PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Matt Mylly (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mika Soutukorva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Mylly
vs
Soutukorva

173 cm
22
160 lbs
8 - 8 - 0

177 cm
26
160 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

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 8 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Matt Mylly!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Mika Soutukorva!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Anni Minnemäki and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mylly swings away with a body shot that misses
and Soutukorva counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Mylly misses with a left hand
and Soutukorva cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Mylly throws a lazy uppercut
and Soutukorva counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Soutukorva tries for a takedown but Mylly circles away easily
and Mylly counters with a nice uppercut.
Soutukorva uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Mylly.
Mylly misses with a hook

and Soutukorva counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Mylly on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Mylly tries to get out of the position.
Mylly wants to sweep but no luck.
Mylly is looking to sweep but instead, Soutukorva has passed into half guard.
Soutukorva prevents Mylly from improving his position.

Soutukorva is working for a submission of some sort.
Mylly keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Soutukorva misses with a head shot. Mylly uses the momentum to regain guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soutukorva is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Soutukorva is fighting to break Mylly's control of his arms but Mylly is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Mylly throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Soutukorva trying to control the position from guard on top but Mylly is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mylly pulls Soutukorva in to control the position.
Mylly tries to land a sweep but no joy.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Matt Mylly wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Soutukorva shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Mylly napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Mylly gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mylly gets full guard.
Mylly working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Soutukorva.

Mylly pushes Soutukorva off and scrambles back to his feet.
Mylly jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Mylly throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Soutukorva counters with a nice double leg into side control. Mylly won't be happy with that.
Mylly wants to get back to his feet but Soutukorva drags him back down.
Mylly gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Soutukorva scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Mylly trying to control here.
Mylly tries to get to full guard but Soutukorva has control of the leg.
Mylly gets full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mylly wants to get back to his feet but Soutukorva is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Mylly is trying to control the position but Soutukorva postures up.
Mylly has control of Soutukorva's left arm, preventing Soutukorva from doing any damage.
Soutukorva postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Soutukorva postures up in Mylly's guard and throws a big left but Mylly blocks it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Soutukorva throws and elbow that misses. Mylly uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Soutukorva's guard. Nice move by Mylly!

Soutukorva had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Mylly defends it easily.
Mylly in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Mylly looking to pass the guard.
Mylly content to stall in guard here.
Mylly postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mylly wants to stand but Soutukorva has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mika Soutukorva dominated that round.
That's time! Mylly's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Mylly ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Mylly lands with a shot to the body.

Mylly shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Mylly showed some decent athleticism there.
Mylly is controlling the pace.
Soutukorva looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mylly is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

We're going to have a standup here because Matt Mylly wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Mylly scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Soutukorva is looking to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mylly sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Mylly prevents Soutukorva from standing back up.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Mylly in particular looking to stall.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Matt Mylly.
Mylly fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mylly takes a swing at Soutukorva's ribcage but misses.
Matt Mylly seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Mylly scores with a punch to the head.
Soutukorva takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Soutukorva doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Mylly counters with a stiff right hand.
Mylly fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Mylly misses with a double jab

and Soutukorva counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Mylly pulls Soutukorva in to control the position.
Mylly's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Soutukorva trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Matt Mylly wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Soutukorva bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

Soutukorva shoots in and gets a takedown into Mylly's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Soutukorva throws a big right hand that misses.
Mylly scores with a short punch from the bottom.
Mylly seems keen to control Soutukorva's posture.
Soutukorva stops Mylly from standing up.
Mylly looking to hit a scissor sweep but Soutukorva is one step ahead there.
Soutukorva lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mylly seems keen to control Soutukorva's posture.
Mylly utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Mylly dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Mylly looks to score with a jab to the body but Soutukorva is just out of range.
Mylly throws a poor cross that misses

and Soutukorva counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Soutukorva loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Soutukorva stopping the sweep attempt from Mylly.
Soutukorva wants to control from the top but Mylly keeps moving.
Soutukorva working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Mylly is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Soutukorva chips away with some ground and pound.

Mylly wriggles free and stands up.
Mylly thuds his right hand into Soutukorva's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
The fighters circling - Mylly throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Mylly.
Mylly jabs Soutukorva to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Mylly swings for the body but Soutukorva moves out of range.
Mylly throws a right and a left that both miss.
Mylly scores with a punch to the head.
Mylly lands with a good body shot.
Mylly pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Mylly fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Soutukorva manages to avoid it.
Soutukorva shoots and misses
and Mylly counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Mylly wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Soutukorva takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Mylly throws a right hand that misses

and Soutukorva counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Soutukorva.
Mylly wants to stand but Soutukorva is controlling the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mylly is pulling down on Soutukorva's head to control his posture.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Soutukorva throws a big right hand that misses.
Mylly is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Soutukorva trying to control the position from guard on top but Mylly is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Mylly misses with a hook to the body

and Soutukorva counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Mylly is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Mylly pulls Soutukorva in close to prevent any damage.
Soutukorva lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Mika Soutukorva has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soutukorva stopping the sweep attempt from Mylly.
Mylly utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Soutukorva lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Soutukorva with a flurry of punches that miss.
Mylly throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Mylly not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Soutukorva trying to control but Mylly is working from the bottom.
Mylly preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Soutukorva trying to control the position from guard on top but Mylly is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mylly seems keen to control Soutukorva's posture.

Mika Soutukorva has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Mylly misses the shot to the body.
Mylly dips to his left and cracks Soutukorva with an uppercut!
Mylly misses with a left hand

and Soutukorva decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Mylly's guard.
Soutukorva has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Mylly avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Mylly looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Soutukorva trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Mylly looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Mylly tries to strike from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mika Soutukorva comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Soutukorva has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 28:29
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mika Soutukorva!