PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sauli Mattonen (ranked 4395 p4p, 0 weight class) and Trenton Bowers (ranked 5462 p4p, 0 weight class). Bowers has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. Trenton Bowers looks lathargic as he enters the arena. Wake up son, you're about to have a fight!

Mattonen
vs
Bowers

189 cm
18
189 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

182 cm
18
188 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Heavy handed

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 Helsinki, Sauli Mattonen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Trenton Bowers!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Arvi Lind and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mattonen tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Bowers swivels and escapes.
Mattonen shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Bowers as he jumps to the side.
A little jabbing left from Bowers on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Bowers leaves Mattonen with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sauli Mattonen. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Mattonen clinches up against the cage.
Bowers is looking to take this one to the mat.

Bowers manages to break the clinch.
Bowers looks winded!
Mattonen dives in and grabs Bowers's left leg, looking for a takedown. Bowers pushes down on Mattonen's head and hops out.
Bowers lands a high kick!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Bowers moves into range and clinches up with Mattonen.
Bowers tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Mattonen just stands there and leans against the cage.
Bowers fails to pull guard.
Bowers fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Mattonen has Bowers pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Bowers manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mattonen can't get the takedown.
Mattonen content to slow the pace in the clinch.

Mattonen is trying to trip Bowers. He has hold of a leg but Bowers is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Mattonen persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Mattonen is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Mattonen throws a big right hand that misses.
Mattonen controls from within his opponent's guard.
Bowers really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Mattonen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Mattonen gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Bowers has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bowers blocks a low kick nicely.
Mattonen avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Bowers throws a head kick but Mattonen moves out of range.
Mattonen shoots in looking for a takedown. Bowers tries to sprawl out of it but Mattonen keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Bowers manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Mattonen fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Mattonen tries to bum rush Bowers with a series of wild strikes but Bowers uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Mattonen.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mattonen just content to control the position.

Mattonen decides to stand back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mattonen shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Bowers defends it nicely.
Bowers throws a left and a right that both miss

and Mattonen counters with a nice double leg into side control. Bowers won't be happy with that.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mattonen is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Bowers will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.

Mattonen is in a dominant position here, looking for a kimura. Bowers looks calm but he's in trouble here. Mattonen gets his leg over his opponent's head and yanks on the arm. Bowers is tapping like a morse code operator on the titanic! SOS! SOS! Mattonen lets go of the hold and Bowers can pop his arm back in it's socket.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:52 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Sauli Mattonen!
Our winner, Sauli Mattonen, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.