PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Johannes Brahms (ranked 604 p4p, 28 weight class) and Paul Murhaa (ranked 298 p4p, 13 weight class). Brahms comes to the cage accompanied by Hungarian Dance. 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?

Brahms
vs
Murhaa

169 cm
23
145 lbs
9 - 2 - 2

169 cm
25
146 lbs
16 - 1 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

THE END 32

Zenith Nutrition (160q/$200)
THE END 32

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 2, fighting out of New York, Johannes Brahms!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Paul Murhaa!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Tarja Halkonen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Brahms uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Murhaa.
Brahms changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
A slow jab from Murhaa misses its intended target.
We've been hearing reports that Brahms has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Brahms chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Murhaa can pounce on him.
Murhaa misses with a wild body shot.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Murhaa, right into the meat.
Brahms misses with a lunging right hand
and Brahms takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Murhaa moves out of range of the strikes.
Murhaa with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Brahms tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Murhaa is able to avoid easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Murhaa scoring well with a low kick there.
Murhaa lands with a right hand.
Murhaa misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Brahms.
Murhaa leaves Brahms with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murhaa slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Murhaa getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Murhaa is looking to land body kicks.
Murhaa misses with a left hand
and Brahms counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Murhaa throws a looping overhand right but Brahms ducks down to avoid it.
Murhaa connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Murhaa scores with a jab.
Paul Murhaa is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Murhaa scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Murhaa misses with an uppercut.
Brahms tries to counter with a takedown but Murhaa is quick to defend against it.
Brahms avoids the body shot from Murhaa.
Murhaa misses with a straight left.
Brahms attempts a counter takedown but Murhaa avoids it well and moves away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murhaa ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Brahms doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Murhaa counters with a nice uppercut.
Murhaa stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Murhaa wants it to stay on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johannes Brahms. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Brahms steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Murhaa.
Murhaa scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Brahms thumps Murhaa with a low kick.
Murhaa is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Brahms had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
Murhaa misses with a looping right.
Murhaa scores with a leg kick.
Murhaa throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Brahms drops down looking for a counter takedown but Murhaa sprawls and moves away.
Murhaa tries to land a front kick but Brahms steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Murhaa finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A slapping leg kick lands for Murhaa.
Murhaa throws a jab but it's blocked by Brahms.
Murhaa scoring well with a low kick there.
A nice leg kick lands there from Murhaa.
Good shot there by Brahms.
Brahms uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Murhaa.
Murhaa scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Murhaa lands a nice hook to Brahms's body. Brahms takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Murhaa lands a leg kick that knocks Brahms off balance momentarily.
Brahms takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
A swing and a miss from Murhaa.
Brahms tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Murhaa was well out of range. Poor timing from Brahms.
Murhaa is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Brahms with a body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Brahms walks into a straight right hand from Murhaa.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Brahms keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Murhaa.
An attempted straight right counter from Brahms misses the target.
Brahms is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Murhaa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Murhaa throws a hook but Brahms blocks it.
Murhaa misses with a wild combination.
Brahms with a lazy takedown attempt
and Murhaa counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Brahms moves out of range as Murhaa strikes.
Brahms moves forwards but Murhaa connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Murhaa moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Murhaa lands a nice leg kick that just misses Brahms's sensitive parts.
Murhaa thows a left - swing and a miss!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paul Murhaa dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Brahms takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Murhaa wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Brahms pulls out of a head kick attempt.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Brahms might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
Murhaa misses the jab.
Brahms attempts a counter takedown but Murhaa avoids it well and moves away.
A leg kick checked by Brahms.
Brahms jabs Murhaa right on the nose. Murhaa blinks but takes it well.
Brahms shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Murhaa sprawls well. Murhaa wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Brahms gets slowly back to his feet.
Murhaa thinks about the counter body kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brahms tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Murhaa comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murhaa cracks the inside of Brahms's front leg.
Murhaa swings away with a leg kick that misses.
It looked like Brahms wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Paul Murhaa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Brahms.
Murhaa connects with a body shot that sends Brahms's belly button to the back.
Murhaa throws a hook but Brahms blocks it.
Brahms misses with a low kick as Murhaa jumps back.
Brahms throws a shot from downtown. Murhaa moves away and avoids it.
Brahms takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Murhaa tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Brahms was well out of range. Poor timing from Murhaa.
Murhaa lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Brahms scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Murhaa ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murhaa connects with the punch.
Brahms shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Murhaa as he avoids it easily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Brahms waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Murhaa.
Murhaa was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
The fighters circling - Murhaa throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Murhaa throws a leg kick that misses.
Paul Murhaa seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Murhaa connects with a solid leg kick.

Brahms scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Murhaa tries to roll over but Brahms keeps him under control.
Brahms throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Murhaa to regain full guard.
Murhaa is controlling Brahms's posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brahms throws an elbow that misses. Murhaa uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Brahms's guard. Nice move by Murhaa!

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Murhaa with a flurry of punches that miss.
Murhaa is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Murhaa wants to control from the top but Brahms keeps moving.
Murhaa is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Brahms tries to land a sweep but no joy.

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.
Murhaa wants to stand but Brahms has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Murhaa won't allow Brahms to sweep him here.
Murhaa engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Brahms throws a hook to the side of Murhaa's head but Murhaa sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
A little jabbing left from Murhaa on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Murhaa lands a leg kick that knocks Brahms off balance momentarily.
Murhaa avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Murhaa scores with a punch to the head.
Murhaa thows a left - swing and a miss!
Murhaa swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paul Murhaa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Murhaa scores with a decent looking hook.
Brahms blocks a jab.
Brahms displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Murhaa throws out the jab.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Murhaa enables Brahms to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Murhaa manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Brahms preventing the sweep.
Murhaa wants to improve his position but instead Brahms has moved into half guard.
Brahms drops an elbow to the side of Murhaa's head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Brahms throwing shots but Murhaa is blocking nicely.
Brahms thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Murhaa's head.
Brahms looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Murhaa with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Brahms has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murhaa on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Brahms thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Murhaa's head.
Murhaa blocking the ground and pound attempt from Brahms.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Murhaa is looking to escape.
Brahms throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Brahms connects with a nice short shot to Murhaa's temple.
Brahms missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Brahms missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Murhaa wants to get back to full guard.
Johannes Brahms has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brahms lands with a punch from half guard.
Brahms prevents Murhaa from improving his position.
Murhaa is still trying to improve position.
Brahms is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Brahms working the head and body with strikes.
Brahms sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Murhaa defending well though.
Brahms throwing shots but Murhaa is blocking nicely.
Brahms thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Murhaa's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brahms not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Murhaa tries to kick Brahms off but Brahms keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Murhaa throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
A jab from Brahms misses.
Brahms throws a looping overhand right but Murhaa ducks down to avoid it.
Murhaa was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Brahms walks into a jab.
Murhaa jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Murhaa misses with a double jab.
Brahms tries to counter with a takedown but Murhaa is quick to defend against it.
Murhaa lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Murhaa has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Murhaa throws a nice inside leg kick.
Brahms moves out of range as Murhaa strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Brahms avoids the body shot from Murhaa.
A telegraphed right hand from Murhaa misses the target.
Murhaa looks to score with a jab to the body but Brahms is just out of range.
A thudding body kick lands there by Murhaa!
Murhaa misses with a wild body shot.
Murhaa bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Brahms's head.
Murhaa misses with a low kick.
Murhaa stuffs the takedown.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Murhaa misses with a hook.
A nice leg kick lands there from Murhaa.
Murhaa on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.

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 Johannes Brahms.
I think Murhaa 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paul Murhaa!
A relieved looking Paul Murhaa thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.
In defeat, Johannes Brahms stepped up to the mic, saying 'I was not SHARP tonight and fell FLAT on my face!'.