PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Eric Berry (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Erik Kalma (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Berry comes into the arena with The Beast blaring out of the sound system. Kalma has chosen The Pursuit of Viking by Amon Amarth as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Berry
vs
Kalma

187 cm
19
180 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

175 cm
22
175 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Eric Berry!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Erik Kalma!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Dmitry Maklakov and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Berry scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.

Kalma has managed to clinch.
Berry is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Kalma is keeping busy.
Kalma misses with an elbow strike.

Kalma breaks from the clinch.
Berry tries to bum rush Kalma with a series of wild strikes but Kalma uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Donk. Berry catches Kalma right on the button with a cross.
Berry with a hook.
Kalma throws a sloppy head kick and Berry moves out of range easily.
Berry fails to land with a series of punches.
Berry misses the shot to the body.
Berry lands a really nice looking cross but Kalma seems unphased.
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!
Kalma tries to close the distance and clinch up but Berry swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Berry swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Kalma showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Berry.
Kalma throws a right and a left that both miss.
Berry misses with a two punch combination.
Eric Berry is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kalma wants to clinch.
Berry throws a left and a right that both miss

and Kalma holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Kalma is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Kalma misses with a knee to the head.
Kalma wants a takedown but no success here.
Kalma tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Kalma looks gassed!
Kalma tries to land a knee to the head but Berry blocks with his arms.

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.
Kalma wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Kalma using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Berry has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Kalma is looking to break free of the clinch but Berry has double underhooks.
Kalma being controlled against the cage.
Kalma misses with the head strike.
Kalma wants to break free but Berry has control.

Berry breaks the clinch.
Berry throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Berry fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Kalma.
Berry scores with a three punch combo!
Berry tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Berry lands a nice shot that snaps Kalma's head back.
Berry is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Danga de danga de dang - Berry scores with a four punch combination!
Berry's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Berry duly obliges.
Berry changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Berry takes a swing at Kalma's ribcage but misses.
Kalma tries to clinch up but Berry circles away and keeps his distance.
Berry throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Kalma.
Eric Berry seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Berry throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Berry misses with a wild body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Donk. Berry catches Kalma right on the button with a cross.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Berry scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
A shot to the body from Berry misses

and Kalma moves into the clinch.
Kalma throws a knee to the head but misses.

Berry breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Berry swinging wilding here.
Kalma shoots in but no luck this time.
Eric Berry has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Erik Kalma.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kalma on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
The crowd cheers as Berry lands an impressive looking overhand right. Kalma doesn't seem phased though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eric Berry dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Berry scores with the left hand. Kalma knows he should have avoided that one.
A telegraphed right hand from Berry misses the target.
Kalma wants to clinch up but Berry keeps it at a distance.
Berry throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Kalma avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Berry cracks a nice hook into Kalma's ribs.
Berry throws a series of punches but Kalma avoids them all with ease.
Kalma fails in his attempt to clinch.
Eric Berry is winning the standup battle so far.
Berry throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Kalma tries to clinch up.
Kalma is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Berry uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Kalma has time to react.
Kalma gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Kalma tries to clinch there but Berry circles away.
Kalma shoots for a takedown but Berry saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Eric Berry is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A head kick by Berry misses
and Kalma makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Berry fails to land with a series of punches.
Kalma dodges the punch combination from Berry.
Kalma wants to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kalma tries to clinch but Berry moves out of range.
Berry is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
The fight stays on the outside here - Kalma looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A slow jab from Berry misses its intended target.
A head kick by Kalma misses
and Berry counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Berry misses with the combination.
Berry misses with a double jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Berry lands with a cross.
Berry fails to land with a series of punches.
Kalma throws a series of punches but Berry moves out of range.
Berry throws the left hand but Kalma avoids the punch easily.
Kalma looks to clinch
and Berry connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Kalma darts in trying to clinch
and Berry counters with a three punch combo that has Kalma backing up. Kalma nods at Berry to acknowledge the strikes.
Berry misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kalma.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kalma tries to clinch but fails miserably
letting Berry counter with a right hand.
Berry scores with a nice strike.
Kalma takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Berry misses with a looping left.
An inside leg kick lands from Berry.
Berry misses with a combination

and Kalma counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Berry trying to keep a closed guard but Kalma is proving a slippery customer.
Kalma throws a big right hand that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eric Berry dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Nice body kick there by Berry.
A head kick by Berry misses

and Kalma decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Berry's guard.
Kalma trying to control but Berry is working from the bottom.
Berry is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kalma must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Berry doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Kalma wants to control from the top but Berry keeps moving.
Berry working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kalma.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kalma preventing the sweep.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kalma accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Berry throws some sloppy strikes off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Berry throws a right and a left that Kalma avoids nicely.
Kalma misses with a few strikes there.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Berry lands a jab to the nose.
Kalma has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Berry scores with a nice right hand.
Kalma walks into a left hand.
Berry looks to land a combination but Kalma avoids it well.
Berry getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Kalma throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Berry lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kalma on the wrong end of a nice hook.
A left and a right from Berry both land. Nice combination.
Kalma tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Berry counters with a straight right hand.
Berry stuns Kalma with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
A right-left combo lands from Berry.
Kalma throws a combination that misses
and Berry counters with a left to the body.
A head kick by Kalma misses
and Berry counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Kalma wants to clinch but Berry slips to the side
and Berry counters with a stiff right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head kick by Kalma misses
and Berry counters with a head kick.
Kalma fails with a takedown attempt.
Kalma walks into a straight right hand from Berry.
Berry fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Berry lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.

Kalma darts in and clinches Berry up against the cage.
Kalma lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Kalma working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Kalma will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Berry up against the cage.
Berry prevents the takedown attempt.
Knees to the body from Kalma.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Erik Kalma has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kalma tries to land knees in the clinch but Berry avoids the damage to the body.
Eric Berry is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Kalma trying to stall but Berry improves his position.
Berry is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Kalma using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Berry has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Eric Berry.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Berry, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:26
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:28
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eric Berry!