PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Bessarion Alexius (ranked 486 p4p, 79 weight class) and Jonas Justesen (ranked 601 p4p, 99 weight class). Alexius's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, A Country Boy Can Survive. Jonas Justesen struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 171.6lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. 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?

Alexius
vs
Justesen

178 cm
36
180 lbs
29 - 13 - 1

183 cm
30
189 lbs
12 - 7 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Olympic wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Kimura Klothing
Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 29 - 13 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Bessarion Alexius!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 7 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jonas Justesen!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Ben Zyskovitsi and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Alexius cracks a nice hook into Justesen's ribs.
Alexius throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Justesen connects with a looping right hand.
Justesen throws a jab but it's blocked by Alexius.
Alexius cracks a nice hook into Justesen's ribs.
Alexius has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.

Justesen tries to sprawl but Alexius drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Alexius is looking to advance position but Justesen won't allow it.
Alexius trying to control the pace.
Justesen is positioning himself well to prevent Alexius advancing to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Justesen is looking for a sweep. Alexius is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Alexius stalling.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Alexius is thwarting Justesen's attempts to control the position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

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.
Nice cross by Alexius.
Alexius lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Justesen circles away quickly and effectively.
Alexius defending well as Justesen loads up on a big left hand.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Justesen, right into the meat.
A telegraphed right hand from Justesen misses the target.
It looked like Alexius was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Justesen.
Justesen avoids the body shot from Alexius.
Justesen throws a low kick but Alexius moves out of range easily.
Justesen ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Alexius fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Justesen manages to avoid it.
Justesen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Alexius takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Justesen digs a good body shot into Alexius's ribs.
Justesen feints a jab promting Alexius to slip. Justesen then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Alexius slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Alexius throws a nice looking combination but Justesen bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Justesen misses with a hook
and Alexius counters with a lovely straight right hand!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Bessarion Alexius will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

A slapping leg kick lands for Justesen.
A shot to the liver by Alexius. Beautiful body shot.
Justesen takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Alexius jabs Justesen right on the nose. Justesen blinks but takes it well.
Alexius misses with a looping left.
Alexius is looking to wear down Justesen with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Alexius tries to move into range but Justesen moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Alexius throws a nice inside leg kick.
Alexius throws a quick inside leg kick.
Justesen throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Justesen just misses with a punch to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Alexius lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
A slow jab from Alexius misses its intended target.
Alexius keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Justesen.
Alexius takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
A big right from Alexius misses.
Alexius lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Justesen circles away quickly and effectively.
Justesen is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Justesen throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Alexius on the side of the head.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Alexius, right into the meat.
Jonas Justesen seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Justesen misses with a hook.
Justesen lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Justesen scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
No joy there for Justesen, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Justesen tests Alexius's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Alexius checks a low kick from Justesen.
Justesen lands a nice looking body shot.
Justesen misses with a looping left.
A low kick from Justesen misses

and Alexius counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Alexius trying to control but Justesen is working from the bottom.
Justesen looking to hit a scissor sweep but Alexius is one step ahead there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Justesen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Alexius is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Justesen pulls Alexius in close to prevent any damage.
Alexius looking to sit in guard and control but Justesen gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Jonas Justesen will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Justesen misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Alexius tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Justesen manages to circle out of the way.
Alexius ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Justesen moves away.
Justesen moves into range and connects with a jab.
Justesen defending well as Alexius loads up on a big left hand.
Justesen slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Alexius throws out a leg kick but Justesen moves out of range and Alexius only half commits.
Nice uppercut there from Justesen.
Alexius jabs Justesen to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Alexius fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
A jab from Justesen misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Alexius misses with the combination.

Alexius closes the distance and clinches.
Alexius scores with a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.

Justesen pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Alexius connects with a single shot there.
A punch combination from Alexius misses.
Alexius throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Justesen bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Alexius's head backwards.
Alexius scores with a shot to the body.
Alexius is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Justesen.
Alexius misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Justesen.
Justesen checks a leg kick nicely.
Alexius looks to land a left hand but Justesen moved out of range nicely.
Alexius throws a body punch but Justesen moves out of range.
Bessarion Alexius seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Alexius throws a leg kick but Justesen moved away.
Alexius works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Justesen throws a hook to the side of Alexius's head but Alexius sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Justesen scores with a jab to the body.

Justesen feints and as Alexius raises his hands in defense, Justesen changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
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!
Alexius is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Justesen wants to control but Alexius is keeping busy.
Justesen is looking to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bessarion Alexius clearly takes 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.

Justesen connects with a body shot that sends Alexius's belly button to the back.
Alexius connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Justesen's hands.
Alexius wants to clinch.

Justesen bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Justesen fails to land a wild elbow strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Alexius sneaks back into half guard.
Justesen is looking to take a break and control but Alexius is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Justesen is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Alexius blocking the ground and pound attempt from Justesen.
Alexius is looking to control Justesen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Alexius avoid being mounted?
Justesen throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Alexius is looking to get back to full guard here but Justesen has managed to pass to side control instead.
Justesen throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Justesen misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Justesen tries to score with some ground and pound. Alexius controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Justesen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Alexius keeps working.
Alexius is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Justesen tries to pass to full mount but Alexius defends it.
Alexius is looking to get back to is feet but Justesen passes into side control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Justesen postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Bessarion Alexius overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Justesen moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jonas Justesen dominated that fourth 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. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Justesen misses with a straight right.
A looping hook to the body misses from Alexius. Justesen does a little dance to reset his feet.
Alexius takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Justesen shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Alexius misses with a low kick.
Justesen feints the counter takedown.
Alexius scores with a nice strike.
Justesen slips a jab from Alexius.
Alexius takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Alexius misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Alexius tries to clinch up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Alexius throws a shot to the body.
An inside leg kick from Justesen misses.
Alexius ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Alexius misses with a head kick.
Alexius throws a front kick that sends Justesen stumbling back into the ropes.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Justesen shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Alexius is trying to defend but Justesen finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Justesen lands with a punch from half guard.
Alexius tries to get to full guard but Justesen has control of the leg.
Justesen looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Alexius with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Justesen not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Alexius is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Justesen is looking to advance position but Alexius won't allow it.
Justesen not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Justesen is just content to waste time from the top position. Alexius takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Alexius is on top in guard.

Justesen looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bessarion Alexius showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Alexius has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight for Jonas Justesen!
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight for Bessarion Alexius!
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight for Bessarion Alexius!

Bessarion Alexius wins by split decision!
Bessarion Alexius retains his welterweight title!
Bessarion Alexius tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.