PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Marek Brychczy (ranked 1697 p4p, 3102 weight class) and Ari Katajamaki (ranked 96 p4p, 172 weight class). Ari Katajamaki has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Brychczy
vs
Katajamaki

166 cm
21
135
5 - 2 - 0

162 cm
21
135
5 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Marek Brychczy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ari Katajamaki!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, Colin Fotheringham and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Katajamaki shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Brychczy as he avoids it easily.
Katajamaki slips a straight right by Brychczy.
Katajamaki changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Brychczy digs a good hook to Katajamaki's body.
Brychczy throws a poor cross that misses

and Katajamaki counters with a takedown into side control.
Brychczy is looking to reverse the position.
Katajamaki cracks Brychczy with a big elbow.
You can see the frustration on Brychczy's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Brychczy is looking to regain half guard here but Katajamaki keeps moving and retains side control.
Katajamaki in the domination position with Brychczy hanging on.
Katajamaki working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Brychczy is trying to control Katajamaki's posture but Katajamaki avoids it.
Brychczy is looking to reverse the position.
Katajamaki working the ground and pound from side control.
Brychczy tries to bench press Katajamaki off him but Katajamaki keeps the position.
Brychczy on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Katajamaki 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Katajamaki creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Brychczy takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Katajamaki working away.
Katajamaki lands a few punches from side control.
Brychczy is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Katajamaki off and has taken his back!
Brychczy controlling from the back.
Katajamaki trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Brychczy controls the position.
Katajamaki has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Brychczy is trying to stick to Katajamaki's back but Katajamaki is turning into Brychczy. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Brychczy's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Katajamaki.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Katajamaki accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Brychczy managing to control the position.
Katajamaki trying to control the position from guard on top but Brychczy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Katajamaki throws a big right hand that misses.
Brychczy avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Brychczy seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Brychczy wants to sweep here but Katajamaki controlling him for the moment.
Katajamaki missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Katajamaki throwing strikes but missing.
Katajamaki trying to control the position from guard on top but Brychczy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brychczy utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Katajamaki won't allow Brychczy to sweep him here.
Brychczy controlling Katajamaki's posture.
Katajamaki has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Brychczy wants to sweep here but Katajamaki controlling him for the moment.
Brychczy is pulling down on Katajamaki's head to control his posture.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Katajamaki will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Brychczy keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Marek Brychczy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ari Katajamaki.
Katajamaki slips a jab from Brychczy.

Katajamaki shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Brychczy napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Brychczy struggling a bit here.
Brychczy is looking to regain half guard here but Katajamaki keeps moving and retains side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Brychczy is trying to control Katajamaki's posture but Katajamaki avoids it.
Katajamaki is working Brychczy over with some ground and pound from side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Brychczy struggling a bit here.
Brychczy dodges the ground and pound from Katajamaki.
Brychczy is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Katajamaki is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Brychczy tries to hold on but Katajamaki postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
A nice elbow there by Katajamaki.
Brychczy wants to hold on but Katajamaki pushes him away.
Brychczy is desperately trying to improve his position but Katajamaki has a good base and remains in mount.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Katajamaki cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ari Katajamaki dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Katajamaki uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Brychczy.
Katajamaki shoots in for a double leg but Brychczy sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Brychczy throws a body shot but no joy.
Katajamaki shoots in looking for a takedown. Brychczy tries to sprawl out of it but Katajamaki keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Brychczy manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Brychczy lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Katajamaki at a distance.
Katajamaki fails to land the takedown.
Marek Brychczy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ari Katajamaki.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brychczy lands a body shot.
Brychczy pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Katajamaki fails in his attempt to clinch.
Katajamaki tries for a takedown but Brychczy circles away easily
and Brychczy counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brychczy looks to throw the jab but Katajamaki is out of range.
Brychczy moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Katajamaki fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Brychczy misses with a straight left.
Katajamaki fails with the takedown
and Brychczy counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Katajamaki walks into a left hand.
Marek Brychczy is winning the standup battle so far.
Brychczy fails with an attempt to clinch.
Brychczy bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Katajamaki's head.
Katajamaki shoots and misses
and Brychczy counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Brychczy throws a jab when Katajamaki was well out of range.
Brychczy displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Katajamaki.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Katajamaki.
Brychczy jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nice straight punches there by Brychczy. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Brychczy.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Katajamaki on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Brychczy misses the shot to the body.
Nice sprawl there from Brychczy as Katajamaki shoots in.
The fighters circling - Brychczy throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Katajamaki tries for a takedown but Brychczy sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Brychczy throwing a counter right hand but Katajamaki manages to avoid it.
Katajamaki gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
enabling Brychczy to counter with a crisp jab.
Katajamaki fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Katajamaki moves out of range as Brychczy strikes.
And Katajamaki tries to counter it with a takedown but Brychczy pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Brychczy looks to throw the jab but Katajamaki is out of range.
Katajamaki takes one on the button.
Brychczy throws a hook to the side of Katajamaki's head but Katajamaki sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Brychczy misses the target.
Katajamaki tries to move into range but Brychczy moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Katajamaki doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Brychczy counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Brychczy lands a jab to the head.
Brychczy scores with the left hand. Katajamaki knows he should have avoided that one.
Katajamaki takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Brychczy is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Katajamaki can do to turn this around?
Brychczy throws a lazy right hand but Katajamaki sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Katajamaki looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Brychczy is fending him off so far but Katajamaki persists. Nope, Brychczy circles away and we're back to standing.
Nice takedown defense from Brychczy. No joy for Katajamaki on that attempt.
Brychczy misses with a hook.
Katajamaki defending well as Brychczy loads up on a big left hand.
Katajamaki dodges the punch combination from Brychczy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Katajamaki will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Brychczy cracks Katajamaki with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Katajamaki walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Brychczy throws the left hand but Katajamaki avoids the punch easily.
Brychczy stuffs the takedown.
Brychczy slaps away a takedown attempt from Katajamaki, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Katajamaki moves out of range as Brychczy strikes.
Brychczy cracks Katajamaki with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Brychczy lands the left hand.
Katajamaki moves out of range of the strikes.
Katajamaki drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Brychczy defends it well.
Katajamaki slips under a jab from Brychczy.
Brychczy looks to score with a jab to the body but Katajamaki is just out of range.
Brychczy is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Katajamaki.
Katajamaki bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Marek Brychczy dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Brychczy lands with a right hand.
Katajamaki shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Brychczy as he jumps to the side.
Brychczy is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Katajamaki with a poor takedown
enabling Brychczy to counter with a crisp jab.
Brychczy stuffs the takedown.
Marek Brychczy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ari Katajamaki.
A big left from Brychczy misses.
Katajamaki with the counter takedown but Brychczy avoids it easily.
Nice straight punches there by Brychczy. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Brychczy.
A big right from Brychczy misses.

Katajamaki feints and as Brychczy raises his hands in defense, Katajamaki changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Katajamaki stopping the sweep attempt from Brychczy.
Brychczy pulls Katajamaki in to control the position.
Katajamaki missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Brychczy pulls Katajamaki in close to his closed guard and prevents Katajamaki from doing any damage or advancing position.
Katajamaki chips away with some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Brychczy is adopting a defensive guard.
Brychczy keeping moving, preventing Katajamaki from controlling successfully.
Katajamaki is working Brychczy over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Brychczy is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Katajamaki distracts Brychczy with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Brychczy has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Katajamaki chips away with some ground and pound.
Katajamaki chips away with some ground and pound.
Katajamaki is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Brychczy tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Katajamaki is fighting to break Brychczy's control of his arms but Brychczy is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Katajamaki throwing strikes but missing.
Brychczy is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Brychczy keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Brychczy continues to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Katajamaki is trying to get back to full guard.
Brychczy is taking a breather. Katajamaki says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Katajamaki wants to control but Brychczy is keeping busy and won't allow it.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Katajamaki can do anything to dispel that myth.
Brychczy sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Brychczy has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Katajamaki punching from the bottom.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Brychczy stuns Katajamaki with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Katajamaki with a poor takedown
and Brychczy counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Katajamaki fails with a takedown attempt.
The fighters circling - Brychczy throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Katajamaki fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Brychczy avoids it really well and circles away.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Katajamaki walks into a left hand.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marek Brychczy showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Brychczy has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 29:27
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 29:27
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marek Brychczy!