PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Kim Sung il (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sami Salama (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sami Salama will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Sung il
vs
Salama

172 cm
23
158 lbs
6 - 0 - 0

180 cm
24
165 lbs
10 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Great low kicks
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

Vodka Rags

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Kim Sung il!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sami Salama!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Johanna Lukiainen and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Salama looks to land a body kick but Sung il moved away.
Sung il throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Salama's head.
Salama connects with an inside leg kick.
Salama tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
A head kick by Salama misses
and Sung il counters with a leg kick.
Sung il misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Salama scores with a leg kick.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Salama.
A punch lands to the side of Sung il 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Salama keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Sung il throws a lazy head kick
and Salama counters with a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sung il fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kim Sung il. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sung il scores with a kick to the body.
Salama scores with a leg kick.
A low kick from Sung il is predictable there
and Salama counters with a nice body kick.
Sung il looks to throw a body kick
and Salama counters with a big head kick but Sung il shrugs it off.
Salama lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Salama looks to throw a body kick

and Sung il counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Sung il wants to pass the guard but Salama is keeping the position.
Salama keeping moving, preventing Sung il from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salama wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sung il wants to control from the top but Salama keeps moving.

Sung il drops back, looking for a kneebar! Salama looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Salama looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Salama!
Salama is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Sung il's shoulder. That is not cool.
Sung il tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salama controls the position from side control.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Sung il tries to improve position but can't.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Sami Salama hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Salama tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Salama chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Sung il pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Salama throws a head kick that misses
and Sung il counters with a big head kick but Salama shrugs it off.
Sung il misses with a takedown attempt
and Salama counters with a low kick, right behind Sung il 's knee.
Sung il misses with a head kick.
Sung il scores with a head kick.
Sung il throws a sloppy head kick
and Salama counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Salama throws a nice inside leg kick.
Sung il avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Sami Salama will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Salama swings for the body but Sung il moves out of range.
Sung il shoots in for a takedown but Salama shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Salama throws a sloppy head kick
and Sung il counters with an outside leg kick.
Sung il is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
A head kick misses from Sung il.
Sung il throws a lazy body kick
and Salama counters with a nice low kick that buckles Sung il's knee momentarily.

Sung il is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Salama's half guard.
Sung il wants to free his trapped foot but Salama is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Salama trying to hold on to Sung il's head to control him but Sung il postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Sung il is looking for a kimura but Salama is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Sung il to get the leverage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salama scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Sung il manages to mount him!
Sung il postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Salama looks a forlorn figure.
Salama tries to hold on but Sung il pushes him away.
Salama is wriggling around trying to escape.

Sung il swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Salama is now in Sung il's guard. A big mistake from Sung il there, giving up the dominant position!
Salama is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salama wants to stand and escape but instead Sung il has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Sung il's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Salama keeping moving, preventing Sung il from controlling successfully.
Salama manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Salama takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sung il bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Sung il trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Sung il has gone for a leg lock! Salama slips out almost immediately though and dives into Sung il's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Sung il working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Salama has passed into half guard!
Sung il is trying to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salama seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Salama is controlling the pace.
Sung il is refusing to be controlled, as Salama sits in half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Kim Sung il will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Sung il steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Salama. That one must have hurt.
Salama pushes Sung il away with a front kick.
Salama turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
A low kick from Salama is predictable there
and Sung il counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Salama is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Salama throws a chopping leg kick but Sung il manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Sung il connects with an inside leg kick.
Sung il uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Salama.
Sami Salama seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Salama misses with a kick to the body
and Sung il counters with a big head kick but Salama shrugs it off.
Sami Salama seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Salama throws a low kick but it's checked well by Sung il.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick from Sung il lands but Salama takes it in his stride.
Salama lands a front kick.
Salama scores with a shot to the body.
Salama looks to throw a body kick

so Sung il counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Salama not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Salama can do anything to dispel that myth.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Salama holds on and takes a little breather.
Sung il passes into half guard.
Sung il trying to control the action but Salama is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sung il is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Kim Sung il overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Salama is in all sorts of trouble here.

Sung il goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Salama is on top in guard.
Salama trying to control but Sung il is working from the bottom.

Sung il has an active guard here but Salama has managed to pass into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salama moves into full mount! Sung il won't be happy about that!
Sung il keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Salama controlling his opponent.
Sung il tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Sung il is squirming around, avoiding Salama's attempts to control the action.
Salama controlling from mount.
Salama trying to control but he's not successful this time.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Kim Sung il.
I think Sung il 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 29:28
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kim Sung il!