PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Yehia Kamel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jaska Raatikainen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Raatikainen has chosen Children of Bodom - Are you dead yet as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. This should be fireworks!

Kamel
vs
Raatikainen

166 cm
25
115 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

162 cm
25
145 lbs
5 - 7 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Yehia Kamel!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 7 - 1, fighting out of New York, Jaska Raatikainen!
The judges for this bout are Reed Andrews, John Roberts and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kamel has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Raatikainen.
A looping hook to the body misses from Raatikainen. Kamel does a little dance to reset his feet.
Raatikainen misses with a body shot.
Raatikainen throws a big shot that misses.
Raatikainen checks a leg kick.
Kamel tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Jaska Raatikainen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kamel keeps the fight on the outside.
Kamel tries for a takedown but Raatikainen sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Kamel really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Raatikainen misses with a low kick as Kamel jumps back.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Raatikainen 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 Kamel has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Kamel and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
That kick from Kamel tenderised Raatikainen's leg. Raatikainen is trying to keep his angry face on.
Raatikainen throws an off balance right hand

and Kamel counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Kamel.
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!
Raatikainen wants to sweep here but Kamel controlling him for the moment.
Kamel looking to pass the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raatikainen keeping moving, preventing Kamel from controlling successfully.
Kamel throwing strikes from guard but Raatikainen blocks nicely.
Kamel controls from within his opponent's guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Yehia Kamel just wasn't active enough.
Kamel throws a low kick but Raatikainen moves out of range easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raatikainen throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Kamel throws a right hand that misses
and Raatikainen counters with a good, hard body kick but Kamel shrugs it off.
Raatikainen throws a lazy uppercut

and Kamel counters with a shoot takedown. Raatikainen fights it but they end up in guard.
Raatikainen tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Kamel throws a big elbow that misses.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kamel throwing strikes from guard but Raatikainen blocks nicely.
Kamel 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.
Kamel stays in close to Raatikainen's body and controls the position.
Kamel is looking to work some ground and pound but Raatikainen has wrist control.
Kamel loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kamel working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Kamel is looking to work some ground and pound but Raatikainen has wrist control.
Kamel with a flurry of punches that miss.
Kamel looking to pass the guard.
Kamel is in close to Raatikainen's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Raatikainen pulls Kamel in close to his closed guard and prevents Kamel from doing any damage or advancing position.
Kamel with a nice head shot there.
Kamel stopping the sweep attempt from Raatikainen.
Kamel trying to control but Raatikainen is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Kamel preventing the sweep.
Raatikainen keeps trying to improve his position.
Raatikainen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Raatikainen looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Raatikainen working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kamel.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Raatikainen keeping full guard, as Kamel tries to pass.
Kamel throws a big right hand that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yehia Kamel dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Kamel tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Raatikainen defends well and Kamel ends up having to push Raatikainen into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Raatikainen blocks an uppercut.
Raatikainen blocking some punches.
Kamel wants to take the fight to the mat but Raatikainen manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Raatikainen displaying some good clinch control by pressing Kamel up against the cage.
Kamel jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Raatikainen walks away with a smile on his face. Kamel gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Yehia Kamel. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kamel shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Raatikainen pinned against the cage. Raatikainen gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Kamel throws a push kick but Raatikainen slaps the foot to one side.
Kamel turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Kamel misses with a hook.
Raatikainen digs a good hook to Kamel's body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raatikainen scores with a body shot.
Jaska Raatikainen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Raatikainen misses with a few strikes there.
Raatikainen swings widly with a right hand

and Kamel counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Kamel lands a couple of digs.
Kamel trying to control the position from guard on top but Raatikainen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kamel with a flurry of punches that miss.
Raatikainen keeping moving, preventing Kamel from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kamel landing some decent shots from guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kamel working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kamel engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Kamel is looking to work some ground and pound but Raatikainen has wrist control.
Kamel working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Kamel throws a big right hand that misses.
Kamel trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Raatikainen manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

Kamel looking for subs off his back but Raatikainen has passed one foot through into half guard.
Yehia Kamel overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kamel wants to get back to full guard.
Raatikainen trying to mount his opponent but Kamel defends it.
Raatikainen wants to take a breather but Kamel is having none of it.
Kamel is looking for a sweep. Raatikainen is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Raatikainen tries to pass the half guard into mount. Kamel knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Kamel wants to get back to full guard but Raatikainen has mounted him!
Kamel is in a tricky position but he's been working on his transitions down at Caveman Fight Team, so we'll see if he gets out of it.
Kamel can't escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Raatikainen can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Kamel is looking to escape.
Kamel tries to reverse the position but Raatikainen maintains control.
Raatikainen looking to control and managing it successfully.
Kamel is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Raatikainen prevents Kamel from getting the reversal.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yehia Kamel dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Raatikainen uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Raatikainen misses with a double jab.
Raatikainen scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Kamel throws a head kick that misses
and Raatikainen counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Raatikainen wants to land a leg kick but Kamel is out of range.
Kamel scores with a leg kick.
No luck for Kamel with that takedown attempt.
A punch lands to the side of Kamel 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Nice uppercut lands for Raatikainen. That snapped Kamel's head back.
Kamel misses with an attempted mid kick.
Kamel doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Raatikainen scoring well with a low kick there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kamel dives in and grabs Raatikainen's left leg, looking for a takedown. Raatikainen pushes down on Kamel's head and hops out.
Kamel throws a leg kick but Raatikainen checks it.
Raatikainen looks to land a left hand but Kamel moved out of range nicely.
Kamel throws a looping overhand right but Raatikainen ducks down to avoid it.
A head kick by Kamel misses
and Raatikainen counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Kamel cracks Raatikainen with a good jab.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Kamel here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Raatikainen thows a left - swing and a miss!
Raatikainen checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Kamel swings away with a body shot that misses
and Raatikainen counters with a low kick, right behind Kamel 's knee.
Raatikainen moves away from the strike by Kamel.
Kamel misses the jab.
Kamel lands a really nice looking cross but Raatikainen seems unphased.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raatikainen throws a hook but Kamel blocks it.
Raatikainen fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Raatikainen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
The fighters circling - Raatikainen throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Raatikainen takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Kamel slips under a jab from Raatikainen.
Kamel throws a solid leg kick but Raatikainen takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Kamel.
Both fighters circling a little - Raatikainen finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Raatikainen loads up on a big right hand but Kamel slips the punch.
Raatikainen throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Kamel on the side of the head.
Kamel stalks Raatikainen and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Raatikainen's face. Raatikainen staggers backwards, shaken.
Kamel misses with a looping right.
Jaska Raatikainen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kamel cracks Raatikainen with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Kamel gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Raatikainen.
A low kick from Raatikainen misses

and Kamel counters with a takedown into side control.
Kamel landing a few strikes.
Raatikainen is trying to get back to half guard.
Kamel trying to control the action but Raatikainen is working from the bottom.
Kamel lands a few punches from side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kamel tries to score with some ground and pound. Raatikainen controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kamel lands an elbow.
Kamel laying and praying for a moment but Raatikainen takes advantage and regains half guard.
Kamel passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Raatikainen!
Raatikainen really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Raatikainen is squirming around, avoiding Kamel's attempts to control the action.
Kamel looking to finish Raatikainen with some ground and pound. This is bad for Raatikainen!

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 Yehia Kamel.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kamel, 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 Reed Andrews scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yehia Kamel!
A very excited looking Yehia Kamel made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.