PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Jan Sokol (ranked 1440 p4p, 1384 weight class) and Sean O Rally (ranked 120 p4p, 115 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Sokol
vs
O Rally

182 cm
31
135
19 - 18 - 1

180 cm
29
142
15 - 13 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Experienced

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 19 - 18 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Jan Sokol!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sean O Rally!
The judges for this bout are Radbod Blank, Nard Betker and Albert Achterberg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A telegraphed right hand from Sokol misses the target.
O Rally throws a big shot that misses.
Sokol uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
A punch lands to the side of O Rally 's head but he takes it in his stride.
O Rally leaves Sokol with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
O Rally looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Sokol moves out of range of the strikes.
O Rally throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
A swing and a miss from Sokol.
Sokol takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
A jab from O Rally misses.
O Rally tests Sokol's chin there with a solid looking shot.
O Rally fails to land with a series of punches.
O Rally misses with a looping left.
Sokol was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
O Rally lands a really nice looking cross but Sokol seems unphased.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
O Rally swats away the attempt to clinch by Sokol.
Sokol throws an off balance right hand
letting O Rally counter with a right hand.
Sokol moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Jan Sokol seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Rally's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and O Rally duly obliges.

Sokol is rocked!
Sokol uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from O Rally.
Oh Sokol is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Sokol shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts O Rally as he jumps to the side.
A countering left hand to the body from O Rally misses.
O Rally connects with an inside leg kick.
Sokol seems to have got his legs back now.
Sokol throws an ugly left hook that misses
and O Rally counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
O Rally fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sokol manages to avoid it.
Sokol connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between O Rally's hands.
O Rally will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
O Rally digs a good body shot into Sokol's ribs.

Excellent takedown into side control there by O Rally.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
O Rally working away.

O Rally wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Sokol, who protects the arm well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sokol sneaks back into half guard.
Sokol really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Sokol trying to control but O Rally postures up.
O Rally wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sokol keeps working.
Sokol is looking to control O Rally's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Sokol avoid being mounted?

Sokol is defending against the submission attempts here by O Rally.
Sokol is looking to improve his position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Rally controlling the action here.

O Rally is working for a kimura but Sokol is defending it quite comfortably.

O Rally is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Sokol sees it coming and defends easily.
Sokol is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Sokol is working hard here to advance position.
O Rally not doing much here.

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

Sokol moves into the clinch successfully.

Sokol lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Sokol seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
O Rally is looking for a sweep. Sokol is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Sokol working O Rally over with strikes.
O Rally is not content to let Sokol control the position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Sean O Rally dominated 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.

Sokol slips a straight right by O Rally.
O Rally wants to slow Sokol down by chopping away at his legs.
The fight stays on the outside here - Sokol looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

O Rally drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
O Rally is stalling in the full guard.
O Rally has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
O Rally trying to control but Sokol is working from the bottom.
Sokol wants to sweep but no luck.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sokol keeping full guard, as O Rally tries to pass.
Sokol tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sean O Rally has got the better of the ground game so far.
Sokol keeping moving, preventing O Rally from controlling successfully.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Sokol looking to hit a scissor sweep but O Rally is one step ahead there.
O Rally trying to control the position from guard on top but Sokol is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Sokol scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Sokol looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
O Rally loads up on a big right hand but Sokol slips the punch.
O Rally throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Sokol stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Nice defenses there by O Rally.
Sokol tries to clinch there but O Rally circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Rally displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Sokol throws out the jab.

Sokol pushes O Rally up against the cage in a clinch.
Sokol misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sokol displaying some good clinch control by pressing O Rally up against the cage.
Sokol goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sokol throws a head punch that misses.
Sokol misses with some punches.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by O Rally as Sokol tries to tie him up.
Sokol is trying to stall.
Sokol lands with a short punch from the clinch.
O Rally swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Sokol tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. O Rally just stands there and leans against the cage.

O Rally jumps into guard, dragging Sokol to the mat.
Sokol preventing the sweep.
Sokol postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Rally wants to sweep but no luck.
Sokol working some strikes from top position.
Sokol keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of O Rally's head.
Sokol looking to sit in guard and control but O Rally gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

O Rally pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Sokol is keeping the position for now.
O Rally is looking to pass into half guard but Sokol pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Sokol is in guard.

Sokol postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
O Rally has control of Sokol's left arm, preventing Sokol from doing any damage.

O Rally working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Sokol doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Sokol manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Sokol wants to control from the top but O Rally keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sokol is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
O Rally is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Sokol controlling from the top position.
O Rally trying to keep a closed guard but Sokol is proving a slippery customer.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sokol throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as O Rally works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sokol is looking to work some ground and pound but O Rally has wrist control.
O Rally preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
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 Jan Sokol will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

O Rally misses with a series of wild punches.
Sokol fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Sokol throws a good cross that connects.
Sokol scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. O Rally doesn't seem bothered though.
Sokol missing with a left hand there. O Rally was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sokol wants to clinch up but O Rally keeps it at a distance.
O Rally tries to bum rush Sokol with a series of wild strikes but Sokol uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
O Rally takes a swing at Sokol's ribcage but misses.
A jab from O Rally misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
O Rally throws a lazy right hand but Sokol sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
O Rally uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Sokol.
Sean O Rally seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Sokol misses with a straight right.

Sokol clinches up against the cage.

Sokol jumps into guard, dragging O Rally to the mat.
Sokol looking to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sokol seems keen to control O Rally's posture.

O Rally drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and O Rally jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Sokol bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in O Rally's guard.

Sokol postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sokol throws a big right hand that misses.
Sokol throwing strikes but missing.
Sokol postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sokol throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as O Rally works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sokol preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

O Rally escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Sokol gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Sokol has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Sokol throws a strike but O Rally rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Sokol manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. O Rally manages to get himself to full guard.

Sokol lands a couple of digs.
Sokol trying to control but O Rally is working from the bottom.
O Rally utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Sokol wants to pass the guard but O Rally is keeping the position.
Sokol throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as O Rally works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Rally is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Sokol looking to pass the guard.
O Rally utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Sokol preventing the sweep.

Sokol got a little sloppy there for a moment and O Rally has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Sokol has managed to get both his arms back between O Rally's legs - danger averted.

Sokol is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! O Rally is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! O Rally has escaped and now he's on top!

O Rally controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

O Rally is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
O Rally won't allow Sokol to sweep him here.
Sokol wants to hit a sweep here but O Rally passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Sokol there!
Sokol wants to hold on but O Rally pushes him away.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sokol can't escape the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Jan Sokol.
I think Sokol 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 Radbod Blank scores the fight 29:28
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 29:29
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Jan Sokol!
A relieved looking Jan Sokol thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.