PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Damian Swan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Edvard Homstad (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Homstad has chosen Sea of Fate - Rhapsody of Fire as his entrance music. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Edvard Homstad was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Swan
vs
Homstad

190 cm
18
196 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

197 cm
20
190 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Damian Swan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Edvard Homstad!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Roosa Järviläinen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Homstad wants to clinch up but Swan keeps it at a distance.
Swan lands with a nice combination. Homstad backs away looking to recover.
Homstad takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Swan digs a good hook to Homstad's body.
Homstad tries to move into range but Swan moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Swan lands the left hand.
A head kick misses from Homstad.
Damian Swan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Swan lands a body shot.
Nice cross by Swan.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Swan wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Homstad moves out of range as Swan throws a body kick.
Swan throws a series of strikes that have Homstad backpedaling.
Swan tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Homstad counters with a big head kick but Swan shrugs it off.
Homstad tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Swan swivels and escapes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Homstad tries to clinch but Swan moves away
and Swan counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Homstad thinking.
Homstad is looking to clinch.
Homstad moves forwards but Swan connects with a nice, crisp jab.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Homstad keeps control of Swan as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Swan has Homstad pressed against the cage.

Swan breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Swan fails to land with a series of punches.
A punch combination from Swan misses.
Swan throws a right hand that Homstad ducks under and follows up with a left that Homstad also avoids with ease.
Swan jabbing away but nothing is landing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Homstad wants to clinch but Swan slips to the side
and Swan cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Swan keeps the fight on the outside.
A punch combination from Swan misses.
Swan circles away from the clinch attempt.
Swan jabs Homstad right on the nose. Homstad blinks but takes it well.
Nice shot lands for Swan.
Homstad takes one to the side of the head.
Homstad wants to clinch up but Swan keeps it at a distance.
Nice shot by Swan.
A big left from Swan misses.
Swan lands a jab-cross combination.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Swan throws a left and a right that both miss

and Homstad counters by moving into the clinch.
Swan tries to pull guard but Homstad won't allow it.
Swan is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Homstad gets control of Swan's arms and successfully pulls guard. Homstad will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Swan throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Swan loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Swan looking to pass the guard.
Homstad is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Swan is looking to work some ground and pound but Homstad has wrist control.

That's four 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.
Homstad looking to control.

Swan avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Swan blocks a head kick by Homstad.
A looping hook to the body misses from Swan. Homstad does a little dance to reset his feet.

Homstad clinches.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Swan is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Homstad gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Damian Swan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Swan jumps guard but Homstad stands there with Swan around his waist. Swan gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Swan wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damian Swan dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Swan fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Homstad manages to avoid it.
A right-left combo lands from Swan.
Swan throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Damian Swan is winning the standup battle so far.
Swan lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Swan slaps away a takedown attempt from Homstad, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Swan walks forward, straight into a front kick from Homstad.
Homstad will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Swan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Swan has managed to clinch.
A short body shot lands from Homstad as the two fighters clinch.

Homstad's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Swan ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
A jab lands there for Swan.

That's one minute gone in the round.
No joy there for Swan, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Swan misses with a looping left.
Homstad closes the distance looking to clinch
and Swan cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Swan connects with the punch.
Homstad takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Swan throws a good cross that connects.
A head kick misses from Homstad.
Good standup being displayed there by Swan as he connects with a hook.
Homstad tries to close the distance and clinch but Swan swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Homstad looks to clinch
and Swan counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Damian Swan is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Homstad shoots for a takedown but Swan saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Damian Swan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Edvard Homstad.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Swan throws a lazy head kick

and Homstad counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Homstad.
Homstad tries to break free but Swan pushes him back against the cage.
Homstad is trying to break the clinch but Swan is controlling him.
Swan is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Swan has had enough of the clinch but Homstad keeps him there for the moment.

Swan successfully pulls guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Homstad accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Homstad trying to control but Swan is working from the bottom.

Swan uses the cage to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Homstad looks to clinch
and Swan counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Homstad shoots for a double leg takedown but Swan sprawls well. He's pushed Homstad's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Homstad on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Homstad is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Swan throws a right hand that Homstad ducks under and follows up with a left that Homstad also avoids with ease.
Swan displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Swan lands a with a good body shot.
Homstad is breathing heavily.
Swan fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Swan stuffs the takedown.
Swan throws a series of punches but Homstad avoids them all with ease.
Swan misses with a series of wild punches.
Swan throws a combination. Homstad tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Swan tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Homstad counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Swan controlling Homstad's posture.
Swan wants to get back to his feet but Homstad is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Damian Swan dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Swan will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Swan throws a right hand that Homstad ducks under and follows up with a left that Homstad also avoids with ease.
Swan connects with a crisp jab.
Homstad has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Homstad lands a head kick!
Swan swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Swan connects with a nice looking jab.

Homstad moves into the clinch.
Swan drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Homstad tries to pull guard but Swan holds him up against the cage and eventually Homstad drops back down to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Swan drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Swan wants to break free but Homstad has control.
Swan working hard to break the clinch.
Homstad tries to pull guard but Swan holds him up against the cage and eventually Homstad drops back down to his feet.
Swan prevents a body shot from Homstad.

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.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Homstad is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Damian Swan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Edvard Homstad.

Homstad escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Swan lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Homstad shoots and misses
and Homstad takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Damian Swan is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Swan misses with a combination

and Homstad counters with a nice double leg into side control. Swan won't be happy with that.

Homstad tries for a kimura but Swan is defending well.
Homstad takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Swan manages to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Swan trying to control but Homstad postures up.
Damian Swan is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Homstad thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Swan's head.
Swan tries to get to full guard but Homstad has control of the leg.

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.
Swan is positioning himself well to prevent Homstad advancing to mount.
Swan wants to control but Homstad is keeping busy.

Swan has one foot on Homstad's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Edvard Homstad has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Swan swats away the attempt to clinch by Homstad.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Edvard Homstad.
I think Swan 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Damian Swan!