PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Max Barathian (ranked 200 p4p, 22 weight class) and Pekka Pera (ranked 229 p4p, 28 weight class). Barathian comes into the arena with FAUN - Federkleid blaring out of the sound system. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Barathian
vs
Pera

173 cm
32
171 lbs
23 - 12 - 1

150 cm
28
167 lbs
21 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

HELLBENT

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 23 - 12 - 1, fighting out of New York, Max Barathian!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Pekka Pera!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Gregory Folan and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pera lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Barathian throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Pera counters with a slapping leg kick.
Barathian tries to close the distance and clinch but Pera swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Pera connects with the punch.
Pera thumps Barathian with a low kick.
Barathian tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Pera misses the shot to the body.
Barathian has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Touch Of Death Combat Academy in the buildup to the fight.
A nice inside leg kick there by Pera. That's going to slow Barathian down.
Barathian uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Pera.
Pera avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Pera was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Pera circles away from the clinch attempt.
Pera bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pera loads up on a big right hand but Barathian slips the punch.
Pera fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Pera decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Barathian tries to kick Pera off in order to stand up. Pera Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
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!
Barathian can't do much from the bottom here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barathian managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Pera.
Pera is chipping away with strikes.
Barathian pushes Pera away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Pera gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Pera trying to control the action but Barathian is working from the bottom.
Barathian is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Pera throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Pera seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Barathian does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Barathian is trying is best to control the position here.
Barathian is trying to control but can't.

That's two 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.
Pera wants to take a breather but Barathian is having none of it.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Pera lands a nice short elbow.
Barathian wants to improve his position but Pera is controlling well.
Pera performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pera working the head and body with strikes.
Pera controlling the pace.
Barathian is pressing down on Pera's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pera throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Barathian works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Barathian is trying to keep Pera in close.
Pera throws a big elbow that misses.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Pera has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Barathian is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Pera thows a leg kick but Barathian checks it
and Barathian counters with a right hand to the body.
Barathian misses with a body shot.
Pera appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Barathian throws the kick towards the body but Pera avoids it.
Pera misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Barathian.
Pera changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Barathian tries to avoid it but Pera manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Barathian to the ground. Barathian escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Barathian throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Pera darts in looking for a takedown but Barathian gets double underhooks and turns Pera into the cage.
Max Barathian has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pekka Pera.
Barathian thuds his shin into the meat of Pera's side.

Pera dives in and scores a takedown into Barathian's guard.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Barathian scrambles and gets back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Barathian is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Pera is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Pera is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Pera slips a straight right by Barathian.
Barathian keeps the fight on the outside.
Barathian looks to score with a jab to the body but Pera is just out of range.
Barathian checks a leg kick nicely.
Pera works the jab nicely.
Pera slips under a jab.
Barathian slips a straight right by Pera.
Barathian ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Pera moves away.
Pera shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Barathian pinned against the cage. Barathian gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Pekka Pera will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Barathian connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Barathian on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Pera feints and then cracks Barathian's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Barathian down.
Pera looks for a takedown but Barathian sprawls well.
Barathian is looking to counter punch.
Max Barathian seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice cross by Barathian.

It looks like Pekka Pera has been cut.
Pera attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Barathian swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pera swings for the body but Barathian moves out of range.
Pera fakes the leg kick and cracks Barathian in the body.
Pera lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Barathian misses with a head kick.
Pera throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pera turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

Barathian closes the distance and clinches.
Pera lands a body shot in the clinch.
Barathian tries to land knees in the clinch but Pera avoids the damage to the body.
A short right from Pera on the inside.
Barathian tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Pera's elbow.
Barathian throws a head punch that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Pera fails to land.
Pera misses with a body punch.
Barathian blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Pera tries to work over Barathian's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Barathian is trying to stall.
Barathian tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Pera avoids it.
Pera just leaning against Barathian, taking a breather.
Pera throws a punch but it's blocked by Barathian.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pera looking to stall.
Pera slows down the pace here.
Barathian working aggressively here.
Pera on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A right handed body shot lands from Pera.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Pera misses with a punch to the body.
Pera tries a body shot but Barathian blocks it.
Stalling in the clinch from Barathian.
Pera swings wildly with an uppercut but Barathian uses good head movement to avoid it.
Pera'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.
Pera can't find room to land a body shot as Barathian controls the action.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A right handed body shot lands from Barathian.
Barathian tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Barathian lands with a short shot to the head.
Barathian pushes Pera back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Barathian landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Pera misses with a hook to the ribs.
Still in the clinch, Barathian scores with a nice short uppercut.
Pera blocks an uppercut.
Barathian tries to throw a body punch but Pera avoids it by throwing Barathian back against the cage.
Pera misses with a hook from the clinch.
Pera tries a body shot but Barathian blocks it.
Barathian struggles to land a body shot inside as Pera controls his hands.
Pera blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Pera wants to stall.
Barathian working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pera doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Pera prevents a body shot from Barathian.
Barathian lands with a short shot to the head.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
A short right from Pera.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pera blocking some punches.
Pera lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Barathian doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Pera is struggling to control the position.
Barathian swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Pera misses with a body punch.
Pera misses with a body punch.
Barathian scores with a shoulder strike.
Barathian misses with a knee strike.
Pera tries to work over Barathian's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Max Barathian will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Pekka Pera's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're 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.

Barathian lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Pera tries to work over Barathian's front leg with a kick but Barathian checks it.
Pera looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Barathian lands a nice looking body shot.
Barathian misses the shot to the body.
Max Barathian is winning the standup battle so far.
Barathian moves out of range as Pera strikes.
Barathian tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Pera manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Pera fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Barathian sprawls well initially but Pera persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Barathian wants to get back to his feet.
Barathian is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Pera scores with a couple of nice shots.
Barathian is refusing to be controlled, as Pera sits in half guard.
Pera thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barathian tries to kick Pera off in order to stand up. Pera Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Pera trying to control the action but Barathian is working from the bottom.
Pera working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Barathian is trying to buck Pera off.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pera looks up at the clock and then as Barathian takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Pera smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Pera tries to advance to mount but Barathian denies him.
Barathian is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Barathian trying to control but Pera postures up.
Barathian is holding on to half guard well.
Barathian looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barathian trying to control here.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Barathian tries a head kick but it misses.
Barathian avoids the body shot from Pera.
Pera throws a body punch but Barathian moves out of range.
Barathian throws a leg kick

and Pera counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Pera.
Pera swings wildly with an uppercut but Barathian uses good head movement to avoid it.
Barathian displaying some good clinch control by pressing Pera up against the cage.
Pera tries to throw a body punch but Barathian avoids it by throwing Pera back against the cage.
Barathian is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Pera pushes Barathian back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Pera tries to work over Barathian's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Pera has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Barathian after a bit of a struggle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barathian swings wildly with an uppercut but Pera uses good head movement to avoid it.
Barathian scores with a shot to the side of Pera's head.
Pera slowing the pace effectively.
Barathian throws a punch but it's blocked by Pera.
Barathian throws a knee to the head but misses.
Barathian misses with a short punch on the inside.
Barathian tries a body shot but Pera blocks it.
Pera tries to throw a body punch but Barathian avoids it by throwing Pera back against the cage.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Barathian tries to land knees in the clinch but Pera avoids the damage to the body.
Pera misses with a punch to the body.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Barathian takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Barathian misses with a short punch on the inside.
Barathian misses with a body punch.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Pekka Pera.
I think Pera 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 William Peck scores the fight 28:29
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Pekka Pera!
An out of breath Pekka Pera thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.