PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jia O Connor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marko Torturo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). O Connor kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Parkway Drive - Feed them to the pigs. Torturo is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Mogwai - Katrien. I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

O Connor
vs
Torturo

188 cm
27
215 lbs
16 - 5 - 0

189 cm
36
217 lbs
37 - 17 - 4

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Milwaukee's Best 160
Fury Nutrition Inc.

Milwaukee's Best 160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jia O Connor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 37 - 17 - 4, fighting out of St Petersburg, Marko Torturo!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Marco Blurström and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Torturo lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Torturo lands with a straight right. O Connor didn't see that one coming.
We've been informed that Torturo 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.
Torturo lands the left hand.
Torturo misses with an attempted mid kick.
O Connor blocks a low kick nicely.
Good leg kick by Torturo there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Torturo throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Torturo connects with a leg kick. O Connor looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
O Connor scores with the left hand. Torturo knows he should have avoided that one.
Torturo jabbing away but nothing is landing.
O Connor swinging wildly here.
Torturo comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Torturo tries to clinch up but O Connor circles away and keeps his distance.
O Connor uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Torturo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Torturo tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Torturo throws a body punch but O Connor moves out of range.
Torturo throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent O Connor stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
O Connor ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Torturo moves away.
A telegraphed right hand from Torturo misses the target.
Torturo throws a good cross that connects.
O Connor takes one on the chin but seems OK.
O Connor takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
O Connor looks to land a left hand but Torturo moved out of range nicely.
Torturo throws an ugly left hook that misses

so O Connor counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
O Connor is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Torturo keeping full guard, as O Connor tries to pass.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Torturo is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
O Connor throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Torturo is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Torturo has his hands on O Connor's head, controlling the position.
O Connor throwing strikes from guard but Torturo blocks nicely.
Torturo tries to land a sweep but no joy.

O Connor has gone for a leg lock! Torturo slips out almost immediately though and dives into O Connor's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Connor wants to sweep but no luck.
O Connor is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
O Connor sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Torturo defending well though.
O Connor thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Torturo is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Nice strikes from O Connor there.
Torturo controlling the position well.
O Connor throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Torturo is holding on to half guard well.
Torturo makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Torturo.
O Connor is looking to work some ground and pound but Torturo has wrist control.
O Connor 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.
O Connor is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Torturo working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from O Connor.
Torturo pulls O Connor in close to prevent any damage.
O Connor trying to control the position from guard on top but Torturo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
O Connor throws an elbow that misses. Torturo uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in O Connor's guard. Nice move by Torturo!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Marko Torturo will probably get the nod.
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.

O Connor shoots in for a takedown but Torturo shows good takedown defense.
Torturo swings and misses with a hook to the body.
The fight stays on the outside here - Torturo looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Torturo connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Torturo thows a leg kick but O Connor checks it

and O Connor counters with a nice double leg into side control. Torturo won't be happy with that.
Torturo is trying to control O Connor's posture but O Connor avoids it.
Sloppy strikes there by O Connor.
Torturo parries the strikes from O Connor easily there. O Connor is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Torturo to escape.
Torturo is not content to let O Connor control the position.
Torturo is trying to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Connor throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
O Connor sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Torturo is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Torturo defending against the ground and pound.
Jia O Connor overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Torturo tries to get back to half guard but can't.
O Connor advances to full mount.
Torturo is desperately trying to improve his position but O Connor has a good base and remains in mount.
O Connor looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Torturo tries to lock up and control but O Connor gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Connor unloading with bombs!
Torturo is in all sorts of trouble here.
O Connor thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Torturo working to try and regain half guard.
O Connor sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
O Connor content just to control the position here.
BOOM! O Connor connects with a massive shot to the dome!
O Connor lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
O Connor landing strikes from the mount and Torturo is in trouble!
O Connor landing shots from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Connor looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Torturo is trying to escape the mount.
Torturo wants to hold on but O Connor pushes him away.
O Connor tries to control but Torturo wriggling away.
Torturo takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
O Connor wants to control the pace but Torturo is squirming around nicely.
O Connor lands a big elbow.
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!
O Connor working some short elbows here. He postures up to throw some more ground and pound but Torturo slips a leg through to get back to half guard. Nice work.
O Connor takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Torturo tries to roll over but O Connor keeps him under control.
Torturo trying to get back to full guard but O Connor takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
BOOM! O Connor connects with a massive shot to the dome!
O Connor lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
O Connor connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Torturo tries to hold on but O Connor pushes him away.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Torturo manages to regain half guard whilst avoiding the strikes.
Torturo slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
O Connor trying to control but Torturo is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jia O Connor dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

O Connor looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
O Connor catches Torturo with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
O Connor throws a series of punches but Torturo avoids them all with ease.
O Connor avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
O Connor throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Torturo fakes high and swings low for a body shot but O Connor manages to avoid it.
Torturo tries to clinch but O Connor moves out of range.
Torturo cracks O Connor with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
O Connor fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Torturo looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Marko Torturo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Torturo is looking to clinch but O Connor is avoiding it.
Torturo throws a leg kick

and O Connor counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
O Connor wants to lay and pray for a moment but Torturo keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Torturo won't allow O Connor to pass to mount.

O Connor is looking for a kimura here.
O Connor tries to pass the half guard into mount. Torturo knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Torturo tries to get to full guard but O Connor has control of the leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Torturo on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Torturo trying to control here.
O Connor working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Torturo's thigh. Torturo counters though and makes it back to full guard.
Torturo wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
O Connor cracks Torturo with a solid left hand.
O Connor trying to control but Torturo is working from the bottom.
O Connor 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.
Torturo trying to keep a closed guard but O Connor is proving a slippery customer.
Torturo keeping moving, preventing O Connor from controlling successfully.
O Connor tries to free his leg and advance position but Torturo is retaining full guard.
O Connor missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Torturo is trying to keep O Connor in close.
O Connor missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
O Connor trying to control but Torturo is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
O Connor misses with the combination.
Torturo tried to score with a low kick but O Connor checks it.
O Connor on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
O Connor throws a leg kick that is checked
enabling Torturo to counter with a crisp jab.
Torturo throws a lazy body kick

and O Connor counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
O Connor seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Torturo does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
O Connor sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Torturo defending well though.
O Connor working Torturo over with strikes.
Torturo wants to improve his position but O Connor is controlling well.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jia O Connor showed his dominance in that final round.
I think O Connor has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jia O Connor!
Jia O Connor decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.