PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Eamon Fitzpatrick (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tapio Sammalkorpi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Eamon Fitzpatrick has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Fitzpatrick
vs
Sammalkorpi

181 cm
25
179 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

177 cm
25
176 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Big right hand

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Granite chin

Sully's Bar & Grill
Hellraiser Fightgear

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 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Eamon Fitzpatrick!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Tapio Sammalkorpi!
The judges for this bout are Dirk Anderson, David Hoff and Winston Alpacca.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Sammalkorpi drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Sammalkorpi trying to control the position from guard on top but Fitzpatrick is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Fitzpatrick uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Sammalkorpi closes this distance looking for a takedown but Fitzpatrick circles away.
Fitzpatrick moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Fitzpatrick lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
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!
Sammalkorpi looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Fitzpatrick is fending him off so far but Sammalkorpi persists. Nope, Fitzpatrick circles away and we're back to standing.
Fitzpatrick lands a two punch combo.
Sammalkorpi shoots in looking for a takedown. Fitzpatrick tries to sprawl out of it but Sammalkorpi keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Fitzpatrick manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Eamon Fitzpatrick has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tapio Sammalkorpi.
Fitzpatrick scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Sammalkorpi shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Fitzpatrick as he jumps to the side.
Fitzpatrick looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

Sammalkorpi feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sammalkorpi wants to control from the top but Fitzpatrick keeps moving.
Sammalkorpi prevents Fitzpatrick from getting back to his feet.
Fitzpatrick knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Sammalkorpi on the ground.
Sammalkorpi wants to control from the top but Fitzpatrick keeps moving.
Sammalkorpi chips away with some ground and pound.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Sammalkorpi's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

Fitzpatrick uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Fitzpatrick lands a jab to the head.
Sammalkorpi looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Fitzpatrick is fending him off so far but Sammalkorpi persists. Nope, Fitzpatrick circles away and we're back to standing.
Sammalkorpi darts in looking for a takedown but Fitzpatrick gets double underhooks and turns Sammalkorpi into the cage.
Sammalkorpi looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Nice shot by Fitzpatrick.
Sammalkorpi gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick scores with a decent looking hook.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fitzpatrick lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Sammalkorpi circles away quickly and effectively.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Fitzpatrick scores with a nice head shot.
Sammalkorpi fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Fitzpatrick avoids it really well and circles away.
Sammalkorpi shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Fitzpatrick defends it nicely.
Fitzpatrick lands with a straight right. Sammalkorpi didn't see that one coming.
Fitzpatrick connects with a looping right hand.

Sammalkorpi shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Sammalkorpi is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Well, if Sammalkorpi 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.
Fitzpatrick has hold of Sammalkorpi's hands but Sammalkorpi slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Sammalkorpi scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Sammalkorpi working the head and body with strikes.
Fitzpatrick tries to kick Sammalkorpi off but Sammalkorpi keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sammalkorpi is looking for a kimura but Fitzpatrick is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Sammalkorpi to get the leverage.
Nice strikes from Sammalkorpi there.
Sammalkorpi slows the pace down in half guard.
Sammalkorpi passes to side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fitzpatrick is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Sammalkorpi is controlling him well.

Sammalkorpi is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Fitzpatrick is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Fitzpatrick is pushing Sammalkorpi's head away, looking to escape. Sammalkorpi manages to hold on to the position though.
Sammalkorpi passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Fitzpatrick!
Fitzpatrick wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Sammalkorpi lands a nice shot to the head.
Sammalkorpi unloading with bombs!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eamon Fitzpatrick dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Sammalkorpi has a takedown stuffed.
Fitzpatrick's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Fitzpatrick duly obliges.
Sammalkorpi dives in and grabs Fitzpatrick's left leg, looking for a takedown. Fitzpatrick pushes down on Sammalkorpi's head and hops out.
Sammalkorpi changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Fitzpatrick tries to avoid it but Sammalkorpi manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Fitzpatrick to the ground. Fitzpatrick escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Eamon Fitzpatrick has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tapio Sammalkorpi.
Fitzpatrick lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Sammalkorpi shoots in for a takedown but Fitzpatrick shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Fitzpatrick cracks Sammalkorpi with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Fitzpatrick cracks Sammalkorpi with a right hand to the side of the head.
A punch combination from Fitzpatrick misses.
Fitzpatrick displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Sammalkorpi.
Fitzpatrick keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Eamon Fitzpatrick is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nice sprawl there from Fitzpatrick as Sammalkorpi shoots in.
Sammalkorpi needs to keep his hands up - Fitzpatrick had a free shot at his head there.
Sammalkorpi takes a jab right on the kisser.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sammalkorpi decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Sammalkorpi passes the guard and advances to mount!
Fitzpatrick really wants to buck Sammalkorpi off and get back to his feet.
Sammalkorpi has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Sammalkorpi is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Fitzpatrick can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Fitzpatrick is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Fitzpatrick 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.
Sammalkorpi trying to control but Fitzpatrick is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sammalkorpi is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Fitzpatrick has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Fitzpatrick!
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Sammalkorpi is on top in guard.

Tapio Sammalkorpi has got the better of the ground game so far.
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!
Sammalkorpi trying to control the position from guard on top but Fitzpatrick is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Fitzpatrick is looking to stand up but Sammalkorpi isn't so interested in that idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sammalkorpi works over Fitzpatrick with some ground and pound from guard.
Fitzpatrick wants to get back to his feet but Sammalkorpi passes into half guard.
Sammalkorpi wants to take a breather but Fitzpatrick is having none of it.
Sammalkorpi landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Sammalkorpi looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Fitzpatrick with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Fitzpatrick is trying to stand up here but Sammalkorpi is controlling him well.
Fitzpatrick is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Sammalkorpi scores with a couple of nice shots.
Fitzpatrick tries to kick Sammalkorpi off but Sammalkorpi keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Sammalkorpi is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

Sammalkorpi is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Fitzpatrick has managed to free his arm - good work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sammalkorpi winds up and cracks Fitzpatrick with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Fitzpatrick makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

Fitzpatrick gets caught flat footed, as Sammalkorpi shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sammalkorpi controls from within his opponent's guard.
Sammalkorpi working some strikes from top position.

Fitzpatrick has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Sammalkorpi off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

Sammalkorpi closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Fitzpatrick's guard.
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 Eamon Fitzpatrick will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Fitzpatrick misses with a double jab.

Sammalkorpi looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Fitzpatrick is wriggling around but Sammalkorpi manages to pass to half guard.

Sammalkorpi is controlling the pace.
Sammalkorpi passes to full mount!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Fitzpatrick's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sammalkorpi tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Fitzpatrick is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Sammalkorpi content just to control the position here.
Fitzpatrick's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Sammalkorpi cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

It looks like Eamon Fitzpatrick has been cut.
Sammalkorpi lands a couple of good shots and Fitzpatrick has given up his back, trying to escape the position!

Sammalkorpi is working on the RNC. He looks like he's got it but Fitzpatrick won't tap... Oh, he's out! The ref rips Sammalkorpi off his unconscious opponent!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:55 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Tapio Sammalkorpi!
A relieved looking Tapio Sammalkorpi thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.