PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dario Brkic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ryan Owens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Brkic's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Dubioza kolektiv - Kažu. Owens has chosen To Plant A Seed- We Came As Romans as his entrance music. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Brkic
vs
Owens

183 cm
18
190 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

191 cm
18
182 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Tends to cut

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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Dario Brkic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ryan Owens!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Anni Minnemäki and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Owens shoots in for a double leg but Brkic sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Owens will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Owens swats away the attempt to clinch by Brkic.
Owens leaves Brkic with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Brkic shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Owens pinned against the cage. Owens gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Brkic is breathing heavily.

Brkic shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Owens napping and manages to drive through into side control!
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Owens is looking for a sweep.
Owens manages to work his way to half guard, despite Brkic's best efforts.
Owens is trying to stand back up but Brkic is controlling him
Owens is trying to control but can't.

Brkic seems to be looking for submissions.
Owens moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Owens has Brkic pulled in close to control his posture.
Owens throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Owens looking to control.
Owens looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Owens is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Ryan Owens wasn't active enough on the ground.

Owens moves into range and clinches up with Brkic.
Owens looking for a takedown.
Dario Brkic has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ryan Owens.

Brkic breaks the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Owens wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Brkic shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Owens as he avoids it easily.
Brkic leaves Owens with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
No luck for Owens with that takedown attempt.
Brkic shoots in for a takedown but Owens shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Owens displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

Brkic bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Owens taking punishment in the form of punches.
Brkic working away.
Owens on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Brkic misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Owens keeps Brkic under control for a moment.

Brkic thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

Brkic wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Owens, who protects the arm well.
Brkic working the strikes but Owens uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
Brkic looks to land a strike but Owens avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Owens has a closed guard, preventing Brkic from standing up.

Owens escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Brkic gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Owens is controlling Brkic's posture.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Owens looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Brkic scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Owens pulls Brkic in close to his closed guard and prevents Brkic from doing any damage or advancing position.
Owens avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Dario Brkic will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Brkic shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Brkic 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.

Owens has his foot on Brkic's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Brkic works his way back into a safe position though.
Brkic looking to pass the guard.
Brkic stopping the sweep attempt from Owens.
Owens is trying to control the position but Brkic postures up.
Brkic preventing the sweep.
Brkic trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Brkic chips away with some ground and pound.
Owens working a defensive guard here.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Owens scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Brkic tries to clinch but Owens moves out of range.
Owens shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Brkic pinned against the cage. Brkic gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Owens leaves Brkic with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Owens. Brkic shrugs it off though.
Brkic shoots in but no luck this time.

Owens rushes Brkic and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Owens's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Owens leaves Brkic with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dario Brkic. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brkic displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Owens.
The fight stays on the outside here - Brkic looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Owens scores with a head kick.
Owens tries to clinch up.
Owens throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Brkic's head.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Brkic 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 Owens has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Owens and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.

Brkic feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Owens is looking to stand up but Brkic isn't so interested in that idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brkic working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Owens has his foot on Brkic's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Brkic works his way back into a safe position though.
Owens is trying to control the position but Brkic postures up.
Brkic content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Brkic throwing strikes from guard but Owens blocks nicely.
Brkic throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Brkic works over Owens with some ground and pound from guard.
Owens is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Brkic's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Owens wants to sweep here but Brkic controlling him for the moment.
Brkic postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Brkic loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Brkic working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Owens's head.
Owens tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Owens has Brkic pulled in close to control his posture.
Owens wants to sweep here but Brkic controlling him for the moment.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Brkic in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Dario Brkic will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Brkic swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Owens shoots for a double leg takedown but Brkic sprawls well. He's pushed Owens's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Brkic tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Brkic jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Owens walks away with a smile on his face. Brkic gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Owens looks for a takedown but Brkic sprawls well.
Ryan Owens is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Owens fails with an attempt to clinch.
Owens is trying hard to land a takedown here. Brkic sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Dario Brkic has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ryan Owens.
Owens stuffs the takedown attempt from Brkic. Brkic gets slowly back to his feet.
Owens misses with a takedown attempt - Brkic sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Owens moves into range and clinches up with Brkic.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Brkic's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Owens shoots in and drives through. Brkic sprawls well.
A leg kick checked by Owens.
Owens shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Brkic as he avoids it easily.
Brkic fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Owens scores with a head kick. Brkic tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Owens with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Brkic loads up on a big right hand but Owens slips the punch.
Owens blocks a leg kick.
Brkic shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Owens as he avoids it easily.

Brkic looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Owens is pulling down on Brkic's head. It's preventing any offense from Brkic, at least for the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Owens bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Brkic's guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Brkic working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Owens doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Owens manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

Owens got a little sloppy there for a moment and Brkic has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Owens has managed to get both his arms back between Brkic's legs - danger averted.

Brkic looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Owens stays in close to Brkic's body and controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brkic keeping full guard, as Owens tries to pass.
Owens throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Brkic works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Dario Brkic overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Owens wants to stand but Brkic is controlling his posture from full guard.
Owens working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Brkic is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Owens is aware though and is defending well.
Owens looking to pass the guard.

Owens decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Brkic, up you get!

Owens is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Brkic's half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Brkic is looking to escape.

Brkic looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Brkic tries to get to full guard but Owens has control of the leg.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Owens throwing shots but Brkic is blocking nicely.
Brkic is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Brkic looking for submissions off his back.
Ryan Owens has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dario Brkic is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Owens content to control rather than advance.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Ryan Owens.
I think Brkic 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 29:29
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Dario Brkic!