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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Bruce White Jr (ranked 4506 p4p, 1869 weight class) and Sauli Somelainen (ranked 466 p4p, 247 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.
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170 cm 37 155 27 - 20 - 0 |
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181 cm 30 166 10 - 9 - 2 |
Good wrestling Excellent boxer Very quick |
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Good wrestler World class boxer Good gas tank |
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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 27 - 20 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Bruce White Jr! And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner. With a record of 10 - 9 - 2, fighting out of New York, Sauli Somelainen! The judges for this bout are Reed Andrews, David Schapiro and Alyssa Summers.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway! White Jr walks into a jab. Somelainen uses good head movement to avoid the hook from White Jr. White Jr doesn't succeed with the takedown and Somelainen cracks him with a counter punch right on the button. Somelainen takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
White Jr gets the takedown into side control. White Jr landing strikes. Somelainen is looking to reverse the position. White Jr wants to control but Somelainen is keeping him busy. Somelainen defending against the ground and pound. White Jr is trying to ground and pound but Somelainen uses the momentary lack of control by White Jr to regain half guard. The crowd are loving this. Great action here. White Jr is looking to stall here but Somelainen recovers full guard. Somelainen keeping moving, preventing White Jr from controlling successfully.
That's one minute gone in the round. White Jr is fighting to break Somelainen's control of his arms but Somelainen is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment. White Jr throwing strikes from guard but Somelainen blocks nicely. Somelainen keeping moving, preventing White Jr from controlling successfully. Somelainen has control of White Jr's left arm, preventing White Jr from doing any damage. Somelainen being controlled here, momentarily.
That's two minutes gone in the round. Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it. White Jr lands a couple of decent looking shots. Our spies down at at HELLCADEMY inform us that Somelainen has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off? White Jr trying to control the position from guard on top but Somelainen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can. White Jr trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet. White Jr with a flurry of punches that miss. White Jr distracts Somelainen with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm. Somelainen keeping moving, preventing White Jr from controlling successfully. White Jr pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Somelainen is keeping the position for now. White Jr throwing strikes from guard but Somelainen blocks nicely.
The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
That's three minutes gone in the round. White Jr misses with a straight left. White Jr avoids the head kick by Somelainen.
White Jr chopping away at his opponent's legs.
A big right from White Jr misses. Somelainen is clearly looking to counter with head kicks. Somelainen is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by White Jr. Sauli Somelainen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs. White Jr manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Somelainen on his heels. He'll look to pass Somelainen's guard now, I'm sure. Somelainen keeping full guard, as White Jr tries to pass. The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing. White Jr throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent. A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Somelainen holds on and takes a little breather.
That's four minutes gone in the round. White Jr trying to control but Somelainen is working from the bottom. It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup. White Jr is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Somelainen is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. Somelainen missing with a left hand there. White Jr was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one. The crowd thankful this round is nearly over. White Jr avoids the head kick by Somelainen.
White Jr dips down and scores with a jab to the body. White Jr fails with the takedown. And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Bruce White Jr dominated that round. The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. White Jr uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Somelainen. Somelainen jabbing away but nothing is landing. White Jr lands with an overhand left. White Jr looking for a takedown here - he's got it. Somelainen is controlling White Jr's posture. Somelainen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage. We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up. Somelainen wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now. White Jr throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
That's one minute gone in the round. White Jr stays in close to Somelainen's body and controls the position. Somelainen looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it. Somelainen keeping moving, preventing White Jr from controlling successfully.
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. Somelainen throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and White Jr counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head. Somelainen lands the left hand. Somelainen misses with a head kick.
The fighters circling - White Jr throws out the jab but it was never going to land. Somelainen throws a hook to the side of White Jr's head but White Jr sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully. Somelainen tries a switch kick but it misses it's target. Somelainen lands a body shot.
White Jr goes for a double leg but Somelainen avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Somelainen continues to drive forward.
That's two minutes gone in the round. White Jr slows down the pace here.
White Jr blocks a body shot from Somelainen. A short left from Somelainen. Somelainen tries a body shot but White Jr blocks it.
White Jr tries to land knees in the clinch but Somelainen avoids the damage to the body. Somelainen tries to work over White Jr's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target. White Jr scores with a shoulder strike. White Jr's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button! The crowd are loving this. Great action here. White Jr wants a takedown.
White Jr wants to take the fight to the mat but Somelainen manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch. That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bruce White Jr. That's going to take a lot out of him. Somelainen looking to throw knees to the head but White Jr is blocking nicely.
White Jr misses with some punches.
White Jr misses with a shot to the kidneys.
White Jr throws a knee to the head but misses.
That's three minutes gone in the round. Somelainen tries a knee to the head but White Jr blocks it.
A short left from White Jr. White Jr slowing the pace effectively. White Jr avoiding damage.
Somelainen looking to throw knees to the head but White Jr is blocking nicely.
Somelainen is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. White Jr is defending well for now. Somelainen lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage. White Jr has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Somelainen is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet. White Jr managing to block the knees to the body from Somelainen.
White Jr misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Somelainen.
White Jr gets a nice trip takedown into half guard. White Jr is keen to just control but Somelainen is a slippery customer. White Jr prevents Somelainen from improving his position. White Jr throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
That's four minutes gone in the round. Somelainen is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment. White Jr lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt. Somelainen moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard. White Jr pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Somelainen is keeping the position for now. White Jr trying to control the position from guard on top but Somelainen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can. Bruce White Jr overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far. This has been an exciting period of action! Somelainen looking for a sweep. Not yet Somelainen, not yet. And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close second round but I would say that Bruce White Jr will probably get the nod. The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round! White Jr cracks Somelainen with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd. White Jr looks to score with a jab to the body but Somelainen is just out of range. Somelainen throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
White Jr feinted there with a counter leg kick. Somelainen throws the left hand but White Jr avoids the punch easily. White Jr scores with the left hand. Somelainen knows he should have avoided that one. White Jr jabbing away but nothing is landing. White Jr is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
White Jr misses with a straight right. Nice defenses there by Somelainen. Somelainen takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
White Jr gets cracked there but stands up to it.
White Jr throws a body shot but no joy. Somelainen keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from White Jr. White Jr thows a left - swing and a miss! White Jr doesn't succeed with the takedown and Somelainen counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
That's one minute gone in the round. A punch lands to the side of White Jr 's head but he takes it in his stride. White Jr throws a shot from downtown. Somelainen moves away and avoids it. White Jr connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe. Somelainen pulls out of a head kick attempt.
White Jr swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect. Somelainen connects with a high kick. White Jr throws a leg kick that is checked and Somelainen counters with a left to the body. Somelainen lands a body shot.
Somelainen cracks White Jr with a right hand to the side of the head.
White Jr is rocked! Somelainen might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable. Somelainen throws a head kick but White Jr moves out of range.
White Jr looks to throw the jab but Somelainen is out of range. Somelainen throws a lazy head kick and White Jr counters with a straight punch to the midsection. White Jr throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff! Somelainen throws out a loose jab but White Jr uses good head movement to avoid it. Somelainen scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business. Somelainen takes one on the button. Sauli Somelainen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here! Bruce White Jr is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
That's two minutes gone in the round. Somelainen cracks White Jr with an open hand slap. White Jr goes for a double leg but Somelainen avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Somelainen continues to drive forward. White Jr blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning. White Jr tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked. White Jr taking a breather. Somelainen misses with a short punch on the inside. An uppercut on the inside fails to land for White Jr. White Jr stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Somelainen tried to land a shot to the body but connects with White Jr's elbow. Somelainen tries to land knees in the clinch but White Jr avoids the damage to the body. Sauli Somelainen seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
That's three minutes gone in the round. White Jr prevents Somelainen from breaking the clinch. Somelainen lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of White Jr backwards. White Jr blocks a body shot from Somelainen. Somelainen misses with some punches.
Somelainen tried to land a shot to the body but connects with White Jr's elbow. Somelainen scores with a nice hook to the head. Somelainen misses with a short punch on the inside. White Jr throws a head punch that misses. Somelainen swings wildly with an uppercut but White Jr uses good head movement to avoid it. Somelainen lands a right hand.
That's four minutes gone in the round. White Jr wants a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bruce White Jr. That's going to take a lot out of him. Somelainen tries to throw a body punch but White Jr avoids it by throwing Somelainen back against the cage. Somelainen throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges. Somelainen misses with a hook to the ribs.
Somelainen goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
White Jr is trying to drag Somelainen to the mat but Somelainen just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there. Somelainen misses with the head strike.
Somelainen swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Somelainen using the Thai plumb to throw knees but White Jr has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
And that's the end of the fight! Sauli Somelainen comfortably won the final round on my scorecard. I think White Jr has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Reed Andrews scores the fight 29:28 Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 29:28 Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 29:28
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bruce White Jr! Bruce White Jr seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.
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S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
42% |
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