PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Eduardo Pires (ranked 4070 p4p, 456 weight class) and Pate Paukuttaja (ranked 3356 p4p, 378 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Pires
vs
Paukuttaja

180 cm
26
181 lbs
5 - 2 - 1

180 cm
20
180 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Experienced

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Likes musicals

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 5 - 2 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Eduardo Pires!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Pate Paukuttaja!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Illya Tyunina and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pires shoots in but Paukuttaja avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Paukuttaja closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Paukuttaja lands in his opponent's guard.
Paukuttaja sitting in guard here, content to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Paukuttaja throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Paukuttaja trying to stand up but can't free himself from Pires's guard.
Paukuttaja throws a big elbow that misses.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Paukuttaja's corner is telling him to maintain position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Paukuttaja throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Pires works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Paukuttaja closes the distance and clinches.
Paukuttaja tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Pires's elbow.
A nice right hand lands inside from Paukuttaja.

Paukuttaja is trying to trip Pires. He has hold of a leg but Pires is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Paukuttaja persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Paukuttaja sitting in guard here, content to control.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Paukuttaja accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Paukuttaja stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Pires swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Paukuttaja content to stall in guard here.
Paukuttaja throwing strikes but missing.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Paukuttaja stands up from Pires's guard - Paukuttaja perhaps looking for a knockout.
A head kick misses from Pires.

Paukuttaja has Pires up against the cage in a clinch.
A shot in the inside from Paukuttaja.
Paukuttaja lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Paukuttaja displaying some good clinch control by pressing Pires up against the cage.
Pires avoids a wild elbow strike from Paukuttaja.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pires is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Paukuttaja fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Paukuttaja has Pires pushed against the cage.
Pires tries for a takedown. No joy.
Pires blocks the elbow strike.

Paukuttaja works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Paukuttaja keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Pires's head.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Paukuttaja works over Pires with some ground and pound from guard.
Pires being controlled here, momentarily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pate Paukuttaja dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Paukuttaja misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Pires throws a right and a left that both miss.
Paukuttaja has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Paukuttaja throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Pires went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Paukuttaja lands with a shot to the body.
Eduardo Pires is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Paukuttaja shoots in and gets a takedown into Pires's guard.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Paukuttaja working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Paukuttaja stands up over Pires, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Pate Paukuttaja has got the better of the ground game so far.
Paukuttaja is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Paukuttaja looking to pass the guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Paukuttaja seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Paukuttaja wants to pass the guard but Pires is keeping the position.
Paukuttaja not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Paukuttaja throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Pires pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Paukuttaja back to the cage. Pires follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Paukuttaja throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Paukuttaja tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Pires avoids the head kick by Paukuttaja.
Pires went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Paukuttaja misses with a body shot.
Pires lands with a nice combination. Paukuttaja backs away looking to recover.
Paukuttaja lands a jab to Pires's midsection.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pires fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Paukuttaja looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Paukuttaja throws a big right hand that misses.
Pires pulls Paukuttaja in close to his closed guard and prevents Paukuttaja from doing any damage or advancing position.
Paukuttaja landing with the ground and pound.
Paukuttaja is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Paukuttaja with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Paukuttaja is stalling in the full guard.
Paukuttaja postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Paukuttaja stays in close to Pires's body and controls the position.
Paukuttaja is continuing to stall.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Paukuttaja showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Pires.

Paukuttaja closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Paukuttaja lands in his opponent's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Paukuttaja missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Paukuttaja seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Paukuttaja lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Pires being controlled here, momentarily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Pires has momentary wrist control but Paukuttaja slips an elbow through the middle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pate Paukuttaja 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. This is the final round!

Pires shoots in looking for a takedown but Paukuttaja manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Pires's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Paukuttaja misses with a hook. Pires ducked under it nicely.
Eduardo Pires seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pires shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Paukuttaja as he avoids it easily.

Paukuttaja closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Paukuttaja misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Pires.
Paukuttaja tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Paukuttaja lands with a short shot to the head.
Paukuttaja lands a good knee to the midsection. Pires won't want to take too many of those.
Paukuttaja displaying some good clinch control by pressing Pires up against the cage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Paukuttaja presses Pires against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Paukuttaja misses with a shot to the kidneys.

That's one minute gone in the round.

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

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Pires drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Eduardo Pires. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Paukuttaja tries to land knees in the clinch but Pires avoids the damage to the body.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Paukuttaja.
Pate Paukuttaja seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Paukuttaja softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

It looks like Eduardo Pires has been cut.
Paukuttaja lands with a short shot to the head.
Paukuttaja creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.

Paukuttaja has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Pires clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Paukuttaja lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.

Pires is rocked!
Paukuttaja lands with a big left hand that may well have hurt his opponent. Can Pires hold on?!
Paukuttaja lands with a big left hand that may well have hurt his opponent. Can Pires hold on?!
Oh Pires is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Oooh a big shot gets through from Paukuttaja. Many more shots like that and the referee will have to think about stepping in!
Paukuttaja lands a shot to the body.
Paukuttaja loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Pires hold on?

Paukuttaja working for the choke.
Paukuttaja scores with punches to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Paukuttaja scores with strikes from the back.
Pires covers up after that shot from Paukuttaja.
What can Pires do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!
Pires seems to have got his legs back now.
Pires has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Paukuttaja.
Paukuttaja has Pires flattened out and is raining down punches.
Pate Paukuttaja is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Paukuttaja biding his time, looking for the opening.
Paukuttaja has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Paukuttaja's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Eduardo Pires has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

And that's the end of the fight!
Pate Paukuttaja comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Paukuttaja has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 26:30
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 26:30
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pate Paukuttaja!
A less than humble Pate Paukuttaja misjudged his post fight interview somewhat and came across a little too arrogant whilst trying to hype up his own abilities.