PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Nate North (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Make Munalukko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Make Munalukko told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

North
vs
Munalukko

177 cm
18
175 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

181 cm
18
179 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Nate North!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Make Munalukko!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Munalukko lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.

It looks like Nate North has been cut.
North misses with a low kick.
The fighters circle momentarily. Munalukko darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

North moves into the clinch.

North turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
North throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
North creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Munalukko sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
North working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
North creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Munalukko sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
North working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
North working away.
North scoring with punches from side control.
North tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Munalukko really doesn't want to stay on the ground with North. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Munalukko trying to remain calm as North controls from the top position.
North looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Munalukko is avoiding damage well.
North scoring with punches and elbows.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Munalukko taking a bit of punishment here - North scoring with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
North in side control, throwing shots but Munalukko defends.
Munalukko tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but North wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
North moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
North landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
North works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Munalukko can't do much from the bottom here.
North remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
North looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Munalukko is avoiding damage well.

North tries for a kimura but Munalukko is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
North lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Munalukko down.
Munalukko is trying to improve his position.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Munalukko struggling a bit here.

North is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Munalukko has escaped the position, nice work there.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Munalukko defending against the ground and pound.
Munalukko wants to control but North postures up.
North scores with a couple of short elbows.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
North working the ground and pound but Munalukko is defending the strikes.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Munalukko is working to avoid the ground and pound but North connects with a decent elbow.
North controls the position.
North tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
North lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Munalukko down.
North working the ground and pound from side control.
Munalukko taking a bit of punishment here - North scoring with strikes.
Munalukko is working to avoid the ground and pound but North connects with a decent elbow.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
North works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Check out the look on North's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Munalukko takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Munalukko taking punishment in the form of punches.
North scores with a couple of short elbows.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
North content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
North has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

North tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
North misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nate North dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Nate North's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

North takes a body punch but keeps moving.
North misses with a leg kick.
North is looking to chop away at Munalukko's legs.
North shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Munalukko sprawls well. Munalukko wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. North gets slowly back to his feet.
Munalukko connects with a right hand. North shakes it off.

Munalukko gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Munalukko trying to keep a closed guard but North is proving a slippery customer.
North sitting in guard here, content to control.
Munalukko not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Munalukko wants to stand and escape but North is having none of it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
North content to stall in guard here.
North 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
North will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Munalukko just misses with a punch to the body.
Munalukko lands a right hook to the body.
Munalukko scores with a body shot.
North uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Munalukko.
Munalukko fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.

North clinches up against the cage.
Munalukko gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from North.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nate North. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Munalukko has had enough of the clinch but North keeps him there for the moment.

North escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Munalukko throws a right hand that North ducks under and follows up with a left that North also avoids with ease.
North throws a leg kick but Munalukko checks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Munalukko scores with a sloppy right hand. North should have avoided that one.

Nate North's cut is getting worse.
Make Munalukko seems to be getting the better of the standup.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Munalukko throws out a powerful jab.
Munalukko ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
North throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Munalukko's waist but Munalukko gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing North off to one side.
North tries to move into range but Munalukko moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
North takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

North forces Munalukko back against the cage and clinches.
Munalukko working hard to break the clinch.

North has picked Munalukko up - he's going for a ride! North dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Munalukko wants to improve his position but North is controlling well.
Munalukko missing with punches from the bottom.
North misses with a head shot. Munalukko uses the momentum to regain guard.
North postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
North works over Munalukko with some ground and pound from guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as North accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
North not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Munalukko working a defensive guard here.
Munalukko utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
North trying to control but Munalukko is working from the bottom.
North working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Munalukko looking to hit a scissor sweep but North is one step ahead there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Munalukko utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Munalukko looking to hit a scissor sweep but North is one step ahead there.
North scoring with punches to the head and body.
North distracts Munalukko with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
North throwing strikes but missing.
North throws a big elbow that misses.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Munalukko preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
North throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Munalukko works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Make Munalukko will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Nate North's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Munalukko throws a body punch but North moves out of range.

North pushes Munalukko up against the cage in a clinch.

North has hold of one of Munalukko's legs. Munalukko is fighting the takedown attempt but North gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Munalukko working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from North.
North connects with a couple of short punches.
North in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

North 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.
Munalukko is trying to control the position but North postures up.
North scoring with punches to the head and body.
North with a flurry of punches that miss.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as North accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Munalukko is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
North content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
North throwing strikes from guard but Munalukko blocks nicely.
Munalukko utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

North thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
North content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
North engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Munalukko avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
North controls from within his opponent's guard.
North postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Nate North overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
North working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
North working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Munalukko's head.
Munalukko avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
North throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Munalukko works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
North is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Munalukko avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
This has been an exciting period of action!
North postures up and lands a big shot to Munalukko's brow.
North trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
North stands up over Munalukko, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Munalukko is trying to keep North in close.
North connects with a couple of short punches.
Munalukko preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
North landing with the ground and pound.
North is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
North landing some decent shots from guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
North works over Munalukko with some ground and pound from guard.
North keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Munalukko's head.
Munalukko working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from North.
North scoring with some ground and pound.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
North postures up in Munalukko's guard and throws a big left but Munalukko blocks it.
North preventing the sweep.
Munalukko takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
North is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
North passes Munalukko's left leg - he's now in half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
North content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
North 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.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nate North showed his dominance in that final round.
I think North 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 29:27
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:27
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nate North!
In his post fight interview, Nate North started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.