PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Roger Pontare (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tuomas Murtomaki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Pontare
vs
Murtomaki

170 cm
28
145 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

170 cm
23
150 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Roger Pontare!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Tuomas Murtomaki!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pontare has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Pontare there as he acknowledges the shot.
Pontare tries to close the distance and clinch up but Murtomaki swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Murtomaki shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Pontare eats them both and turns towards Murtomaki to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Murtomaki misses with a series of wild punches.
Murtomaki throws a right hand that Pontare ducks under and follows up with a left that Pontare also avoids with ease.
Pontare moves in looking to clinch but Murtomaki pushes him off.
Pontare avoids a punch combination nicely.
Murtomaki lands a two punch combo.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Murtomaki will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Pontare avoids a punch combination nicely.
Murtomaki lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Pontare circles away quickly and effectively.
Pontare takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murtomaki misses with the combination.
Murtomaki throws a right and a left that both miss.
Some wild striking there from Murtomaki.
No joy there for Murtomaki, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Some wild striking there from Murtomaki.
Pontare wants to clinch.
Murtomaki lands with a nice combination. Pontare backs away looking to recover.
Murtomaki fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Murtomaki lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Pontare backs up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nice combo by Murtomaki! Oh, that's hurt him - Pontare falls to the canvas and Murtomaki follows him into side control.

Pontare is rocked!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Pontare is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Murtomaki has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Pontare trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.

Murtomaki decides to stand back up. Murtomaki steps back and let's Pontare get back to his feet.
Murtomaki throws a right hand that Pontare ducks under and follows up with a left that Pontare also avoids with ease.
Murtomaki fails to land with a series of punches.
Murtomaki throws a sloppy head kick and Pontare moves out of range easily.
Murtomaki throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Pontare counters with a nice double leg into side control. Murtomaki won't be happy with that.
Murtomaki dodges the ground and pound from Pontare.
Murtomaki gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Murtomaki is looking to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murtomaki tries to get to full guard but Pontare has control of the leg.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pontare thows a huge punch but Murtomaki dodges it nicely.
Pontare seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Murtomaki does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Murtomaki gets full guard.
Murtomaki avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Pontare trying to control but Murtomaki is working from the bottom.
Pontare is breathing heavily.
Pontare stops Murtomaki from standing up.
Pontare wants to control from the top but Murtomaki keeps moving.
Murtomaki wants to stand up but Pontare is controlling him.
Murtomaki manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Pontare manages to get himself to full guard.

Murtomaki decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Murtomaki is working the combinations to good effect here.
Murtomaki misses with a few strikes there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murtomaki throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Pontare.
Murtomaki keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Murtomaki tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
The fight stays on the outside here - Murtomaki looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Murtomaki throws a right and a left that Pontare avoids nicely.
Murtomaki throws a series of strikes that have Pontare backpedaling.
Tuomas Murtomaki seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
No joy there for Murtomaki, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A combination from Murtomaki does no damage.
Tuomas Murtomaki is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Murtomaki will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Pontare tries to clinch but Murtomaki moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tuomas Murtomaki dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Murtomaki looks to land a combination but Pontare avoids it well.
Murtomaki lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Pontare circles away quickly and effectively.
Murtomaki throws a right hand that Pontare ducks under and follows up with a left that Pontare also avoids with ease.

Murtomaki instigates a clinch.
Pontare tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
A head punch on the inside from Pontare fails to land.

Murtomaki's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Murtomaki misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Pontare rushes Murtomaki and presses him up against the cage.
Pontare fails to pull guard.
Pontare has a couple of punches blocked by Murtomaki.

The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Murtomaki breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Pontare tries to clinch up.
A left lands for Murtomaki.
Murtomaki digs a good hook to Pontare's body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pontare avoids a punch combination nicely.
Roger Pontare is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Murtomaki throws a head kick but Pontare moves out of range.
Nice jab there from Murtomaki.
Murtomaki will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Murtomaki lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Murtomaki throws a series of punches but Pontare avoids them all with ease.
Pontare dodges the punch combination from Murtomaki.
Murtomaki is breathing heavily.
A punch combination from Murtomaki misses.
Murtomaki misses with a combination

and Pontare counters by moving into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murtomaki blocking some punches.
Pontare jumps guard but Murtomaki stands there with Pontare around his waist. Pontare gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Roger Pontare. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pontare letting Murtomaki take a breather here.
Murtomaki is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Murtomaki is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Murtomaki blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Murtomaki breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Some wild striking there from Murtomaki.
Murtomaki scores with a sloppy right hand. Pontare should have avoided that one.
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!
Murtomaki lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Pontare backs up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murtomaki rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Pontare moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Murtomaki looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Pontare tries to close the distance and clinch but Murtomaki swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Murtomaki lands with a hook. Pontare tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Pontare wants to clinch up but Murtomaki keeps it at a distance.
Pontare is trying hard to land a takedown here. Murtomaki sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Murtomaki scores with a nice head shot.
Murtomaki throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Pontare.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Pontare is defended easily by Murtomaki.
Murtomaki misses with a wild combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murtomaki misses with a double jab.
Murtomaki scores with a punch to the head.
Murtomaki lands a jab-cross combination.
Murtomaki misses with a double jab.
Murtomaki misses with a two punch combination.
Murtomaki connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Murtomaki will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Murtomaki slaps away a takedown attempt from Pontare, before circling back to the center of the mat.
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!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Murtomaki misses with a few strikes there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tuomas Murtomaki 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. This is the final round!

No luck with that takedown attempt from Pontare.
No joy there for Murtomaki, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Tuomas Murtomaki seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Murtomaki lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
The crowd cheers as Murtomaki lands an impressive looking overhand right. Pontare doesn't seem phased though.
Murtomaki lands a nice looking body shot.
Murtomaki scores with the left hand. Pontare knows he should have avoided that one.
Murtomaki scores with a jab to the body.
Murtomaki swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Pontare counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Pontare ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Pontare no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Murtomaki wants to pass the guard but Pontare is keeping the position.

Pontare has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Murtomaki off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Murtomaki.
Murtomaki swinging wildly here.
Pontare shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Murtomaki defends it nicely.

Murtomaki has managed to clinch.

Murtomaki breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Sloppy strikes from Murtomaki. Those never looked like landing.
Murtomaki tries to close the distance and clinch but Pontare swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pontare tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Murtomaki paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Murtomaki throws a series of punches but Pontare moves out of range.
Murtomaki throws a combination that misses

and Pontare counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Murtomaki!
Pontare looking to control and managing it successfully.
Murtomaki has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Murtomaki tries to reverse the position but Pontare maintains control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Murtomaki slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Pontare is pressing down on Murtomaki's thigh, looking to free his foot. Murtomaki is holding on for now.

Murtomaki has one foot on Pontare's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Murtomaki tries to clinch there but Pontare circles away.
Murtomaki lands a right hook to the body.
Murtomaki tries to bum rush Pontare with a series of wild strikes but Pontare uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murtomaki scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Pontare shoots in for a takedown but Murtomaki shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Roger Pontare. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Pontare gets tackled into the cage by Murtomaki. Murtomaki maintains the clinch.

Murtomaki breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Murtomaki pushes Pontare away with a front kick.
Murtomaki throws a right and a left that Pontare avoids nicely.
Pontare fails with an attempt to clinch.
Murtomaki lands a two punch combo.
Murtomaki pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Pontare back to the cage. Murtomaki follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Murtomaki fails with an attempt to clinch.
Murtomaki lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Murtomaki throws a series of strikes that have Pontare backpedaling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A right-left combo lands from Murtomaki.
Pontare shoots for a double leg takedown but Murtomaki sprawls well. He's pushed Pontare's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Pontare blocks a head kick by Murtomaki.
Tuomas Murtomaki is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Murtomaki moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Murtomaki lands a two punch combo.
Murtomaki tries to clinch but Pontare moves out of range.
Murtomaki misses with a two punch combination.
Murtomaki throws a left and a right that both miss

and Pontare counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Pontare prevents Murtomaki from standing back up.
Pontare is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Murtomaki!
Roger Pontare has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Murtomaki is trying to get back to his feet but can't.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tuomas Murtomaki comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Murtomaki 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 Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tuomas Murtomaki!