PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Daniel Ryan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jaakko Savolainen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ryan comes to the cage accompanied by I'd Love to Knock the Hell out of You by Hank Williams, Jr. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Jaakko Savolainen was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Ryan
vs
Savolainen

183 cm
33
159 lbs
25 - 15 - 0

184 cm
26
184 lbs
12 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Good kicks
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 25 - 15 - 0, fighting out of London, Daniel Ryan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jaakko Savolainen!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Daniel Franklin and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A big right from Savolainen misses.
Ryan dives in for a single leg takedown but Savolainen sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Ryan shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Savolainen as he avoids it easily.
Nice straight punches there by Savolainen. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Savolainen.
Savolainen scores with a hook to the body. Ryan takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Ryan gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

It looks like Daniel Ryan has been cut.
Savolainen fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

Ryan has Savolainen up against the cage in a clinch.
Savolainen prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Daniel Ryan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Savolainen lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Ryan backwards.
Ryan tries to score a body lock takedown but Savolainen shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

Savolainen tightens his grip and picks Ryan up, before dumping him to the ground. Ryan manages to land in guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Savolainen won't allow Ryan to get back to his feet.
Savolainen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ryan is keeping the position for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ryan keeping moving, preventing Savolainen from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Savolainen prevents Ryan from getting back to his feet.
Savolainen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Ryan wants to stand up but Savolainen is controlling him.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Savolainen scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Savolainen buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No luck for Ryan with that takedown attempt.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Savolainen! But no joy.
Savolainen connects with a crisp jab.
Savolainen scores with a hook.
Ryan moves in looking to clinch but Savolainen pushes him off.
Savolainen lands with a hook. Ryan tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Ryan is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Savolainen lands with an overhand left.
Ryan tries to close the distance and clinch up but Savolainen swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Ryan clinches up against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Savolainen breaks the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ryan misses with a takedown attempt - Savolainen sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Savolainen circles away from the clinch attempt.
A nice inside leg kick there by Ryan. That's going to slow Savolainen down.
Ryan fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ryan fails with the takedown.
Savolainen takes a swing at Ryan's ribcage but misses.

Ryan takes the fight into the clinch.

Savolainen has hold of one of Ryan's legs. Ryan is fighting the takedown attempt but Savolainen gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Savolainen won't allow Ryan to get back to his feet.
Ryan preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ryan keeping full guard, as Savolainen tries to pass.
Savolainen trying to control the position from guard on top but Ryan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Savolainen has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Savolainen stops Ryan from standing up.
Savolainen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Ryan avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Ryan scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Savolainen!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ryan closes this distance looking for a takedown but Savolainen circles away.
Savolainen swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Ryan throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Jab by Savolainen.
Ryan on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Ryan shoots in looking for a takedown but Savolainen manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Ryan's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Ryan gets cracked there but stands up to it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jaakko Savolainen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Daniel Ryan's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Ryan tries to clinch up but Savolainen circles away and keeps his distance.
Ryan throws a lazy right hand but Savolainen sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Jaakko Savolainen seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Ryan drops his hands momentarily and Savolainen takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Ryan takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Savolainen scores with the left hand. Ryan knows he should have avoided that one.
Ryan throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Savolainen's waist but Savolainen gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ryan off to one side.
Savolainen avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Savolainen is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Ryan with a body shot.
A nice combination there by Savolainen.
Ryan lands with a straight right. Savolainen didn't see that one coming.
Daniel Ryan seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Savolainen dips to his left and cracks Ryan with an uppercut!
Ryan tries to clinch up.
Ryan fails with the takedown.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Savolainen tests Ryan's chin there with a solid looking shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ryan fails in his attempt to clinch.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Ryan.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Savolainen! But no joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Daniel Ryan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ryan shoots for a double leg takedown but Savolainen sprawls well. He's pushed Ryan's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Ryan takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Savolainen jabbing away but nothing is landing.

Ryan shoots in and bounces Savolainen off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Savolainen trying to control the position here.
Ryan trying to control but Savolainen is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Savolainen is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ryan wants to pass the guard but Savolainen is keeping the position.
Ryan trying to control the position from guard on top but Savolainen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Savolainen is trying to keep Ryan in close.
Savolainen looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ryan is one step ahead there.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Savolainen not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Ryan closes the distance and clinches up with Savolainen, looking for a takedown. Ryan pushes Savolainen against the cage but Savolainen circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Savolainen looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Ryan takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Savolainen misses the shot to the body.
Ryan takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Ryan takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Ryan shoots for a takedown but Savolainen saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Ryan shoots in and bounces Savolainen off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Savolainen looking to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Savolainen seems keen to control Ryan's posture.
Ryan wants to stand and escape but instead Savolainen has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Ryan is looking to stand back up but Savolainen counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Ryan.
Ryan looks like he's trying to stand up.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Savolainen sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Ryan defending well though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jaakko Savolainen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Daniel Ryan's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Ryan defending well as Savolainen loads up on a big left hand.
Savolainen lands a jab to Ryan's midsection.
Ryan misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Ryan tries to score a power double leg takedown but Savolainen sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Ryan somewhat.
Savolainen misses with a hook.
Savolainen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Ryan was well out of range. Poor timing from Savolainen.
Savolainen moves out of range of the strikes.
Savolainen swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Ryan shoots in but no luck this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Savolainen uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Ryan has time to react.
Ryan looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Savolainen works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Nice sprawl there from Savolainen as Ryan shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Daniel Ryan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Savolainen connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Ryan momentarily.
Ryan shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Savolainen stuffs the takedown.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Savolainen.
Ryan shoots in and drives through. Savolainen sprawls well.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ryan walks into a jab.

Ryan is rocked!

Savolainen bobbing and weaving well here. And he's unloaded with a massive right hand that drops Ryan! He dives into his guard looking to finish!
Oh Ryan is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Savolainen slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Savolainen in side control lands a decent elbow.
Savolainen in side control here. He's dropped a big elbow there and Ryan looks hurt! Oh, he is hurt! Savolainen turns on the heat and pounds him out for a TKO victory! Good killer instinct there!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:53 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Jaakko Savolainen!
After winning the bout, Jaakko Savolainen thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.