PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Maximus Meridius (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Roland Box (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Meridius comes to the cage accompanied by Now We Are Free. 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.

Meridius
vs
Box

187 cm
29
207 lbs
23 - 10 - 1

193 cm
25
221 lbs
16 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Resistance

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 23 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Maximus Meridius!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Roland Box!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Meridius clinches up with Box and pushes him back against the cage.
Meridius lands with a short shot to the head.
Box is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
The referee calls for Box to work.
Box avoids the elbow strike from Meridius, against the cage.
Box letting Meridius take a breather here.
Box stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Box tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Meridius's elbow.
Meridius looking to stall.
Meridius has Box pressed against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Meridius's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Box misses with a punch on the inside.
Meridius taking a breather.
A right handed body shot lands from Box.
Meridius softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Box misses with the head strike.
Meridius lands a nice uppercut.
Box misses with an elbow strike.
Box blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Meridius.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Meridius lands a nice elbow.

Meridius is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Box can't fight it off and eventually Meridius manages to take the fight to the floor. Box looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Box working a defensive guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Meridius with a flurry of punches that miss.
Meridius throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Box works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Meridius accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Box keeping moving, preventing Meridius from controlling successfully.
Meridius sitting in guard here, content to control.
Box looking to control.
Meridius slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Nice defenses there by Meridius.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Box, as that shot connected.
A solid leg kick lands there for Box.
Box pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Meridius walks forward, straight into a front kick from Box.
No luck for Meridius with that takedown attempt.
Meridius throws a leg kick which misses Box's front leg but catches the back leg as Box tries to avoid it.
Box is looking to land body kicks.
Meridius uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Box.
A telegraphed right hand from Box misses the target.
Box throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Box.
Box loads up on a big right hand but Meridius slips the punch.
Meridius ducks under a wild hook from Box.
Meridius scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nice shot lands for Meridius.
Box keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Box throws a leg kick but Meridius sees it coming and moves out of range.

Box tries to keep at a distance but Meridius has taken the fight into the clinch.
Box misses with a body punch.
Meridius digs a right hand into Box's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Box's gas tank.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A left hand lands to the body for Meridius.
Box blocks a body shot from Meridius.
Box lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
The referee calls for Meridius to work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maximus Meridius dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Meridius turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

Meridius closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Box's guard.
Box has his hands on Meridius's head, controlling the position.
Meridius looking to sit in guard and control but Box gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Meridius tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Meridius throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Meridius looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Box has picked Meridius up and slammed him! Meridius can't keep hold of the triangle and Box manages to pass to side control!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Meridius is looking for a sweep.
Box trying to control the position but Meridius is working away.
Box working away.
Box sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Meridius is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Box has control of an arm but Meridius manages to advance to Box's back!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Box is trying to remain composed but Meridius is hammering down strikes to the side of his head.
Meridius looking to soften up his opponent with punches.
Box looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Box avoids the strikes from Meridius.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Meridius is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Box has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Meridius throwing sloppy strikes.
Meridius 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.
Box prevents Meridius from getting a body triangle.
Maximus Meridius overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Meridius struggling to land strikes to the head as Box covers up.
Meridius tries to get the hooks in deep but Box pushed the leg off.

Meridius working for a choke but Box is defending well.
The referee is taking a good look at Box as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Meridius!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Box has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Meridius.
You can see the frustration on Box's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Box covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.
Meridius is controlling the position but Box somehow manages to roll and ends up with half guard.
Meridius stalling away here and it's allowed Box to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Meridius wants to control from the top but Box keeps moving.
Box working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Meridius.
Box looking to hit a scissor sweep but Meridius is one step ahead there.
Meridius trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Box has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Box keeping moving, preventing Meridius from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maximus Meridius dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Meridius rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Box moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Box avoids the head kick by Meridius.
Box throws a solid leg kick but Meridius takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Box.
Meridius looks to land a right hand but Box moved out of range.
Meridius misses with a takedown attempt - Box sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Meridius moves out of range as Box strikes.
Meridius looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Box is fending him off so far but Meridius persists. Nope, Box circles away and we're back to standing.
Meridius lands a head kick. Box smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Meridius throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Box counters with a nice body kick.
Box takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

Meridius closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Box quickly recovers to half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Box wants to control but Meridius is keeping busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Box is pressing down on Meridius's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Box trying to keep a closed guard but Meridius is proving a slippery customer.
Box 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.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Meridius wants to pass the guard but Box is keeping the position.
Box looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Roland Box has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Box wants to control but Meridius passes easily into half guard.
Meridius lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Box trying to control but Meridius postures up.
Meridius is trying to control. Box wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Maximus Meridius is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Meridius missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Box is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Meridius's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Meridius's back!
The referee is taking a good look at Meridius as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Box!
Box throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Meridius breaks Box's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Meridius wants to pass the guard but Box is keeping the position.
Meridius with a flurry of punches that miss.
Box working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Meridius.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Meridius is on the wrong end of a couple of strikes there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Meridius throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Box works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Box trying to keep a closed guard but Meridius is proving a slippery customer.
Meridius slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Meridius tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Meridius fails to land a wild elbow strike.

And that's the end of the fight!
Maximus Meridius showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Meridius 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Maximus Meridius!
Our winner, Maximus Meridius, 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.