PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Emilio Izturis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Max Eisenhardt (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Eisenhardt has chosen Magneto's Theme as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Izturis
vs
Eisenhardt

190 cm
21
190 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

188 cm
21
190 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

FinnFighter Nutrition (Five 160Q supps!)

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 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Emilio Izturis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Max Eisenhardt!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, William Gold and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Eisenhardt feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Izturis's calf.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Eisenhardt. Izturis shrugs it off though.
Izturis looks to throw the jab but Eisenhardt is out of range.
Eisenhardt tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Izturis is able to avoid easily.
Izturis throws a series of punches but Eisenhardt avoids them all with ease.
Eisenhardt lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Max Eisenhardt seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Eisenhardt misses with a right hand

and Izturis counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Izturis.
Izturis trying to control but Eisenhardt is working from the bottom.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Izturis throws a big elbow that misses.
Eisenhardt keeping moving, preventing Izturis from controlling successfully.
Eisenhardt working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Izturis.
Eisenhardt is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Izturis is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Izturis pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Eisenhardt is keeping the position for now.
Izturis is looking to work some ground and pound but Eisenhardt has wrist control.
Izturis in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Izturis trying to control the position from guard on top but Eisenhardt is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Eisenhardt preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Izturis accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Izturis loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Izturis trying to control but Eisenhardt is working from the bottom.
Izturis is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Eisenhardt is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Izturis accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Eisenhardt utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Eisenhardt looking to hit a scissor sweep but Izturis is one step ahead there.
Izturis missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Izturis scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Izturis missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Izturis postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Izturis throws a big right hand that misses.
Izturis postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Izturis wants to pass the guard but Eisenhardt is keeping the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Eisenhardt manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
Eisenhardt lands a nice uppercut.
A short left from Eisenhardt.
Eisenhardt's coach down at Dojo was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Eisenhardt's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Eisenhardt lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Eisenhardt misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Eisenhardt misses with a punch to the body.
Eisenhardt stops a takedown attempt from Izturis.
Eisenhardt tries to throw a body punch but Izturis avoids it by throwing Eisenhardt back against the cage.
Izturis wants to take the fight to the mat but Eisenhardt manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
A nice right hand lands inside from Izturis.
Eisenhardt struggles to land a body shot inside as Izturis controls his hands.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Izturis tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Emilio Izturis. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Eisenhardt lands a right hand.
Eisenhardt is pressed up against the cage. Izturis has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Eisenhardt down to the mat. Eisenhardt avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Izturis finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
A nice leg kick lands there from Eisenhardt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Emilio Izturis dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Nice uppercut lands for Izturis. That snapped Eisenhardt's head back.
Izturis looks to score with a jab to the body but Eisenhardt is just out of range.
Eisenhardt defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Izturis.
A jab from Eisenhardt misses.
Eisenhardt feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Izturis's calf.
Eisenhardt lands with a nice body kick.
Izturis circles away from the clinch attempt.
A looping hook to the body misses from Izturis. Eisenhardt does a little dance to reset his feet.
Some bone on bone action there as Eisenhardt checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

Izturis changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Eisenhardt looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Eisenhardt struggling a bit here.
Izturis throws an elbow but Eisenhardt slips to the side and avoids it well.
Izturis throws an elbow but Eisenhardt slips to the side and avoids it well.
Emilio Izturis overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Izturis postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Izturis throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Eisenhardt avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Izturis.
Eisenhardt can't do much from the bottom here.
Izturis 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.
Izturis works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.

Izturis goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Eisenhardt rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Izturis's guard! Nice work there by Eisenhardt!
Eisenhardt being controlled here momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Eisenhardt showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Izturis looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Izturis wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Eisenhardt wants to control from the top but Izturis keeps moving.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Emilio Izturis just wasn't active enough.
Izturis is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Eisenhardt.

Izturis throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Eisenhardt tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Izturis is in Eisenhardt's guard.
Izturis throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Eisenhardt works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Eisenhardt can do anything to dispel that myth.
Izturis trying to control the position from guard on top but Eisenhardt is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Izturis in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Izturis trying to control but Eisenhardt is working from the bottom.
Izturis scoring with some ground and pound.
Izturis advances position into side control!
Izturis lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Eisenhardt down.
Eisenhardt takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sloppy strikes there by Izturis.
Izturis working away.
Izturis in side control, throwing shots but Eisenhardt defends.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Emilio Izturis dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Izturis shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Eisenhardt as he jumps to the side.
Izturis swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Eisenhardt misses with an attempted mid kick.
Izturis on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Eisenhardt lands with a thumping leg kick.
Eisenhardt connects with an inside leg kick.
Eisenhardt is looking to slow Izturis down with leg kicks.
Eisenhardt goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Izturis on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Eisenhardt. Eisenhardt obviously looking to wear him down.

Izturis scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Izturis working the ground and pound but Eisenhardt is defending the strikes.
Izturis lands a nice forearm strike.
Izturis scoring with punches from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Izturis working the ground and pound but Eisenhardt is defending the strikes.
Eisenhardt tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Izturis wants to control but Eisenhardt is keeping him busy.
Eisenhardt tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Izturis wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
The ground and pound from Izturis seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Izturis wants to lay and pray for a moment but Eisenhardt keeps working.
Eisenhardt avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Izturis.
Izturis advances to full mount.
Emilio Izturis is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Izturis looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Izturis trying to control but Eisenhardt is having none of it.
Izturis controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Max Eisenhardt has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Izturis seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Eisenhardt for as long as he can get away with.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

We're going to have a standup here because Emilio Izturis wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Eisenhardt misses with a right hand
and Izturis counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Izturis shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Eisenhardt as he jumps to the side.
Eisenhardt throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.

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 Emilio Izturis.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Izturis, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27
Judge William Gold scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27

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