PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Reco Penn (ranked 480 p4p, 61 weight class) and Because I Can (ranked 3411 p4p, 337 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Penn
vs
I Can

172 cm
24
143 lbs
15 - 2 - 1

155 cm
27
145 lbs
14 - 15 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Aspire Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Reco Penn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Because I Can!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Arvi Lind and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
I Can throws an overhand right that lands on Penn's shoulder, as Penn tries to avoid the shot.
Penn is looking to counter punch.
I Can looks to score with a jab to the body but Penn is just out of range.
I Can pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A telegraphed right hand from I Can misses the target.
I Can fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Penn lands a nice looking body shot.
Penn moves away from the strike by I Can.
Penn ducks under a wild hook from I Can.
Penn uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by I Can.
I Can misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Penn counters with a body kick.
Penn takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
I Can takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Penn scores with a kick to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Penn tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
I Can is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Penn with a body shot.
I Can throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Penn sees it coming and avoids it easily.
I Can throws a big shot that misses.
A solid leg kick lands there for Penn.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Penn, right into the meat.
Penn uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from I Can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Penn has closed the distance and engaged I Can in a clinch.
I Can goes for a takedown attempt but Penn pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Penn buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Penn scores with a spinning back kick!
I Can throws out a loose jab but Penn uses good head movement to avoid it.
I Can gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Penn throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by I Can.
I Can misses with a series of wild punches.
I Can throws a body shot but no joy.
Penn thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on I Can if he has to take too many more of those.
I Can throws a series of punches but Penn avoids them all with ease.
Penn fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and I Can has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
I Can has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
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!
Penn fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt I Can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penn misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Penn misses with a punch to the body.
I Can is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Penn misses with the head strike.
Penn stalling against the cage.
Come on Penn - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Penn blocking some punches.
I Can can't get the takedown.
Penn tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Penn working aggressively here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Penn blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Penn misses with a body punch.
A short right from Penn.
Penn scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Come on Penn - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
I Can goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
I Can looking for a takedown.
Reco Penn has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Because I Can.
Penn tries a body shot but I Can blocks it.
Penn goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Penn misses with a body punch.
Penn stops a takedown attempt from I Can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A short uppercut from Penn.
I Can blocking some punches.
Penn tried to land a shot to the body but connects with I Can's elbow.
Penn lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Penn's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
I Can blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Penn tries to work over I Can's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Penn lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
I was talking to Penn's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Penn misses with the head strike.
Penn lands a body shot.
A head punch on the inside from Penn fails to land.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Reco Penn dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Penn explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Penn throws a front kick that sends I Can stumbling back into the cage.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Penn.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! I Can crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Penn - the referee stops the clock and I Can gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Penn. I Can manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Penn lands a nice leg kick that just misses I Can's sensitive parts.
I Can misses with a looping left.
I Can takes a shot to the body in his stride.
I Can misses with a left hand
and Penn counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps I Can thinking.
Penn is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that I Can can do to turn this around?
Penn throws a nice inside leg kick.
I Can misses with an uppercut
and Penn makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.

Penn clinches up against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Come on Penn - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Penn fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Reco Penn has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Penn doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Penn misses with a punch to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.

I Can pulls Penn into guard.
Penn wants to get up but he can't break I Can's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
I Can keeping full guard, as Penn tries to pass.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Penn controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
I Can looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Penn controls from within his opponent's guard.
I Can wants to hit a switch here but Penn passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for I Can there!
Penn controlling from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penn continues to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
I Can is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
I Can is working to get back to half guard.
Penn content just to control the position here.
More hug and hope from Penn.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
I Can is wriggling around trying to escape.
Penn content just to control the position here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Reco Penn dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! 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.

Penn throws a quick head kick that skims the top of I Can's head.
Penn smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Penn defending well as I Can loads up on a big left hand.
I Can misses with a straight left.
Penn half committed to a counter leg kick.
I Can misses with the combination.
Penn is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Penn lands a front kick.
I Can looks to land a right hand but Penn moved out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Penn avoids a punch combination nicely.
I Can swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Penn counters with a straight right hand.
Penn moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Penn thumps I Can with a low kick.
I Can has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Penn.
Penn tries to land a front kick but I Can steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

That's one minute gone in the round.
I Can throws out a loose jab but Penn uses good head movement to avoid it.
As I Can tries to get set, Penn tries to push him back and clinch up but I Can manages to avoid the attempt.
Penn throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
I Can is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Penn.
I Can closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Penn scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Reco Penn is winning the standup battle so far.
Penn lets loose with a powerful body kick. I Can will feel that in the morning.
Penn lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Penn.
I Can takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A big left from I Can misses.
I Can throws an ugly left hook that misses
letting Penn counter with a right hand.
Penn is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Penn turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
I Can misses with a hook
and Penn makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. I Can really felt that one!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
I Can swings widly with a right hand
letting Penn counter with a right hand.

I Can is rocked!
I Can switches off momentarily and Penn cracks him with a monster right hand! I Can topples backwards and makes a semi conscious attempt to cover up, as Penn dives in to land one more shot, before the referee has time to call the fight. What a finish by Penn!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Reco Penn!
In his post fight interview, Reco Penn started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.
Because I Can spoke after the fight, saying 'I'm so handsome i'm not surprised this guy was all over me the way he was!'.