PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rex Velasquez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Black Heart (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Velasquez
vs
Heart

206 cm
24
162 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

187 cm
25
158 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
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 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rex Velasquez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Black Heart!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Ben Zyskovitsi and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Heart moves into the clinch.
Velasquez lands a shot to the body.
Velasquez has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Heart is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Velasquez goes for a takedown in the clinch but Heart prevents it.

Heart pulls guard effortlessly.
Velasquez is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Heart looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Heart is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Heart working for a triangle but Velasquez defends it easily.
Velasquez tries to stand but Heart is controlling from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Velasquez scoring with some ground and pound.

Velasquez is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Heart is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Heart has escaped and now he's on top!

Heart tries to free his leg and advance position but Velasquez is retaining full guard.
Velasquez has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Heart stopping the sweep attempt from Velasquez.

Heart stands up from Velasquez's guard - Heart perhaps looking for a knockout.

Heart drives through with a takedown into Velasquez's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Velasquez utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Velasquez wants to sweep here but Heart controlling him for the moment.
Heart tries to free his leg and advance position but Velasquez is retaining full guard.
Velasquez is pulling down on Heart's head to control his posture.
Heart trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Velasquez will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Heart stays in close to Velasquez's body and controls the position.
Velasquez pulls Heart in close to prevent any damage.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Heart stopping the sweep attempt from Velasquez.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Heart drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Heart being controlled here momentarily.
Velasquez really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Heart throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Velasquez holds on and takes a little breather.
Heart wants to control from the top but Velasquez keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Heart stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Velasquez swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Heart in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Velasquez avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Heart moves into the clinch.
Velasquez is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Heart is defending well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rex Velasquez. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Heart.

It looks like Rex Velasquez has been cut.
Velasquez goes for a takedown attempt but Heart pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Black Heart dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Rex Velasquez's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Heart gets tackled into the cage by Velasquez. Velasquez maintains the clinch.
Velasquez has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Heart is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Velasquez gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Heart regains guard.
Heart pulls Velasquez in to control the position.
Heart wants to sweep but no luck.
Heart has a closed guard, preventing Velasquez from standing up.
Heart is pulling down on Velasquez's head. It's preventing any offense from Velasquez, at least for the moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Velasquez got a little sloppy there for a moment and Heart has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Velasquez has managed to get both his arms back between Heart's legs - danger averted.
Heart is trying to keep Velasquez in close.
Heart wants to sweep but no luck.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Heart is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Velasquez stands up over Heart, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Heart tries to strike from the bottom.
Velasquez won't allow Heart to sweep him here.
Velasquez is looking to stand up but Heart won't let him.
Velasquez throws a strike but Heart rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Heart trying to control but Velasquez is working from the bottom.
Heart looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Velasquez wants to sweep but no luck.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Velasquez trying to control the position here.
Heart throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Velasquez works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Heart looking to sit in guard and control but Velasquez gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Velasquez wants to get up but he can't break Heart's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Velasquez scoring with some ground and pound.
Heart has momentary wrist control but Velasquez slips an elbow through the middle.
Velasquez lands a couple of elbows.
Velasquez postures up in Heart's guard and throws a big left but Heart blocks it.
Velasquez tries to stand but Heart is controlling from the bottom.
Velasquez stands up over Heart, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Velasquez is looking to stand up but Heart won't let him.
Velasquez trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.

Velasquez drops back, looking for a kneebar! Heart looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Heart looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Heart!

Both fighters take a look at the clock.
Heart is looking to take a break and control but Velasquez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Heart decides to stand back up. Heart steps back and let's Velasquez get back to his feet.

Velasquez gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Heart throwing strikes from guard but Velasquez blocks nicely.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Heart tries to stand but Velasquez is controlling from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Rex Velasquez will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Rex Velasquez's cut.
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. This is the final round!

Heart has managed to clinch.

Heart has Velasquez pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Heart pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Velasquez tumbling to the mat - Heart dives into Velasquez's guard.
Velasquez keeping moving, preventing Heart from controlling successfully.
Heart wanted to stand there but Velasquez had control of the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Heart throwing strikes from guard but Velasquez blocks nicely.
Heart wants to control from the top but Velasquez keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Velasquez manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Heart manages to get himself to full guard.

Heart is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

Velasquez gets to his feet - Heart follows without any prompting.
Velasquez looks for a takedown but Heart sprawls well.

Heart moves into the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Heart gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Velasquez regains guard.
Heart trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Velasquez wants to sweep here but Heart controlling him for the moment.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Heart accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Heart trying to control the position from guard on top but Velasquez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Black Heart has got the better of the ground game so far.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Heart misses with a body shot.
As Heart tries to get set, Velasquez tries to push him back and clinch up but Heart manages to avoid the attempt.
A big left from Heart misses.
Velasquez is looking to counter the offense by Heart and move into the clinch.
Heart thumps Velasquez with a low kick.

Heart closes the distance and clinches.

Heart works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Heart takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Velasquez wants to stand up but Heart is controlling him.
Velasquez looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Heart prevents Velasquez from getting back to his feet.
Heart engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Velasquez tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Velasquez keeping moving, preventing Heart from controlling successfully.
Velasquez looking for a sweep. Not yet Velasquez, not yet.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Heart feints and as Velasquez raises his hands in defense, Heart changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Heart in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Velasquez is on top in guard.

Velasquez stands up from Heart's guard - Velasquez perhaps looking for a knockout.

And that's the end of the fight!
Black Heart comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Heart has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 28:29
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Black Heart!