PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Yka Sonni (ranked 1217 p4p, 5771 weight class) and Joels Van Wijnbergen (ranked 168 p4p, 605 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Sonni
vs
Van Wijnbergen

175 cm
24
220
5 - 1 - 0

185 cm
40
210
24 - 16 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Yka Sonni!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 24 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Joels Van Wijnbergen!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Emerson Jorge and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Van Wijnbergen throws a looping overhand right but Sonni ducks down to avoid it.
Sonni tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Van Wijnbergen defends well and Sonni ends up having to push Van Wijnbergen into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Sonni stalling in the clinch but Van Wijnbergen improves position.
Van Wijnbergen misses with a hook to the ribs.
Sonni looking to slow down the pace here.
Van Wijnbergen struggles to land a body shot inside as Sonni controls his hands.
Sonni just leaning against Van Wijnbergen, taking a breather.
Van Wijnbergen can't find room to land a body shot as Sonni controls the action.
Van Wijnbergen is trying to break the clinch but Sonni is controlling him.
Sonni scores with a nice hook to the head.
Sonni lands with a light punch inside.
Sonni has Van Wijnbergen pressed against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sonni.
Sonni is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Van Wijnbergen is keeping busy.
Van Wijnbergen wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Van Wijnbergen misses with some punches.

Van Wijnbergen breaks the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Wijnbergen cracks a nice hook into Sonni's ribs.
Sonni takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Sonni looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

Sonni shoots in and gets a takedown into Van Wijnbergen's guard.
Sonni trying to control but Van Wijnbergen is working from the bottom.
Sonni passes into half guard.
Sonni slows the pace down in half guard.
Van Wijnbergen is looking to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sonni trying to control from half guard but Van Wijnbergen is working away.

Sonni wants to work for an arm triangle but Van Wijnbergen is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Sonni in particular looking to stall.

Sonni is looking for a kimura here.
Sonni is thwarting Van Wijnbergen's attempts to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonni slows the pace down in half guard.
Van Wijnbergen is refusing to be controlled, as Sonni sits in half guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Sonni moves out of range of the body kick from Van Wijnbergen.
A slow jab from Van Wijnbergen misses its intended target.
Sonni throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Van Wijnbergen counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

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.
A shot to the liver by Sonni. Beautiful body shot.
Van Wijnbergen tries to land a body kick
and Sonni counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Van Wijnbergen misses with a combination
and Sonni connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

It looks like Joels Van Wijnbergen has been cut.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Van Wijnbergen crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Sonni - the referee stops the clock and Van Wijnbergen gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Sonni. Van Wijnbergen manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Sonni scores with a nice strike.
Sonni lands a leg kick that knocks Van Wijnbergen off balance momentarily.
Van Wijnbergen throws a push kick but Sonni slaps the foot to one side.
Van Wijnbergen throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Sonni is looking to counter punch.
Sonni tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Van Wijnbergen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Van Wijnbergen connects with a high kick.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Van Wijnbergen is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Sonni takes a swing at Van Wijnbergen's ribcage but misses.
Sonni throws a wild body kick that Van Wijnbergen sees coming a mile off.
Van Wijnbergen looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Sonni takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Yka Sonni will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Joels Van Wijnbergen's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Van Wijnbergen scores with a sloppy right hand. Sonni should have avoided that one.
Van Wijnbergen throws a lazy right hand but Sonni sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Sonni swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
A slapping leg kick lands for Sonni.
Sonni swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Van Wijnbergen just misses with a punch to the body.
Sonni wants to clinch.
Sonni looks to land a right hand but Van Wijnbergen moved out of range.
Van Wijnbergen bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Sonni's head backwards.
Joels Van Wijnbergen seems to be getting the better of the standup.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Van Wijnbergen is looking to score with low kicks.
Sonni lands with a right hand.
Joels Van Wijnbergen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Van Wijnbergen misses with a lunging right hand
and Sonni counters with a nice uppercut.
Sonni misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Van Wijnbergen.
Van Wijnbergen misses with a left hand
and Sonni counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Wijnbergen misses with a jab to the body
enabling Sonni to counter with a crisp jab.
Van Wijnbergen slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Jab, jab by Sonni - just one landing.
Sonni throws a body shot but no joy.
Van Wijnbergen swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Sonni scores with a crisp jab that stopped Van Wijnbergen in his tracks.
Sonni is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Van Wijnbergen can do to turn this around?
Sonni clobbers Van Wijnbergen with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Van Wijnbergen looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Van Wijnbergen on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Sonni. Sonni obviously looking to wear him down.
Van Wijnbergen throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Sonni counters with a nice uppercut.
Van Wijnbergen misses with an uppercut
and Sonni connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sonni checks a leg kick nicely.
Sonni connects with a solid leg kick.
Sonni lands with a shot to the body.
Sonni throws an overhand right that lands on Van Wijnbergen's shoulder, as Van Wijnbergen tries to avoid the shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van Wijnbergen misses with a leg kick
and Sonni counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Van Wijnbergen fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Van Wijnbergen lands a nice looking body kick.
Nice uppercut lands for Van Wijnbergen. That snapped Sonni's head back.
Van Wijnbergen misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Sonni connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Sonni moves away from the strike by Van Wijnbergen.
A looping hook to the body misses from Van Wijnbergen. Sonni does a little dance to reset his feet.
Van Wijnbergen digs a good body shot into Sonni's ribs.
Van Wijnbergen tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Van Wijnbergen misses with a straight left.
Van Wijnbergen misses with a kick to the body.
Sonni throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Van Wijnbergen on the side of the head.
Van Wijnbergen throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Van Wijnbergen looks to score with a jab to the body but Sonni is just out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonni takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
A decent looking cross lands there for Van Wijnbergen.
Sonni with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Sonni on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Van Wijnbergen. Van Wijnbergen obviously looking to wear him down.
Nice uppercut there from Van Wijnbergen.
Van Wijnbergen scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Van Wijnbergen moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Sonni attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Van Wijnbergen gets off balance looking for a body kick
letting Sonni counter with a right hand.
Van Wijnbergen dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Van Wijnbergen tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sonni lands a slapping body shot.
Van Wijnbergen throws an off balance right hand
letting Sonni counter with a right hand.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Sonni.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Wijnbergen dips to his left and cracks Sonni with an uppercut!

Sonni darts in and clinches Van Wijnbergen up against the cage.
Van Wijnbergen scores with a shoulder strike.
Van Wijnbergen takes a shot to the head.

Van Wijnbergen is rocked!
Van Wijnbergen scores with a hook to the body.
Sonni tries to work over Van Wijnbergen's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sonni.
Sonni lands a right hand that snaps the head of Van Wijnbergen backwards.
Sonni misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Van Wijnbergen takes a shot to the head.
Sonni softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Sonni.
Van Wijnbergen is still on wobbly legs! Can Sonni finish him?
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sonni lands with a short punch from the clinch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Sonni.
Van Wijnbergen working aggressively here.
Sonni takes a shot to the head.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Yka Sonni dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Joels Van Wijnbergen's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Sonni lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Van Wijnbergen seems to have recovered his senses.
Van Wijnbergen swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Sonni is looking to counter punch.
Sonni thows a left - swing and a miss!
Van Wijnbergen swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Sonni moves in looking to clinch but Van Wijnbergen pushes him off.

Sonni has Van Wijnbergen up against the cage in a clinch.
A nice left hand lands by Sonni.
Sonni misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Sonni lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Van Wijnbergen throws a punch but it's blocked by Sonni.
Sonni blocks an uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Van Wijnbergen presses Sonni against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Van Wijnbergen scores with a nice hook to the head.
Van Wijnbergen misses with some punches.
Sonni throws a punch but it's blocked by Van Wijnbergen.
Sonni swings wildly with an uppercut but Van Wijnbergen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sonni lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Van Wijnbergen or not.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sonni stalling in the clinch.
A bit of stalling here from Sonni.
Yka Sonni has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Van Wijnbergen tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Sonni.
Van Wijnbergen lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Van Wijnbergen misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Van Wijnbergen goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sonni pushes Van Wijnbergen back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Van Wijnbergen misses with a body punch.
Sonni fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Sonni tries to work over Van Wijnbergen's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Sonni lands a right hand that snaps the head of Van Wijnbergen backwards.
Van Wijnbergen has a couple of punches blocked by Sonni.
Van Wijnbergen tries a body shot but Sonni blocks it.
Van Wijnbergen can't find room to land a body shot as Sonni controls the action.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Joels Van Wijnbergen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sonni stalling the fight.
A short body shot lands from Sonni as the two fighters clinch.
Van Wijnbergen takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Sonni lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Sonni stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Sonni taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
A nice right hand lands inside from Sonni.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sonni stalling.
Sonni stalling in the clinch.
Sonni taking a breather.
Sonni seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Yka Sonni.
Van Wijnbergen connects with a body shot.
Sonni throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Van Wijnbergen on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Sonni thuds his right hand into Van Wijnbergen's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

Sonni cracks Van Wijnbergen with a big right hand that sends him crashing to the floor. Sonni has the opportunity to follow him to the ground but instead he's beckoning Van Wijnbergen to stand back up!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sonni cracks Van Wijnbergen with a nasty uppercut that draws ooohs from the crowd and sends Van Wijnbergen tumbling backwards onto the mat. He tries to recover but Sonni pounces and lands a hail of unanswered strikes that forces the referee to step in to end the fight! Van Wijnbergen is not happy but he gave the referee no choice!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:06 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Yka Sonni!
An out of breath Yka Sonni thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.