PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Eki Joki (ranked 4353 p4p, 4444 weight class) and Alexandre Benalla (ranked 0 p4p, 520 weight class). The key to victory for Eki Joki has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Joki
vs
Benalla

187 cm
18
187
1 - 0 - 0

182 cm
25
190
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Good chin

Decent wrestler
Brawler
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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Eki Joki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Alexandre Benalla!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, William Gold and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Joki throws a lazy right hand but Benalla sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Joki lands with an overhand left.
Benalla moves forwards but Joki connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Benalla bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Joki throws a hook to the side of Benalla's head but Benalla sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Benalla throws a fast counter high kick but Joki manages to duck under it in time.
Benalla tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Joki counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Joki scores with a jab.
A jab from Joki misses.

Benalla 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.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Benalla lands a couple of elbows.
Benalla seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Benalla pushes down on Joki's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benalla slows the pace down in half guard.
Benalla thows a huge punch but Joki dodges it nicely.
Benalla controlling the pace.
Benalla working the head and body with strikes.

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.
Benalla is controlling the pace.
Joki knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Benalla on the ground.
Let's hope that Benalla has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

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

Benalla manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Joki on his heels. He'll look to pass Joki's guard now, I'm sure.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Joki is looking to stand up but Benalla isn't so interested in that idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benalla forces his way into half guard.
Benalla not doing much here.
We're seeing a lot of stalling here from Benalla.
Benalla scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Benalla working the head and body with strikes.
Benalla keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Joki trying to control from the bottom.
Joki taking some punishment here, with Benalla in his half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Benalla takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Benalla working the head and body with strikes.
Benalla slows the pace down in half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Alexandre Benalla dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Joki fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Benalla manages to avoid it.
Benalla changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.

Benalla clinches up with Joki and pushes him back against the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Benalla's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Joki throws a head punch that misses.
Joki is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Joki is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Benalla goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Joki misses with a punch on the inside.
Joki definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Joki lands a body shot in the clinch.
Benalla will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Joki up against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Benalla misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Joki.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Benalla blocks an uppercut.
Joki has a couple of punches blocked by Benalla.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benalla stalling in the clinch.
A short right from Joki on the inside.
Benalla jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Joki walks away with a smile on his face. Benalla gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Benalla shoots in and gets a takedown into Joki's guard.
Joki being controlled here, momentarily.
Benalla is continuing to stall.
Benalla working some strikes from top position.
Joki is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benalla with a nice head shot there.
Benalla with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Benalla engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Benalla's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Benalla wants to pass the guard but Joki is keeping the position.
Benalla has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Joki is working an open guard so Benalla takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Alexandre Benalla is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Joki looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

Benalla closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Joki quickly recovers to half guard.
Benalla perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Yet more stalling tactics from Benalla.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
More stalling from Benalla.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Alexandre Benalla showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Joki scores with a shot to the body.
Joki lands with a shot to the body.

Benalla shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Joki manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Benalla showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Benalla is pushing down on Joki's leg trying to pass to half guard. Joki is fighting to maintain full guard but Benalla has managed to sneak the leg through.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Benalla working Joki over with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benalla is controlling the pace.
Benalla with more of the same as he continues to hold on.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Benalla is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Benalla is nestled in close to Joki, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Benalla prevents Joki from improving his position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Benalla lands a nice short elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benalla passes the guard and advances to mount!
Joki is desperately trying to improve his position but Benalla has a good base and remains in mount.
Benalla takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Benalla raining down shots from the mount!

Benalla stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.
Benalla wants to clinch
letting Joki counter with a right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Joki plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Joki throws a hook to the side of Benalla's head but Benalla sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
A head kick misses from Joki.
Joki thows a left - swing and a miss!
Benalla is looking to clinch but Joki is avoiding it.
Joki throws a lazy right hand but Benalla sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Joki looks to land a right hand but Benalla moved out of range.
Joki is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Benalla gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Joki.
Joki looks to land a right hand but Benalla moved out of range.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Joki tries to land a body kick

and Benalla counters with a single leg into guard. Joki didn't expect that.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Benalla engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Eki Joki has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Alexandre Benalla is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Benalla advances position into side control!

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexandre Benalla comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Benalla winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Donald Grub scores the fight 27:30
Judge William Gold scores the fight 27:30
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexandre Benalla!