PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Joaquim Maria (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Taisto Tappura (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Maria might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Kronos - Bloodtower. Tappura has chosen Ring of fire as his entrance music. This should be a great matchup!

Maria
vs
Tappura

193 cm
29
222 lbs
23 - 6 - 0

201 cm
27
255 lbs
18 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Brute

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 23 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Joaquim Maria!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Taisto Tappura!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Don Winkell and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A left lands for Tappura.
Maria staying out of range there.
Taisto Tappura seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tappura throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A jab from Tappura misses.
Maria avoids the body shot from Tappura.
Tappura tries a head kick but it misses.
Tappura uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Maria has time to react.
Tappura throws a leg kick which misses Maria's front leg but catches the back leg as Maria tries to avoid it.
Tappura misses with a shot to the body
and Tappura takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tappura fails in his attempt to clinch.
Maria takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Maria takes a head kick and keeps coming.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tappura looks to land a body kick but Maria moved away.
Nice body kick there by Tappura.
Tappura tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Maria was well out of range. Poor timing from Tappura.
Tappura misses with a body kick.
Maria ducks under a wild hook from Tappura.
Tappura throws a nice inside leg kick.
Tappura scores with a leg kick.
Maria has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Tappura ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Maria moves away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maria takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Tappura tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Tappura tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Left hook, right uppercut from Tappura.
Tappura lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
A big left from Tappura misses.

Tappura fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Maria, pushing him back against the cage.
Maria stalling in the clinch.
Maria is trying to force a seperation but Tappura has the dominant position.
Tappura throws a punch but it's blocked by Maria.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tappura misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tappura is stalling here.

Maria escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Maria gets tackled into the cage by Tappura. Tappura maintains the clinch.
Tappura misses with a punch on the inside.
Tappura lands an uppercut.
Maria wants to break free but Tappura has control.
Tappura tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Maria blocking some punches.
Maria tries to break the clinch but Tappura is controlling the position.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Tappura.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tappura taking a breather.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Tappura.
Tappura tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Tappura tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Maria's elbow.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Tappura.
Tappura misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Maria avoiding damage.
Maria wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Tappura has him pressed against the cage.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Tappura lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

It looks like Joaquim Maria has been cut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Tappura.
Tappura tries to stall but Maria uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Taisto Tappura dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Joaquim Maria's cut.
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.

Maria checks the leg kick.
Maria takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Tappura will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Maria blocks a jab.
Tappura misses the jab.
Tappura attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.

Tappura clinches with his opponent.
Tappura gets through Maria's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Tappura misses with a punch on the inside.
Maria has had enough of the clinch but Tappura keeps him there for the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tappura misses with the head strike.
Tappura doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Tappura doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Tappura fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tappura misses with a punch on the inside.
Tappura misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tappura looking to stall.
Tappura misses with a punch to the body.
Tappura doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Tappura has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Maria's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Tappura tries to land a front kick but Maria steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tappura lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Tappura lands with a shot to the body.
Tappura misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Tappura in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Maria avoids the body shot from Tappura.
Taisto Tappura seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A low kick from Tappura misses
and Maria counters with a three punch combo that has Tappura backing up. Tappura nods at Maria to acknowledge the strikes.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Maria takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Tappura tries a head kick but it misses.
A head kick misses from Tappura.
A low kick from Tappura misses
and Maria counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tappura tries to close the distance and clinch but Maria swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Tappura scores with a kick to the midsection.

Tappura clinches.
Maria is trying to force a seperation but Tappura has the dominant position.
Tappura swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Maria blocking some punches.
Maria has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Maria.
Tappura throws a head punch that misses.

Maria manages to break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A good leg kick by Tappura.
Tappura misses with a wild body shot.
Maria takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Tappura throws a shot from downtown. Maria moves away and avoids it.
Tappura tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Tappura thows a body shot but no joy.
Tappura tries to clinch there but Maria circles away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tappura lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Maria at a distance.
Tappura swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Tappura misses with a jab, cross combination.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Taisto Tappura showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Joaquim Maria's cut.
That's time! Maria's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. 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.

Tappura tries a head kick but it misses.
Maria ducks under a wild hook from Tappura.
Maria walks into a stiff left hand from Tappura.
Tappura misses with an uppercut.
Tappura throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Maria chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Tappura can pounce on him.
A punch combination from Tappura misses.
Tappura misses with a two punch combination.
Tappura swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Tappura throws a head kick but Maria moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tappura throws a hook to the side of Maria's head but Maria sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Maria takes one on the button.
Tappura misses with a wild body shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Tappura. Maria does a little dance to reset his feet.
Maria swats away the attempt to clinch by Tappura.
A jab from Tappura does it's job there.
Tappura tries to land a leg kick but Maria saw it coming and moves away.
Tappura stuns Maria with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tappura tries to work over Maria's front leg with a kick but Maria checks it.
Maria 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.
Tappura sizes up Maria with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tappura just misses with a punch to the body.
Tappura throws out a loose jab but Maria uses good head movement to avoid it.
Tappura scores with the left hand. Maria knows he should have avoided that one.
Tappura takes a swing at Maria's ribcage but misses.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Tappura - that will leave a mark!
Taisto Tappura is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Nice body kick there by Tappura.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maria walks into a straight right hand from Tappura.
Tappura cracks Maria with a good jab.
Tappura tries to clinch there but Maria circles away.
Tappura dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Tappura thows a body shot but no joy.
Tappura misses with a few strikes there.
Tappura throws a right hand that Maria ducks under and follows up with a left that Maria also avoids with ease.
Tappura goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Maria moves out of range of the strikes.
Joaquim Maria has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tappura throws the kick towards the body but Maria avoids it.
Maria on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Tappura. Tappura obviously looking to wear him down.
Tappura uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Maria has time to react.
Tappura missing with a left hand there. Maria was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Maria takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Tappura lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Tappura looks to score with a jab to the body but Maria is just out of range.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Maria ducks under a wild hook from Tappura.
Tappura lands a right hook to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Taisto Tappura comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Tappura 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 26:30
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 26:30
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Taisto Tappura!
Taisto Tappura thanked the fans post fight for their support.