PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mariusz Pudzianowski (ranked 3388 p4p, 4656 weight class) and Alistair Overeem (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Pudzianowski
vs
Overeem

200 cm
20
230
0 - 1 - 0

193 cm
23
266
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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, Mariusz Pudzianowski!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Alistair Overeem!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Matti Vanhoillinen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Overeem moves in looking to clinch but Pudzianowski pushes him off.
Pudzianowski leaves Overeem with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Overeem misses with a takedown attempt - Pudzianowski sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Pudzianowski lands a nice looking kick to the body. Overeem takes a step back to recover.
Pudzianowski takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

It looks like Mariusz Pudzianowski has been cut.

Pudzianowski takes the fight into the clinch.
Overeem tries to break the clinch but Pudzianowski is controlling the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pudzianowski landing knees to the head.
Overeem is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Pudzianowski dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Pudzianowski jumps guard but Overeem stands there with Pudzianowski around his waist. Pudzianowski gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pudzianowski has Overeem pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Overeem manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Overeem drops down looking for an ankle pick but Pudzianowski pulls his leg out and moves away.
Mariusz Pudzianowski has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alistair Overeem.
Overeem throws a left and a right that both miss
and Pudzianowski counters with a straight right hand.
Overeem misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Pudzianowski closes the distance and clinches.
Overeem is looking to take this one to the mat.
Overeem tries to circle away but Pudzianowski has him pinned against the cage.
Overeem looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Overeem breaks the clinch.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Overeem.
Pudzianowski seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.

Overeem gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Overeem is trying to break free.
Pudzianowski drops down looking for an ankle pick but Overeem pulls his leg out and moves away.
Alistair Overeem seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Overeem fails with a takedown attempt.
Pudzianowski keeps the fight on the outside.
Pudzianowski attempts a counter takedown but Overeem avoids it well and moves away.
Pudzianowski throws a leg kick that misses.

Pudzianowski drives through and clinches with Overeem against the cage.

Pudzianowski has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Overeem uses from the top position.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Pudzianowski manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Pudzianowski jumps guard but Overeem stands there with Pudzianowski around his waist. Pudzianowski gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Pudzianowski fails to pull guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pudzianowski manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Overeem distracts Pudzianowski with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Overeem is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

Overeem stands up from Pudzianowski's guard - Overeem perhaps looking for a knockout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Overeem.
Overeem shoots in but Pudzianowski avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Overeem tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Pudzianowski defends well and Overeem ends up having to push Pudzianowski into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Pudzianowski avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A combination from Overeem does no damage.
Pudzianowski looks for a takedown but Overeem sprawls well.
Pudzianowski misses with a jab, cross combination.
Pudzianowski dives in and grabs Overeem's left leg, looking for a takedown. Overeem pushes down on Pudzianowski's head and hops out.
Pudzianowski is breathing heavily.

Pudzianowski fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Overeem, pushing him back against the cage.

Overeem escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Mariusz Pudzianowski dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mariusz Pudzianowski's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Overeem fails with an attempt to clinch.
Horrible takedown attempt by Pudzianowski or perhaps it was just good defense by Overeem, which made it look bad.
Overeem looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Pudzianowski is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Overeem can do to turn this around?
Overeem throws a nice looking combination but Pudzianowski bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Pudzianowski uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Overeem.
Pudzianowski will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Pudzianowski showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Overeem.

Overeem fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Pudzianowski, pushing him back against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pudzianowski doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Overeem is trying to push Pudzianowski away but Pudzianowski has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Pudzianowski slows down the pace here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
A nice right hand lands inside from Overeem.
Overeem has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Pudzianowski working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Overeem is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Pudzianowski is defending well for now.
Pudzianowski prevents a takedown attempt there.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Pudzianowski here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.

Pudzianowski breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Pudzianowski tries a head kick but it misses.
Pudzianowski avoids a punch combination nicely.
Pudzianowski avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Mariusz Pudzianowski is winning the standup battle so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Overeem shoots in for a double leg but Pudzianowski sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Overeem throws a head kick that misses.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Pudzianowski is defended easily by Overeem.
Overeem tries a head kick but it misses.
Overeem stuffs the takedown attempt from Pudzianowski. Pudzianowski gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mariusz Pudzianowski. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Overeem shoots in for a takedown but Pudzianowski shows good takedown defense.
Overeem tries to score a power double leg takedown but Pudzianowski sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Overeem somewhat.

Overeem instigates a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pudzianowski is trying to pull guard but Overeem turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Pudzianowski blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Overeem working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

Pudzianowski pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Pudzianowski will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Overeem looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

Overeem clinches with his opponent.
Overeem manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

Overeem's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Overeem shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Pudzianowski as he jumps to the side.
Pudzianowski darts in looking for a takedown but Overeem gets double underhooks and turns Pudzianowski into the cage.
Overeem working hard to break the clinch.

Pudzianowski escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Overeem darts in and clinches Pudzianowski up against the cage.
Overeem is pressed up against the cage. Pudzianowski has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Overeem down to the mat. Overeem avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

Overeem shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Overeem stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Overeem has closed the distance and engaged Pudzianowski in a clinch.
Pudzianowski has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Overeem after a bit of a struggle.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Alistair Overeem showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Mariusz Pudzianowski's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Overeem moves into the clinch.
Overeem looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Overeem breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Pudzianowski jumps guard but Overeem stands there with Pudzianowski around his waist. Pudzianowski gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Pudzianowski tries to land a knee to the head but Overeem blocks with his arms.

Pudzianowski breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A punch combination from Pudzianowski misses.
As Pudzianowski backs off Overeem throws a huge counter combo but Pudzianowski manages to avoid it all.

Overeem clinches with his opponent.

Overeem breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Overeem goes for a double leg but Pudzianowski avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Pudzianowski continues to drive forward.

That's one minute gone in the round.
No luck for Pudzianowski with that takedown attempt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Overeem moves into the clinch.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

Pudzianowski pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Overeem tries a head kick but it misses.
Overeem misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Overeem forces Pudzianowski back against the cage and clinches.
Pudzianowski tries to pull guard but Overeem holds him up against the cage and eventually Pudzianowski drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mariusz Pudzianowski. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Overeem tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Pudzianowski avoids it.
Overeem looks to throw an elbow but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Overeem is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Pudzianowski can't fight it off and eventually Overeem manages to take the fight to the floor. Pudzianowski looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Pudzianowski being controlled here, momentarily.
Overeem stands and throws Pudzianowski's legs to the side, diving into side control.

Overeem has an Americana. Pudzianowski didn't react quickly enough there and he's in big trouble now! He tries to squirm out but is forced to tap! Overeem is delighted and gyrates in front of the ring girls. They seem to like the attention - it'll be interesting to see if Overeem hooks up with any of them at the after show party.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Americana). Alistair Overeem!
Alistair Overeem seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.