PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Numbers Franklin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Semih Yerli (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Yerli comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Eiffel 65 - Blue (KNY Factory Remix) kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Franklin
vs
Yerli

217 cm
18
193 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

195 cm
25
186 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Numbers Franklin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Semih Yerli!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Tarja Halkonen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Yerli closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Franklin to the mat! Franklin manages to get full guard.
Franklin throws some shots to the body, keeping his opponent honest.

Franklin is looking for a triangle but Yerli pushes his legs off easily.
Yerli working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Yerli throwing strikes but missing.
Yerli in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yerli not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Yerli advances position into side control!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yerli taking a breather here.

Yerli decides to stand up, so the ref orders Franklin to his feet.

Yerli fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Franklin sprawls well initially but Yerli persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Franklin tries to kick Yerli off in order to stand up. Yerli Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Franklin knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Yerli on the ground.
Yerli controlling the position from side mount.
Franklin really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Yerli advances to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Franklin working to try and regain half guard.
Yerli looking to control and managing it successfully.

Yerli get's back to his feet.

Yerli is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Franklin's half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Yerli not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yerli not doing much here.
Yerli wants to free his trapped foot but Franklin is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Yerli seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Yerli passes to side control.
Franklin is letting Yerli control him for a moment.
Yerli creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Franklin sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Yerli lands an elbow.

Yerli looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Semih Yerli dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Yerli fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Franklin sprawls well initially but Yerli persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Yerli performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Yerli has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Yerli throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Franklin flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Franklin keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yerli is looking to advance position but Franklin won't allow it.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Yerli moves into full mount! Franklin won't be happy about that!
Yerli throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Franklin because Yerli loaded up on that one.
Yerli controlling the pace for now.

Yerli is standing up, even though he is in mount.

Yerli shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Franklin's guard.
Franklin is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Yerli dives into side control.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Yerli working away.
You can see the frustration on Franklin's face as Yerli controls the position.
Yerli's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Yerli stands up and we're back to a striking position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Yerli shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Yerli showed some decent athleticism there.
Franklin tries to kick Yerli off in order to stand up. Yerli Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Franklin trying to remain calm as Yerli controls from the top position.
Yerli passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Franklin!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yerli is dominating on the ground here - he's now on his opponent's back, looking to sink in the hooks. Franklin is in real trouble.

Franklin 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 Yerli gets his way!

Yerli looking for the RNC.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Yerli biding his time, looking for the opening.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Semih Yerli showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Franklin throws a hook but Yerli avoids it easily.

Yerli closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Franklin did well to prevent Yerli getting side control.
Franklin wants to stand back up but Yerli manages to pass into side control.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.

Yerli is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Franklin knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Yerli throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Franklin looks to move to half guard but instead Yerli has passed into mount! Damn!
Yerli controlling from mount.
Yerli misses with a head shot.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Yerli avoids the attempt from Franklin to control.
Yerli content just to control the position here.

Yerli is standing up, even though he is in mount.
Yerli thuds his shin into the meat of Franklin's side.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yerli circles to his right before unloading a perfect head kick! Franklin drops to the canvas, hurt badly! Yerli follows Franklin to the ground and unloads with a series of strikes that force the referee to step in and end the fight! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:17 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Semih Yerli!
Semih Yerli bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.