PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jeff Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aslak Lappalainen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Smith kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genuis that is what up, whats happenin. Aslak Lappalainen will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Smith
vs
Lappalainen

175 cm
22
156 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

175 cm
21
155 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jeff Smith!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Aslak Lappalainen!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Konstantin Menshow and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Smith is looking to clinch.
Smith stuffs the takedown.
Lappalainen throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Smith rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Lappalainen moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Smith lands a jab-cross combination.

Lappalainen shoots in and bounces Smith off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Lappalainen prevents Smith from getting back to his feet.
Smith manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Smith with shots to the head and body - Lappalainen looks very uncomfortable down there.
Lappalainen is squirming around, avoiding Smith's attempts to control the action.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lappalainen swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Smith thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Smith is trying to control here but Lappalainen has managed to regain half guard.
Still in half guard, Smith seems content to control.
Lappalainen moves into full guard.
Smith trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Smith wants to control from the top but Lappalainen keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Lappalainen is working an open guard so Smith takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

Lappalainen looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Smith wants to stand and escape but Lappalainen is having none of it.

Smith scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Lappalainen misses with a takedown attempt - Smith sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Smith will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Smith shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Lappalainen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Lappalainen had isolated an arm as going for an omaplata. Smith is defending the submission well but is in a very vulnerable position. Lappalainen Is leaning forward trying to finish the omaplata but decides to abandon it, and take Smith's back instead.
Lappalainen looks gassed!
Lappalainen doesn't have the hooks in and Smith manages to turn into his guard.
Lappalainen pulls Smith in to control the position.
Smith tries to stand but Lappalainen is controlling from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Lappalainen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Smith decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Lappalainen, up you get!
Jeff Smith seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Smith misses with a jab, cross combination.
Lappalainen is looking to clinch but Smith is avoiding it.
Smith throws a hook to the side of Lappalainen's head but Lappalainen sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Lappalainen showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Smith.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jeff Smith dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Lappalainen wants to clinch up but Smith keeps it at a distance.
Smith pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Jeff Smith is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Smith tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Lappalainen counters with a takedown into side control.
Smith struggling a bit here.
Smith is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Smith is working hard here to advance position.
Smith pushes Lappalainen away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Lappalainen gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith taking a bit of punishment here - Lappalainen scoring with strikes.
Smith gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Lappalainen prevents Smith from improving his position.
Smith tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Smith looks like he's trying to stand up.
Lappalainen wants to take a breather but Smith is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Lappalainen content to control rather than advance.
Smith tries to roll over but Lappalainen keeps him under control.
Smith pushes Lappalainen off but Lappalainen dives into side control.
You can see the frustration on Smith's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Lappalainen misses with a takedown attempt - Smith sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Smith throws a head kick but Lappalainen moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith tries for a takedown but Lappalainen circles away easily

and Lappalainen counters with a nice double leg into side control. Smith won't be happy with that.
Smith is not content to let Lappalainen control the position.
Smith gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Smith is trying to stand up here but Lappalainen is controlling him well.
Lappalainen thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith is staying active underneath Lappalainen, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Smith pushes Lappalainen off looking to stand but Lappalainen dives back in and keeps control.
Smith has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Lappalainen is working away from the top position though.

Smith kicks Lappalainen off and gets back to his feet.
Lappalainen scores with a push kick.
Smith scores with a sloppy right hand. Lappalainen should have avoided that one.
Smith swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Lappalainen counters with a shoot takedown. Smith fights it but they end up in guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Smith tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Lappalainen is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aslak Lappalainen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Lappalainen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Lappalainen tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Smith misses with a shot to the body
and Lappalainen counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Smith thinking.
Lappalainen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Smith.

Smith clinches with his opponent.
Lappalainen wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Smith has him pressed against the cage.
Smith tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Lappalainen just stands there and leans against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Lappalainen breaks from the clinch.
Lappalainen takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Smith throws a right and a left that Lappalainen avoids nicely.
Lappalainen looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Lappalainen is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Lappalainen throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

Smith scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Smith connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Lappalainen some visible discomfort.

Smith stands up.
Smith tries to clinch
and Lappalainen counters with a right hand to the body.
Smith tries for a takedown but Lappalainen circles away easily
and Lappalainen counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Smith thinking.
Lappalainen digs a good hook to Smith's body.
Smith wants to clinch up but Lappalainen keeps it at a distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith tries for a takedown but Lappalainen circles away easily

and Lappalainen counters with a single leg into guard. Smith didn't expect that.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jeff Smith. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lappalainen pushes down on Smith's leg and manages to get into half guard.

Smith looking for submissions off his back.
Smith pushes Lappalainen off looking to stand but Lappalainen dives back in and keeps control.
The fighters are battling for position here. Smith manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Smith looking for a sweep. Not yet Smith, not yet.
Smith wants to get back to his feet but Lappalainen is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Smith has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Lappalainen can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Smith pushes Lappalainen off and scrambles back to his feet.
Lappalainen avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Lappalainen misses with a body shot.
Smith closes the distance but Lappalainen moves to the side

and Lappalainen counters with a takedown into side control.
Smith is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Lappalainen's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith trying to control here.
Smith is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Lappalainen is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Smith pushes Lappalainen off looking to stand but Lappalainen dives back in and keeps control.
Lappalainen is pressing down on Smith's thigh, looking to free his foot. Smith is holding on for now.
Smith pushes Lappalainen off looking to stand but Lappalainen dives back in and keeps control.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Aslak Lappalainen.
I think Lappalainen has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight for Aslak Lappalainen!
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight for Aslak Lappalainen!
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight for Aslak Lappalainen!

Aslak Lappalainen wins by unanimous decision!