PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tuomas Saarinen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Muhammad Ali (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Saarinen
vs
Ali

200 cm
25
211 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
25
215 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Big heart

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Inexperienced

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Tuomas Saarinen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Muhammad Ali!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Michael Johnstone and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ali throws a shot from downtown. Saarinen moves away and avoids it.
Saarinen avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Saarinen misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Saarinen pushes Ali up against the cage in a clinch.
Saarinen trying to control the position but instead, Ali has worked for underhooks and has pushed Saarinen into the cage.
Ali managing to block the knees to the body from Saarinen.
Ali on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Ali lands a right hand.
Saarinen missing with knees to the body.
Saarinen scores with a knee to the head.
Saarinen has Ali pressed against the cage.
Saarinen misses with a knee strike.
Saarinen trying to land knees to the body.
Ali misses with a short punch on the inside.
Saarinen misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ali.
Ali lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Ali lands a shoulder strike.
The referee calls for Ali to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saarinen tries to break free but Ali pushes him back against the cage.
Saarinen scores with a knee to the head.
Ali holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Ali misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Saarinen blocking some punches.
Ali lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Saarinen backwards.
Saarinen looking to throw knees to the head but Ali is blocking nicely.
The referee calls for Ali to work.
Ali on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Saarinen tries to break the clinch but Ali is controlling the position.
Ali lands a body shot.
A short right from Ali on the inside.
Saarinen throws a knee to the head but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saarinen misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ali.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Ali.
Saarinen is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Ali controlling the action here for a moment.
Ali lands a shoulder strike.
Ali presses Saarinen against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ali lands with a left to the head.

Saarinen's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Saarinen on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Saarinen slips under a jab.

Ali instigates a clinch.
Saarinen tries a knee to the head but Ali blocks it.
Saarinen lands a nice knee to the body.
Saarinen with a knee to the head.
Saarinen throws a knee to the head but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saarinen misses with a knee to the head.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Ali lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Saarinen landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Ali lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Saarinen misses with a knee strike.
Saarinen missing with knees to the body.
Saarinen with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Saarinen tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Saarinen tries to land a knee to the head but Ali blocks with his arms.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Ali.
Ali lands a body shot.
A nice right hand lands inside from Ali.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ali taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Ali tries to throw a body punch but Saarinen avoids it by throwing Ali back against the cage.
Ali lands an uppercut.
Ali managing to block the knees to the body from Saarinen.
Saarinen is trying to break free.
Saarinen is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Ali is defending well for now.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Saarinen letting Ali take a breather here.
Saarinen is trying to stall.

Saarinen escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ali scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Ali scores with a body shot.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Saarinen rushes Ali and presses him up against the cage.
Saarinen is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Ali is defending well for now.
Ali dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Saarinen misses with a knee strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Muhammad Ali will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Ali changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Saarinen misses with a head kick.
A big right from Ali misses.
Saarinen lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
A lazy left from Ali finds it's target.
Saarinen misses with a kick to the body.
Saarinen looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Ali throws a jab but it's blocked by Saarinen.
Ali takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Ali missing with a left hand there. Saarinen was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

Ali fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Saarinen, pushing him back against the cage.
Saarinen tries to land knees in the clinch but Ali avoids the damage to the body.
A short body shot lands from Ali as the two fighters clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Saarinen is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Ali avoiding damage as Saarinen throws knees to the body.
Ali takes a knee to the side of the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ali effectively controlling the action here.
Saarinen missing with knees to the body.
Ali lands a nice uppercut.
Ali lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Ali lands a right hand.
Saarinen missing with knees to the body.
Ali lands a left hand that snaps the head of Saarinen backwards.
Saarinen is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
A short uppercut from Ali.
Ali stalling against the cage.
Ali lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Ali trying to control the position but instead, Saarinen has worked for underhooks and has pushed Ali into the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ali misses with a punch on the inside.
Ali takes a knee right on the jaw!
Ali slows down the pace here.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Saarinen using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Ali has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Ali blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ali slowing the pace effectively.
Saarinen landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Ali slows down the pace here.
Ali managing to block the knees to the body from Saarinen.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saarinen using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Ali has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Ali presses Saarinen against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Ali stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Saarinen tries to land a knee to the head but Ali blocks with his arms.
Ali tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ali cracks Saarinen with a nice body shot.
Saarinen utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Saarinen throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Ali blocks it with crossed arms.
Ali lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Saarinen working Ali over with knees to the body.
Saarinen misses with a knee to the head.
Saarinen misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ali.
Ali avoiding damage as Saarinen throws knees to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ali misses with the head strike.
Saarinen misses with a knee strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ali lands a right hand that snaps the head of Saarinen backwards.
Ali blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A left hand lands to the body for Ali.
Saarinen looking to throw knees to the head but Ali is blocking nicely.
A short right from Ali.
Saarinen is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Saarinen wants to get back to striking at distance but Ali won't allow it.
Ali throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Ali is pushing Saarinen up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Saarinen lands a knee to the body.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ali dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Ali lands with a light punch inside.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Muhammad Ali will probably get the nod - 10:9.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Saarinen tries a low kick but Ali avoids it.
Saarinen uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Ali.
Saarinen tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Ali is able to avoid easily.
Saarinen takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Ali steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Saarinen. That one must have hurt.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Saarinen, right into the meat.
Saarinen scores with a head kick. Ali tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Saarinen moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Ali throws a jab but it's blocked by Saarinen.
Saarinen throws a half hearted mid kick.
Ali with a hook.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Saarinen tries to land a front kick but Ali steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Ali sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Ali misses with an uppercut.
Saarinen fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Ali.
Saarinen throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ali takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Tuomas Saarinen is winning the standup battle so far.
Ali takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A chopping leg kick lands by Saarinen.
Saarinen uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Ali.
Saarinen connects with an inside leg kick.
Ali might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Saarinen looks for the body kick but Ali saw that one coming.
Ali looks to throw the jab but Saarinen is out of range.
Saarinen slips a jab from Ali.
Saarinen connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Saarinen throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Ali's head.

It looks like Muhammad Ali has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Saarinen throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Saarinen lands a nice leg kick that just misses Ali's sensitive parts.
Saarinen connects with a solid leg kick.
Saarinen connects with an inside leg kick.
That kick from Saarinen tenderised Ali's leg. Ali is trying to keep his angry face on.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A slapping leg kick lands for Saarinen.
Saarinen lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Ali takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Saarinen thumps Ali with a low kick.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Ali on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Saarinen lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Ali misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Saarinen blocks a body shot from Ali.
Saarinen is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Ali blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Saarinen trying to land knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ali misses with the head strike.
Saarinen tries to land knees in the clinch but Ali avoids the damage to the body.
Ali swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ali has a couple of punches blocked by Saarinen.
Saarinen is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Ali tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ali is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Saarinen connects with a nasty looking knee right to Ali's face.
Saarinen scores with a knee to the head.
Ali throws a head punch that misses.
Saarinen blocking some punches.
Ali scores with a nice hook to the head.
Ali on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Ali blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ali lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Ali is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Saarinen is keeping busy.
Ali softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Saarinen crunches a lovely knee into Ali's ribcage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ali avoiding damage as Saarinen throws knees to the body.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Ali misses with a punch to the body.
Saarinen is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Ali is defending well for now.
Tuomas Saarinen has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Ali lands a left hand that snaps the head of Saarinen backwards.
Ali avoiding damage as Saarinen throws knees to the body.
Tuomas Saarinen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ali keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Saarinen's efforts to push away.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Saarinen tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Ali avoids it.
Ali cracks Saarinen with a nice body shot.
Ali's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Ali avoiding damage as Saarinen throws knees to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tuomas Saarinen showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Ali 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 28:29
Judge Peter Branson scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Muhammad Ali!