PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between James Osterberg (ranked 1716 p4p, 77 weight class) and Gun Seok Bak (ranked 2165 p4p, 97 weight class). Bak comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Leader, Just Give Us Your Order! kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Osterberg
vs
Seok Bak

168 cm
26
139 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

165 cm
25
148 lbs
8 - 2 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing

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 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, James Osterberg!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Gun Seok Bak!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Dmitry Maklakov and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Osterberg uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Bak.
Bak fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Osterberg on the side of the head.
Osterberg throws a head kick but Bak moves out of range.
Bak tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Osterberg manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Osterberg scores with a head kick.
Osterberg ducks under a wild hook from Bak.
Bak dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Osterberg moves in looking to clinch but Bak pushes him off.
Gun Seok Bak seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Osterberg ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Bak bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Osterberg's head backwards.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Osterberg throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Bak throws out a loose jab but Osterberg uses good head movement to avoid it.
Osterberg takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
A clash of legs there as Osterberg blocks the low kick.
Osterberg feinted with a counter takedown.
Bak throws a sloppy head kick and Osterberg moves out of range easily.
Osterberg looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Bak.
Bak throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Osterberg on the side of the head.
Bak misses with a hook. Osterberg ducked under it nicely.
Osterberg takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Bak scores with a shot to the body.
Osterberg ducks under a wild hook from Bak.
A punch combination from Bak misses.
Bak swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Bak throws a big shot that misses.
Osterberg is looking to counter the offense by Bak and move into the clinch.
Bak fails to land with a series of punches.
Osterberg throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Bak throws a hook but Osterberg blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bak avoids the head kick by Osterberg.
Osterberg tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Bak lands with an overhand left.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bak lands with a nice body punch.
A low kick from Bak is predictable there
and Osterberg counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
A jab from Bak misses.
And Osterberg counters with a quick kick to the body but Bak blocks it.
Nice defenses there by Osterberg.
Bak waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Osterberg.
Bak is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Osterberg.
Bak throws a looping overhand right but Osterberg ducks down to avoid it.
Osterberg was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Bak looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Bak waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Osterberg.
Osterberg checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
A big right from Bak misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bak uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Osterberg.
Osterberg needs to keep his hands up - Bak had a free shot at his head there.
Gun Seok Bak is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Bak connects with a right hand. Osterberg shakes it off.
Bak misses with a hook. Osterberg ducked under it nicely.
Osterberg misses with a wild body shot.
As Osterberg backs off Bak throws a huge counter combo but Osterberg manages to avoid it all.
Osterberg misses with a head kick.
Bak stuffs the takedown.
Bak's jab looks to have found its range, popping Osterberg under the eye.
Bak throws out a powerful jab.
Bak bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Osterberg's head.
Osterberg has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Osterberg there as he acknowledges the shot.
Bak throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Bak throws a jab but it's blocked by Osterberg.
Osterberg appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bak looks to land a combination but Osterberg avoids it well.
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!
Bak lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Bak looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
It appears Osterberg was looking to counter with a kick there.
Osterberg throws a head kick that Bak semi-blocks.
Bak misses with a straight right.
Bak throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Bak misses with a series of wild punches.
A telegraphed right hand from Bak misses the target.
Bak throws the left hand but Osterberg avoids the punch easily.
Bak throws a lazy uppercut

and Osterberg counters with a shoot takedown. Bak fights it but they end up in guard.
Bak really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Osterberg. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Bak working a defensive guard here.
Osterberg trying to control but Bak is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gun Seok Bak dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Bak moves out of range as Osterberg throws a body kick.
Osterberg looks to throw a body kick
letting Bak counter with a right hand.
The crowd cheers as Bak lands an impressive looking overhand right. Osterberg doesn't seem phased though.
Osterberg takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Gun Seok Bak seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Bak takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Bak throws a right and a left that both miss.
Osterberg misses with a lunging right hand
letting Bak counter with a right hand.
Bak avoids a kick to the body.
Osterberg scores with a leg kick.
Osterberg throws a wild body kick that Bak sees coming a mile off.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Osterberg fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Bak to the ground. Osterberg is now in Bak's guard.
Bak is looking to stand back up but Osterberg counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Bak.
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!

Osterberg lands strikes from half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Osterberg trying to mount his opponent but Bak defends it.
Osterberg is looking to take a break and control but Bak is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Bak trying to control here.
Osterberg lands strikes from half guard.
Osterberg working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Bak's thigh. Bak counters though and makes it back to full guard.
Osterberg slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Osterberg cracks Bak with a big right hand but Bak just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Bak dodges the ground and pound from Osterberg.
Bak avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Osterberg.
Osterberg postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Osterberg throwing shots but missing, from side control.

Osterberg is trying to get an arm triangle but Bak is defending well.
Bak is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Osterberg is controlling him well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Osterberg in side control lands a decent elbow.
Osterberg remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Bak is not content to let Osterberg control the position.
Bak has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Osterberg tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Bak gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!

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.

Osterberg jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Bak manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Bak parries the strikes from Osterberg easily there. Osterberg is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Bak to escape.

Osterberg is trying to get an arm triangle but Bak is defending well.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Osterberg lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Osterberg dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Osterberg moves forwards but Bak connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Osterberg misses with a body kick.
Bak misses with a combination

and Osterberg counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Osterberg working some strikes from top position.
Osterberg controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Osterberg trying to control but Bak is working from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bak is trying to keep Osterberg in close.

Bak scrambles and gets back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bak scores with a three punch combo!

Osterberg has closed the distance and engaged Bak in a clinch.

Osterberg breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Osterberg on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Bak throws an overhand right that lands on Osterberg's shoulder, as Osterberg tries to avoid the shot.
Osterberg closes the distance looking to clinch
and Bak counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Bak throws a jab when Osterberg was well out of range.
Osterberg is looking to land body kicks.
Bak throws a nice looking combination but Osterberg bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Osterberg avoids a punch combination nicely.
Osterberg fails with the takedown.
Bak throws a leg kick
and Osterberg cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bak misses the jab.
Bak throws a shot from downtown. Osterberg moves away and avoids it.
Osterberg feinted with a counter takedown.
Osterberg looks for the body kick but Bak saw that one coming.
Bak throws a counter combo.
Osterberg ducks under a wild hook from Bak.
Bak tries to score with a low kick but Osterberg moves his leg out of the way.
Osterberg goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Bak throws out a counter right but Osterberg avoids it with no problem.
Osterberg tries to clinch up but Bak circles away and keeps his distance.
Osterberg steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Bak.
Osterberg feinted with a counter takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bak throws out a powerful jab.
Osterberg steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Bak.
Osterberg misses with a head kick.

Bak gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Osterberg to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Bak keeping moving, preventing Osterberg from controlling successfully.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Bak can do anything to dispel that myth.
Osterberg stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Bak swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Osterberg looking to sit in guard and control but Bak gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Bak stopping the sweep attempt from Osterberg.
Osterberg looking to control.
Osterberg is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Osterberg trying to control the position.
Osterberg wants to sweep here but Bak controlling him for the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gun Seok Bak comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Bak 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 Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 28:29
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gun Seok Bak!
Gun Seok Bak gave a mention to Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing in his post fight interview. That will please them (and hopefully generate some sales).
James Osterberg spoke after the fight, saying 'No worries! Everyone knows that my opponent here has a bad habit of testing positive for PEDs and illegal recreational drugs, so I'm confident this fight will soon be ruled a "No Contest." Thanks everyone for continuing to support those of us who fight clean.'.