PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Blake Edwards (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mirko Emelianenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Edwards comes to the cage accompanied by Like a surgeon. Blake Edwards has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Edwards
vs
Emelianenko

192 cm
22
199 lbs
7 - 0 - 0

179 cm
26
185 lbs
10 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Dangerous knees
Good gas tank

O'Brannigan's Fightwear

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 7 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Blake Edwards!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Mirko Emelianenko!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Roosa Järviläinen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Left hook, right uppercut from Emelianenko.

It looks like Blake Edwards has been cut.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Edwards, right into the meat.
Emelianenko fails in his attempt to clinch.
Emelianenko tries to clinch up but Edwards circles away and keeps his distance.
Edwards takes a swing at Emelianenko's ribcage but misses.
Edwards waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Emelianenko.
Edwards connects with a body shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Emelianenko throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Emelianenko thuds his right hand into Edwards's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

Emelianenko clinches.
Emelianenko is trying to break the clinch but Edwards has him pressed against the cage.
Emelianenko lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Edwards blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Edwards misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Emelianenko.
Edwards is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Emelianenko lands a body punch.
Emelianenko tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Edwards.
Emelianenko taking a breather.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko lands a nice shot to the body.
Emelianenko looking to throw knees to the head but Edwards is blocking nicely.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Emelianenko lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Edwards.
A bit of stalling here from Edwards.
Emelianenko using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Edwards has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Edwards slows down the pace here.

Emelianenko is fighting off a takedown attempt but Edwards is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Emelianenko to the mat. Emelianenko regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Edwardsis looking to pass into half guard but Emelianenko pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Emelianenko is in guard.
Edwards looking for a sweep. Not yet Edwards, not yet.
Edwards seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Emelianenko is looking to stand up but Edwards won't let him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Edwards looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Edwards is working hard here to advance position.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Edwards is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko pulls Edwards in close to his closed guard and prevents Edwards from doing any damage or advancing position.
Edwards throws a strike but Emelianenko rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Edwards tries to land a sweep but no joy.

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.
Emelianenko stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Edwards swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Emelianenko is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Edwards wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mirko Emelianenko dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Blake Edwards's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Edwards looks to land a right hand but Emelianenko moved out of range.
Emelianenko looks to score with a jab to the body but Edwards is just out of range.
Emelianenko is looking to clinch but Edwards is avoiding it.
Emelianenko is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Emelianenko tries to clinch up.
Edwards lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Emelianenko at a distance.
Emelianenko misses with a jab, cross combination.
Emelianenko tries to close the distance and clinch but Edwards swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Mirko Emelianenko is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Edwards throws a leg kick but Emelianenko sees it coming and checks it nicely.
That kick from Edwards tenderised Emelianenko's leg. Emelianenko is trying to keep his angry face on.
Emelianenko lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Edwards backs up against the cage.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Emelianenko tries to clinch but Edwards moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Edwards takes a swing at Emelianenko's ribcage but misses.
Emelianenko throws a push kick but Edwards slaps the foot to one side.
Edwards connects with a crisp jab.
Emelianenko is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Edwards connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Emelianenko displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Edwards.
Emelianenko tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Edwards manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Edwards slips under a jab.
Edwards tries a head kick but it misses.
Emelianenko misses with a body punch
and Edwards counters with a left to the body.
A jab from Emelianenko misses.
Edwards is looking to wear down Emelianenko with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Edwards moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.

It looks like Mirko Emelianenko has been cut.
Emelianenko tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Edwards counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Mirko Emelianenko is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Edwards circles away from the clinch attempt
and Edwards cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Blake Edwards is winning the standup battle so far.
Emelianenko tries to clinch up
and Edwards counters with a lovely shot to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Emelianenko.
A shot to the liver by Emelianenko. Beautiful body shot.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Emelianenko misses the shot to the body.
Emelianenko wants to clinch but Edwards slips to the side

and Edwards counters with a shoot takedown. Emelianenko fights it but they end up in guard.
Edwards trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Edwards trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Edwards seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Edwards with a flurry of punches that miss.

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.
Emelianenko keeping moving, preventing Edwards from controlling successfully.
Edwards stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Emelianenko swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Edwards throws a big right hand that misses.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Edwards tries to free his leg and advance position but Emelianenko is retaining full guard.
Edwards missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Blake Edwards dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
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. This is the final round!

Emelianenko closes the distance but Edwards moves to the side

and Edwards counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Edwards wants to pass to mount but Emelianenko is defending the position.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Emelianenko can do anything to dispel that myth.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Edwards in particular looking to stall.
Emelianenko tries to roll over but Edwards keeps him under control.
Edwards thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Edwards trying to control the pace.
Edwards is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Emelianenko!
Edwards cracks Emelianenko with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Edwards trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Edwards controlling the position easily from mount.
Edwards lands with some strikes.

That has opened up Mirko Emelianenko's cut even more.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Edwards is landing with some decent strikes but Emelianenko is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Edwards misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Emelianenko is looking to get to half guard.
Emelianenko is squirming around, avoiding Edwards's attempts to control the action.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko tries to hold on but Edwards postures up.
Edwards misses with a head shot.
Edwards tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Emelianenko takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

The cut above Mirko Emelianenko's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Blake Edwards overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Edwards scores with a couple of good head shots there.

Emelianenko is rocked!

Mirko Emelianenko's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Mirko Emelianenko's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:26 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Blake Edwards!