PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Booker Preston (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ragnar Gundersson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ragnar Gundersson has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Booker Preston's chin.

Preston
vs
Gundersson

207 cm
21
215 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

190 cm
22
204 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good in bed

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Booker Preston!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ragnar Gundersson!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Preston shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Preston was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Gundersson is looking to reverse the position.
Gundersson struggling a bit here.

Preston is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Gundersson has escaped the position, nice work there.
Preston really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gundersson tries to control but Preston manages to take his back.
Gundersson tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gundersson tries to hold on but Preston postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gundersson is looking to improve his position but Preston isn't that keen on the idea.
Preston will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Preston controlling from the full mount.
Gundersson is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

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.
Gundersson really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Gundersson keeps trying to improve his position.

Preston is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Gundersson can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Gundersson really trying hard to get back to half guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gundersson is trying to stand but he's just given Preston his back.
Gundersson is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Gundersson turns into Preston and is now in his guard.
Preston managing to control the position.
Preston is trying to control the position but Gundersson postures up.
Gundersson engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gundersson wants to control from the top but Preston keeps moving.
Gundersson with a nice head shot there.
Gundersson sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Gundersson tries to stand but Preston is controlling from the bottom.
Preston wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Preston's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Gundersson postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Booker Preston 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.

Gundersson shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Preston is trying to defend but Gundersson finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Preston is not content to let Gundersson control the position.
Gundersson wants to stand but Preston has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Preston knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Gundersson on the ground.
Preston wants to improve his position but Gundersson is controlling well.
Gundersson trying to control from half guard but Preston is working away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Preston makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Preston.
Preston keeping moving, preventing Gundersson from controlling successfully.
Gundersson is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gundersson looking to pass the guard.
Preston controls Gundersson momentarily but Gundersson frees himself.
Gundersson is stalling in the full guard.
Gundersson trying to control the position from guard on top but Preston is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Gundersson tries to free his leg and advance position but Preston is retaining full guard.
Preston trying to control the position.
Preston keeping moving, preventing Gundersson from controlling successfully.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Ragnar Gundersson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Preston gets tackled into the cage by Gundersson. Gundersson maintains the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Preston escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Gundersson throws a lazy head kick

and Preston counters by moving into the clinch.
Preston avoiding damage.

Preston is fighting off a takedown attempt but Gundersson is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Preston to the mat. Preston regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Gundersson is pushing down on Preston's leg trying to pass to half guard. Preston is fighting to maintain full guard but Gundersson has managed to sneak the leg through.
Preston is refusing to be controlled, as Gundersson sits in half guard.
Gundersson has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Preston is trying to get back to full guard.
Gundersson takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Preston trying to control here.
Preston is controlling Gundersson's trapped leg to prevent Gundersson from advancing to side control.
Preston keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

Preston looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Gundersson working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Gundersson frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Preston is desperately trying to improve his position but Gundersson has a good base and remains in mount.
Preston gets back to half guard.
Gundersson wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gundersson trying to mount his opponent but Preston defends it.
Gundersson is breathing heavily.
Gundersson is trying to control. Preston wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Gundersson is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Gundersson seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Preston does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Preston trying to control here.
Gundersson throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Preston is pressing down on Gundersson's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Gundersson won't allow Preston to sweep him here.
Preston keeping moving, preventing Gundersson from controlling successfully.
Preston wants to sweep here but Gundersson controlling him for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ragnar Gundersson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Preston tries for a takedown but Gundersson sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Preston avoids a punch combination nicely.

Gundersson feints and as Preston raises his hands in defense, Gundersson changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Preston is trying to control the position but Gundersson postures up.
Gundersson trying to control but Preston is working from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gundersson would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Preston utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gundersson controlling from the top position.
Preston throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Gundersson sitting in guard here, content to control.
Ragnar Gundersson has got the better of the ground game so far.

Preston throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Preston is adopting a defensive guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Gundersson closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Gundersson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Preston trying to control here.
Gundersson is keen to just control but Preston is a slippery customer.
Preston is trying to control but Gundersson manages to pass to mount!
Gundersson trying to control but Preston is having none of it.
Gundersson throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Gundersson wants to control the pace but Preston is squirming around nicely.
Preston wants to control but Gundersson is having none of it.
Gundersson can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Preston is looking to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gundersson might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Preston haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Gundersson controlling the position easily from mount.
Preston tries to hold on but Gundersson postures up.
Gundersson prevents Preston from getting the reversal.
Gundersson connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Gundersson takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Preston tries to hold on but Gundersson pushes him away.

Gundersson is working for a guillotine from mount but Preston frees his head quite easily.
Preston is squirming around, avoiding Gundersson's attempts to control the action.
Preston tries to lock up and control but Gundersson gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Preston avoids a series of strikes thrown by Gundersson.
Gundersson avoids the attempt from Preston to control.
Preston slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ragnar Gundersson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Gundersson has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 28:29
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 26:30
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ragnar Gundersson!