PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Aleksandar Yan (ranked 5800 p4p, 4678 weight class) and Joji Poppa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Yan
vs
Poppa

170 cm
25
180
0 - 1 - 0

179 cm
25
180
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Aleksandar Yan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Joji Poppa!
The judges for this bout are Winston Alpacca, Michael Johnstone and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Poppa throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Yan counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Poppa wants to get back to his feet but Yan passes into half guard.

Yan with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Poppa wants to get back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yan throwing shots but Poppa is blocking nicely.
Yan knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Poppa on the ground.
Yan winds up and cracks Poppa with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Poppa is trying to stand.
Yan is trying to control. Poppa wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yan not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Yan not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Nice strikes from Yan there.
Yan is looking to stall here but Poppa recovers full guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Yan's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Yan in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Yan controlling from the top position.
Yan prevents Poppa from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yan controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Yan throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Yan postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Yan throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Yan is in close to Poppa's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Yan wants to pass the guard but Poppa is keeping the position.
Yan has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Yan is working hard here to advance position.
Yan's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Poppa keeping full guard, as Yan tries to pass.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Poppa throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Yan looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Poppa is fending him off so far but Yan persists. Nope, Poppa circles away and we're back to standing.

Yan gets the takedown into side control.
Yan misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Yan lands an elbow.
Yan cracks Poppa with a big right hand but Poppa just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Poppa is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Yan has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Yan working the head with strikes.
Yan working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Yan creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Poppa sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Poppa avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Yan.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yan controls the position from side control.
Yan sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Poppa is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Yan prevents Poppa from escaping the position.
Yan in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Poppa managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Yan.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
You can see the frustration on Poppa's face as Yan controls the position.
Poppa takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Aleksandar Yan dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Poppa tries a head kick but it misses.
Yan waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Poppa.
Poppa throws a lazy head kick

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

Yan is trying to trip Poppa. He has hold of a leg but Poppa is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Yan persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Yan throws a strike but Poppa rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Poppa throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Yan works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Aleksandar Yan overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Poppa wants to control from the top but Yan keeps moving.
Poppa lands a couple of decent looking shots.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Poppa wants to control from the top but Yan keeps moving.
Yan tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Poppa trying to control the position from guard on top but Yan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Poppa won't allow Yan to sweep him here.
Yan bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Poppa's guard.

Poppa is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Yan is controlling him.
Yan engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

Poppa has his feet on Yan's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Poppa misses with a combination

and Yan counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Yan wants to free his trapped foot but Poppa is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yan lands with a punch from half guard.
Yan is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Poppa can do to turn this around?
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Yan connects with a nice short shot to Poppa's temple.
Yan slips a nice elbow through Poppa's hands, connecting with Poppa's forehead.
Poppa is breathing heavily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Yan looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Yan stalling away here and it's allowed Poppa to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Yan with a nice head shot there.

Poppa has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Yan has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
Yan takes a knee to the side of the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yan has Poppa pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Poppa manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Poppa stalling in the clinch but Yan improves position.
Yan changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Poppa fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Yan shoots in but Poppa avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aleksandar Yan. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Poppa gets caught flat footed, as Yan shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Poppa pushes Yan off and gets back to his feet.
Aleksandar Yan is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Yan misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Yan goes for a double leg but Poppa avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Poppa continues to drive forward.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yan with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Poppa to score with a decent uppercut.
Poppa buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

Yan scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Poppa is trying to get back to his feet.
Yan working the strikes but Poppa uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
Poppa is refusing to be controlled, as Yan sits in half guard.
Poppa is looking to escape.

Poppa kicks off Yan and gets to his feet.
Yan shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Poppa as he avoids it easily.
Poppa moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Joji Poppa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Yan shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Poppa misses with a combination

and Yan counters with a shoot takedown. Poppa fights it but they end up in guard.
Yan stops Poppa from standing up.
Yan with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Yan with a flurry of punches that miss.

Poppa has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Yan is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yan is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Yan looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aleksandar Yan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Poppa working hard to break the clinch.
Poppa has had enough of the clinch but Yan keeps him there for the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Poppa is trying to maintain a safe position but Yan gets an underhook and turns Poppa into the cage.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Poppa seems frustrated at his inability to get double underhooks.
Poppa takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Poppa looking to throw knees to the head but Yan is blocking nicely.
Yan looking for a takedown.
Yan drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Nice elbow from Poppa.
Poppa can't break the clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for Poppa.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Poppa escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A nice leg kick from Poppa, right into the meat of the thigh.
Yan will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Poppa wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.

Poppa rushes Yan and presses him up against the cage.
Yan goes for a takedown attempt but Poppa pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Poppa throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Poppa tries to clinch up but Yan circles away and keeps his distance.
Poppa throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Yan.
Poppa swings for the body but Yan moves out of range.
Poppa tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Yan paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Poppa lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Yan shoots in and bounces Poppa off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Yan scoring with some ground and pound.

Poppa scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Yan shoots for a double leg takedown but Poppa sprawls well. He's pushed Yan's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Poppa throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Yan takes a kick to the side of the head.

Yan shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Poppa manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Yan keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Poppa's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yan throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Yan lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Poppa being controlled here, momentarily.
Yan makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Yan scoring with some ground and pound.
Yan throws a big elbow that misses.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Yan is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Yan throws a big elbow that misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joji Poppa comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Poppa 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 Winston Alpacca scores the fight 28:29
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 28:29
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joji Poppa!