PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Darren Burns (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Terppi Maekinen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Burns
vs
Maekinen

182 cm
25
155 lbs
5 - 8 - 0

170 cm
25
157 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Darren Burns!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Terppi Maekinen!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Steve Smith and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Maekinen scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Burns doesn't seem bothered though.
No joy there for Maekinen, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A big left from Maekinen misses.
Burns walks into a left hand.
Maekinen takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Maekinen scores with a nice head shot.
Burns moves out of range as Maekinen strikes.
Burns swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Maekinen.
Burns throws an overhand right that lands on Maekinen's shoulder, as Maekinen tries to avoid the shot.

Burns moves into range and clinches up with Maekinen.
Burns tries to pull guard but Maekinen won't allow it.
Burns tries to pull guard but Maekinen won't allow it.
Burns tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Maekinen just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darren Burns. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Burns pulls guard effortlessly.
Maekinen is looking to stand up but Burns won't let him.
Burns trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Burns trying to keep a closed guard but Maekinen is proving a slippery customer.
Maekinen passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Burns is looking for a sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Maekinen decides to stand back up. Maekinen steps back and let's Burns get back to his feet.
Burns scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Darren Burns seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Burns moves in looking to clinch but Maekinen pushes him off.
Maekinen shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Maekinen looks to land a combination but Burns avoids it well.
Burns throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Maekinen.
Terppi Maekinen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Maekinen comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Burns takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Burns.
Maekinen changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Burns throws a left and a right that both miss
and Maekinen counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Good standup being displayed there by Burns as he connects with a hook.
A left and a right from Burns both land. Nice combination.
Burns fails to land with a series of punches.
Burns scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Burns misses with a jab, cross combination.
Maekinen looks to score with a jab to the body but Burns is just out of range.
Maekinen slips a jab and a cross from Burns.
Burns falls off balance throwing a combination
and Maekinen counters with a left to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Maekinen moves away from the strike by Burns.
Burns ducks under a wild hook from Maekinen.
Burns lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Burns.
Maekinen lands with an overhand left.
Maekinen takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Burns works Maekinen's body with a nice hook.
Burns looks to land a left hand but Maekinen moved out of range nicely.
Maekinen takes a swing at Burns's ribcage but misses.
Maekinen takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Burns lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Burns.
Maekinen connects with a crisp jab.
Left hook, right uppercut from Burns.
Burns throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Burns takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Burns tries to work over Maekinen's front leg with a kick but Maekinen checks it.
Burns keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Maekinen.
Maekinen throws out a loose jab but Burns uses good head movement to avoid it.
Burns slips under a jab from Maekinen.
Maekinen fails to land with a series of punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burns misses with a double jab.
Burns falls off balance throwing a combination
and Maekinen counters with a left to the body.
Burns is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Burns bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Burns tries to clinch
and Maekinen cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Maekinen stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Burns.
Maekinen displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Burns.
Burns throws a half hearted mid kick.
Burns throws a right and a left that both miss.
Burns ducks right into an uppercut from Maekinen.
Burns falls off balance throwing a combination
and Maekinen counters with a left to the body.
Burns is breathing heavily.
A shot to the body from Burns misses
and Maekinen counters with a straight right hand.
Burns looks to throw the jab but Maekinen is out of range.
Maekinen scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Maekinen scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Maekinen looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Burns looks to score with a jab to the body but Maekinen is just out of range.
Burns tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maekinen slips a jab and a cross from Burns.
Burns staying out of range there.
Burns lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Maekinen thows a left - swing and a miss!
Burns is working the combinations to good effect here.
Maekinen throws a shot from downtown. Burns moves away and avoids it.
Burns uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Maekinen.
Maekinen lands a really nice looking cross but Burns seems unphased.
Burns swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Maekinen has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Burns.
Maekinen looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Maekinen lands with a nice body punch.
Burns misses with an uppercut.
Burns ducks under a wild hook from Maekinen.
Burns dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Maekinen misses with an uppercut. Burns saw that one coming.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nice shot by Burns.
Maekinen throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Maekinen misses with a series of wild punches.
Burns tries to clinch but Maekinen is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Darren Burns will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Burns throws a head kick that misses.
Burns lands with a shot to the body.
Burns takes one to the side of the head.
Burns avoids the body shot from Maekinen.
Burns with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Darren Burns is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Burns shoots in for a takedown but Maekinen shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Burns cracks a nice hook into Maekinen's ribs.
Maekinen lands with a nice body punch.
Darren Burns is winning the standup battle so far.
Nice shot lands for Burns.
A punch combination from Maekinen misses.
Maekinen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Burns was well out of range. Poor timing from Maekinen.
Burns fails with an attempt to clinch.
Maekinen fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Burns throws a combination that misses
and Maekinen counters with a left to the body.
Maekinen lands a jab to Burns's midsection.
Maekinen lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Burns backs up against the cage.
Burns tries for a takedown but Maekinen sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Burns throws a half hearted mid kick.
Maekinen swinging wildly here.
Burns throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Burns throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Burns lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Maekinen circles away quickly and effectively.
Burns doesn't manage to clinch there - Maekinen circles away.
Burns throws a hook but Maekinen blocks it.
Decent striking displayed by Maekinen there.
Burns wants to clinch
and Maekinen counters with a series of strikes. Burns will be more careful next time no doubt.
Burns pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Burns lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Maekinen at a distance.
Maekinen dodges the punch combination from Burns.
Some wild striking there from Burns.
Burns thows a body shot but no joy.
Burns shoots in for a double leg but Maekinen sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darren Burns. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Maekinen lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Burns avoids a punch combination nicely.
Maekinen takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Burns moves out of range of the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burns misses with a wild body shot.
Burns keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Burns fails to land with a series of punches.
Burns looks to score with a jab to the body but Maekinen is just out of range.
Maekinen takes a swing at Burns's ribcage but misses.
Maekinen cracks Burns with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Burns scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Burns throws a right hand that Maekinen ducks under and follows up with a left that Maekinen also avoids with ease.
Burns needs to keep his hands up - Maekinen had a free shot at his head there.
A swing and a miss from Maekinen.
Maekinen has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Maekinen there as he acknowledges the shot.
Burns will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Burns throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Maekinen works over Burns's head and body with a nice combination.
Burns looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Burns throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Maekinen.
Maekinen has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Maekinen there as he acknowledges the shot.
Maekinen misses with a straight left.
Burns jabs Maekinen right on the nose. Maekinen blinks but takes it well.
Burns stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Burns misses.
Maekinen scores with a jab.
Burns gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Maekinen.
Burns ducks right into an uppercut from Maekinen.
A big left from Burns misses.
Maekinen takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Maekinen listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Burns pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Burns avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Maekinen dodges the punch combination from Burns.
Burns dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Maekinen. That did some damage!
Burns closes the distance looking to clinch
letting Maekinen counter with a right hand.
Maekinen missing with a left hand there. Burns was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Maekinen misses with a wild combination.
Burns swings away with a body shot that misses
and Maekinen counters with a one-two to the body.
Maekinen throws a jab when Burns was well out of range.
Maekinen scores with a sloppy right hand. Burns should have avoided that one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maekinen throws a right and a left that both miss.
Maekinen fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Burns manages to avoid it.
Burns is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Maekinen moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Burns throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Burns throws a combination that misses
and Maekinen connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Burns works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Good exchange - Burns coming out on top.
Burns loads up on a big right hand but Maekinen slips the punch.
Burns is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Maekinen.
Burns connects with a looping right hand.
Burns fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Maekinen.
Maekinen just misses with a punch to the body.
Burns tries to clinch there but Maekinen circles away.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Maekinen looks to land a left hand but Burns moved out of range nicely.
Burns walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Maekinen checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Burns punishes Maekinen's body with a nice straight punch.
Maekinen stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Burns.
Burns shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Maekinen as he avoids it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Terppi Maekinen will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

A slow jab from Burns misses its intended target.
Burns lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Burns misses with a low kick as Maekinen jumps back.
Maekinen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Burns scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Maekinen doesn't seem bothered though.
Maekinen looks to throw the jab but Burns is out of range.
Maekinen throws a body punch but Burns moves out of range.
Burns with a body punch. A glancing blow.

Burns moves into the clinch.
Burns blocking some punches.
Maekinen slowing the pace effectively.
Burns tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Maekinen smiles and moves away.
Burns scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Burns throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Burns tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Maekinen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Maekinen connects with a crisp jab.
Burns throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Maekinen on the side of the head.
Maekinen misses the jab.
Burns uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Maekinen.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Good shot there by Maekinen.
Maekinen walks into a straight right hand from Burns.
Maekinen scores with a body shot.
Maekinen looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Maekinen circles away from the clinch attempt
and Maekinen counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Burns misses with an uppercut. Maekinen saw that one coming.
Maekinen on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Maekinen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Burns.
Maekinen digs a good hook to Burns's body.
Maekinen connects with a nice looking jab.
Burns smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Maekinen gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Maekinen slips under a jab.
Maekinen blocks a jab.
Burns closes the distance but Maekinen moves to the side
and Maekinen counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Maekinen bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maekinen misses with a hook. Burns ducked under it nicely.
Jab by Burns.
Maekinen checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Maekinen throws a combination. Burns tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Burns throws out a loose jab but Maekinen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Burns scores with a crisp jab that stopped Maekinen in his tracks.
Burns is looking to clinch but Maekinen is avoiding it.
Maekinen throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Burns misses with a straight left.
Burns shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Maekinen defends it nicely.
Burns fails with an attempt to clinch.
Burns looks to land a right hand but Maekinen moved out of range.
A slow jab from Burns misses its intended target.
Maekinen is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Burns.
Maekinen misses with a straight left.
Maekinen takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Burns just misses with a punch to the body.
Maekinen avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burns scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Burns throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Maekinen counters with a two punch combo.
Burns thows a body shot but no joy.
Burns tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Maekinen was well out of range. Poor timing from Burns.
Burns throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Burns jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Burns avoids a punch combination nicely.
Burns tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Maekinen was well out of range. Poor timing from Burns.
Burns cracks the inside of Maekinen's front leg.
Maekinen sizes up Burns with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Maekinen paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Burns swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Maekinen counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Burns fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darren Burns. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Maekinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Burns.
Maekinen throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Burns on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burns is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Maekinen.
Maekinen moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Maekinen takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Burns dives in and grabs Maekinen's left leg, looking for a takedown. Maekinen pushes down on Burns's head and hops out.
Burns tries for a takedown but Maekinen circles away easily
and Maekinen counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Maekinen circles away from the clinch attempt
and Maekinen connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Maekinen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Burns moves away.
Maekinen misses with a wild body shot.
A punch combination from Maekinen misses.
Maekinen thows a body shot but no joy.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Maekinen thuds his right hand into Burns's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Burns misses with a body kick.
Burns misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Burns throws a nice looking combination but Maekinen bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Burns closes the distance looking to clinch
and Maekinen counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

And that's the end of the fight!
Darren Burns showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Burns 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 Alec Ball scores the fight 30:28
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 30:28
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Darren Burns!