PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Kalle Laitela (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Grove (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kalle Laitela could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to James Grove's chin.

Laitela
vs
Grove

180 cm
23
180 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

182 cm
19
168 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ Red Belt
Basic striking
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Powerful

Fossington & Blythe: Gentlemen's Fight Attire

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Kalle Laitela!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, James Grove!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, John Roberts and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Laitela shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Grove's guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Laitela showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Laitela'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.

We're going to have a standup here because Kalle Laitela wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Grove misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Laitela shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Grove as he jumps to the side.
Laitela avoids the head kick by Grove.
Grove tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Laitela fails to land the takedown.
Grove fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Laitela is out of range.
Grove throws a head kick but Laitela moves out of range.
A head kick misses from Grove.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Laitela shoots in but Grove avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kalle Laitela. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Grove throws a sloppy head kick and Laitela moves out of range easily.
Laitela shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Grove throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Laitela.
Grove stuffs the takedown attempt from Laitela. Laitela gets slowly back to his feet.

Laitela drives through with a takedown into Grove's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Grove is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Laitela is controlling him.
Laitela not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Laitela seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Grove for as long as he can get away with.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kalle Laitela has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Laitela blocks the body kick.
James Grove is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Laitela looking to score a takedown here. Grove is defending well but Laitela drives through and ends up in Grove's guard.
Laitela looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Kalle Laitela wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Laitela closes this distance looking for a takedown but Grove circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grove throws a head kick but Laitela moves out of range.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Laitela.
Grove throws a sloppy head kick and Laitela moves out of range easily.
Grove tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Grove.

Laitela looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Laitela 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 fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Kalle Laitela wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Laitela fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Grove to the ground. Laitela is now in Grove's guard.
Laitela is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Grove wants to get back to his feet but Laitela is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Kalle Laitela wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Laitela scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kalle Laitela 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.

A head kick misses from Grove.
Laitela blocks the body kick.

Laitela drives through with a takedown into Grove's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Laitela slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Grove is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Laitela is controlling him.
Laitela 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 is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Kalle Laitela.
A head kick misses from Grove.

Laitela scores a takedown into full mount!
Laitela looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grove's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Laitela controlling from mount.
Grove tries to buck Laitela off but he can't manage it.
Grove is breathing heavily.
Laitela controlling from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grove trying desperately to get to his feet.
Laitela controlling from the full mount.
Laitela has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Kalle Laitela overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Kalle Laitela has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Grove throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Laitela shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laitela moves into full mount! Grove won't be happy about that!
Laitela takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Grove is trying to get back to his feet but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laitela looking to control and managing it successfully.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Kalle Laitela wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Laitela shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Grove's guard.
Laitela 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.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Kalle Laitela.
Laitela blocks a head kick by Grove.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kalle Laitela dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Grove tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A head kick misses from Grove.
Laitela looks for a takedown but Grove sprawls well.
Grove throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Grove keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Grove throws a body kick that misses.
Grove leaves Laitela with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kalle Laitela. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Grove throws a head kick that misses.
Grove pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Laitela gets a takedown into half guard.
Grove is trying to stand up here but Laitela is controlling him well.
Laitela content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kalle Laitela has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Laitela sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Grove lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Grove leaves Laitela with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Laitela takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Laitela avoids the head kick by Grove.
Grove takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Laitela gets a double leg takedown into Grove's guard.
Laitela controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
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!
Grove is looking to stand up but Laitela isn't so interested in that idea.
Laitela sitting in guard here, content to control.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Kalle Laitela just wasn't active enough.

Laitela changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Grove looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Laitela content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Laitela has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Grove!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laitela content just to control the position here.
Grove wants to get back to his feet.
Kalle Laitela is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Laitela controlling his opponent.
Grove is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laitela sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Kalle Laitela just wasn't active enough.

Laitela drives through with a takedown into Grove's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Laitela is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
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.
James Grove has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

And that's the end of the fight!
Kalle Laitela showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Laitela, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Lou da Vinci scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 30:27
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kalle Laitela!