PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Keiji Mutou (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hjalmar Soderberg (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Mutou
vs
Soderberg

188 cm
28
213 lbs
11 - 3 - 1

189 cm
33
225 lbs
23 - 9 - 0

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Steel Penn\'s Laundry 80% LAUNDRY IS AVAILABLE

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 3 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Keiji Mutou!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 9 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Hjalmar Soderberg!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Sam Margolis and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mutou shoots in for a takedown but Soderberg shows good takedown defense.
Nice takedown defense from Soderberg. No joy for Mutou on that attempt.
Mutou has his takedown stuffed
and Soderberg counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Keiji Mutou. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Horrible takedown attempt by Mutou or perhaps it was just good defense by Soderberg, which made it look bad.
Mutou with a poor takedown
and Soderberg counters with a left to the body.
Soderberg misses with a head kick.
Mutou has his takedown stuffed
and Soderberg counters with a solid body kick.
Mutou is breathing heavily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Soderberg tries to close the distance and clinch but Mutou swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Mutou dodges the punch combination from Soderberg.
Soderberg throws a push kick but Mutou slaps the foot to one side.
Soderberg misses with a straight right.

Mutou scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Soderberg is looking for a sweep.
Mutou landing a few strikes.
Soderberg is trying to get back to half guard.
Soderberg wants to control but Mutou postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soderberg is looking for a sweep.
Soderberg parries the strikes from Mutou easily there. Mutou is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Soderberg to escape.
Mutou wants to control but Soderberg is keeping him busy.
What's Soderberg going to do here then? He's in a bit of a pickle.
Mutou is looking to take a break and control but Soderberg is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Mutou throws a strike aimed at the side of Soderberg's head but Soderberg avoids it well.
Soderberg is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mutou trying to control the action but Soderberg is working from the bottom.
Soderberg is looking for a sweep.
Soderberg struggling a bit here.
Soderberg is looking to reverse the position.
Mutou working the head and body with strikes.
Soderberg is looking for a sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mutou lands a few punches from side control.
Mutou working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Soderberg is trying to improve his position.
Mutou working away.
Soderberg is not content to let Mutou control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Soderberg's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Mutou scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Soderberg to see if he's OK.
Mutou landing strikes.
Soderberg is trying to control Mutou's posture but Mutou avoids it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mutou working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Mutou is putting a hurting on Soderberg here, landing some big shots from side control.
Soderberg is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Mutou lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Soderberg down.
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 Keiji Mutou will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Soderberg leaves Mutou with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Mutou tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Soderberg swivels and escapes.
Soderberg throws a head kick that misses.
Keiji Mutou seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Mutou has his takedown stuffed
and Soderberg counters with a lovely shot to the body.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Keiji Mutou. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Mutou drives through with a takedown into Soderberg's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Mutou trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Soderberg working for a triangle but Mutou defends it easily.
Mutou sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Soderberg's guard.

Soderberg actively working from the bottom here.
Soderberg wants to improve his position but Mutou is controlling well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soderberg has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Mutou is working away from the top position though.
Soderberg is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Soderberg is trying to maintain the position but Mutou is very close to passing his half guard.
Mutou thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Mutou trying to control the action but Soderberg is working from the bottom.
Mutou working Soderberg over with strikes.
Soderberg slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soderberg tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Mutou seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Soderberg keeping moving, preventing Mutou from controlling successfully.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Mutou lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Mutou is fighting to break Soderberg's control of his arms but Soderberg is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mutou slips nicely into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soderberg tries to roll over but Mutou keeps him under control.
Mutou works his way into full mount!
Soderberg keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Soderberg wants to control but Mutou is having none of it.
Mutou working the ground and pound effectively.
Mutou looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soderberg is in all sorts of trouble here.
Soderberg tries to hold on but Mutou pushes him away.
Mutou lands a couple of good shots and Soderberg has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Mutou trying to control momentarily.
Soderberg wants to escape the position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A lull in the action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mutou is working the ground and pound. Can Soderberg escape?
Mutou lands a shot to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Keiji Mutou dominated that second round.
That's time! Mutou's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Soderberg works Mutou's body with a nice hook.

Soderberg is rocked!
Soderberg misses with a low kick.
Soderberg is still on wobbly legs! Can Mutou finish him?
Soderberg jabbing away but nothing is landing.

Mutou is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Soderberg's half guard.
Mutou lands a massive shot from half guard that has rocked Soderberg! More strikes land and this one is all over! Mutou jumps to his feet and is applauded loudly by the crowd!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:26 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Keiji Mutou!
Keiji Mutou retains his light heavyweight title!
Hjalmar Soderberg spoke after the fight, saying 'Listen...need to start thinking about my future. Can't keep taking punishment at this rate.'.