PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Greg Norman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kuiskaaja Rajala (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kuiskaaja Rajala has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Norman
vs
Rajala

183 cm
26
183 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

175 cm
19
173 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Counter fighter
Powerful

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Greg Norman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Kuiskaaja Rajala!
The judges for this bout are Winston Alpacca, Santiago Holmes and Bart Greer.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.
Norman darts in trying to clinch

and Rajala decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Norman's guard.
Norman wants to sweep here but Rajala controlling him for the moment.
Norman working a defensive guard but Rajala manages to pass into side control anyway.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Norman tries to improve position but can't.
Rajala working away.
Rajala tries to stand but Norman is controlling his head.
Rajala working away.
Norman is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Rajala is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Norman looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Norman is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Norman looking for a sweep but Rajala has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Rajala is looking to stand but Rajala has his arms wrapped tightly around him, looking to prevent the damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Norman is wriggling around trying to escape.
Norman is trying to reverse the position but instead Rajala has taken his back - oops!
Norman wants to control his opponent's hands but Rajala gets his hands free.
Norman is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
My spies in Evil Emp-HEAD HUNTERS FIGHTCLUB ELITE4CHEAP//19COA inform me that Rajala has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rajala not allowing Norman to control his hands.
Norman can't escape the position.
Norman wants to control his opponent's hands but Rajala gets his hands free.
Rajala keeps control of the position as Norman tries to break free.
Norman trying to control the action but Rajala just sinks the hooks in.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Norman turns into Rajala and is now in his guard.
Norman wants to get up but he can't break Rajala's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

We're going to have a standup here because Greg Norman wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Norman wants to clinch

and Rajala counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Norman trying to keep a closed guard but Rajala is proving a slippery customer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Greg Norman will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Norman closes the distance but Rajala moves to the side

and Rajala counters with a nice double leg into side control. Norman won't be happy with that.
Rajala wants to stand but Norman has his arm trapped.
Norman tries to buck Rajala off but Rajala is having none of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Norman can't do much from the bottom here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rajala tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Norman struggling a bit here.
Norman tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Rajala wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Rajala wants to stand but Norman is controlling his arm.
Norman gets back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Norman is trying to get back to full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Norman closes the distance looking to clinch

and Rajala counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Norman manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Rajala manages to get himself to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Norman wanted to stand there but Rajala had control of the position.
Norman won't allow Rajala to get back to his feet.
Norman wants to stand but Rajala has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rajala is looking to stand up but Norman isn't so interested in that idea.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Norman tries to clinch up

and Rajala counters with a single leg into guard. Norman didn't expect that.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kuiskaaja Rajala showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Norman tries to clinch up

and Rajala counters with a nice double leg into side control. Norman won't be happy with that.
Norman regains half guard.
Norman wants to get back to his feet.
Norman wants to control the action here but instead Rajala manages to pass to full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Norman is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Kuiskaaja Rajala has got the better of the ground game so far.
Norman working to try and regain half guard.
Norman wants to control but Rajala is having none of it.
Rajala prevents Norman from getting the reversal.
Norman slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Norman wants to control but Rajala is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Norman keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Greg Norman.
Norman tries to clinch but Rajala moves away

and Rajala counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Rajala stopping the sweep attempt from Norman.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Norman trying to keep a closed guard but Rajala is proving a slippery customer.
Norman wants to sweep here but Rajala controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Norman controlling the position.

Greg Norman has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Norman wants to clinch

and Rajala decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Norman's guard.
Norman is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rajala wants to get up but he can't break Norman's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Norman pulls Rajala in to control the position.
Norman trying to control the position.

Greg Norman has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Rajala circles away from the clinch attempt

and Rajala counters with a shoot takedown. Norman fights it but they end up in guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kuiskaaja Rajala comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Rajala 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 Winston Alpacca scores the fight 28:29
Judge Santiago Holmes scores the fight 28:29
Judge Bart Greer scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kuiskaaja Rajala!
During a confident post fight interview, Kuiskaaja Rajala thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.