PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Knut Paulsen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gear Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Paulsen might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Smashing The Opponent. Knut Paulsen could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Gear Smith's chin.

Paulsen
vs
Smith

162 cm
18
145 lbs
1 - 0 - 1

174 cm
18
143 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Prefers standup

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Knut Paulsen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Gear Smith!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Arvi Lind and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Smith misses with an uppercut.
Gear Smith seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Smith shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Paulsen defends it nicely.
Paulsen misses the shot to the body.
Paulsen avoids the body shot from Smith.
Paulsen misses with a wild body shot.
Smith tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Paulsen manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Paulsen lands a body shot.
Smith misses with a straight right.
Paulsen throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Smith misses with a body shot.
Paulsen bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith closes the distance but Paulsen moves to the side
and Paulsen counters with a nice body shot.
Smith ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Paulsen moves away.
Paulsen tries to land a leg kick but Smith saw it coming and moves away.
Smith checks the leg kick.
Smith shoots in for a takedown but Paulsen shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Smith is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Paulsen staying out of range there.
Paulsen ducks under a wild hook from Smith.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith tries to clinch but Paulsen moves out of range.
Smith misses with a two punch combination.
Paulsen ducks under a wild hook from Smith.
Paulsen looks for the body kick but Smith saw that one coming.
Paulsen scores with a nice head shot.
Smith throws a right hand that misses
and Paulsen counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Smith thinking.
Smith misses with a looping right.
Paulsen misses with a body punch
and Smith cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Paulsen is looking to wear down Smith with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Paulsen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Paulsen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Smith moves away.
Smith looks to land a left hand but Paulsen moved out of range nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith moves out of range of the body kick from Paulsen.
Smith has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Paulsen looks to throw the jab but Smith is out of range.
Paulsen throws a looping overhand right but Smith ducks down to avoid it.
Paulsen slips under a jab.
Paulsen lands a nice shot to the body.
Smith shoots in looking for a takedown but Paulsen manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Smith's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Knut Paulsen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gear Smith.

Smith closes the distance and clinches.
Smith tries to pull guard but Paulsen won't allow it.
Smith trying to control the position but instead, Paulsen has worked for underhooks and has pushed Smith into the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Paulsen pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Smith tries to pull guard but Paulsen won't allow it.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Paulsen dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Smith working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Paulsen lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Smith effectively controlling the action here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Smith drags the fight down to the ground.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Smith not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Knut Paulsen will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Smith misses with an uppercut
and Paulsen cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Paulsen misses with a wild combination.
Paulsen throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Smith counters with a straight right hand.
Knut Paulsen is winning the standup battle so far.
Smith takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Smith uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Paulsen has time to react.
Paulsen misses with a body kick.
A right-left combo lands from Paulsen.
Paulsen throws a right and a left that both miss.
Smith is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Paulsen.
Smith ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Paulsen moves away.
Paulsen looks to score with a jab to the body but Smith is just out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith tries to clinch but Paulsen moves out of range.
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch up but Paulsen swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Smith takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Paulsen fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Smith avoids a kick to the body.
Paulsen throws a solid leg kick but Smith takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Paulsen.
Paulsen keeps the fight on the outside.
Smith takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Smith misses with a double jab
and Smith takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Paulsen moves into range and connects with a jab.
Smith swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Paulsen.
Smith wants to clinch.
Paulsen doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Smith misses the shot to the body.
Smith works Paulsen's body with a nice hook.
Smith moves out of range of the body kick from Paulsen.

Paulsen gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Paulsen knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Smith on the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith preventing the sweep.
Smith throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Paulsen works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Smith trying to control the position from guard on top but Paulsen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Smith has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Smith slips nicely into half guard.
Paulsen on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Paulsen tries to get out of the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith wants to free his trapped foot but Paulsen is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Smith throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Smith is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Paulsen sees it coming and defends easily.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Smith wants to control but Paulsen is keeping him busy.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Smith tries to pass to full mount but Paulsen defends it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Smith 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Gear Smith will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Smith takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Paulsen takes a swing at Smith's ribcage but misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smith throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Paulsen counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Smith thinking.
Paulsen swinging wildly here.
Smith takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Paulsen moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Paulsen steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Smith.
Smith moves in looking to clinch but Paulsen pushes him off.
Smith avoids the body shot from Paulsen.
Paulsen uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Smith.
Smith looks to score with a jab to the body but Paulsen is just out of range.
A slow jab from Smith misses its intended target.
Paulsen jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Paulsen steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Smith.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith misses with a looping right.
Smith throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Smith takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Smith moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Paulsen thuds his right hand into Smith's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

Smith is rocked!
Paulsen stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Smith is still on wobbly legs! Can Paulsen finish him?
Knut Paulsen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Paulsen avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Smith takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Smith on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Paulsen circles away from the clinch attempt
and Paulsen counters with a straight right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith throws an ugly left hook that misses
enabling Paulsen to counter with a crisp jab.
A left lands for Paulsen.
Paulsen throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Smith wants to clinch up but Paulsen keeps it at a distance.
Smith checks a leg kick.
Paulsen fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Smith manages to avoid it.
Paulsen fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Paulsen swats away the attempt to clinch by Smith.
Smith throws a series of strikes that have Paulsen backpedaling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Paulsen throws a wild body kick that Smith sees coming a mile off.
Smith seems to have recovered his senses.
Paulsen cracks Smith with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch up but Paulsen swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Paulsen misses with a body shot.
Smith throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Smith throws a hook but Paulsen blocks it.
Paulsen tries a head kick but it misses.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A jab from Smith misses.
Paulsen misses with a series of wild punches.

And that's the end of the fight!
Knut Paulsen showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Paulsen 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Knut Paulsen!