PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Chev Chelios (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Meguru Takayanagi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Chelios
vs
Takayanagi

193 cm
19
300 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

180 cm
18
295 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Chev Chelios!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Meguru Takayanagi!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Roosa Järviläinen and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Chelios drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Takayanagi tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Takayanagi sneaks back into half guard.
Takayanagi trying to control but Chelios postures up.
Chelios content to control rather than advance.
Chelios prevents Takayanagi from improving his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Takayanagi trying to hold on to Chelios's head to control him but Chelios postures up.
Chelios is looking to take a break and control but Takayanagi is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Chev Chelios.

Chelios gets the takedown into side control.
Chelios is looking to take a break and control but Takayanagi is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Takayanagi manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Chelios is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Chelios is defending against the submission attempts here by Takayanagi.

Chelios kicks Takayanagi off and gets back to his feet.
Takayanagi fails with the takedown
and Chelios counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Takayanagi looks gassed!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Chelios looking to score a takedown here. Takayanagi is defending well but Chelios drives through and ends up in Takayanagi's guard.
Chelios trying to control but Takayanagi is working from the bottom.
Chelios engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Chelios is looking to stand up but Takayanagi won't let him.
Chelios has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chelios pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Takayanagi is keeping the position for now.
Takayanagi tries to land a sweep but no joy.

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

Chelios looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Takayanagi!
We're hearing some news coming in from back stage. It's official - Takayanagi has eaten all the pies!

Chelios stands up from mount. Strange move.
Chelios swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Chelios closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Takayanagi quickly recovers to half guard.
Takayanagi is looking to improve his position.
Chelios tries to pass the half guard into mount. Takayanagi knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chelios controlling the action here.
Takayanagi is staying active underneath Chelios, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Chelios postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Takayanagi to stand up.
Takayanagi misses with a takedown attempt

and Chelios counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Chelios takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Chelios is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Takayanagi sees it coming and defends easily.
Chelios trying to mount his opponent but Takayanagi defends it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chev Chelios dominated that round.
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.

Chelios gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Chelios gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Chelios stalling.
Chev Chelios overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

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

Chelios is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Chelios thows a huge punch but Takayanagi dodges it nicely.
Chelios is looking to take a break and control but Takayanagi is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Takayanagi trying to control from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chelios passes into side control, despite Takayanagi's attempt to control the position.
Chelios will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Takayanagi is breathing heavily.
Takayanagi tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Takayanagi wants to control but Chelios postures up.
Chelios wants to control but Takayanagi is keeping him busy.
Takayanagi is trying to get back to half guard.
Chelios tries to advance to mount but can't.

That's two 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.
Takayanagi gets back to half guard.
Chelios thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Chelios tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Chelios slows the pace down in half guard.
Chelios'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.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Chev Chelios.

Chelios closes the distance and clinches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Chelios breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Takayanagi avoids a punch combination nicely.

Chelios drives through with a takedown into guard.
Takayanagi is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Takayanagi tries to stand and escape but Chelios is controlling the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Takayanagi missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Chelios is trying to control but can't.
Takayanagi thows a huge punch but Chelios dodges it nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Chelios makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

Chelios takes the fight into the clinch.

Chelios lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Takayanagi pushes Chelios off looking to stand but Chelios dives back in and keeps control.
Chelios content to control rather than advance.
Chelios is pressing down on Takayanagi's thigh, looking to free his foot. Takayanagi is holding on for now.
Chelios trying to control from half guard but Takayanagi is working away.
Chelios is taking a breather. Takayanagi 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chev Chelios dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Takayanagi misses with a takedown

and Chelios counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Chelios.
Takayanagi keeping moving, preventing Chelios from controlling successfully.
Takayanagi trying to keep a closed guard but Chelios is proving a slippery customer.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Chelios in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Takayanagi is trying to keep Chelios in close.
Chelios throws a big right hand that misses.
Chelios 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.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Chelios drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Takayanagi takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chelios is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Chelios throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Takayanagi wants to stand but Chelios is controlling the position.
Chelios wants to stand but Takayanagi is controlling his posture from full guard.
Chelios postures up in Takayanagi's guard and throws a big left but Takayanagi blocks it.
Chelios sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

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

Chelios dives in and scores a takedown into Takayanagi's guard.
Takayanagi keeping full guard, as Chelios tries to pass.
Chelios trying to control the position from guard on top but Takayanagi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Chelios controlling from the top position.
Takayanagi keeping full guard, as Chelios tries to pass.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Chev Chelios.

Chelios gets a takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chelios content to control rather than advance.
Chelios wants to free his trapped foot but Takayanagi is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Takayanagi has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Chelios is working away from the top position though.
Chelios is trying to control the action in half guard but Takayanagi is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Chelios with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

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.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Chev Chelios.
Chelios scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Chev Chelios is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Chelios misses with a jab, cross combination.
Chelios misses with a head kick.

Chelios pushes Takayanagi up against the cage in a clinch.
Takayanagi is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Chelios gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

Chelios drags the fight down to the ground.
Chelios has his hands on Takayanagi's head, controlling the position.
Meguru Takayanagi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Chelios throws some shots to the body, keeping his opponent honest.

And that's the end of the fight!
Chev Chelios showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Chelios has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:26
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:26
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Chev Chelios!