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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Sauli Niinisto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Robert Henry (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!
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| 190 cm
27
178 lbs
14 - 1 - 0 |
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180 cm
26
180 lbs
12 - 7 - 1 |
BJJ Purple Belt
Great elbows
Granite chin |
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Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
14 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sauli Niinisto!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
12 - 7 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Robert Henry!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Dmitry Maklakov and Aleksei Zolotukhin.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Henry throws a nice looking combination but Niinisto bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Niinisto slips under a jab.
Niinisto doesn't manage to clinch there - Henry circles away.
Henry moves into range and connects with a jab.
Niinisto clinches up against the cage.
Henry breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Henry throws a right hand that Niinisto ducks under and follows up with a left that Niinisto also avoids with ease.
Niinisto closes the distance and clinches.
Henry wants to break free but Niinisto has control.
Niinisto slowing the pace effectively.
Henry avoids the elbow strike from Niinisto, against the cage.
Niinisto tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Henry avoids it.
Niinisto misses with an elbow strike.
Niinisto unloads a knee to the mid-section.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Niinisto lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Henry avoids a wild elbow strike from Niinisto.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Henry working hard to break the clinch.
Niinisto prevents Henry from breaking the clinch.
Niinisto is stalling here.
Niinisto creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Henry's defenses.
Knees to the body from Niinisto.
Niinisto throws an elbow but it misses.
Niinisto throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Niinisto throws an elbow but it misses.
Niinisto lands an elbow inside.
Henry looking to stall.
Niinisto misses with an elbow over the top.
Henry breaks the clinch.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Niinisto lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Henry shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Niinisto blocking the ground and pound attempt from Henry.
Henry with the ground and pound but Niinisto uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Henry working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Niinisto holds on and takes a little breather.
Henry missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Niinisto preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Niinisto avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henry works over Niinisto with some ground and pound from guard.
Henry postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Henry throwing strikes from guard but Niinisto blocks nicely.
Niinisto looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Henry accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Henry pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Niinisto is keeping the position for now.
Henry postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henry missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Henry prevents Niinisto from getting back to his feet.
Henry is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Henry cracks Niinisto with a solid left hand.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Niinisto preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Niinisto looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Henry in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Henry throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Henry trying to control the position from guard on top but Niinisto is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Henry keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Niinisto's head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Niinisto utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Robert Henry dominated that round.
That's time! Niinisto's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.
Niinisto clinches up against the cage.
Henry is trying to force a seperation but Niinisto has the dominant position.
Henry wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Niinisto has him pressed against the cage.
Niinisto crunches a lovely knee into Henry's ribcage.
Niinisto pushes off an throws an elbow but Henry leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Niinisto pushes off an throws an elbow but Henry leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Niinisto throws an elbow but misses.
Niinisto lands a damaging elbow.
Niinisto looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Niinisto lands an elbow inside that Henry shrugs off.
Niinisto stalls.
Henry blocks the elbow strike.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Henry dodges an elbow strike from Niinisto.
Henry blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Niinisto lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Niinisto lands an elbow just above Henry 's eye.
Niinisto throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
A frustrated look appears on Henry's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Niinisto creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Henry's defenses.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Niinisto.
Henry avoids the elbow strike from Niinisto, against the cage.
Niinisto pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Niinisto misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Henry.
Niinisto pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Niinisto looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Henry wants to break free but Niinisto has control.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henry dodges an elbow strike from Niinisto.
Niinisto pressing his opponent against the cage.
Niinisto working Henry over with knees to the body.
Niinisto throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Niinisto misses with an elbow over the top.
Henry is trying to break free.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Niinisto throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Niinisto taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Niinisto is trying to maintain a safe position but Henry gets an underhook and turns Niinisto into the cage.
Niinisto throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Sauli Niinisto has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Henry on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Niinisto taking a breather.
Henry effectively controlling the action here.
Niinisto trying to land knees to the body.
Niinisto creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Henry's defenses.
Niinisto lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Henry is looking to break free of the clinch but Niinisto has double underhooks.
Niinisto lands a damaging elbow.
Niinisto leaning his opponent against the cage.
Henry is trying to break the clinch but Niinisto is controlling him.
Henry blocks the elbow strike.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Niinisto throws an elbow but it misses.
Niinisto stops a takedown attempt from Henry.
Niinisto misses with an elbow over the top.
Niinisto is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Henry is defending well for now.
Henry is trying to break free.
Henry tries to score a body lock takedown but Niinisto shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Niinisto connects with a nasty looking knee right to Henry's face.
Niinisto lands a knee to the head.
Niinisto throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Henry wants to get back to striking at distance but Niinisto won't allow it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Niinisto pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Niinisto lands an elbow inside that Henry shrugs off.
Niinisto using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Henry has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Sauli Niinisto dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.
Henry throws a right and a left that both miss.
Niinisto misses with a head kick.
Henry misses with a body shot.
Henry stalks Niinisto and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Niinisto's face. Niinisto staggers backwards, shaken.
Niinisto moves away from the strike by Henry.
Niinisto leaves Henry with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Henry shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Niinisto pinned against the cage. Niinisto gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Niinisto pushes Henry up against the cage in a clinch.
Niinisto lands an elbow that stopped Henry in his tracks for a moment.
With the fighters up against the cage, Niinisto throws an elbow but misses.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Henry blocks an elbow strike.
Niinisto throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Henry blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Niinisto.
Niinisto misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Henry.
Henry takes a knee to the side of the body.
Henry dodges an elbow strike from Niinisto.
Henry takes an elbow to the forehead.
Niinisto throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Niinisto landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Niinisto pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Come on Niinisto - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Niinisto gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Niinisto missing with knees to the body.
Niinisto throws an elbow but it's blocked.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Niinisto throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Niinisto throws an elbow that misses.
Niinisto lands an elbow just above Henry 's eye.
Niinisto utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Niinisto throws an elbow but it misses.
The referee calls for Niinisto to work.
Niinisto looks to throw an elbow but misses.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Niinisto tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Henry avoids it.
Henry blocks an elbow strike.
Henry takes an elbow to the temple.
Henry avoids the elbow strike from Niinisto, against the cage.
Niinisto prevents Henry from breaking the clinch.
A knee to the head by Niinisto.
Niinisto tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Henry avoids it.
Niinisto throws an elbow but it misses.
Niinisto misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Henry.
Niinisto displaying some good clinch control by pressing Henry up against the cage.
Henry looking for a takedown.
Sauli Niinisto has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Robert Henry.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Niinisto lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Henry avoiding damage as Niinisto throws knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Niinisto.
Henry avoiding damage as Niinisto throws knees to the body.
Niinisto putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Henry in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Henry managing to block the knees to the body from Niinisto.
Niinisto throws an elbow that misses.
Niinisto throws an elbow that misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Henry jumps guard but Niinisto turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Henry has had enough of the clinch but Niinisto keeps him there for the moment.
Henry blocks the elbow strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Sauli Niinisto clearly takes that 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.
Niinisto displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Henry throws out the jab.
Henry throws a shot from downtown. Niinisto moves away and avoids it.
Henry chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Niinisto can pounce on him.
Niinisto gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Niinisto steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Henry.
Henry tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Niinisto was well out of range. Poor timing from Henry.
Niinisto feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Henry's calf.
Henry connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Niinisto's hands.
Henry uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Henry throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Niinisto's waist but Niinisto gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Henry off to one side.
A swing and a miss from Henry.
Henry scores with a nice right hand.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Niinisto stuffs the takedown.
Niinisto throws a chopping leg kick but Henry manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Henry checks a leg kick.
Robert Henry seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Good work by Henry as he checks the leg kick.
Henry just misses with a punch to the body.
Henry throws an overhand right that lands on Niinisto's shoulder, as Niinisto tries to avoid the shot.
Niinisto takes a swing at Henry's ribcage but misses.
Henry shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Niinisto as he jumps to the side.
Sauli Niinisto has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Robert Henry.
Henry misses the jab.
Henry looks to land a right hand but Niinisto moved out of range.
Henry might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Niinisto uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Henry.
Robert Henry is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Niinisto slips under a jab.
Niinisto displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Henry throws out the jab.
Niinisto tries to close the distance and clinch but Henry swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Henry looks to land a right hand but Niinisto moved out of range.
Henry scores with a sloppy right hand. Niinisto should have avoided that one.
Niinisto blocks a jab.
Henry is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Niinisto.
A nice leg kick lands there from Niinisto.
Sauli Niinisto is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Henry fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Niinisto manages to avoid it.
Henry dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
A big left from Henry misses.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Niinisto fails with an attempt to clinch.
Niinisto moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Henry looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Henry looks to throw the jab but Niinisto is out of range.
Jab by Henry.
Robert Henry seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Henry throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Niinisto counters with a stiff right hand.
Niinisto slips under a jab from Henry.
Henry throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Henry throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Niinisto throws a head kick but Henry moves out of range.
Henry shoots in and drives through. Niinisto sprawls well.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henry swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Henry is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.
Niinisto throws a solid leg kick but Henry takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Niinisto.
Henry swings widly with a right hand
and Niinisto counters with a nice uppercut.
Henry misses with an uppercut.
Niinisto throws a chopping leg kick but Henry manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Henry tries to score a power double leg takedown but Niinisto sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Henry somewhat.
Henry ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Niinisto moves away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Henry throws a lazy right hand but Niinisto sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Henry connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Niinisto momentarily.
Niinisto slips a jab from Henry.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Robert Henry dominated that fourth round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!
Henry looks to land a left hand but Niinisto moved out of range nicely.
Henry throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Henry tried to score with a low kick but Niinisto checks it.
Niinisto keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Henry connects with a crisp jab.
Niinisto misses with a low kick as Henry jumps back.
Niinisto steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Henry.
Niinisto connects with a solid leg kick.
Henry misses with an uppercut. Niinisto saw that one coming.
Henry shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Niinisto as he jumps to the side.
Niinisto gets a clinch.
That's one minute gone in the round.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Niinisto.
With the fighters up against the cage, Niinisto throws an elbow but misses.
Henry avoiding damage as Niinisto throws knees to the body.
Henry pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Henry misses with a combination
and Niinisto counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Henry's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Niinisto stalks Henry and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Henry's face. Henry staggers backwards, shaken.
Henry throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Henry with a poor takedown
and Niinisto counters with an inside leg kick.
Henry is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Niinisto misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Henry.
Henry paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henry takes a swing at Niinisto's ribcage but misses.
Niinisto tries to clinch up but Henry circles away and keeps his distance.
Niinisto uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Henry.
Niinisto is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Henry tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Niinisto moves out of range as Henry strikes.
Henry checks a leg kick nicely.
Niinisto tries to close the distance and clinch but Henry swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Henry pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Niinisto steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Henry.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henry lands a jab.
Henry scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Henry swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Niinisto.
Henry scores with a nice right hand.
Niinisto tries to clinch there but Henry circles away.
Niinisto wants to clinch up but Henry keeps it at a distance.
Niinisto moves out of range as Henry strikes.
Niinisto lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Niinisto.
Niinisto turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Henry scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Henry is defended easily by Niinisto.
Sauli Niinisto has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Robert Henry.
A shot to the body from Henry misses
and Niinisto counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
A chopping leg kick lands by Niinisto.
An inside leg kick from Niinisto misses.
Niinisto slips a jab from Henry.
Niinisto connects with a solid leg kick.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Niinisto fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Niinisto closes the distance and pushes Henry back into the cage.
Niinisto looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Henry avoiding damage as Niinisto throws knees to the body.
And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Sauli Niinisto.
I think Niinisto has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.
Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 48:47
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 47:48
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 48:47
In favor of your winner, by split decision... Sauli Niinisto!
Sauli Niinisto retains his welterweight title!
An out of breath Sauli Niinisto thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
88% |
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