PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between David Lemieux (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Arvo Penaali (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Penaali has chosen Immortal Technique - Obnoxius as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Lemieux
vs
Penaali

180 cm
32
172 lbs
37 - 17 - 0

180 cm
28
178 lbs
12 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

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 37 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, David Lemieux!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Arvo Penaali!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Ben Zyskovitsi and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Penaali connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Lemieux momentarily.
Penaali looks to land a combination but Lemieux avoids it well.
Penaali misses with a series of wild punches.
Lemieux misses with a straight left.
Penaali looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Lemieux scores with a nice head shot.

It looks like Arvo Penaali has been cut.
Penaali avoids the body shot from Lemieux.
Penaali avoids a punch combination nicely.
Lemieux lands a jab.
Lemieux connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Lemieux tries to clinch up but Penaali circles away and keeps his distance.
Penaali misses with a jab, cross combination.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Penaali closes the distance and lands a one-two.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice uppercut lands for Lemieux. That snapped Penaali's head back.
Lemieux tries to clinch but Penaali is having none of it.
David Lemieux seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Penaali lands the left hand.
Penaali misses with a straight left.
Penaali attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Lemieux swings for the body but Penaali moves out of range.
Lemieux fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.

Lemieux moves into range and clinches up with Penaali.
Lemieux doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Penaali pulls guard successfully.
Lemieux is fighting to break Penaali's control of his arms but Penaali is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Arvo Penaali wasn't active enough on the ground.
Penaali throws a lazy uppercut
and Lemieux counters with a stiff right hand.
Nice sprawl there from Lemieux as Penaali shoots in.
The fighters circle momentarily. Lemieux darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Lemieux doesn't manage to clinch there - Penaali circles away.
Lemieux is looking to clinch but Penaali is avoiding it.
Lemieux throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Penaali stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
It looks like Lemieux has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
Lemieux misses with an uppercut. Penaali saw that one coming.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lemieux ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Lemieux looks to land a combination but Penaali avoids it well.
Penaali throws a jab but it's blocked by Lemieux.
Nice jab there from Lemieux.
Some bone on bone action there as Penaali checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Lemieux misses the jab.
Lemieux listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Penaali scores with a nice strike.
Penaali on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Lemieux avoids the body shot from Penaali.
Penaali rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Lemieux moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Penaali looks to score with a jab to the body but Lemieux is just out of range.
Penaali will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Lemieux takes one to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Penaali ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Lemieux is looking to chop away at Penaali's legs.
Lemieux misses with a hook. Penaali ducked under it nicely.
Lemieux lands a right hook to the body.
Penaali cracks Lemieux with a right hand to the side of the head.
Lemieux's jab looks to have found its range, popping Penaali under the eye.
Penaali moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Penaali misses with a leg kick.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Lemieux, as that shot connected.
Penaali is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Lemieux is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Penaali.
Lemieux thuds a left hand into Penaali's body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

David Lemieux dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Arvo Penaali's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Lemieux fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Penaali checks it well.
Lemieux fails in his attempt to clinch.
Penaali throws a low kick but it's checked well by Lemieux.
Penaali throws a front kick aimed at Lemieux's knee but Lemieux avoids it well.
Penaali shoots for a double leg takedown but Lemieux sprawls well. He's pushed Penaali's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Lemieux sizes up Penaali with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Lemieux works Penaali's body with a nice hook.
Lemieux thows a body shot but no joy.
Penaali is looking to score with low kicks.

Lemieux takes the fight into the clinch.
Lemieux is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Penaali is defending well for now.
Penaali avoiding damage as Lemieux throws knees to the body.
Lemieux misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Lemieux lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Lemieux misses with a shot to the kidneys.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Penaali tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Lemieux lands a right hand.
Penaali can't find room to land a body shot as Lemieux controls the action.
Lemieux swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Penaali swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Lemieux.
Penaali blocks an uppercut.
Penaali scores with a shoulder strike.
Penaali managing to block the knees to the body from Lemieux.

Penaali has clasped his hands together around Lemieux's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Lemieux wants to control but Penaali postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Penaali throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Lemieux is looking for a sweep.
Penaali working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Penaali in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Penaali with the ground and pound but Lemieux regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Lemieux tries to roll over but Penaali keeps him under control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penaali thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Penaali landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Lemieux wants to control but Penaali is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Penaali is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Lemieux wants to control but Penaali is keeping busy.
Lemieux works his way to full guard. Good work.
Penaali landing with the ground and pound.
Lemieux is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Lemieux wants to sweep here but Penaali controlling him for the moment.
Penaali postures up and lands a big shot to Lemieux's brow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Penaali landing some decent shots from guard.
Lemieux working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Penaali.
Penaali passes into half guard.
Lemieux is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Penaali's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Penaali's back!
A bit of a pause in the action here. Lemieux controlling the positon.
Penaali manages to reverse the position and now he's in Lemieux's guard. Nice work there by Penaali.
Penaali throwing strikes from guard but Lemieux blocks nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Penaali trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Lemieux is trying to keep Penaali in close.
Lemieux avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Penaali stopping the sweep attempt from Lemieux.
Lemieux pulls Penaali in close to his closed guard and prevents Penaali from doing any damage or advancing position.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Lemieux is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
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!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Penaali wants to control but Lemieux is keeping busy and won't allow it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Arvo Penaali will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Arvo Penaali'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. 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.

Penaali takes a shot to the body in his stride.
A slow jab from Lemieux misses its intended target.
Lemieux keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Lemieux avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Arvo Penaali is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Lemieux misses with a hook

and Penaali decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Lemieux's guard.
Lemieux working a defensive guard but Penaali manages to pass into side control anyway.
Penaali scores with a couple of short elbows.
Penaali has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lemieux sneaks back into half guard.
Lemieux tries to get to full guard but Penaali has control of the leg.
Penaali is nestled in close to Lemieux, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Penaali wants to lay and pray for a moment but Lemieux keeps working.
Lemieux tries to roll over but Penaali keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lemieux is working hard here to advance position.
Lemieux is trying to control but can't.
Penaali is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Arvo Penaali has got the better of the ground game so far.
Penaali throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Penaali winds up and cracks Lemieux with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Lemieux is refusing to be controlled, as Penaali sits in half guard.
Penaali is thwarting Lemieux's attempts to control the position.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Penaali is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Penaali is thwarting Lemieux's attempts to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lemieux is concentrating on defense, preventing Penaali from advancing position.
Penaali lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Penaali is thwarting Lemieux's attempts to control the position.
Lemieux keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lemieux tries to get to full guard but Penaali has control of the leg.
Lemieux trying to control but Penaali postures up.
Penaali is keen to just control but Lemieux is a slippery customer.
Penaali works his way into full mount!
Penaali fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Penaali prevents Lemieux from getting the reversal.
Penaali working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Lemieux taking shots to the head.
Penaali landing punches.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lemieux working to try and regain half guard.
Penaali with the ground and pound from mount.
Penaali landing strikes, looking to finish!
Penaali avoids the attempt from Lemieux to control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Penaali dominating with strikes here.
Penaali pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Lemieux wants to hold on but Penaali pushes him away.
Penaali lands a heavy elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lemieux tries to hold on but Penaali pushes him away.
Lemieux is bucking up trying to escape but Penaali cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Penaali looking to finish Lemieux with some ground and pound. This is bad for Lemieux!
Penaali postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Lemieux looks a forlorn figure.
Lemieux tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Penaali scoring with strikes but Lemieux is staying in there.
Lemieux is wriggling around trying to escape.
Lemieux regains half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Lemieux trying to control from the bottom.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Lemieux wants to improve his position but Penaali is controlling well.
Penaali working the head and body with strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Arvo Penaali comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Penaali has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:29
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 29:28

The fight is ruled a draw!