PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Kevin Ando (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Amin Cabdi Mataan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ando comes to the cage accompanied by Point of No Return. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Ando
vs
Cabdi Mataan

170 cm
23
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
23
154 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Kevin Ando!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Amin Cabdi Mataan!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Ben Zyskovitsi and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cabdi Mataan swats away the attempt to clinch by Ando.
Nice takedown defense from Cabdi Mataan. No joy for Ando on that attempt.
Ando closes this distance looking for a takedown but Cabdi Mataan circles away.
Ando shoots in for a double leg but Cabdi Mataan sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kevin Ando. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cabdi Mataan tries to land a front kick but Ando steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Ando fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Cabdi Mataan pushes Ando up against the cage in a clinch.
Cabdi Mataan blocks a body shot from Ando.
Cabdi Mataan blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Ando pushes Cabdi Mataan back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Ando tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Cabdi Mataan avoids it.
Ando misses with a knee strike.
Cabdi Mataan trying to land knees to the body.
Ando misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Cabdi Mataan.

Cabdi Mataan pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Ando gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Cabdi Mataan to score an easy takedown into full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Ando working a defensive guard here.

Ando has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Cabdi Mataan is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Ando.
Cabdi Mataan scores with a couple of short elbows.
Cabdi Mataan tries to advance to mount but Ando denies him.
Cabdi Mataan in side control, just content to control the action for now.
You can see the frustration on Ando's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ando bucks up and tries to throw Cabdi Mataan off but instead Cabdi Mataan has got his back!

Cabdi Mataan is working hard for the rear naked choke here.

Cabdi Mataan looking for the RNC.

Cabdi Mataan is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Ando has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ando defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Cabdi Mataan is landing with strikes. Ando can't take much more of this.

Ando preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Cabdi Mataan.
Good control from Cabdi Mataan.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ando trying to control the hands but Cabdi Mataan breaks the grip.
Cabdi Mataan controlling from the back.
Cabdi Mataan is working the ground and pound here and the referee is taking a close look at Ando. He must escape soon or this one will be stopped.
Ando manages to reverse the position and now he's in Cabdi Mataan's guard. Nice work there by Ando.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Cabdi Mataan is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ando is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Amin Cabdi Mataan dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Ando lands a slapping body shot.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Ando, right into the meat.
Ando throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Ando.

Cabdi Mataan scores with a takedown into Ando's guard.
Ando can't keep his opponent in guard - Cabdi Mataan advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Cabdi Mataan trying to control the pace.

Cabdi Mataan seems to be working for a kimura but Ando defends the submission attempt.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ando wants to get back to his feet.

Cabdi Mataan is looking for a kimura here.
Cabdi Mataan is taking a breather. Ando says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cabdi Mataan takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Cabdi Mataan is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Cabdi Mataan thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Cabdi Mataan takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Amin Cabdi Mataan has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Ando tries to clinch up
and Cabdi Mataan counters with a one-two to the body.
Ando tries to close the distance and clinch but Cabdi Mataan swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Cabdi Mataan circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ando looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Cabdi Mataan throws a series of punches but Ando moves out of range.
Ando moves to clinch but Cabdi Mataan breaks away

and Cabdi Mataan decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Ando's guard.

Cabdi Mataan decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Ando, up you get!
Ando tries to clinch

so Cabdi Mataan counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cabdi Mataan not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Amin Cabdi Mataan has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Ando wants to stand up but Cabdi Mataan is controlling him.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Amin Cabdi Mataan was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Ando wants to clinch but Cabdi Mataan slips to the side
and Cabdi Mataan counters with a nice body shot.
Ando looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Cabdi Mataan throws a push kick but Ando slaps the foot to one side.
Ando fails with the takedown
and Cabdi Mataan counters with a three punch combo that has Ando backing up. Ando nods at Cabdi Mataan to acknowledge the strikes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kevin Ando. That's going to take a lot out of him.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Ando enables Cabdi Mataan to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Ando manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Cabdi Mataan is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cabdi Mataan with a nice head shot there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Amin Cabdi Mataan showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Cabdi Mataan closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Cabdi Mataan sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Cabdi Mataan scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
It looks like Cabdi Mataan is going to stand back up.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cabdi Mataan thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Ando's head.
Ando won't allow Cabdi Mataan to pass to mount.
Ando has hold of Cabdi Mataan's hands but Cabdi Mataan slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Ando is trying to stand back up but Cabdi Mataan is controlling him

Ando pushes Cabdi Mataan off and gets back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Cabdi Mataan chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Ando can pounce on him.
Cabdi Mataan takes a swing at Ando's ribcage but misses.
A head kick misses from Cabdi Mataan.
Ando looks for a takedown but Cabdi Mataan sprawls well.
Ando shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Cabdi Mataan sprawls well. Cabdi Mataan wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Ando gets slowly back to his feet.
Kevin Ando seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Cabdi Mataan shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Cabdi Mataan showed some decent athleticism there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well, if Cabdi Mataan is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
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!
Cabdi Mataan thows a huge punch but Ando dodges it nicely.
Cabdi Mataan is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Amin Cabdi Mataan.
Ando leaves Cabdi Mataan with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Cabdi Mataan circles away from the clinch attempt.

Cabdi Mataan closes the distance and pushes Ando back into the cage.
Cabdi Mataan has had enough of the clinch but Ando keeps him there for the moment.
Cabdi Mataan has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Cabdi Mataan has picked Ando up - he's going for a ride! Cabdi Mataan dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Ando makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Ando.
Cabdi Mataan engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Cabdi Mataan stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ando swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cabdi Mataan works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Cabdi Mataan controlling the action here.

Cabdi Mataan is working for a submission of some sort.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ando is concentrating on defense, preventing Cabdi Mataan from advancing position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Amin Cabdi Mataan comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Cabdi Mataan winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 for Amin Cabdi Mataan!
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight for Amin Cabdi Mataan!
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight for Amin Cabdi Mataan!

Amin Cabdi Mataan wins by unanimous decision!