PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between melvin lombard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Per Saukkonen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Per Saukkonen acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

lombard
vs
Saukkonen

175 cm
23
194 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

189 cm
22
190 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
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 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, melvin lombard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Per Saukkonen!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Anni Minnemäki and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Saukkonen avoids the head kick by lombard.
lombard throws a wild body kick that Saukkonen sees coming a mile off.
Saukkonen shoots in and drives through. lombard sprawls well.
lombard could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
lombard darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

Saukkonen scores a takedown into full mount!
Saukkonen fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
lombard on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if lombard tries to get out of the position.
lombard gets back to half guard.
Saukkonen working lombard over with strikes.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Saukkonen seems to be looking for submissions.
lombard might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Saukkonen wants to pass to mount but lombard is defending the position.
lombard is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
lombard is working hard here to advance position.
Saukkonen trying to pass the guard but lombard defending well.
Saukkonen not doing much here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
lombard is trying to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Saukkonen stops lombard from getting back to his feet.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
lombard stuffs the takedown attempt from Saukkonen. Saukkonen gets slowly back to his feet.
lombard looking to land some kicks to the body here.
lombard lands with a nice combination. Saukkonen backs away looking to recover.
Saukkonen avoids a punch combination nicely.
No joy there for lombard, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
lombard tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
lombard swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
A head kick misses from lombard.

Saukkonen closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

Saukkonen seems to be working for a kimura but lombard defends the submission attempt.
lombard tries to kick Saukkonen off but Saukkonen keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
lombard is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
lombard is staying active underneath Saukkonen, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Saukkonen moves nicely into side control.
lombard wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

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.

Saukkonen stands up.
Saukkonen throws a leg kick which misses lombard's front leg but catches the back leg as lombard tries to avoid it.
lombard stuffs the takedown attempt from Saukkonen. Saukkonen gets slowly back to his feet.
melvin lombard has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Per Saukkonen.
Saukkonen tries a head kick but it misses.
No luck for lombard with that takedown attempt.

lombard gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Saukkonen to score an easy takedown into full guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
lombard keeping moving, preventing Saukkonen from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Per Saukkonen dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

lombard stuffs the takedown attempt from Saukkonen. Saukkonen gets slowly back to his feet.
melvin lombard is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
lombard scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
lombard throws a head kick that misses
and Saukkonen counters with a stiff right hand.
Saukkonen swats away the attempt to clinch by lombard.
lombard misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
lombard throws a sloppy head kick and Saukkonen moves out of range easily.
Saukkonen shoots in and drives through. lombard sprawls well.
lombard swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Saukkonen counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for lombard!
Saukkonen putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
lombard is bucking up trying to escape but Saukkonen cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Saukkonen postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. lombard looks a forlorn figure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saukkonen lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Saukkonen landing strikes from the mount and lombard is in trouble!
Saukkonen controlling from mount.
Saukkonen tries to control but lombard wriggling away.
Saukkonen is landing with some decent strikes but lombard is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saukkonen content just to control the position here.

Saukkonen working for a guillotine from mount but lombard is in no mood to give up.

Saukkonen jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but lombard manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Saukkonen landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saukkonen is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt lombard will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Saukkonen 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.

Saukkonen is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but lombard is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
lombard is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Saukkonen asserts his dominance and retains side control.

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.
Saukkonen working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Saukkonen wants to control but lombard is keeping him busy.
lombard is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Saukkonen is controlling him well.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Saukkonen creates some space and throws a big elbow, but lombard sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Saukkonen controls the position from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Per Saukkonen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. And we move into the final round!

Saukkonen shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as lombard sprawls well. lombard wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Saukkonen gets slowly back to his feet.
lombard tries a head kick but it misses.
lombard lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Saukkonen shoots in looking for a takedown. lombard tries to sprawl out of it but Saukkonen keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. lombard manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Good shot there by lombard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

lombard shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

Saukkonen pushes lombard off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Saukkonen checks a low kick from lombard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
lombard ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
lombard throws a front kick aimed at Saukkonen's knee but Saukkonen avoids it well.
lombard swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Saukkonen counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

Saukkonen decides to return to a standing position.
Saukkonen shoots in looking for a takedown. lombard tries to sprawl out of it but Saukkonen keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. lombard manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
melvin lombard has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Per Saukkonen.
lombard throws a head kick but Saukkonen moves out of range.
lombard throws a lazy head kick

and Saukkonen decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in lombard's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
lombard keeping moving, preventing Saukkonen from controlling successfully.
lombard looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Saukkonen has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saukkonen 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.
Saukkonen trying to control but lombard is working from the bottom.
melvin lombard has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
lombard not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Saukkonen distracts lombard with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

lombard looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Saukkonen passes into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
lombard is not content to let Saukkonen control the position.

Saukkonen has worked his way into a potential kimura here. lombard is trying to get out of the position but his squirming has just got him deeper into trouble. Saukkonen yanks on the arm and lombard is forced to tap due to a very painful looking submission! Nice work by Saukkonen.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:43 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Per Saukkonen!