PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ryan Whitaker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Black Aac (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Black Aac is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Whitaker
vs
Aac

162 cm
18
214 lbs
0 - 0 - 1

180 cm
18
210 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Ryan Whitaker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Black Aac!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Arvi Lind and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Whitaker closes the distance and clinches.

Aac successfully pulls guard.
Whitaker might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Whitaker throwing strikes but missing.
Whitaker preventing the sweep.
Whitaker trying to control but Aac is working from the bottom.

Aac looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Whitaker could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Whitaker engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Whitaker in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Whitaker knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Aac on the ground.
Whitaker distracts Aac with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Aac working a defensive guard here.
Whitaker content to stall in guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitaker trying to control but Aac is working from the bottom.
Whitaker has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Ryan Whitaker wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Whitaker leaves Aac with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Whitaker moves in looking to clinch but Aac pushes him off.
Aac throws a sloppy head kick and Whitaker moves out of range easily.
Whitaker looks to clinch

and Aac holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Whitaker lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Aac breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Whitaker wants to clinch but Aac slips to the side

and Aac moves into the clinch.

Whitaker breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Whitaker tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Aac counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Whitaker's guard now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Whitaker pulls Aac in to control the position.
Aac postures up.
Aac in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Whitaker keeping full guard, as Aac tries to pass.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Aac slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ryan Whitaker.
Aac tries for a takedown but Whitaker circles away easily
and Whitaker counters with a straight right hand.
Aac looks winded!

Whitaker has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Whitaker is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Aac can't fight it off and eventually Whitaker manages to take the fight to the floor. Aac looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Whitaker trying to control the position from guard on top but Aac is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Aac looking to hit a scissor sweep but Whitaker is one step ahead there.
Whitaker being controlled here momentarily.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Aac utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Whitaker trying to control but Aac is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Ryan Whitaker wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
A combination from Aac does no damage.
Aac looks for a takedown but Whitaker sprawls well.
Ryan Whitaker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Black Aac.
Aac dives in for a single leg takedown but Whitaker sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Whitaker pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Whitaker tries to clinch but Aac is having none of it.
Whitaker is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Aac doesn't manage to clinch there - Whitaker circles away.
Whitaker tries to clinch up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Ryan Whitaker will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Whitaker is looking to clinch but Aac is avoiding it.
Aac is looking to clinch but Whitaker is avoiding it.

Aac darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Black Aac has got the better of the ground game so far.
Whitaker trying to control here.
Aac wants to stand up but Whitaker has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Whitaker keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitaker trying to control here.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Whitaker is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Aac pulls his head out easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Aac is taking a breather. Whitaker says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Whitaker looks to clinch
and Aac counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Horrible takedown by Aac or perhaps it was just good defense by Whitaker which made him look bad.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aac shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Whitaker pinned against the cage. Whitaker gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Black Aac seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Aac is breathing heavily.
Whitaker tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Aac manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Ryan Whitaker is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Aac gets tackled into the cage by Whitaker. Whitaker maintains the clinch.
Whitaker has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Aac is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Whitaker is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Aac pulls him back up using the underhooks.

Whitaker gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Aac regains full guard. Nicely done.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Aac is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Whitaker defends well.
Aac pulls Whitaker in close to prevent any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aac is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Aac moves nicely into side control.
Aac has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Aac throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aac takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Aac is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Whitaker can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Black Aac showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Aac closes the distance and clinches up with Whitaker, looking for a takedown. Aac pushes Whitaker against the cage but Whitaker circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Aac tries to clinch there but Whitaker circles away.
Ryan Whitaker is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Whitaker closes the distance but Aac moves to the side

and Aac counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Aac.

Aac jumps into guard, dragging Whitaker to the mat.
Whitaker loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Aac utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Aac keeping moving, preventing Whitaker from controlling successfully.
Whitaker looking to sit in guard and control but Aac gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Aac trying to control the position from guard on top but Whitaker is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aac's corner is telling him to maintain position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Black Aac was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Aac has managed to clinch.
Whitaker is trying to maintain a safe position but Aac gets an underhook and turns Whitaker into the cage.

Aac gets control of Whitaker's arms and successfully pulls guard. Aac will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Aac takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Whitaker trying to control but Aac is working from the bottom.
Aac wants to stand and escape but Whitaker is having none of it.
Whitaker content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aac wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Aac looking for a sweep. Not yet Aac, not yet.
Whitaker is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Whitaker doesn't manage to clinch there - Aac circles away.
Whitaker tries to clinch there but Aac circles away.
Whitaker wants to clinch up but Aac keeps it at a distance.

Aac gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Aac wants to break the clinch but can't.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Whitaker is looking to break free of the clinch but Aac has double underhooks.
Whitaker goes for a takedown in the clinch but Aac prevents it.

Aac has picked Whitaker up - he's going for a ride! Aac dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitaker is looking to control Aac's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Whitaker avoid being mounted?
Whitaker wants to improve his position but Aac is controlling well.
Aac is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Whitaker has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Aac is working away from the top position though.
Aac is taking a breather. Whitaker says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ryan Whitaker has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Whitaker tries to clinch but fails miserably
enabling Aac to counter with a crisp jab.
Aac shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Whitaker as he avoids it easily.
Aac fails with a takedown attempt.
Ryan Whitaker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Black Aac.
Whitaker is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Whitaker is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Whitaker is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Black Aac comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Aac has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 28:29
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 28:29
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Black Aac!