PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Clinton Salazar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matthew Bell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Salazar
vs
Bell

225 cm
24
215 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

183 cm
22
204 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Clinton Salazar!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Matthew Bell!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Marco Blurström and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Salazar uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bell.
Salazar fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Bell takes the fight into the clinch.
Bell is looking for a takedown.
Bell is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Salazar to keep the fight standing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Salazar breaks the clinch.
Bell shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Salazar pinned against the cage. Salazar gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Salazar tries to counter with a takedown but Bell is quick to defend against it.
Clinton Salazar has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matthew Bell.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salazar throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Bell misses with a body kick.
Salazar slips under a jab from Bell.
Bell misses with a double jab.

Bell looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Bell makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Salazar is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Salazar is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Bell is aware though and is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salazar not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Bell trying to control the position from guard on top but Salazar is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Bell trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Salazar manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

Salazar controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Bell wants to sweep here but Salazar controlling him for the moment.
Salazar content to stall in guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bell has a closed guard, preventing Salazar from standing up.

Bell is working an open guard so Salazar takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

Salazar has managed to clinch.
Salazar really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Salazar breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Bell tries to keep at a distance but Salazar has taken the fight into the clinch.

Bell's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salazar lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

Salazar moves into range and clinches up with Bell.
Bell displaying some good clinch control by pressing Salazar up against the cage.
Salazar stalls.
A frustrated look appears on Salazar's face as he tries to break the clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Salazar is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Clinton Salazar dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Danga de danga de dang - Salazar scores with a four punch combination!

Salazar gets tackled into the cage by Bell. Bell maintains the clinch.
Salazar wants to break free but Bell has control.

Salazar breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Bell fails with the takedown
and Salazar counters with a three punch combo that has Bell backing up. Bell nods at Salazar to acknowledge the strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Bell closes the distance and clinches.
Bell is trying to pull guard but Salazar has him pressed against the cage.
Bell wants a takedown but no success here.
Clinton Salazar has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matthew Bell.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salazar tries to break the clinch but Bell is controlling the position.
Salazar takes a shot to the head.

Bell jumps guard.

Salazar gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Bell gets the takedown into side control.
Salazar sneaks back into half guard.
Bell is thwarting Salazar's attempts to control the position.
Salazar throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Salazar makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Salazar.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salazar bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Bell's guard.

Bell wants to control but Salazar passes easily into half guard.

Salazar decides to stand up.
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!
Bell looks to land a combination but Salazar avoids it well.
Salazar is looking for a counter combo.
Bell is breathing heavily.
Bell looks for a takedown but Salazar sprawls well.
As Bell looks to move away, Salazar throws a big counter combo but Bell just gets out of the way.
Bell falls off balance throwing a combination
and Salazar counters with a nice body shot.
A combination from Salazar does no damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Salazar rushes Bell and presses him up against the cage.
Salazar gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Bell.
Salazar wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Bell has him pressed against the cage.
Salazar is looking to break free of the clinch but Bell has double underhooks.
Bell tries for a takedown. No joy.
Salazar wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Salazar is trying to break free.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Bell tries for a takedown but Salazar manages to get underhooks.
Bell jumps guard but Salazar turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Bell is trying to force a seperation but Salazar has the dominant position.
Salazar will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Bell up against the cage.
Salazar has had enough of the clinch but Bell keeps him there for the moment.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Bell is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Salazar to keep the fight standing.
Bell wants to break free but Salazar has control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Clinton Salazar 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!

Bell has his takedown stuffed
and Salazar counters with a one-two to the body.
Bell misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Clinton Salazar is winning the standup battle so far.
A head kick by Bell misses

and Salazar counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Bell!

Salazar decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Salazar defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Bell.
Salazar appears to be looking for a big counter.
Clinton Salazar has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matthew Bell.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A punch combination from Bell misses.
Salazar lets loose with a powerful body kick. Bell will feel that in the morning.

Bell clinches with his opponent.
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!
Salazar softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bell changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Salazar fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Bell takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Salazar lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Salazar connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Crunch! Salazar slams his shin into Bell's torso.
Bell dives in for a single leg takedown but Salazar sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Salazar wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Clinton Salazar is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Salazar. Bell shrugs it off though.
A head kick from Salazar lands but Bell takes it in his stride.

Salazar has managed to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Salazar pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Bell misses with a takedown

and Salazar holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Salazar's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Salazar manages to break the clinch.
Bell falls off balance throwing a combination

and Salazar counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Salazar stands up and waves to Bell to follow him.
Salazar tries to clinch there but Bell circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bell changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Salazar tries to avoid it but Bell manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Salazar to the ground. Salazar escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Salazar connects with a high kick.
Salazar looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

Bell moves into range and clinches up with Salazar.
Bell has Salazar pressed against the cage, preventing Salazar from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Salazar breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Salazar closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Bell quickly recovers to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Salazar stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.

Bell clinches with his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Salazar breaks the clinch.
Salazar is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Bell can do to turn this around?
Bell avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Bell is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.

Bell scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Salazar actively working from the bottom here.
Salazar holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Bell wants to stand up but Salazar is controlling the position.
Salazar manages to get to full guard.
Matthew Bell has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Clinton Salazar is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Salazar managing to control the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Clinton Salazar showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Salazar has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:27
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Clinton Salazar!