PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sakari Sammio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Anthony Anastasio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Anthony Anastasio has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Sammio
vs
Anastasio

185 cm
24
194 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

181 cm
24
190 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

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 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sakari Sammio!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Anthony Anastasio!
The judges for this bout are Franklyn Lucas, John Kavanagh and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sammio does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Nice defenses there by Sammio.
Sammio shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Anastasio lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Sammio, right into the meat.
Sammio connects with a leg kick. Anastasio looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Sammio throws a leg kick which misses Anastasio's front leg but catches the back leg as Anastasio tries to avoid it.
Sammio scores with a hook to the body. Anastasio takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Anastasio takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Anastasio blocks the body kick.
Sammio ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Anastasio lands a jab to the head.
Anastasio attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Anastasio tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
We've been informed that Anastasio has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Anastasio misses with a hook.
Sammio looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Anastasio avoids the head kick by Sammio.
Anastasio attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anastasio throws a low kick but Sammio moves out of range easily.
Sammio throws a leg kick but Anastasio checks it.
Sammio throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Sammio throws a leg kick which misses Anastasio's front leg but catches the back leg as Anastasio tries to avoid it.
Nice defenses there by Sammio.
Anastasio doesn't manage to clinch there - Sammio circles away.
Sammio pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sammio misses the jab.
Anastasio stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Sammio.
Sammio throws a leg kick
and Anastasio counters with a nice body kick.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Anastasio crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Sammio - the referee stops the clock and Anastasio gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Sammio. Anastasio manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Sammio throws a sloppy head kick and Anastasio moves out of range easily.
Sammio ducks under a wild hook from Anastasio.
Sammio walks into a straight right hand from Anastasio.
Sammio throws a leg kick which misses Anastasio's front leg but catches the back leg as Anastasio tries to avoid it.
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!
Anastasio thuds his right hand into Sammio's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sammio lets loose with a powerful body kick. Anastasio will feel that in the morning.
Anastasio just misses with a punch to the body.
Anastasio uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Sammio.
Sammio chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Anastasio misses with a hook.
Sammio misses with an attempted mid kick.
Anastasio gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Anastasio swings for the body but Sammio moves out of range.
Sammio works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Sammio looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Sammio pushes Anastasio away with a front kick.
A leg kick checked by Sammio.
Sammio throws a leg kick but Anastasio sees it coming and moves out of range.
Anastasio checks a leg kick.
A big right from Anastasio misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Anastasio throws a low kick but Sammio avoids it.
Sammio lands a leg kick that knocks Anastasio off balance momentarily.
Anastasio misses with the body kick
and Sammio counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Anastasio moves out of range of the strikes.
Sammio connects with an inside leg kick.
Anastasio pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Sammio throws out a powerful jab.
Anastasio thows a body shot but no joy.
Sammio throws a wild body kick that Anastasio sees coming a mile off.
Sammio misses the shot to the body.
Anastasio throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sammio throws a head kick that misses.
Anastasio 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.
A jab from Anastasio misses.
Sammio throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Anastasio's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Anastasio misses.
Anastasio misses with a wild body shot.
Some wild striking there from Sammio.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sammio on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Anastasio throws a big shot that misses.
Anastasio chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Sammio can pounce on him.
Sammio punishes Anastasio's body with a nice straight punch.
A head kick misses from Sammio.
Sammio thuds a left hand into Anastasio's body.
Anastasio ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Sakari Sammio seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sammio missing with a left hand there. Anastasio was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sammio is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Sammio connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Sammio misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Anastasio.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sakari Sammio dominated that round.
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.

Anastasio throws a body punch but Sammio moves out of range.
Good exchange - Sammio coming out on top.
Sammio connects with a jab.
Sammio tries to land a front kick but Anastasio steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Anastasio swings for the body but Sammio moves out of range.
Sammio throws a good cross that connects.
Anastasio has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Sammio.
Sammio ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Anastasio moves away.
Sammio attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Anastasio throws a sloppy body shot
and Sammio counters with an outside leg kick.
Sakari Sammio is winning the standup battle so far.
Sammio swings for the body but Anastasio moves out of range.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Anastasio 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.
Anastasio lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Sammio feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Anastasio's calf.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Sammio moves into the clinch successfully.
Anastasio lands an uppercut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sammio.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sammio throws a head punch that misses.
Sammio tries to work over Anastasio's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Sammio lands a hook to the side of the head.
Anastasio lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Sammio blocks a body shot from Anastasio.
Anastasio lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Sammio lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Anastasio backwards.
Sammio tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Anastasio's elbow.
Anastasio lands with a short head shot on the inside.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sammio misses with a punch to the body.
Anastasio blocks an uppercut.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Sammio creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Anastasio is struggling to control the position.
The referee is keeping an eye on Sammio - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Sammio misses with a shot to the kidneys.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Anastasio misses with a body punch.
Sammio swings wildly with an uppercut but Anastasio uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sammio throws a head punch that misses.

Sammio manages to break the clinch.
Anastasio swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Sammio with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Sammio scores with a leg kick.
Sammio throws a leg kick but Anastasio moved away.
Good work by Anastasio as he checks the leg kick.
Sammio connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Anastasio momentarily.
Sammio throws a leg kick
and Anastasio counters with a straight right hand.
Sammio throws a sloppy head kick and Anastasio moves out of range easily.
Sammio scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Anastasio throws a hook but Sammio avoids it easily.
Sammio thows a body shot but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sammio lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Anastasio at a distance.
Sammio fails with an attempt to clinch.
Anastasio throws out a powerful jab.
Sammio scores with a spinning back kick!
Anastasio takes a swing at Sammio's ribcage but misses.
Sammio throws a leg kick but Anastasio moved away.
Anastasio stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Sammio.
Sammio pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Anastasio throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Anastasio scores with a kick to the midsection.
Nice uppercut lands for Sammio. That snapped Anastasio's head back.
Sammio turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Sammio lands with a right hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sammio uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Anastasio.
Sammio thows a body shot but no joy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Anastasio misses.
Anastasio cracks Sammio with a good jab.
Anastasio thows a body shot but no joy.
Anastasio tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Nice jab there from Sammio.
Sammio is looking to clinch but Anastasio is avoiding it.
Anastasio tries to close the distance and clinch but Sammio swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Anastasio moves out of range as Sammio throws a body kick.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Sammio - that will leave a mark!
Sammio throws a quick inside leg kick.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Anastasio's corner calls for a 1-2. Anastasio obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Sammio takes one on the chin but seems OK.
A chopping leg kick lands by Sammio.
Nice body kick from Sammio.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sakari Sammio dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Sammio goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Sammio fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Anastasio is out of range.
Sammio staying out of range there.
Anastasio has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Sammio.
Sammio fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Sammio throws a head kick that misses.
Anastasio defending well as Sammio loads up on a big left hand.
Sammio avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Sammio with a nice cross.
Anastasio fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Sammio looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Anastasio loads up on a big right hand but Sammio slips the punch.
Sammio fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Anastasio.
Sammio moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Anastasio checks a leg kick.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Sammio. Anastasio shrugs it off though.
Sammio steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Anastasio.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anastasio misses with a hook.
Anastasio fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sammio manages to avoid it.
A solid leg kick lands there for Anastasio.
Anastasio blocks a head kick by Sammio.
A good leg kick by Sammio.
The fight stays on the outside here - Anastasio looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Sammio throws a leg kick
and Anastasio counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A shot to the liver by Sammio. Beautiful body shot.
Sammio uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Anastasio.
A thudding body kick lands there by Sammio!
Sammio throws a lazy right hand but Anastasio sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Sammio throws a body punch but Anastasio moves out of range.
Anastasio jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Anastasio tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Anastasio takes a swing at Sammio's ribcage but misses.
Anastasio stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Sammio.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Good exchange - Sammio coming out on top.
A punch lands to the side of Sammio 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Anastasio throws a hook to the side of Sammio's head but Sammio sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Anastasio with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Sammio to score with a decent uppercut.
Sammio avoids the body shot from Anastasio.
Anastasio tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Anastasio tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Anastasio throws a low kick but Sammio moves out of range easily.
A solid leg kick lands there for Sammio.
Sammio displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Anastasio throws out the jab.
Sammio checks a leg kick.
Sammio turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Anastasio takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Anastasio attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Sammio with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Anastasio has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Anastasio there as he acknowledges the shot.
Sammio throws a right and a left that Anastasio avoids nicely.
Sammio connects with a solid leg kick.
Sammio changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Sammio takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Sammio throws a leg kick which misses Anastasio's front leg but catches the back leg as Anastasio tries to avoid it.
Anastasio tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Sammio was well out of range. Poor timing from Anastasio.
Anastasio misses the body punch
and Sammio counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Sammio takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Anthony Anastasio has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Anastasio moves out of range of the body kick from Sammio.
Anastasio takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Sammio takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
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!
Anastasio takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Nice shot lands for Anastasio.
Anastasio blocks the body kick.
Sammio scores with a head kick.
Anastasio throws out a leg kick but Sammio moves out of range and Anastasio only half commits.

Sammio forces Anastasio back against the cage and clinches.
Sammio misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Sammio tries to throw a body punch but Anastasio avoids it by throwing Sammio back against the cage.
Sammio tries to work over Anastasio's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Sammio tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Sammio prevents a body shot from Anastasio.
Anastasio has a couple of punches blocked by Sammio.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sammio has a couple of punches blocked by Anastasio.
Anastasio misses with a punch on the inside.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Sammio.
Sakari Sammio is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Anastasio lands with a light punch inside.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sakari Sammio showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sammio has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 30:27
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sakari Sammio!