PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Pope Benedict (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brand Pound (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Benedict
vs
Pound

170 cm
18
140 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

180 cm
18
130 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Good chin

Good wrestler
Counter striker
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Pope Benedict!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Brand Pound!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Roosa Järviläinen and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Benedict looks to throw the jab but Pound is out of range.
Benedict misses with a looping right.

Pound gets the takedown into side control.
Pound scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Benedict to see if he's OK.
Pound throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pound misses with the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Benedict wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

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.
Benedict knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Pound on the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benedict defending against the ground and pound.
Benedict wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Pound in side control, throwing shots but Benedict defends.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brand Pound dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Benedict misses with a straight left.
Pound uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Benedict.
Benedict cracks Pound with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Benedict looks to land a left hand but Pound moved out of range nicely.
Benedict loads up on a big right hand but Pound slips the punch.
Benedict throws the left hand but Pound avoids the punch easily.
Benedict throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
The fighters circling - Benedict throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Benedict is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Pound's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Pound looks for a takedown but Benedict sprawls well.
Benedict throws a hook but Pound blocks it.
Benedict is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Benedict looks to throw the jab but Pound is out of range.
The fighters circle momentarily. Benedict darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Benedict cracks Pound with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Pound uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Benedict.
Benedict misses with a hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pound avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Benedict misses with an uppercut. Pound saw that one coming.
Benedict defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Pound.
Brand Pound is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pound steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Benedict.
Pound is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Benedict fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Benedict looks to land a right hand but Pound moved out of range.
Benedict misses with a hook.
Pound ducks under a wild hook from Benedict.
A big right from Benedict misses.

Pound closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Benedict to the mat! Benedict manages to get full guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Pound stops Benedict from standing up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Pound accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Pound prevents Benedict from getting back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pound thows a big elbow that misses.
Pound with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Pound trying to control but Benedict is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pope Benedict dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Pound moves out of range as Benedict strikes.
Benedict jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Pound slips a jab from Benedict.
Pope Benedict seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pound defending well as Benedict loads up on a big left hand.
Benedict swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Pound blocks a jab.
Benedict throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Pound sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Benedict misses with a looping left.
Benedict connects with a good right hand that stumbles Pound. Pound circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Benedict throws a big shot that misses.
Benedict throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Pound staying out of range there.
Pound shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Benedict as he jumps to the side.
Benedict misses with an uppercut. Pound saw that one coming.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benedict misses with a hook.
Benedict throws a shot from downtown. Pound moves away and avoids it.
Benedict slaps away a takedown attempt from Pound, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Benedict throws a jab when Pound was well out of range.
Pound fails with a takedown attempt.
Pope Benedict has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Brand Pound.
Pound keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Benedict.
Benedict misses with a hook. Pound ducked under it nicely.
Benedict throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Benedict misses with a looping right.
Benedict jabbing away but nothing is landing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Benedict misses the jab.
Benedict missing with a left hand there. Pound was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Benedict jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A decent looking cross lands there for Benedict.
A jab from Benedict misses.
A big left from Benedict misses.

Pound changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Benedict looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Pound scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Benedict to see if he's OK.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benedict tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Benedict is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.

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 crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

And that's the end of the fight!
Pope Benedict showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Benedict 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 Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pope Benedict!