PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rigoberto Blake (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Phileas Ankward (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Blake
vs
Ankward

175 cm
18
278 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

202 cm
20
217 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Can Moonwalk

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rigoberto Blake!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Phileas Ankward!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Ben Zyskovitsi and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ankward is trying hard to land a takedown here. Blake sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Ankward looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Blake is fending him off so far but Ankward persists. Nope, Blake circles away and we're back to standing.

Ankward clinches.

Blake has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Ankward is trying to keep an underhook but Blake manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Blake lands with a punch from half guard.
Ankward looks winded!
Blake perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Blake is looking to advance position but Ankward won't allow it.

Blake is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Ankward doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Blake.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ankward is refusing to be controlled, as Blake sits in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Blake not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Ankward keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Blake stalling.

Blake is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Ankward sees it coming and defends easily.
Ankward keeping hold of Blake's head, controlling as best he can.
Blake 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.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Blake is looking to take a break and control but Ankward is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Blake controlling the pace.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Ankward shoots and misses

so Blake counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Rigoberto Blake has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Phileas Ankward.
Blake controls from within his opponent's guard.
Blake trying to control the position from guard on top but Ankward is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Blake slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Ankward keeping moving, preventing Blake from controlling successfully.
Blake throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Ankward works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Blake might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ankward being controlled here, momentarily.
Blake wants to stand but Ankward is controlling his posture from full guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Blake trying to control the position from guard on top but Ankward is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Blake clinches up with Ankward and pushes him back against the cage.
Blake goes for a takedown attempt but Ankward pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Blake shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Ankward manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blake is pushing down on Ankward's leg trying to pass to half guard. Ankward is fighting to maintain full guard but Blake has managed to sneak the leg through.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ankward is not content to let Blake control the position.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

Blake wants to work for an arm triangle but Ankward is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Blake tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Blake is working for a kimura but Ankward is defending it quite comfortably.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rigoberto Blake dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Ankward goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Blake fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ankward connects with a body shot that sends Blake's belly button to the back.

Blake darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

Blake is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Ankward doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Blake.
Ankward is breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Blake is working for a submission of some sort.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Blake is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Ankward sees it coming and defends easily.

Blake is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Ankward defends it well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Blake missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Blake really is a fat lump.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Blake thows a huge punch but Ankward dodges it nicely.
Ankward is refusing to be controlled, as Blake sits in half guard.

Blake is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Blake wants to stand but his hand is trapped. Ankward uses the opportunity to regain full guard.
Blake is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Blake stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Blake is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ankward can do to turn this around?
Horrible takedown attempt by Ankward or perhaps it was just good defense by Blake, which made it look bad.
Blake closes the distance and clinches up with Ankward, looking for a takedown. Blake pushes Ankward against the cage but Ankward circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blake is looking to clinch but Ankward is avoiding it.

Blake looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Ankward!

Blake tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Blake has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Ankward takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Ankward tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Blake is chipping away with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Blake moves into full mount!
Blake 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.
Blake looking to control but Ankward is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Blake sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Blake lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ankward wants to control but Blake is having none of it.
Blake wants to control the pace but Ankward is squirming around nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rigoberto Blake dominated that second round.
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.

Blake gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Blake can't seem to implement his control oriented gameplan at the moment. That's no bad thing of course, for those of us who want to see a good fight.

Blake pulls guard.

Blake is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Blake leaning his opponent against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ankward takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Rigoberto Blake.
The fight stays on the outside here - Blake looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ankward lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Blake backs up against the cage.

It looks like Rigoberto Blake has been cut.
Blake shoots in but no luck this time.
Blake stuffs the takedown attempt from Ankward. Ankward gets slowly back to his feet.

Blake rushes Ankward and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Blake jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Ankward walks away with a smile on his face. Blake gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Phileas Ankward seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Blake darts in looking for a takedown but Ankward gets double underhooks and turns Blake into the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rigoberto Blake. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Ankward successfully pulls guard.
Blake is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Blake slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Blake wants to stand but Ankward has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Ankward is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ankward keeping moving, preventing Blake from controlling successfully.
Blake keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Ankward's head.
Blake working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Ankward's head.
Ankward is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Blake trying to control but Ankward is working from the bottom.

Blake gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

That's four 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.
Blake moves in looking to clinch but Ankward pushes him off.
Blake goes for a double leg but Ankward avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Ankward continues to drive forward.

Blake breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Nice sprawl there from Ankward as Blake shoots in.
Ankward shoots in but Blake avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Blake drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ankward being controlled for a moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rigoberto Blake showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Blake, 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 Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rigoberto Blake!