PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jussi Jussila (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Liam Nate (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jussi Jussila has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Jussila
vs
Nate

176 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
25
147 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Inexperienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jussi Jussila!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Liam Nate!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Ben Zyskovitsi and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jussila closes this distance looking for a takedown but Nate circles away.

Nate shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Nate not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Jussila blocking the ground and pound attempt from Nate.
Nate trying to control the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Jussila trying to control here.
Nate throwing shots but Jussila is blocking nicely.
Nate content to control rather than advance.
Jussila is trying to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nate sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Jussila defending well though.
Jussila tries to get to full guard but Nate has control of the leg.
Nate passes to side control.
Jussila is breathing heavily.
A lull in the action here as Nate stalls from top position.
Nate working the strikes but Jussila uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Nate in particular looking to stall.
Nate throwing shots but Jussila is blocking nicely.
Nate uses his free foot to push down on Jussila's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Jussila.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nate has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Jussila's face.
Nate controlling the pace for now.
Nate sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Nate controlling the position easily from mount.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nate throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Nate looking to finish with strikes here!
Nate misses with a head shot.
Nate sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nate throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Jussila wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Nate.
Jussila avoids a series of strikes thrown by Nate.
Nate thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Nate thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Nate throwing strikes here but Jussila is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Nate sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Poor strikes thrown by Nate there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nate controlling from the full mount.
Nate misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

Nate looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Jussila wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Nate.
Nate tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nate lands a big shot there that rocks Jussila but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Liam Nate dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Nate closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Jussila's guard.
Nate controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Jussila keeping moving, preventing Nate from controlling successfully.
Nate trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Nate is pushing down on Jussila's leg trying to pass to half guard. Jussila is fighting to maintain full guard but Nate has managed to sneak the leg through.
Nate wants to pass the guard but Jussila is defending well.
Nate performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Nate is looking to advance position but Jussila won't allow it.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nate perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Nate tries to pass to full mount but Jussila defends it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nate trying to control the pace.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Liam Nate hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Jussila showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Nate.
Jussila shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Nate sprawls well. Nate wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Jussila gets slowly back to his feet.
Nate looks to land a combination but Jussila avoids it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nate fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Jussila avoids it really well and circles away.
No luck for Nate with that takedown attempt.
Jussila defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Nate.
Jussi Jussila has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Liam Nate.
Nate fails with the takedown.
Nate misses with a takedown attempt - Jussila sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jussila fails with the takedown.
Jussila shoots for a double leg takedown but Nate sprawls well. He's pushed Jussila's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Nate scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Nate controlling the position from side mount.
Nate tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Liam Nate has got the better of the ground game so far.
Jussila is trying to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nate postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Nate slows the pace down.
Nate tries to score with some ground and pound. Jussila controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Nate is staying tight to Jussila's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Let's hope that Nate has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nate tries to advance to mount but Jussila denies him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Liam Nate showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Nate lands a jab-cross combination.
Jussila dodges the punch combination from Nate.
Nate looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Jussila is fending him off so far but Nate persists. Nope, Jussila circles away and we're back to standing.
Nate tries to score a power double leg takedown but Jussila sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Nate somewhat.

Nate is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Jussila's half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Nate missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nate not doing much here.
Jussila is in trouble now - Nate has advanced to mount!
Jussila holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Nate tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nate thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Nate tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Nate has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Nate has hold of Jussila's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Jussila manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Nate content just to control the position here.
Nate throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nate controlling the pace for now.
Nate looking to finish with strikes here!
Nate controlling from the full mount.
Nate misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Nate there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Nate tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Nate thowing shots but they're missing.
Jussi Jussila has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nate content just to control the position here.
Jussila avoids a series of strikes thrown by Nate.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Jussila blocking the ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Liam Nate comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Nate has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 26:30
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 26:30
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Liam Nate!