PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Russell Armstrong (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Fernando Ribeiro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Armstrong
vs
Ribeiro

201 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

188 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Russell Armstrong!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Fernando Ribeiro!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Vladimir Khabensky and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Armstrong throws a right and a left that Ribeiro avoids nicely.
Armstrong lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Armstrong shoots for a takedown but Ribeiro saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Ribeiro scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Armstrong wants to improve his position but Ribeiro is controlling well.

Ribeiro seems to be working for a kimura but Armstrong defends the submission attempt.
Armstrong keeping hold of Ribeiro's head, controlling as best he can.
Armstrong tries to roll over but Ribeiro keeps him under control.
Armstrong is trying to control but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ribeiro seems to be working for a kimura but Armstrong defends the submission attempt.
Armstrong on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Armstrong trying to control here.
Armstrong is in trouble now - Ribeiro has advanced to mount!
Armstrong is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

Ribeiro jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Armstrong manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Ribeiro working the ground and pound but Armstrong is defending the strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Ribeiro tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Ribeiro has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ribeiro throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.

Ribeiro stands up.

Armstrong 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.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Armstrong avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Armstrong wants to control from the top but Ribeiro keeps moving.
Armstrong won't allow Ribeiro to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Armstrong pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ribeiro is keeping the position for now.
Armstrong not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Ribeiro has momentary wrist control but Armstrong slips an elbow through the middle.
Ribeiro keeping moving, preventing Armstrong from controlling successfully.
Ribeiro will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Armstrong really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Ribeiro throwing strikes off his back to little effect.
Ribeiro has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Ribeiro manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Ribeiro looks winded!
Armstrong with a hook.

Armstrong shoots in and bounces Ribeiro off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Ribeiro scores with a short punch from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ribeiro not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Armstrong wants to control from the top but Ribeiro keeps moving.
Ribeiro wants to stand up but Armstrong is controlling him.
Armstrong stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ribeiro swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Armstrong passes Ribeiro's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Armstrong stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.

Ribeiro shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Ribeiro was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Fernando Ribeiro will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Armstrong shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Ribeiro as he avoids it easily.

Ribeiro decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

Armstrong with the active half guard here but Ribeiro passes nicely into side control.
Ribeiro working away.
Armstrong is not content to let Ribeiro control the position.

Ribeiro tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Ribeiro has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Ribeiro fails to land a wild elbow strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ribeiro working away.
Armstrong is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Ribeiro off and has taken his back!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Armstrong avoiding Ribeiro 's attempts to control his hands.
Ribeiro controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad position.
Ribeiro is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.
Armstrong doesn't have the hooks in and Ribeiro manages to turn into his guard.
Ribeiro chips away with some ground and pound.
Ribeiro wants to pass the guard but Armstrong is keeping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ribeiro wants to control from the top but Armstrong keeps moving.

Armstrong working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Ribeiro doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Ribeiro manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Armstrong is adopting a defensive guard.
Armstrong trying to keep a closed guard but Ribeiro is proving a slippery customer.

Armstrong uses the cage to get back to his feet.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Armstrong closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Armstrong looks to throw the jab but Ribeiro is out of range.

Ribeiro throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Armstrong tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Ribeiro is in Armstrong's guard.
Ribeiro is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Ribeiro trying to control the position from guard on top but Armstrong is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ribeiro controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Ribeiro has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Armstrong is proving hard to escape from.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Fernando Ribeiro was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Armstrong closes the distance and clinches up with Ribeiro, looking for a takedown. Armstrong pushes Ribeiro against the cage but Ribeiro circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Ribeiro closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Armstrong quickly recovers to half guard.
Armstrong is trying to control but can't.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Ribeiro postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Armstrong to stand up.

Ribeiro scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ribeiro 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.
Ribeiro wants to control but Armstrong is keeping him busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fernando Ribeiro showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Armstrong shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

Ribeiro has guillotine here! It looks pretty tight! Could this be all over! No, Armstrong escapes and passes into side control at the same time. Nice work there by Armstrong!
Armstrong working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Ribeiro wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Ribeiro parries the strikes from Armstrong easily there. Armstrong is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Ribeiro to escape.
Ribeiro is trying to get back to his feet.
Ribeiro takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Armstrong is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Ribeiro's shoulder. That is not cool.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Armstrong trying to control the action but Ribeiro is working from the bottom.
Ribeiro is trying to buck Armstrong off.

Armstrong decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Ribeiro stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Ribeiro wants it to stay on the feet.

Ribeiro looking to score a takedown here. Armstrong is defending well but Ribeiro drives through and ends up in Armstrong's guard.
Ribeiro has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Armstrong is proving hard to escape from.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Armstrong is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ribeiro is aware though and is defending well.
Armstrong wants to stand and escape but Ribeiro is having none of it.

Ribeiro gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Good exchange - Armstrong coming out on top.
Ribeiro tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Ribeiro dives in and scores a takedown into Armstrong's guard.
Ribeiro working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Armstrong controls Ribeiro momentarily but Ribeiro frees himself.

Ribeiro decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ribeiro decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Fernando Ribeiro is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Fernando Ribeiro has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ribeiro blocks the strikes from Armstrong.
Armstrong trying to hold on to Ribeiro's head to control him but Ribeiro postures up.
Ribeiro stalling.
Armstrong is trying to maintain the position but Ribeiro is very close to passing his half guard.
Ribeiro tries to stand and escape but Armstrong is controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ribeiro is pressing down on Armstrong's thigh, looking to free his foot. Armstrong is holding on for now.
Armstrong trying to control but Ribeiro postures up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Russell Armstrong.
Armstrong closes the distance and clinches up with Ribeiro, looking for a takedown. Armstrong pushes Ribeiro against the cage but Ribeiro circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Russell Armstrong seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Armstrong shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Ribeiro as he jumps to the side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Russell Armstrong. That's going to take a lot out of him.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Armstrong gets caught napping as Ribeiro dives in and scores a takedown. Armstrong manages to retain guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Fernando Ribeiro comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Ribeiro has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 27:30
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 27:30
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Fernando Ribeiro!