PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mauri Saarinen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Maxi Uzi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Uzi's choice of entrance music: Slipknot's Psychosocial . Mauri Saarinen could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Maxi Uzi's chin.

Saarinen
vs
Uzi

190 cm
29
219 lbs
14 - 7 - 1

177 cm
26
210 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Powerful takedowns
Solid Muay Thai
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Mauri Saarinen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Maxi Uzi!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Roosa Järviläinen and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Saarinen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Uzi moves away.
Saarinen lands a nice hook to Uzi's body. Uzi takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Uzi misses with a takedown attempt
and Saarinen counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Saarinen works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Saarinen moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Uzi tries for a takedown but Saarinen circles away easily
and Saarinen counters with a three punch combo that has Uzi backing up. Uzi nods at Saarinen to acknowledge the strikes.
Uzi showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Saarinen.
Uzi has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Uzi there as he acknowledges the shot.
Saarinen lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Saarinen cracks Uzi with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Saarinen throws a right hand that Uzi ducks under and follows up with a left that Uzi also avoids with ease.
The fighters circling - Saarinen throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Left hook, right uppercut from Saarinen.
Uzi's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Saarinen connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Uzi scrambles back to his feet.
Uzi walks into a straight right hand from Saarinen.
Uzi tries to move into range but Saarinen moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Uzi takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Saarinen rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Uzi moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Saarinen misses with a jab, cross combination.
A combination from Saarinen does no damage.
Uzi throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Saarinen's waist but Saarinen gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Uzi off to one side.
Mauri Saarinen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Maxi Uzi.
Saarinen throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Saarinen is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Uzi fails with a takedown attempt.
Saarinen swinging wildly here.
Mauri Saarinen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Uzi fails with the takedown
and Saarinen cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Uzi tries for a takedown but Saarinen circles away easily
and Saarinen counters with a left and a right that stings Uzi.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Saarinen fails to land with a series of punches.
Uzi takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Saarinen misses with a double jab

and Uzi counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Uzi thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Uzi prevents Saarinen from getting back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Uzi wants to control from the top but Saarinen keeps moving.
Uzi tries to free his leg and advance position but Saarinen is retaining full guard.
Uzi won't allow Saarinen to sweep him here.
Uzi trying to control but Saarinen is working from the bottom.
Saarinen wants to sweep but no luck.
Saarinen wants to stand up but Uzi is controlling him.
Uzi wants to control from the top but Saarinen keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Uzi sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Saarinen's guard.
Uzi is looking to advance position but Saarinen won't allow it.
Saarinen tries to kick Uzi off but Uzi keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Uzi is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Saarinen has managed to free his arm - good work.

Uzi is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Uzi is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Saarinen sees it coming and defends easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mauri Saarinen 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.

Saarinen misses with the combination.
Saarinen scores with a jab to the head.
Uzi blocks a jab.
Uzi shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Saarinen pinned against the cage. Saarinen gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Uzi dodges the punch combination from Saarinen.
Saarinen lands a nice shot that snaps Uzi's head back.
A jab lands there for Saarinen.
Saarinen is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saarinen displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Saarinen fails to land with a series of punches.
Saarinen stalks Uzi and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Uzi's face. Uzi staggers backwards, shaken.
Saarinen lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Saarinen is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Uzi will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Mauri Saarinen is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Saarinen throws a series of punches but Uzi avoids them all with ease.
Uzi dives in and grabs Saarinen's left leg, looking for a takedown. Saarinen pushes down on Uzi's head and hops out.
Mauri Saarinen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Maxi Uzi.
Saarinen throws a series of punches but Uzi avoids them all with ease.
Uzi shoots in but Saarinen avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Nice takedown defense from Saarinen. No joy for Uzi on that attempt.
Uzi looks for a takedown but Saarinen sprawls well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Uzi shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Saarinen counters with a straight right hand.
Uzi is breathing heavily.
Saarinen dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Saarinen throws a right hand that Uzi ducks under and follows up with a left that Uzi also avoids with ease.
Saarinen fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Saarinen closes the distance and lands a one-two.

Saarinen gets caught flat footed, as Uzi shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Uzi stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Saarinen swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Uzi stops Saarinen from standing up.

Saarinen escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Uzi gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Saarinen will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Uzi prevents Saarinen from getting back to his feet.
Uzi trying to control the position from guard on top but Saarinen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Uzi forces his way into half guard.
Saarinen gets full guard.

Saarinen is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.

Saarinen breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Saarinen fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saarinen rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Uzi moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A punch combination from Saarinen misses.
Uzi takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
A looping hook to the body misses from Saarinen. Uzi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Saarinen swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Sloppy strikes from Saarinen. Those never looked like landing.
Saarinen is working the combinations to good effect here.
Saarinen misses with a jab, cross combination.
Uzi shoots in looking for a takedown but Saarinen manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Uzi's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Saarinen misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Saarinen misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Uzi has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.

Saarinen gets caught napping as Uzi dives in and scores a takedown. Saarinen manages to retain guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mauri Saarinen dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

A looping hook to the body misses from Saarinen. Uzi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Saarinen lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Uzi circles away quickly and effectively.
Saarinen swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Uzi dodges the punch combination from Saarinen.
Saarinen leaves Uzi with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Saarinen misses with a jab, cross combination.
Uzi thows a body shot but no joy.
Saarinen throws a series of punches but Uzi moves out of range.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Saarinen misses with the combination.
Uzi shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Saarinen defends it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Saarinen throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Uzi fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Saarinen avoids it really well and circles away.
Mauri Saarinen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Maxi Uzi.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Saarinen enables Uzi to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Saarinen manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Uzi wants to pass the guard but Saarinen is keeping the position.
Saarinen tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saarinen is working hard here to advance position.
Uzi passes Saarinen's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Saarinen won't allow Uzi to pass to mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Saarinen wants to get back to his feet.

Uzi is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Saarinen doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Uzi.

Uzi looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Saarinen wants to get back to his feet.
Uzi is trying to control the action in half guard but Saarinen is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Maxi Uzi has got the better of the ground game so far.
Saarinen is looking for a sweep. Uzi is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Uzi is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Saarinen is just riding it out for now. Uzi eventually gives up the hold.
Maxi Uzi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Saarinen is trying to stand up here but Uzi is controlling him well.
Uzi prevents Saarinen from improving his position.
Saarinen won't allow Uzi to pass to mount.

Uzi seems to be working for a kimura but Saarinen defends the submission attempt.
Mauri Saarinen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Saarinen tries to roll over but Uzi keeps him under control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Maxi Uzi comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Saarinen has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 29:28
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mauri Saarinen!