PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Raphael Melendez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jantte Pekkanen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jantte Pekkanen is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Melendez
vs
Pekkanen

201 cm
18
177 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

180 cm
25
177 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Raphael Melendez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jantte Pekkanen!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Matti Vanhoillinen and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Pekkanen shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Melendez's guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Melendez keeping moving, preventing Pekkanen from controlling successfully.
Melendez seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Melendez looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Melendez managing to control the position.
Pekkanen won't allow Melendez to sweep him here.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Pekkanen manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Melendez on his heels. He'll look to pass Melendez's guard now, I'm sure.
Melendez pulls Pekkanen in close to prevent any damage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Pekkanen trying to control the position from guard on top but Melendez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pekkanen advances position into side control!
Pekkanen is looking to take a break and control but Melendez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Pekkanen decides to stand back up.

Pekkanen closes the distance and pushes Melendez back into the cage.
Melendez is trying to pull guard but Pekkanen has him pressed against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Melendez dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Pekkanen tries to circle away but Melendez has him pinned against the cage.
Melendez goes for a takedown attempt but Pekkanen pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Sloppy strikes from Pekkanen. Those never looked like landing.

Pekkanen shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Pekkanen showed some decent athleticism there.
Melendez is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melendez wants to get back to his feet.
Melendez is breathing heavily.
Pekkanen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Melendez keeps working.
Pekkanen controlling the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Jantte Pekkanen has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Melendez pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Melendez gets tackled into the cage by Pekkanen. Pekkanen maintains the clinch.
Pekkanen stalling against the cage.
Melendez jumps guard but Pekkanen stands there with Melendez around his waist. Melendez gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Raphael Melendez. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pekkanen scores with a shoulder strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jantte Pekkanen dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Pekkanen drives through with a takedown into guard.
Pekkanen wants to control from the top but Melendez keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Pekkanen drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Melendez manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Pekkanen has Melendez in his guard.

Pekkanen is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Melendez is aware though and is defending well.
Melendez preventing the sweep.
Melendez content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Melendez preventing the sweep.
Pekkanen wants to get back to his feet but Melendez passes into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pekkanen is looking to improve his position.
Pekkanen is breathing heavily.
Pekkanen is looking to escape.
Melendez is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ground and pound from Melendez.
Jantte Pekkanen has got the better of the ground game so far.
Melendez lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Pekkanen trying to get back to full guard but Melendez takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
Pekkanen tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Melendez scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Pekkanen?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pekkanen trying desperately to get to his feet.
Melendez landing shots from mount.
Melendez landing strikes, looking to finish!
Melendez punishing his opponent with strikes.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Melendez is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Pekkanen is surviving well by controlling Melendez's body position as best he can.
Melendez pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Melendez is landing with some decent strikes but Pekkanen is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Pekkanen tries to hold on but Melendez pushes him away.
Melendez in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melendez punishing his opponent with strikes.
Pekkanen is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
Melendez lands with some strikes.
Melendez in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
A nice elbow there by Melendez.
Melendez lands a big shot there that rocks Pekkanen but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Melendez has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Pekkanen's face.
Melendez landing strikes from the mount and Pekkanen is in trouble!
Pekkanen really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Pekkanen is still trying to improve position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melendez lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Melendez is in the full mount, landing strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Melendez working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Pekkanen tries to lock up and control but Melendez gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Melendez looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Pekkanen is in all sorts of trouble here.
Melendez really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Pekkanen tries to hold on but Melendez postures up.
Melendez will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Pekkanen is working to get back to half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Melendez is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Pekkanen can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Raphael Melendez dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - 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.

Pekkanen closes the distance and clinches.
Melendez is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Melendez prevents Pekkanen from breaking the clinch.
Pekkanen trying to stall but Melendez improves his position.

Pekkanen wants the takedown. Melendez is fighting it off but Pekkanen persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Melendez's guard against the cage.
Melendez has his hands on Pekkanen's head, controlling the position.
Pekkanen trying to control the position from guard on top but Melendez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pekkanen throwing strikes from guard but Melendez blocks nicely.
Pekkanen trying to control but Melendez is working from the bottom.
Pekkanen content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Pekkanen trying to control but Melendez is working from the bottom.
Pekkanen wanted to stand there but Melendez had control of the position.
Pekkanen takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pekkanen looking to pass the guard.
Melendez pulls Pekkanen in close to his closed guard and prevents Pekkanen from doing any damage or advancing position.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Jantte Pekkanen hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Pekkanen fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Pekkanen gets a clinch.
Pekkanen has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pekkanen jumps guard and drags Melendez to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Pekkanen working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Melendez.
Melendez landing with the ground and pound.
Melendez passes into half guard under a barage of strikes.
Pekkanen blocking the ground and pound attempt from Melendez.
The fighters are battling for position here. Pekkanen manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Pekkanen looking for a sweep. Not yet Pekkanen, not yet.

Pekkanen kicks Melendez off and gets to his feet.

Melendez throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Pekkanen tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Melendez is in Pekkanen's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pekkanen wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Melendez is now in half guard.

Melendez is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Pekkanen doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Melendez.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
It looks like Melendez is going to stand back up.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pekkanen wants to control but Melendez is keeping busy.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jantte Pekkanen comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Pekkanen has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 28:29
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 28:29
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jantte Pekkanen!