PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Gunnar Nelson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pena Hirmu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Hirmu's choice of entrance music: AC/DC - War Machine. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Nelson
vs
Hirmu

193 cm
23
198 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

180 cm
29
195 lbs
15 - 13 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

{GTI} - HGH Nutrients
{GTI} - HGH Nutrients

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Gunnar Nelson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Pena Hirmu!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Anni Minnemäki and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hirmu will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Nelson fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Hirmu is out of range.
Nelson on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Hirmu misses with a series of wild punches.
Hirmu throws a right hand that Nelson ducks under and follows up with a left that Nelson also avoids with ease.
Hirmu throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nelson uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Hirmu.
Nelson explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Nelson slips a jab and a cross from Hirmu.
Hirmu looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Nelson lands a body shot.
Hirmu fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Nelson on the side of the head.
Hirmu throws a nice looking combination but Nelson bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Nelson.
Hirmu misses with the combination.

Nelson closes the distance and clinches.
Nelson unloads a knee to the mid-section. Hirmu lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Nelson makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Nelson tries to throw a body punch but Hirmu avoids it by throwing Nelson back against the cage.
Nelson lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Nelson stalls.
Nelson misses with a body punch.
Hirmu misses with a hook from the clinch.
Hirmu wants to break free but Nelson has control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nelson working aggressively here.
Nelson can't find room to land a body shot as Hirmu controls the action.
Nelson has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Hirmu avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Nelson swings wildly with an uppercut but Hirmu uses good head movement to avoid it.

Hirmu breaks from the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nelson lands a head kick. Hirmu smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Hirmu checks a low kick from Nelson.
Hirmu shoots and misses
and Nelson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Nelson misses with a jab to the body
and Hirmu counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Nelson gets caught flat footed, as Hirmu shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Hirmu wants to pass the guard but Nelson is keeping the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nelson looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Nelson is looking to stand up but Hirmu isn't so interested in that idea.
Nelson keeping full guard, as Hirmu tries to pass.
Nelson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Gunnar Nelson wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Nelson throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Nelson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Hirmu.
Hirmu looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Hirmu misses with a double jab
and Nelson counters with a head kick.
Nelson slips a jab and a cross from Hirmu.
Nelson punishes Hirmu's body with a nice straight punch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hirmu walks into a left hand.
Hirmu punishes Nelson's body with a nice straight punch.
Nelson throws a head kick but Hirmu moves out of range.
Nelson looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gunnar Nelson dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Hirmu throws a series of punches but Nelson moves out of range.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Hirmu checks a leg kick.
Nelson loads up on a big right hand but Hirmu slips the punch.
Good exchange - Hirmu coming out on top.
Hirmu checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Nelson goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Nice sprawl there from Nelson as Hirmu shoots in.
Hirmu lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Hirmu.
Hirmu keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Nelson connects with a leg kick. Hirmu looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Hirmu lands a right hook to the body.
Danga de danga de dang - Hirmu scores with a four punch combination!
Pena Hirmu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
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!
Hirmu misses with a looping right.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hirmu throws a series of punches but Nelson moves out of range.
A slow jab from Nelson misses its intended target.
Hirmu thows a body shot but no joy.
Nelson dodges the punch combination from Hirmu.
Nelson throws a chopping leg kick but Hirmu manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Hirmu misses with a hook.
Nelson wants to clinch.
Nelson chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Hirmu throws a series of punches but Nelson moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hirmu takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Good shot there by Nelson.
Nelson throws out a leg kick but Hirmu moves out of range and Nelson only half commits.
Hirmu takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Hirmu lands a head shot.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Nelson lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Hirmu has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Hirmu and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Nelson is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Nelson shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Hirmu is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Nelson.
Hirmu looks to score with a jab to the body but Nelson is just out of range.
Nelson slips a jab and a cross from Hirmu.
Hirmu fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Gunnar Nelson is winning the standup battle so far.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Hirmu checks a leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hirmu keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Hirmu looks to throw the jab but Nelson is out of range.
Nelson just misses with a punch to the body.
Pena Hirmu is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Hirmu throws a right hand that Nelson ducks under and follows up with a left that Nelson also avoids with ease.
Nelson lands a nice leg kick that just misses Hirmu's sensitive parts.
Hirmu lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Hirmu.
Hirmu slaps away a takedown attempt from Nelson, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Hirmu misses the body punch
and Nelson counters with a leg kick.
Nelson avoids the body shot from Hirmu.
Nelson uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Hirmu.
Nelson tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Hirmu was well out of range. Poor timing from Nelson.

Nelson has Hirmu up against the cage in a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Nelson fails to land.
Nelson struggles to land a body shot inside as Hirmu controls his hands.
Nelson lands a hook to the side of the head.

Hirmu breaks the clinch.
Nelson throws a leg kick which misses Hirmu's front leg but catches the back leg as Hirmu tries to avoid it.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hirmu stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Nelson scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Nelson throws a solid leg kick but Hirmu takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Nelson.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nelson cracks Hirmu with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Hirmu checks a low kick from Nelson.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Hirmu.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gunnar Nelson dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Nelson shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Hirmu but Hirmu pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Nelson needs to keep his hands up - Hirmu had a free shot at his head there.
Hirmu fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Nelson manages to avoid it.
Nelson tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Hirmu is able to avoid easily.
No joy there for Hirmu, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Hirmu throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Hirmu throws a combination that misses
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Nelson jabs Hirmu to the body, keeping him at a distance.
A bone on bone clash there as Hirmu blocks the leg kick.
Nelson scores with a nice right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nelson connects with a single shot there.
Nelson lands a nice leg kick that just misses Hirmu's sensitive parts.
Nelson is looking to slow Hirmu down with leg kicks.
Hirmu moves out of range as Nelson strikes.
A leg kick checked by Hirmu.
Nelson throws a leg kick but Hirmu sees it coming and moves out of range.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Nelson is defended easily by Hirmu.
Hirmu rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Nelson moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
An inside leg kick lands from Nelson.
Hirmu with a body punch. A glancing blow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nelson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Hirmu.
Nelson chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Nelson just misses with a punch to the body.
Hirmu's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Hirmu lands a head shot.
No joy there for Hirmu, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Hirmu with a hook.
Nelson connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nelson throws a head kick that misses.
Nelson chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Hirmu lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Nelson backs up against the cage.
Hirmu swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nelson is trying hard to land a takedown here. Hirmu sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gunnar Nelson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hirmu throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Hirmu takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hirmu swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hirmu shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Nelson pinned against the cage. Nelson gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Hirmu looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Pena Hirmu has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nelson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Hirmu.
Hirmu rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Nelson counters with a right hand to the body.
Nelson shoots for a takedown but Hirmu saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Nelson - that will leave a mark!
Nelson throws a head kick that half lands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nelson tries a head kick but it misses.
A combination from Hirmu does no damage.
Hirmu jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Hirmu looks to score with a jab to the body but Nelson is just out of range.
Nelson throws a hook to the side of Hirmu's head but Hirmu sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
A decent looking cross lands there for Nelson.
Nelson fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Hirmu has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Horrible takedown by Hirmu or perhaps it was just good defense by Nelson which made him look bad.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nelson clobbers Hirmu with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Hirmu is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Nelson.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gunnar Nelson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Nelson, 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 Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gunnar Nelson!
A victorious Gunnar Nelson thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.