PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Taneli Maija (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jienaro Marfil (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Marfil has chosen New Divide as his entrance music. Jienaro Marfil will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Maija
vs
Marfil

183 cm
38
169 lbs
17 - 12 - 0

181 cm
31
183 lbs
14 - 5 - 0

BJJ Red Belt
Basic striking
Insanely flexible

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Spartan Nutrition

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 17 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Taneli Maija!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Jienaro Marfil!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Roger Salmon and Paul Gruel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Maija looks to throw the jab but Marfil is out of range.
Maija misses with a looping right.
Maija avoids a punch combination nicely.
Maija swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Marfil scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Maija doesn't seem bothered though.
Jienaro Marfil seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Marfil swinging wildly here.
Marfil avoids the body shot from Maija.
Marfil drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Maija defends it well.
Maija lands a jab to the nose.
Maija throws a big shot that misses.
Some wild striking there from Marfil.
Maija drops down looking for a counter takedown but Marfil sprawls and moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Maija throws a body punch but Marfil moves out of range.

Maija drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Marfil bucks up and tries to throw Maija off but instead Maija has got his back!
This has been an exciting period of action!

Marfil defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Maija's arms.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Maija looking for the RNC.

Maija working for the choke.

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

Marfil fending off the submission attempt from Maija.
Marfil is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Maija off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maija is looking to control Marfil but Marfil is wriggling around and keeping busy.

Marfil is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Maija gets his way!

Maija is looking for the choke from the back position but Marfil is controlling his hands well.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Maija tries to keep control of the position but Marfil is staying busy.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Maija is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
Marfil really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Maija. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Marfil trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Marfil tries to roll but Maija sticks to his back.
We've been hearing good reports from Maija's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.

Maija looking for the choke but no joy.
Marfil just trying to survive but Maija is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Maija has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.

Maija is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Marfil knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Marfil for a finish.

Marfil fending off the submission attempt from Maija.
Maija is hanging on to Marfil's back as he tries to escape.

Maija has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Marfil has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Taneli Maija 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.

Marfil fails to land with a series of punches.
Nice jab there from Marfil.

It looks like Taneli Maija has been cut.
Maija throws a hook but Marfil avoids it easily.

Maija shoots in and gets a takedown into Marfil's guard.
Maija advances to half guard.
Maija is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Marfil can do to turn this around?
Maija is trying to control. Marfil wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Marfil throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Marfil is staying active underneath Maija, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Maija looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Maija works his way into full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marfil working to try and regain half guard.

Maija is working for a guillotine from mount but Marfil frees his head quite easily.

Maija has isolated one of Marfil's arms. Marfil looking to fight him off but Maija twists into an armbar. It's tight... Will he tap?? YES, he's tapped! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:53 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Taneli Maija!
A very excited looking Taneli Maija rambled incoherently for about 5 minutes post fight about how awesome he is. It was kinda funny for a while but then everyone got annoyed.