PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Naru Jarkko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marshall Mathers (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jarkko comes to the cage accompanied by Hawaii 78 & E ala E. Mathers has chosen Victory by Eminem as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Jarkko
vs
Mathers

180 cm
22
155 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

177 cm
21
163 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Naru Jarkko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Marshall Mathers!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Trevor Gratis and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A combination from Mathers does no damage.
Mathers buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Jarkko throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Jarkko misses with a body shot.
Mathers misses with a wild body shot.
Naru Jarkko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Jarkko throws a right and a left that Mathers avoids nicely.
Mathers looks to land a left hand but Jarkko moved out of range nicely.
Jarkko misses with a looping left.
Jarkko avoids a punch combination nicely.
A big left from Mathers misses.
Mathers with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Mathers defending well as Jarkko loads up on a big left hand.
Jarkko throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Mathers throws a jab when Jarkko was well out of range.
Mathers buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Mathers misses with a few strikes there.
Jarkko looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Mathers jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Jarkko tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Mathers was well out of range. Poor timing from Jarkko.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big right from Mathers misses.
Mathers changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Mathers waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Jarkko.
Mathers swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Jarkko steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Mathers.
Mathers displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Jarkko throws out the jab.
Mathers misses with a wild body shot.
Jarkko cracks a nice hook into Mathers's ribs.
Jarkko misses with an uppercut. Mathers saw that one coming.
Jarkko throws a right hand that Mathers ducks under and follows up with a left that Mathers also avoids with ease.
Mathers lands a jab to the nose.
Mathers digs a good body shot into Jarkko's ribs.
Jarkko fails with the takedown.
Mathers takes one to the chin there.
Marshall Mathers is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Mathers scores with a three punch combo!
Jarkko uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Mathers.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Jarkko misses with a head kick.
Jarkko connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Mathers's hands.
Jarkko misses the jab.
Mathers keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Jarkko checks a leg kick.
Mathers misses with a two punch combination.
Mathers slips a jab from Jarkko.
Mathers moves out of range of the strikes.
Jarkko dodges the punch combination from Mathers.
Jarkko throws a jab when Mathers was well out of range.
Jarkko throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Mathers sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Jarkko throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Mathers's waist but Mathers gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Jarkko off to one side.
Jarkko throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Mathers misses with the combination.
Jarkko checks the leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jarkko paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
A looping hook to the body misses from Jarkko. Mathers does a little dance to reset his feet.
Jarkko shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Mathers as he avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Naru Jarkko. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jarkko waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Mathers.
Jarkko misses the jab.
Mathers misses with a right hand
and Jarkko counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Mathers misses with a hook. Jarkko ducked under it nicely.
Mathers throws a looping overhand right but Jarkko ducks down to avoid it.
Mathers defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Jarkko.
Jarkko shoots for a double leg takedown but Mathers sprawls well. He's pushed Jarkko's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Mathers.
Mathers throws a shot from downtown. Jarkko moves away and avoids it.
Mathers misses the jab.
Mathers throws a jab when Jarkko was well out of range.
Jarkko is trying hard to land a takedown here. Mathers sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
A head kick misses from Mathers.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jarkko swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Jarkko has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Jarkko there as he acknowledges the shot.
Mathers misses with an uppercut.
Jarkko dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Mathers. That did some damage!
Jarkko swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Mathers moves out of range of the strikes.
Jarkko is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mathers will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Jarkko throws a solid leg kick but Mathers takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Jarkko.
Mathers lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Jarkko circles away quickly and effectively.

Jarkko shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Mathers's guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Jarkko slips nicely into half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mathers keeping control of the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Marshall Mathers will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Jarkko dodges the punch combination from Mathers.
Jarkko misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mathers.
Mathers looks to land a left hand but Jarkko moved out of range nicely.
Jarkko tries for a takedown but Mathers sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Mathers scores with a jab.
Marshall Mathers seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Mathers on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
The fighters circling - Jarkko throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Jarkko is defended easily by Mathers.
Jarkko fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mathers manages to avoid it.
Mathers leaves Jarkko 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 Naru Jarkko. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mathers looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mathers uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Jarkko.
Mathers misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Nice defenses there by Jarkko.

Jarkko shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Mathers trying to control here.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Mathers tries to get to full guard but Jarkko has control of the leg.
Jarkko stalling.
Jarkko is keen to just control but Mathers is a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jarkko is nestled in close to Mathers, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Jarkko passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Mathers!
A nice elbow there by Jarkko.
Mathers keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jarkko with the ground and pound from mount.
Mathers is wriggling around trying to escape.
Jarkko is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Jarkko raining down hammerfists from mount.
Jarkko with shots to the head and body - Mathers looks very uncomfortable down there.
Jarkko prevents Mathers from getting the reversal.
Jarkko trying to control but Mathers is having none of it.
Jarkko landing strikes from the mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mathers tries to hold on but Jarkko pushes him away.
Jarkko prevents Mathers from getting the reversal.
Jarkko 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.
Jarkko landing strikes from the mount.
Jarkko can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Mathers is looking to escape.
Mathers sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Jarkko is trying to control the action in half guard but Mathers is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Mathers is trying to get back to full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Jarkko is trying to control. Mathers wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Jarkko slows the pace down in half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Naru Jarkko dominated that second 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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Mathers throws a shot from downtown. Jarkko moves away and avoids it.
Mathers misses with a jab, cross combination.
Jarkko fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Mathers is out of range.
Mathers thows a left - swing and a miss!
Mathers attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Mathers doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Jarkko misses with a two punch combination.
Jarkko avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Jarkko misses with a low kick.
A swing and a miss from Jarkko.
A decent looking cross lands there for Mathers.
Jarkko throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Jarkko cracks Mathers with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Jarkko ducks right into an uppercut from Mathers.
Mathers on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mathers keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Mathers throws out a powerful jab.
Mathers misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Mathers throws a series of punches but Jarkko avoids them all with ease.
Mathers throws an overhand right that lands on Jarkko's shoulder, as Jarkko tries to avoid the shot.

Jarkko is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Mathers's half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Jarkko wants to control but Mathers is keeping him busy.
Jarkko sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Mathers defending well though.
Jarkko has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Naru Jarkko overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Jarkko trying to control but Mathers is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mathers wants to control but Jarkko is having none of it.
Jarkko looking to control but Mathers is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Mathers wants to control but Jarkko is having none of it.
Jarkko looking to ground and pound but Mathers is blocking nicely.
Jarkko has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Mathers's face.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mathers is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mathers in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Jarkko controlling from mount.
Mathers is trying to escape the mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Jarkko landing strikes, looking to finish!
Jarkko controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jarkko has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Mathers's face.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mathers tries to lock up and control but Jarkko gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Jarkko tries to control but Mathers wriggling away.
Jarkko postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Mathers looks a forlorn figure.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mathers is in all sorts of trouble here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Naru Jarkko showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Jarkko 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 Dillan Fox scores the fight 29:28
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 29:28
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Naru Jarkko!
An out of breath Naru Jarkko thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.