PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dom Holch (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lee Tsakada (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Holch
vs
Tsakada

179 cm
27
199 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

192 cm
21
198 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Dom Holch!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Lee Tsakada!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Tarja Halkonen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tsakada jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Tsakada misses with a lunging right hand
enabling Holch to counter with a crisp jab.
Lee Tsakada seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Holch on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Tsakada fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Holch looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Tsakada swings widly with a right hand
enabling Holch to counter with a crisp jab.
Tsakada jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Holch throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Tsakada sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Holch takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Tsakada scores with a jab.
Tsakada tries to bum rush Holch with a series of wild strikes but Holch uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Tsakada throws a big shot that misses.
Holch displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Tsakada throws out the jab.
Holch misses with an attempted mid kick.
Tsakada throws an overhand right that lands on Holch's shoulder, as Holch tries to avoid the shot.
Holch walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
A jab from Holch misses.
Tsakada lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Tsakada uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Holch.
Tsakada is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Jab, jab by Tsakada - just one landing.
Tsakada avoids the body shot from Holch.
Tsakada scores with a jab. Holch acknowledges it with a nod of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsakada moves away from the strike by Holch.
Tsakada throws the left hand but Holch avoids the punch easily.
Nice defenses there by Tsakada.
Tsakada throws an overhand right that lands on Holch's shoulder, as Holch tries to avoid the shot.
Tsakada moves into range and connects with a jab.
Tsakada lands a jab.
Tsakada pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Holch thows a left - swing and a miss!
Tsakada lands a body shot.
Tsakada takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Holch scores with a kick to the midsection.
Nice jab there from Holch.
Tsakada looks to land a left hand but Holch moved out of range nicely.
Holch attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Holch throws a shot from downtown. Tsakada moves away and avoids it.
Holch takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Holch scores with a one two! Tsakada had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsakada misses with a lunging right hand
and Holch counters with a head kick. That will keep Tsakada thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Tsakada swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Tsakada is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Holch had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
Tsakada jabs Holch to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Holch uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Tsakada.
Holch swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Tsakada feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Holchs jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
A cross from Tsakada lands.
Tsakada tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Holch was well out of range. Poor timing from Tsakada.
Holch moves forwards but Tsakada connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Holch takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Tsakada lands a lovely overhand right.
Holch is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Tsakada slips under a jab from Holch.
Tsakada misses with a body shot.
Holch moves out of range of the strikes.
Holch throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A combination from Holch does no damage.
Holch walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Tsakada misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Holch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holch staying out of range there.
Tsakada throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Holch counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Tsakada throws an off balance right hand
and Holch counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Tsakada misses with a hook
enabling Holch to counter with a crisp jab.
Holch throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
The fighters circling - Tsakada throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Holch on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Holch drops his hands momentarily and Tsakada takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Tsakada takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Tsakada misses with a lunging right hand

so Holch counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Holch might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Tsakada is controlling Holch's posture.
Holch postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Holch won't allow Tsakada to sweep him here.
Holch is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Holch throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holch missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Tsakada pushes Holch off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Tsakada might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Holch jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Tsakada throws a big shot that misses.
Holch takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Tsakada scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
A cross from Tsakada lands.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Holch ducks under a wild hook from Tsakada.
Tsakada stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Holch steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Tsakada.
Tsakada throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Holch sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Tsakada keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Holch throws a lazy right hand but Tsakada sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Holch swings widly with a right hand
and Holch takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Tsakada looks to land a right hand but Holch moved out of range.
Holch throws a shot to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lee Tsakada dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Tsakada comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Holch misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Holch has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Tsakada throws a poor cross that misses
and Holch counters with a slapping leg kick.
Tsakada scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Holch doesn't seem bothered though.
Holch throws a lazy right hand but Tsakada sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Tsakada scores with a jab to the body.
A decent looking cross lands there for Tsakada.
Holch defending well as Tsakada loads up on a big left hand.
Tsakada cracks Holch with a good jab.
Tsakada lands with a straight right. Holch didn't see that one coming.
Holch looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Holch works the jab nicely.
Holch misses with a leg kick.
Tsakada throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Holch uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Tsakada has time to react.
Holch misses the shot to the body.
Tsakada works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Tsakada jabbing away but nothing is landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsakada throws a good cross that connects.
Holch takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Tsakada swings widly with a right hand

so Holch counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Tsakada is adopting a defensive guard.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Tsakada wants to get back to his feet but Holch is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Holch postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Holch trying to control but Tsakada is working from the bottom.
Holch has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Holch pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tsakada is keeping the position for now.
Tsakada is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Holch is controlling him.
Tsakada utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Holch tries to free his leg and advance position but Tsakada is retaining full guard.
Holch stopping the sweep attempt from Tsakada.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holch prevents Tsakada from getting back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tsakada tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Tsakada trying to keep a closed guard but Holch is proving a slippery customer.
Tsakada looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Tsakada changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Tsakada works Holch's body with a nice hook.
Tsakada dodges the punch combination from Holch.
Holch gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Tsakada lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Holch tries to move into range but Tsakada moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Nice defenses there by Holch.
Holch tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Tsakada scores with a crisp jab that stopped Holch in his tracks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsakada lands with an uppercut that bounces Holch off the cage and back into rage.
Holch has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Nice defenses there by Holch.
Holch moves out of range as Tsakada strikes.
Holch staying out of range there.
Holch moves out of range of the strikes.
Tsakada throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Holch counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Tsakada is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Holch takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Tsakada looks to score with a jab to the body but Holch is just out of range.
Tsakada lands with a straight right. Holch didn't see that one coming.
Holch throws a series of punches but Tsakada moves out of range.
Tsakada just misses with a punch to the body.
Holch throws a lazy uppercut
and Tsakada counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Tsakada misses with a hook
and Holch counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Holch misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Holch scores with a nice head shot.
Tsakada connects with a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tsakada's corner calls for a 1-2. Tsakada obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Tsakada swings widly with a right hand
and Holch makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Holch gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Holch throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Holch works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Tsakada misses with an uppercut
and Holch counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Tsakada keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Tsakada darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Tsakada throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Holch.
Tsakada throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Holch counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Tsakada lands with a good body shot.
Holch throws a lazy right hand but Tsakada sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Tsakada connects with a single shot there.
Tsakada avoids the head kick by Holch.
Holch moves out of range of the strikes.
A telegraphed right hand from Tsakada misses the target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lee Tsakada showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. 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.

Tsakada pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Holch throws a series of strikes that have Tsakada backpedaling.
Holch misses with an uppercut.
Tsakada fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Tsakada misses with a hook
letting Holch counter with a right hand.
Holch throws the left hand but Tsakada avoids the punch easily.
Tsakada looks to land a left hand but Holch moved out of range nicely.
Tsakada swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Tsakada jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Tsakada with a jab.
Holch looks to throw the jab but Tsakada is out of range.
Holch throws a head kick but Tsakada moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tsakada lunges at Holch with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Holch's hand.
The fighters circle momentarily. Tsakada darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Holch closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
A telegraphed right hand from Tsakada misses the target.
Tsakada lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Tsakada lands a nice looking body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsakada throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Holch sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Holch throws a shot from downtown. Tsakada moves away and avoids it.
Holch throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Tsakada lands with a shot to the body.
Holch has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Tsakada finds it's way round the side to connect with Holch's head.
Tsakada slips a jab from Holch.
Tsakada swings widly with a right hand
and Holch counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Tsakada swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Tsakada throws a lazy uppercut
and Holch counters with a stiff right hand.
Some wild striking there from Holch.
Holch throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Tsakada's corner calls for a 1-2. Tsakada obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Tsakada lands a nice hook to Holch's body. Holch takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Tsakada throws out a loose jab but Holch uses good head movement to avoid it.
Holch walks into a straight right hand from Tsakada.
Holch swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Tsakada counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Dom Holch has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsakada misses with a body shot
and Holch counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Holch misses with a series of wild punches.
Holch misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A swing and a miss from Tsakada.
Tsakada misses with a double jab.
Tsakada just misses with a punch to the body.
Holch misses with a jab, cross combination.
Tsakada misses with a lunging right hand
and Holch connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Nice defenses there by Holch.
Holch misses with a series of wild punches.
Holch misses with a double jab
and Tsakada counters with a nice body shot.
Holch looks to land a left hand but Tsakada moved out of range nicely.
Tsakada looks to land a right hand but Holch moved out of range.
Tsakada misses the jab.
Tsakada connects with a body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsakada scores with the left hand. Holch knows he should have avoided that one.
Tsakada tests Holch's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Holch throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Tsakada misses with a right hand
and Holch counters with a stiff right hand.
Tsakada connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Tsakada misses with a double jab.
Nice uppercut there from Tsakada.
The fighters circle momentarily. Tsakada darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Lee Tsakada is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Tsakada scores with a jab to the jaw.
Holch throws a left and a right that both miss
and Tsakada counters with a straight right hand.
Tsakada misses the jab.
Holch throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Holch lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Holch throws a hook but Tsakada avoids it easily.
Tsakada lands a head shot.
Tsakada has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Holch walks into a left hand.
Holch throws a hook to the side of Tsakada's head but Tsakada sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tsakada looks to land a right hand but Holch moved out of range.
A lazy left from Holch finds it's target.
Holch needs to keep his hands up - Tsakada had a free shot at his head there.
A jab from Tsakada misses.
Tsakada takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Tsakada throws a body punch but Holch moves out of range.
Tsakada lands a body shot.
Tsakada misses with an uppercut
and Holch counters with a left and a right that stings Tsakada.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tsakada misses with a left hand
and Holch counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Tsakada lands a jab to the head.
Holch rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Tsakada moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Holch throws a sloppy body shot
and Holch takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Dom Holch is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Tsakada lands with a nice combination. Holch backs away looking to recover.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Tsakada thuds a left hand into Holch's body.
Holch takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Tsakada moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Tsakada clobbers Holch with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lee Tsakada comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Tsakada winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lee Tsakada!