PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Crane Adams (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matti Kuusela (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Adams
vs
Kuusela

180 cm
21
190 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

187 cm
20
190 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good knees
Very strong

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Win Nutritional

Win Nutritional
Win Nutritional

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 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Crane Adams!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Matti Kuusela!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Leandro Rodrigues and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Adams throws a head kick that Kuusela semi-blocks.

It looks like Matti Kuusela has been cut.

Adams closes the distance and clinches.
Kuusela takes a knee right on the jaw!
Kuusela is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Adams gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Adams obliges.

Kuusela breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Kuusela tries to keep at a distance but Adams has taken the fight into the clinch.
Kuusela takes an elbow to the forehead.

Kuusela jumps guard and drags Adams to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Kuusela trying to strike off his back.
Adams wants to stand but Kuusela is controlling his posture from full guard.
Kuusela is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Adams slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuusela wants to sweep but no luck.
Adams wants to stand but Kuusela has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Adams trying to control but Kuusela is working from the bottom.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Adams tries to work over Kuusela's front leg with a kick but Kuusela checks it.
Kuusela fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

That's two 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.
Kuusela blocks a head kick by Adams.
Kuusela dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Kuusela misses with an uppercut.
Kuusela misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Adams.
Adams throws a right and a left that both miss.
Kuusela shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Adams pinned against the cage. Adams gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Crane Adams has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matti Kuusela.
Kuusela thows a body shot but no joy.

Kuusela shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Kuusela prevents Adams from getting the reversal.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Adams trying desperately to get to his feet.
Kuusela thowing shots but they're missing.
Kuusela unloading with bombs!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuusela lands a nice shot to the head.
Adams is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Kuusela landing punches.

It looks like Crane Adams has been cut.
Kuusela with good strikes from the mount here!
You get the feeling that Adams really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Kuusela throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Kuusela throws some wild stikes that Adams manages to avoid easily.
Adams wants to control but Kuusela is having none of it.
Adams is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Kuusela is in the full mount, landing strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kuusela working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Kuusela throws some wild stikes that Adams manages to avoid easily.
Kuusela looking to finish Adams with some ground and pound. This is bad for Adams!
Kuusela is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Kuusela punching from mount but Adams doing a good job of avoiding damage.

Kuusela is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Adams has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kuusela landing punches.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A nice elbow there by Kuusela.
Adams wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Kuusela.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matti Kuusela dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Adams closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Kuusela tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Adams smiles and moves away.
Kuusela shoots in for a takedown but Adams shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Adams doesn't manage to clinch there - Kuusela circles away.
Adams tries to clinch up but Kuusela circles away and keeps his distance.
Kuusela throws a right and a left that Adams avoids nicely.
Matti Kuusela seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kuusela throws a hook to the side of Adams's head but Adams sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

Adams rushes Kuusela and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Adams looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Kuusela tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Adams just stands there and leans against the cage.
Crane Adams has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matti Kuusela.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Adams.
Kuusela tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Adams smiles and moves away.
Adams swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Kuusela lands a jab to the nose.

Adams moves into the clinch successfully.
Kuusela drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Adams gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Kuusela is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Adams gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Adams lands a knee to the head.
Kuusela blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Adams lands an elbow inside that Kuusela shrugs off.
Adams scores with a knee to the head.
Kuusela is breathing heavily.
Adams comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

That has opened up Matti Kuusela's cut even more.
Adams lands an elbow that stopped Kuusela in his tracks for a moment.
Adams misses with a knee to the head.
Adams tries to land knees in the clinch but Kuusela avoids the damage to the body.
Kuusela fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Kuusela tries to pull guard but Adams holds him up against the cage and eventually Kuusela drops back down to his feet.
Adams creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Kuusela's defenses.
Kuusela wants to break free but Adams has control.
Adams throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Adams lands an elbow inside that Kuusela shrugs off.
Kuusela has Adams pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Adams manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Adams lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Kuusela fails to pull guard.
Adams trying to land knees to the body.
Kuusela tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Adams smiles and moves away.
Kuusela throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Adams's waist but Adams gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Kuusela off to one side.
Adams wants to clinch up but Kuusela keeps it at a distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Adams throws a push kick but Kuusela slaps the foot to one side.
Crane Adams is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kuusela misses with an uppercut.
Kuusela ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Adams moves away.

Adams moves into range and clinches up with Kuusela.
Kuusela tries to pull guard but Adams holds him up against the cage and eventually Kuusela drops back down to his feet.
Adams prevents Kuusela from breaking the clinch.
Adams lands a nice knee to the body.
Kuusela drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Adams gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Adams misses with a knee to the head.
Adams lands a knee to the head.
Adams misses with a knee strike.
Kuusela tries for a takedown but Adams manages to get underhooks.
Adams tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Adams lands a knee to the head.
Adams putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Kuusela in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Adams creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Kuusela's defenses.
Adams missing with knees to the body.

Kuusela lands a takedown into guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Adams avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuusela stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Adams swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Kuusela throwing strikes from guard but Adams blocks nicely.
Kuusela in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Adams avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Kuusela has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Kuusela pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Adams is keeping the position for now.
Kuusela throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Kuusela trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Adams closes the distance and pushes Kuusela back into the cage.
Adams tries a knee to the head but Kuusela blocks it.
Kuusela avoiding damage as Adams throws knees to the body.

Kuusela jumps into guard, dragging Adams to the mat.
Adams has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Kuusela bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Adams's guard.
Kuusela looking to pass the guard.
Adams wants to sweep but no luck.
Kuusela tries to free his leg and advance position but Adams is retaining full guard.
Kuusela postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Adams looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kuusela pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Adams is keeping the position for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Crane Adams dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
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. And we move into the final round!

Adams avoids a punch combination nicely.
Kuusela doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Kuusela tries a head kick but it misses.
Kuusela avoids the head kick by Adams.
Kuusela fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Adams manages to avoid it.
Kuusela blocks a leg kick.
Adams is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Kuusela misses with a wild body shot.
Adams blocks a jab.
Adams leaves Kuusela with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Adams throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

Adams closes the distance and pushes Kuusela back into the cage.
Kuusela takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Adams unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Knees in the clinch landing for Adams.
Adams lands an elbow that stopped Kuusela in his tracks for a moment.
Adams landing knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Adams is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Nice elbow from Adams.
Adams using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Adams landing knees to the body.
Adams lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

Kuusela drags the fight down to the ground.

Kuusela escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Adams gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Kuusela working a defensive guard here.

Kuusela looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Adams is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kuusela looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Kuusela looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Adams passes into half guard.
Kuusela is looking to improve his position.
Kuusela is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuusela is pressing down on Adams's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

Kuusela looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Adams passes into side control.
Kuusela is trying to improve his position.
Adams wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kuusela keeps working.

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.
Adams remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Kuusela is looking for a sweep.
Adams wants to stand but Kuusela is controlling his arm.
Kuusela manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!

And that's the end of the fight!
Crane Adams showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Adams 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 29:28
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 29:28
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Crane Adams!