!