PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Baki Hanma (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sam Psa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Hanma
vs
Psa

190 cm
22
218 lbs
10 - 4 - 0

193 cm
25
200 lbs
11 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Milwaukee's Best 159's - $69
Rebel Pride Clothing. Many Items on Sale for $5

Rebel Pride Clothing. Many Items on Sale for $5

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Baki Hanma!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sam Psa!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Anni Minnemäki and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Psa moves in looking to clinch but Hanma pushes him off.

Hanma shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Hanma sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Psa defending well though.
Hanma throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Psa taking some punishment here, with Hanma in his half guard.
Hanma 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.
Hanma not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hanma is keen to just control but Psa is a slippery customer.
Psa is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Psa trying to control but Hanma postures up.
Hanma throws a strike but Psa avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Hanma throws a big elbow that misses.
Hanma trying to control the position from guard on top but Psa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hanma trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Psa managing to control the position.
Hanma loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hanma looking to sit in guard and control but Psa gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Hanma tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Psa wants to stand but Hanma has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Hanma wants to stand up but Psa is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Psa tries to stand but Hanma is controlling from the bottom.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Psa moves to clinch but Hanma breaks away

and Hanma counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Hanma is thwarting Psa's attempts to control the position.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hanma drops an elbow to the side of Psa's head.
Hanma not doing much here.
Psa is staying active underneath Hanma, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Psa is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanma throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Psa to regain full guard.
Hanma postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Psa is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Psa can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Hanma controls the pace.
Psa not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Psa is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Hanma is controlling him.
Hanma is looking to work some ground and pound but Psa has wrist control.

Hanma is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Hanma slips nicely into half guard.
Hanma working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Psa trying to hold on to Hanma's head to control him but Hanma postures up.
Psa moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Psa looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hanma throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Psa works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Hanma slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Hanma postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Hanma scoring with punches to the head and body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Psa manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Hanma is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Baki Hanma dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Psa moves to clinch but Hanma breaks away

and Hanma counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Hanma wants to pass the guard but Psa is defending well.
Still in half guard, Hanma seems content to control.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Psa can do anything to dispel that myth.
Psa is controlling Hanma's position as best he can from this difficult position.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Baki Hanma just wasn't active enough.
Psa throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Psa tries to clinch but Hanma moves away

and Hanma counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Psa's guard now.
Hanma wanted to stand there but Psa had control of the position.
Psa keeping full guard, as Hanma tries to pass.
Hanma with a nice head shot there.
Psa pulls Hanma in close to prevent any damage.
Hanma would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Hanma is looking to work some ground and pound but Psa has wrist control.
Psa trying to keep a closed guard but Hanma is proving a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Psa pulls Hanma in close to prevent any damage.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Hanma is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Sam Psa was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Hanma shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Psa avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Hanma.
Hanma working over Psa with some ground and pound. Psa looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Hanma throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hanma slips a nice elbow through Psa's hands, connecting with Psa's forehead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanma trying to control the action but Psa is working from the bottom.
Psa is trying to control but can't.
Psa is refusing to be controlled, as Hanma sits in half guard.
Psa moves into full guard.
Psa wants to sweep but no luck.
Hanma trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Hanma pushes down on Psa's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Hanma scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Baki Hanma overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hanma lands with a punch from half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Hanma lands a nice short elbow.
Hanma throwing shots but Psa is blocking nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hanma not doing much here.
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!
Hanma is keen to just control but Psa is a slippery customer.
Hanma drops an elbow to the side of Psa's head.
Hanma is thwarting Psa's attempts to control the position.
Hanma is trying to control. Psa wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Psa taking some punishment here, with Hanma in his half guard.
Psa wants to get back to full guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hanma wants to free his trapped foot but Psa is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Psa tries to get to full guard but Hanma has control of the leg.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Baki Hanma dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Hanma closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Psa quickly recovers to half guard.
Psa tries to roll over but Hanma keeps him under control.
Psa is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Hanma wants to pass to mount but Psa is defending the position.
Psa keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Hanma trying to control the action but Psa is working from the bottom.
Hanma throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Hanma working over Psa with some ground and pound. Psa looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanma prevents Psa from improving his position.
Hanma is keen to just control but Psa is a slippery customer.
Psa moves into full guard.
Hanma trying to control but Psa is working from the bottom.
Hanma is pushing down on Psa's leg trying to pass to half guard. Psa is fighting to maintain full guard but Hanma has managed to sneak the leg through.
Hanma thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Psa's head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hanma content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Psa blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hanma.
Hanma thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Psa's head.
Psa wants to control but Hanma is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hanma is controlling the pace.
Hanma with the ground and pound but Psa uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Psa looking to control.
Hanma won't allow Psa to sweep him here.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Psa fails with an attempt to clinch.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Psa.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Hanma looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Hanma cracks Psa with a solid left hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanma trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Psa working a defensive guard here.
Hanma wants to control from the top but Psa keeps moving.
Hanma throws a big elbow that misses.
Psa has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Hanma throwing strikes but missing.
Hanma wants to pass the guard but Psa is keeping the position.
Sam Psa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hanma controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Baki Hanma just wasn't active enough.
Hanma thows a body shot but no joy.
Psa is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Psa misses with a shot to the body
enabling Hanma to counter with a crisp jab.
Hanma is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Psa can do to turn this around?
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Psa gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Hanma to score an easy takedown into full guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hanma advances position into side control!

And that's the end of the fight!
Baki Hanma showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Hanma has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 30:27
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Baki Hanma!
Baki Hanma managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, Milwaukee's Best 159's - $69, into his post fight interview.