PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Bongo Drum (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Karri Tapio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Karri Tapio acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Drum
vs
Tapio

165 cm
20
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

225 cm
26
130 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Bongo Drum!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Karri Tapio!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Arvi Lind and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tapio staying out of range there.
Bongo Drum seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Drum rushes Tapio and presses him up against the cage.
Tapio is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Drum breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Drum misses with a double jab.
Tapio shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Drum pinned against the cage. Drum gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
No joy there for Drum, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Drum throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Drum closes the distance and pushes Tapio back into the cage.
Tapio is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Drum gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Tapio is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Drum is keeping busy.

Drum gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Tapio trying to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Drum stands up from Tapio's guard - Drum perhaps looking for a knockout.
Tapio shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Drum pinned against the cage. Drum gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Bongo Drum has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Karri Tapio.
Tapio keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Drum.
Drum tries to score with a low kick but Tapio moves his leg out of the way.
Drum throws a right and a left that Tapio avoids nicely.

Drum closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Tapio tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
A frustrated look appears on Drum's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Drum breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Drum drives through and clinches with Tapio against the cage.

Drum breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Drum slaps away a takedown attempt from Tapio, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Drum moves into range and clinches up with Tapio.
Tapio is trying to drag Drum to the mat but Drum just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Drum manages to break the clinch.

Oooh a lovely combination from Drum sends Tapio down but not out. Drum dives into side control looking to finish.

Tapio is rocked!
Tapio really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Drum. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Drum decides to stand back up. Drum steps back and let's Tapio get back to his feet.
Tapio is still on wobbly legs! Can Drum finish him?

Drum manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Tapio on his heels. He'll look to pass Tapio's guard now, I'm sure.
Drum throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Tapio works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Tapio can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Tapio is working an open guard so Drum takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Tapio is trying desperately to land a takedown but Drum is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Tapio.
Nice takedown defense from Tapio. No joy for Drum on that attempt.
Tapio pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Drum moves into range and clinches up with Tapio.
Tapio seems to have recovered his senses.

Drum breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Tapio misses with a few strikes there.
Tapio is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.

Drum moves into the clinch successfully.
Tapio tries for a takedown. No joy.
Tapio wants to stall.
Tapio manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.

Drum breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tapio wants to clinch up but Drum keeps it at a distance.

Drum throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Tapio tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Drum is in Tapio's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Drum gets to his feet. Tapio looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Tapio tries to clinch

and Drum counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Drum.

Drum escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Drum throws a right hand that Tapio ducks under and follows up with a left that Tapio also avoids with ease.
Tapio checks a leg kick.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Drum throws a combination that misses
and Tapio counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Drum looks to land a combination but Tapio avoids it well.
Drum rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Tapio moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
The fight stays on the outside here - Drum looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bongo Drum 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.

Drum closes the distance and clinches up with Tapio, looking for a takedown. Drum pushes Tapio against the cage but Tapio circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Drum throws a right and a left that Tapio avoids nicely.
Tapio doesn't manage to clinch there - Drum circles away.
Drum takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Drum misses with a series of wild punches.
Tapio slips a jab and a cross from Drum.
Drum throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Tapio.
Tapio misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Tapio fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Bongo Drum is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Tapio has his takedown stuffed

and Drum counters with a leg kick then a big left hand that sends Tapio down! Drum is looking to finish but Tapio is intelligently defending himself.
Bongo Drum has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Karri Tapio.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Drum stands up from Tapio's guard - Drum perhaps looking for a knockout.
Tapio keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tapio changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Drum tries to avoid it but Tapio manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Drum to the ground. Drum escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Drum throws a sloppy head kick and Tapio moves out of range easily.
Drum will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Drum misses with a few strikes there.
Drum misses with a double jab.
Tapio tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Drum swivels and escapes.
Tapio dives in and grabs Drum's left leg, looking for a takedown. Drum pushes down on Tapio's head and hops out.
Tapio shoots in for a takedown but Drum shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Tapio is breathing heavily.
A swing and a miss from Drum.
Drum fails to land with a series of punches.
Tapio throws a body kick that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Drum. Those never looked like landing.

Drum gets a clinch.
Drum lands a nice uppercut.

Drum ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Drum no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Tapio looking to sit in guard and control but Drum gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Drum gets to his feet. Tapio looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
A punch combination from Drum misses.
Drum is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Tapio can do to turn this around?
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Drum misses with the combination.
Tapio lands with a nice body punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Drum misses with a jab, cross combination.
Drum falls off balance throwing a combination
and Tapio makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Drum throws a right and a left that Tapio avoids nicely.

Drum clinches up with Tapio and pushes him back against the cage.
Tapio is trying to drag Drum to the mat but Drum just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Tapio is trying to pull guard but Drum turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Tapio jumps guard but Drum turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Tapio is working for takedown but Drum is calmly controlling the position for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tapio has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Drum is trying to break the clinch but Tapio is controlling him.
Tapio goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Tapio turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!

Drum sneaks out the side door and pushes Tapio away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
Drum swinging wildly here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tapio takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tapio tries to clinch but Drum moves out of range.
Tapio tries for a takedown but Drum circles away easily
and Tapio takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bongo Drum dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Drum gets the takedown into side control.
Drum lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Tapio is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Drum wants to control but Tapio is keeping him busy.
You can see the frustration on Tapio's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Drum scores with a big shot from side control... and another... and another! Oh Tapio is done here - save him referee! More strikes land and eventually the ref does step in and Drum can finally stop beating on his defenseless opponent!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:50 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Bongo Drum!