PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between aa aa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lauri Pasanen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

aa
vs
Pasanen

200 cm
23
200 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

185 cm
22
188 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, aa aa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lauri Pasanen!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Seu Braga and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pasanen looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Pasanen moves away from the strike by aa.
Pasanen misses with a looping left.
aa shoots in but Pasanen avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Pasanen scores with a jab.
Pasanen uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by aa.
Pasanen darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Pasanen is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by aa.
aa misses with a leg kick
and Pasanen cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Pasanen fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. aa sprawls well initially but Pasanen persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
aa is trying to stand.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
aa has hold of Pasanen's hands but Pasanen slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Pasanen seems to be looking for submissions.
aa is trying to stand.
Pasanen landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pasanen missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
aa blocking the ground and pound attempt from Pasanen.
Pasanen wants to pass to mount but aa is defending the position.
aa pushes Pasanen off looking to stand but Pasanen dives back in and keeps control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pasanen throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Pasanen is taking a breather. aa says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
aa blocking the ground and pound attempt from Pasanen.
aa on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Pasanen moves into full mount! aa won't be happy about that!
Pasanen connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pasanen tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
aa is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
aa is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
aa holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Pasanen tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Pasanen unloads with some shots from mount but aa bucks and avoids them well.
Pasanen in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

Pasanen is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But aa has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from aa!
Pasanen bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in aa's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pasanen trying to control the position from guard on top but aa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Pasanen passes aa's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Pasanen throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Pasanen wants to pass to mount but aa is defending the position.
Pasanen is looking to take a break and control but aa is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

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.
aa tries to kick Pasanen off but Pasanen keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Pasanen stalling away here and it's allowed aa to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Pasanen trying to control but aa is working from the bottom.
Pasanen prevents aa from getting back to his feet.
Pasanen cracks aa with a solid left hand.
Pasanen forces his way into half guard.
Pasanen has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Pasanen working aa over with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Good leg kick by Pasanen there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
aa scores with a crisp jab that stopped Pasanen in his tracks.
Pasanen connects with a body shot.

aa gets caught flat footed, as Pasanen shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Pasanen is looking to work some ground and pound but aa has wrist control.
Pasanen working some strikes from top position.
Pasanen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. aa is keeping the position for now.
Pasanen controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
aa knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Pasanen on the ground.
Pasanen advances to half guard.
Pasanen stops aa from getting back to his feet.
Pasanen sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. aa defending well though.
Pasanen not doing much here.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

aa actively working from the bottom here.
Pasanen has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Pasanen with a couple of short strikes.

Pasanen is working for a guillotine from mount but aa frees his head quite easily.
Pasanen lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pasanen trying to control but aa is having none of it.
Pasanen with the ground and pound from mount.
Pasanen scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish aa?
Pasanen looking to control and managing it successfully.
Pasanen lands a nice shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pasanen looking to finish aa with some ground and pound. This is bad for aa!
Pasanen looking to finish with strikes here!
Pasanen working the ground and pound effectively.

Pasanen is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. aa can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Pasanen can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as aa is looking to escape.
A nice elbow there by Pasanen.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Pasanen there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
aa is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Pasanen with good strikes from the mount here!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Pasanen cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Pasanen cracks aa with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Pasanen goes for an armbar but he's not got it… aa turns into him and now he's in Pasanen's guard.
Pasanen wants to sweep but no luck.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lauri Pasanen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

aa chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Pasanen can pounce on him.
Pasanen cracks the inside of aa's front leg.
Pasanen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but aa moves away.
Pasanen has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from aa finds it's way round the side to connect with Pasanen's head.

It looks like Lauri Pasanen has been cut.
A lazy left from Pasanen finds it's target.
Good leg kick by Pasanen there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Pasanen changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Pasanen connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
aa pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Pasanen throws a shot to the body.
Lauri Pasanen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pasanen with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Pasanen misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Pasanen scores with the left hand. aa knows he should have avoided that one.
Pasanen scores with a hook to the body. aa takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Pasanen tests aa's chin there with a solid looking shot.
aa has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
aa is looking to clinch but Pasanen is avoiding it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
aa throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Pasanen takes a swing at aa's ribcage but misses.

Pasanen feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Pasanen trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Pasanen passes into half guard.
Pasanen slips a nice elbow through aa's hands, connecting with aa's forehead.
Pasanen seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Pasanen sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. aa defending well though.
Pasanen is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for aa!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pasanen controlling from the full mount.
Pasanen with the ground and pound from mount.
Pasanen is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Lauri Pasanen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pasanen sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Let's hope that Pasanen has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Pasanen lands with some strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pasanen with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Pasanen postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. aa looks a forlorn figure.
Pasanen controlling from mount.

Pasanen is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but aa is surviving well by controlling Pasanen's body position as best he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pasanen looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Pasanen with shots to the head and body - aa looks very uncomfortable down there.
aa tries to hold on but Pasanen pushes him away.
Pasanen tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lauri Pasanen comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Pasanen has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lauri Pasanen!