PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Mara Salonen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricardo Ramirez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ricardo Ramirez acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Salonen
vs
Ramirez

171 cm
18
139 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

165 cm
18
140 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Heavy handed

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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Mara Salonen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ricardo Ramirez!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Arvi Lind and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ramirez misses with the combination.
Salonen fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Ramirez swings for the body but Salonen moves out of range.
Ramirez misses with a two punch combination.
Ramirez is looking to slow Salonen down with leg kicks.
Salonen swings for the body but Ramirez moves out of range.
Ramirez uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Salonen has time to react.
Salonen throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Ramirez lands a body shot.
Ramirez looks to throw the jab but Salonen is out of range.

Ramirez shoots in and bounces Salonen off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Salonen throws his legs up looking for a submission but Ramirez uses it to pass to side control.
You can see the frustration on Salonen's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salonen is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Ramirez has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Salonen is looking for a sweep.
Salonen sneaks back into half guard.
Salonen wants to improve his position but Ramirez is controlling well.

Salonen looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Salonen manages to get to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Salonen is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ramirez is aware though and is defending well.
Ramirez must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Salonen has an active guard here but Ramirez has managed to pass into half guard.
Ramirez seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Salonen moves into full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Salonen is looking for a triangle but Ramirez pushes his legs off easily.
Ramirez stopping the sweep attempt from Salonen.

Salonen is looking for a triangle here but Ramirez uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
Salonen tries to improve position but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ramirez wants to stand but Salonen is controlling his arm.
Salonen sneaks back into half guard.
Ramirez blocks the strikes from Salonen.
Salonen is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Ramirez's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Ramirez's back!

Salonen is working for a rear naked choke. Ramirez is not defending it well and Salonen has tightened it up quickly! This could be all over! Ramirez refuses to tap and goes to sleep, forcing the referee to intervene. A little trickle of blood came out of Ramirez's nose as his head slumped to the floor. That is naaaasty!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Mara Salonen!
Our winner, Mara Salonen, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.