PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Martti Syrja (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Martin Jacque (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Syrja
vs
Jacque

183 cm
22
177 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

178 cm
22
173 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Heavy handed

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Martti Syrja!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Martin Jacque!
The judges for this bout are Ian Loll, Alec Ball and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jacque attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Martin Jacque seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Jacque looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Syrja fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Jacque, pushing him back against the cage.

Syrja escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Syrja has Jacque up against the cage in a clinch.

Syrja breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Jacque closes the distance looking to clinch

and Syrja counters with a takedown into side control.
Syrja scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Jacque to see if he's OK.

Syrja wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Jacque, who protects the arm well.
Syrja tries to advance to mount but can't.

Syrja tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Syrja has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Syrja taking a breather here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jacque is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Syrja controlling the position.
Jacque throwing some weak shots from the bottom that do no damage.
A lull in the action here.

Syrja thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Jacque is not content to let Syrja control the position.

That's two 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.
Syrja taking a breather here.

Syrja thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Syrja working the head with strikes.
Jacque stops Syrja from passing to mount.
Jacque is trying to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Syrja controlling the position from side mount.
Jacque is not content to let Syrja control the position.
Jacque manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Syrja is thwarting Jacque's attempts to control the position.
Syrja is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Jacque tries to roll over but Syrja keeps him under control.
Syrja trying to pass the guard but Jacque defending well.
Syrja is controlling the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Syrja decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.

Syrja shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Syrja showed some decent athleticism there.
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. Syrja connects with a nice short shot to Jacque's temple.

Syrja decides to stand and escape the position.

Syrja shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Jacque's guard.
Syrja working some strikes from top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Martti Syrja 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.

Syrja clinches.

Syrja gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Syrja not doing much here.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Martti Syrja just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Jacque throws a left and a right that both miss

and Syrja counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Syrja wants to stand but Jacque has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Syrja trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Syrja is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Jacque is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Syrja cracks Jacque with a solid left hand.
Syrja has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Jacque working for a triangle but Syrja defends it easily.
Syrja cracks Jacque with a solid left hand.
Syrja postures up.

Jacque has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Syrja can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Syrja tries to free his leg and advance position but Jacque is retaining full guard.
Syrja landing with the ground and pound.
Jacque looking for a sweep. Not yet Jacque, not yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Syrja trying to stand up but can't free himself from Jacque's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Syrja accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Syrja drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Syrja is chipping away with strikes.
Jacque is letting Syrja control him for a moment.

Syrja decides to stand back up. Syrja steps back and let's Jacque get back to his feet.

Syrja darts in and clinches Jacque up against the cage.

Syrja successfully pulls guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Syrja is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jacque being controlled here, momentarily.
Syrja trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Syrja stands and steps away. Jacque gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Syrja throws a nice head kick!

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

Syrja stands up and waves to Jacque to follow him.
Jacque tries to clinch

and Syrja counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Syrja controlling from the top position.
Syrja's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Syrja stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Jacque swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Syrja wants to control from the top but Jacque keeps moving.
Jacque looking to hit a scissor sweep but Syrja is one step ahead there.
Syrja wants to control from the top but Jacque keeps moving.
Jacque can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Syrja controls the pace.
Syrja knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Jacque on the ground.
Syrja tries to free his leg and advance position but Jacque is retaining full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Jacque tries to clinch

and Syrja counters by clinching up.

Syrja breaks the clinch.
Jacque fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Syrja manages to avoid it.
Jacque gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Syrja counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Jacque's guard now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Martti Syrja dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Syrja shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Martti Syrja overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Syrja with shots to the head and body - Jacque looks very uncomfortable down there.
Syrja is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Jacque can do to turn this around?
Syrja manages to capitalize on a mistake by Jacque to take his back!
Syrja has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Jacque's body.
Jacque breaks Syrja's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Jacque tries to free his leg and advance position but Syrja is retaining full guard.
Syrja has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Syrja tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Jacque takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Syrja is looking to stand up but Jacque isn't so interested in that idea.
Jacque trying to control but Syrja is working from the bottom.

Syrja keeping busy on the bottom but Jacque has passed one foot through into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jacque prevents Syrja from improving his position.
Jacque wants to free his trapped foot but Syrja is holding on for dear life with his legs.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Syrja kicks Jacque off and gets back to his feet.
Jacque clinches but Syrja breaks the clinch

and Syrja counters with a single leg into guard. Jacque didn't expect that.
Syrja is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Syrja content to stall in guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Syrja stands and steps away. Jacque gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Syrja forces Jacque back against the cage and clinches.

Syrja escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Syrja drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for leaving it all in the cage!

Syrja decides to stand back up.
Jacque misses with a takedown

and Syrja counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Jacque's guard now.
Jacque looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Jacque is working an open guard so Syrja takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Syrja circles away from the clinch attempt
and Syrja counters with a head kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Syrja shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.

Syrja moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Jacque has worked his arm free - good work by Jacque!
Jacque is looking to reverse the position.

Syrja is in a dominant position here, looking for a kimura. Jacque looks calm but he's in trouble here. Syrja gets his leg over his opponent's head and yanks on the arm. Jacque is tapping like a morse code operator on the titanic! SOS! SOS! Syrja lets go of the hold and Jacque can pop his arm back in it's socket.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:39 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Martti Syrja!