PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Arto Markkanen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mark Murphy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Markkanen's entrance music is Mell - Red Fraction. A fine choice. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Markkanen
vs
Murphy

187 cm
22
188 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

185 cm
21
191 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good knees
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Arto Markkanen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mark Murphy!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Marco Blurström and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Markkanen lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Murphy has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Murphy and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Markkanen misses with an attempted mid kick.
Markkanen thows a body shot but no joy.
Markkanen lands a nice looking body kick.
Markkanen throws a head kick that misses.
Murphy misses with a hook
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Murphy with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Markkanen throws a body punch but Murphy moves out of range.
Markkanen lands with a nice combination. Murphy backs away looking to recover.
Markkanen takes a swing at Murphy's ribcage but misses.
Markkanen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Murphy was well out of range. Poor timing from Markkanen.
Markkanen checks the leg kick.
Markkanen scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Murphy closes the distance and pushes Markkanen back into the cage.
Markkanen tries to circle away but Murphy has him pinned against the cage.
Markkanen tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Murphy misses with some punches.
Murphy misses with the head strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Markkanen misses with a knee to the head.
Markkanen throws a knee to the head but misses.
Markkanen with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Markkanen is trying to break the clinch but Murphy has him pressed against the cage.
Markkanen tries to break the clinch but Murphy is controlling the position.
A head punch on the inside from Murphy fails to land.
Murphy goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Murphy avoiding damage as Markkanen throws knees to the body.
Murphy scores with a shot to the side of Markkanen's head.
Markkanen crunches a lovely knee into Murphy's ribcage.
Markkanen blocking some punches.
Markkanen is trying to force a seperation but Murphy has the dominant position.
Markkanen throws a knee to the head but misses.
Murphy lands a nice uppercut.
Markkanen looking to throw knees to the head but Murphy is blocking nicely.
Murphy using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Markkanen has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Markkanen throws a knee to the head but misses.
Murphy doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murphy scores with a nice hook to the head.
Murphy tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Markkanen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A short uppercut from Murphy.
A shot in the inside from Murphy.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Murphy misses with a hook to the ribs.
Murphy working aggressively here.
Markkanen wants to break the clinch but can't.
Markkanen missing with knees to the body.
Markkanen has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Knees to the body from Markkanen.
Markkanen with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Markkanen looking to throw knees to the head but Murphy is blocking nicely.
Markkanen tries to land knees in the clinch but Murphy avoids the damage to the body.
A knee to the head by Murphy.
Murphy managing to block the knees to the body from Markkanen.
Markkanen tries to land knees in the clinch but Murphy avoids the damage to the body.
Markkanen looking to throw knees to the head but Murphy is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murphy tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Murphy blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Murphy misses with a hook from the clinch.
Murphy throws a head punch that misses.
Murphy misses with a punch on the inside.
Murphy lands with a short shot to the head.
Murphy misses with a punch on the inside.
Murphy managing to block the knees to the body from Markkanen.
Murphy throws a punch but it's blocked by Markkanen.
Markkanen blocks an uppercut.
Murphy throws a punch but it's blocked by Markkanen.
Markkanen misses with a knee to the head.
Markkanen with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Murphy goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Murphy doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Markkanen with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Nice body punch from Murphy - that landed with a thud.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Markkanen manages to break the clinch.
A good leg kick by Murphy.
A clash of legs there as Markkanen blocks the low kick.
Murphy misses with a straight left.
A swing and a miss from Murphy.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Markkanen is looking to land body kicks.
Murphy swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Murphy throws a leg kick that misses.
Murphy throws a jab when Markkanen was well out of range.
Markkanen checks a leg kick nicely.
Nice defenses there by Markkanen.
Nice defenses there by Markkanen.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A jab from Markkanen finds it's way through Murphy's defenses.
Markkanen walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Markkanen fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Murphy misses with a body kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Mark Murphy will probably get the nod.
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.

Murphy staying out of range there.
Markkanen is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Murphy throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Markkanen sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Murphy listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Markkanen checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Jab by Markkanen.
Murphy throws a body punch but Markkanen moves out of range.
Markkanen uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Murphy.
Markkanen moves away from the strike by Murphy.
Markkanen lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Murphy uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Markkanen.
Markkanen on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Markkanen is looking to wear down Murphy with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Murphy looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Markkanen buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Murphy swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Markkanen closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Arto Markkanen is winning the standup battle so far.
Murphy shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Markkanen tries a low kick but Murphy avoids it.
Markkanen loads up on a big right hand but Murphy slips the punch.
Nice shot lands for Murphy.
Markkanen cracks Murphy with a right hand to the side of the head.
Murphy misses with a body punch
and Markkanen counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Murphy on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
No joy there for Markkanen, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Murphy looks to throw the jab but Markkanen is out of range.
Murphy with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Murphy swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Markkanen.

Markkanen is rocked!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Markkanen tries a head kick but it misses.
Oh Markkanen is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Markkanen checks a leg kick nicely.
Markkanen seems to have got his legs back now.
Murphy's jab looks to have found its range, popping Markkanen under the eye.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Markkanen misses with a body punch
and Murphy counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Markkanen lands a head kick. Murphy smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Markkanen chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Murphy scores with a sloppy right hand. Markkanen should have avoided that one.
Murphy misses with a looping right.
Nice jab there from Markkanen.
Markkanen slips a straight right by Murphy.
Markkanen tries to clinch but Murphy is having none of it.
Murphy takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Murphy misses with a hook
and Markkanen counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Markkanen just misses with a punch to the body.
Markkanen plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Markkanen will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Murphy looks to throw the jab but Markkanen is out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Markkanen.
Murphy throws a lazy body kick
and Markkanen counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Markkanen blocks a jab.
Murphy misses with a straight left.
Markkanen scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Murphy doesn't seem bothered though.
Markkanen fails with an attempt to clinch.
Markkanen lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Murphy backs up against the cage.
Markkanen uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Murphy.
Markkanen throws a push kick but Murphy slaps the foot to one side.
Murphy misses with a straight right.
Murphy misses with a looping left.
Murphy cracks Markkanen with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Murphy tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Markkanen was well out of range. Poor timing from Murphy.
Markkanen scores with a kick to the body.
Markkanen misses with a wild body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murphy throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Markkanen sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Markkanen thuds a left hand into Murphy's body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Murphy misses with a double jab.
Markkanen feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Murphy's calf.
Markkanen ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Murphy is looking to slow Markkanen down with leg kicks.
Markkanen throws a right and a left that Murphy avoids nicely.
Markkanen comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Murphy fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Markkanen is out of range.
Murphy listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Markkanen throws a nice looking combination but Murphy bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Some bone on bone action there as Markkanen checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

Murphy has managed to clinch.
Markkanen lands a nice knee to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Mark Murphy will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Murphy misses with a hook.
Murphy looks to throw the jab but Markkanen is out of range.
That kick from Markkanen tenderised Murphy's leg. Murphy is trying to keep his angry face on.
Markkanen slips a jab from Murphy.
Murphy throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Markkanen swinging wildly here.
Murphy misses with a hook
and Markkanen counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Markkanen misses with the combination.
Markkanen moves out of range of the strikes.
Markkanen keeps Murphy at a distance using the push kick.
Markkanen throws a right and a left that both miss.
Murphy lands with a thumping leg kick.
Murphy catches Markkanen with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Murphy pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Markkanen throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Murphy is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Murphy on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Markkanen ducks under a wild hook from Murphy.
Murphy wants to clinch.
Murphy misses with a wild body shot.
Murphy takes a kick to the side of the head.
Murphy tries to clinch but Markkanen is having none of it.
Murphy wants to clinch up but Markkanen keeps it at a distance.
Arto Markkanen is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Markkanen doesn't manage to clinch there - Murphy circles away.
Markkanen tries to close the distance and clinch but Murphy swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Markkanen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Murphy was well out of range. Poor timing from Markkanen.
Murphy misses with a straight right.
Murphy on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Murphy keeps the fight on the outside.
Markkanen walks into a left hand.
Markkanen dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Murphy. That did some damage!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Markkanen uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Murphy.
Markkanen tries to clinch but Murphy moves out of range.

Markkanen rushes Murphy and presses him up against the cage.
Murphy managing to block the knees to the body from Markkanen.
Murphy gets through Markkanen's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Murphy tries to throw a body punch but Markkanen avoids it by throwing Murphy back against the cage.
Markkanen blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Markkanen with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Markkanen using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Murphy has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murphy swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Markkanen.
Mark Murphy seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Murphy misses with some punches.
Murphy tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Markkanen blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Murphy lands with a left to the head.
Murphy misses with a short punch on the inside.
A nice left hand lands by Murphy.
Murphy swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Markkanen tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Murphy misses with the head strike.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Murphy creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Murphy swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Murphy misses with a short punch on the inside.
Murphy working aggressively here.
Murphy tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Arto Markkanen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murphy managing to block the knees to the body from Markkanen.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Murphy creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Markkanen wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Murphy fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Markkanen tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Murphy avoids it.
Markkanen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Markkanen misses with a knee strike.
Murphy throws a head punch that misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Murphy.
Markkanen with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Markkanen looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Murphy lands a shoulder strike.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Markkanen misses with a knee to the head.
Markkanen tries to land knees in the clinch but Murphy avoids the damage to the body.
Markkanen using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Murphy has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Mark Murphy is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Markkanen tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Murphy avoids it.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Mark Murphy.
Well Murphy 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 Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 28:30
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 28:29
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mark Murphy!