PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between simon samoan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Timo Soini (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for simon samoan has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

samoan
vs
Soini

183 cm
20
170 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

180 cm
19
178 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, simon samoan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Timo Soini!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Johanna Lukiainen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
samoan shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Soini sprawls well. Soini wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. samoan gets slowly back to his feet.

Soini clinches.
Soini tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Soini has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. samoan is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
samoan is trying to break the clinch but Soini has him pressed against the cage.
Soini unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Soini leaning against his opponent.
samoan is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
samoan misses with an elbow strike.
Soini connects with a nasty looking knee right to samoan's face.
Soini gets underhooks to prevent samoan's takedown attempt.
Soini is pushing samoan up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Soini lands a damaging elbow.
Soini gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Soini lands an elbow that stopped samoan in his tracks for a moment.
samoan is breathing heavily.
Soini pressing his opponent against the cage.
samoan swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Soini lands a nice elbow.
Soini tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Soini putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has samoan in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soini with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Soini unloads a knee to the mid-section.
samoan takes a knee right on the jaw!
Soini lands an elbow just above samoan 's eye.
Soini taking a breather.
Soini lands a damaging elbow.
samoan takes an elbow to the temple.
samoan letting Soini take a breather here.
samoan takes a knee right on the jaw!
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Soini obliges.
Soini working samoan over with knees to the body.
Soini lands a damaging elbow.
Soini scores a nice knee to the body.
Nice elbow from Soini.
Soini lands a nice elbow.
Soini landing knees to the head.
The referee calls for Soini to work.
Soini lands a knee to the head.
A knee to the head by Soini.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soini lands a damaging elbow.
Soini connects with a nasty looking knee right to samoan's face.
Knees to the body from Soini.
Soini lands an elbow that stopped samoan in his tracks for a moment.
Soini lands a knee to the body.
samoan takes an elbow to the temple.
Nice elbow from Soini.
Soini working samoan over with knees to the body.
Soini lands an elbow just above samoan 's eye.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Soini lands a nice elbow.
Soini connects with a nasty looking knee right to samoan's face.
Nice elbow from Soini.
Soini landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Soini lands an elbow inside that samoan shrugs off.
Soini working samoan over with knees to the body.
Soini landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Soini looking to throw knees to the head but samoan is blocking nicely.
Soini lands a nice elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
samoan misses with a hook from the clinch.
Soini unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Soini lands a knee to the head.
Soini lands a nice knee to the body.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
samoan avoiding damage as Soini throws knees to the body.
Soini tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
samoan is pressed up against the cage. Soini has hold of a leg and is looking to drag samoan down to the mat. samoan avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
A nice leg kick lands there from samoan.

Soini pushes samoan up against the cage in a clinch.
samoan tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for simon samoan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Soini.
samoan wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Soini with a knee to the head.
Soini unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Soini misses with an elbow over the top.
Soini is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Soini unloads a knee to the mid-section.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soini landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
samoan being controlled against the cage.
samoan trying to control the position but instead, Soini has worked for underhooks and has pushed samoan into the cage.
A knee to the head by Soini.
Soini landing knees to the body.
Soini lands an elbow that stopped samoan in his tracks for a moment.
Soini lands a knee to the head.
Soini using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Soini lands a nice elbow.
Stalling in the clinch from Soini.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Soini just misses with a elbow thrown towards samoan's brow.
Soini slows down the pace here.
Soini lands an elbow just above samoan 's eye.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Timo Soini 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.

samoan looks to land a right hand but Soini moved out of range.
Nice takedown defense from Soini. No joy for samoan on that attempt.
Soini tries to close the distance and clinch up but samoan swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Soini connects with a solid leg kick.

Soini gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
samoan tries to stall but Soini uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
samoan takes a knee to the side of the body.
A knee to the head by Soini.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Soini in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Soini lands a damaging elbow.
Soini connects with a knee to the head.
Soini's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Soini lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Soini utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Soini landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Soini landing some nice looking knees to the body.
samoan takes an elbow to the forehead.
Soini goes for a takedown in the clinch but samoan prevents it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soini trying to land knees to the body.
samoan takes a knee to the side of the body.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Knees in the clinch landing for Soini.
samoan fails to pull guard.
Soini comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Soini controlling the action here for a moment.
Soini working samoan over with knees to the body.
Nice elbow from Soini.
Soini lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Soini lands a nice elbow.
samoan is working for takedown but Soini is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for simon samoan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Soini with a knee to the head.
Soini lands a nice elbow.
Soini lands a knee to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Soini is pressed up against the cage. samoan has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Soini down to the mat. Soini avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Soini - that will leave a mark!
samoan shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Soini sprawls well. Soini wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. samoan gets slowly back to his feet.

Soini clinches up against the cage.
Soini effectively controlling the action here.
samoan wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Soini has him pressed against the cage.
Soini tries for a takedown but samoan manages to get underhooks.
samoan takes an elbow to the forehead.
Soini landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Soini keeps the fight in the clinch, despite samoan's efforts to push away.
samoan takes an elbow to the temple.
Soini connects with a knee to the head.
samoan has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Soini avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Soini tries for a takedown but samoan manages to get underhooks.
Soini will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning samoan up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soini tries to land knees in the clinch but samoan avoids the damage to the body.
Soini stalls.
samoan jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Soini walks away with a smile on his face. samoan gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
A knee to the head by Soini.
Soini lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Soini is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Soini tries to land knees in the clinch but samoan avoids the damage to the body.

samoan breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
samoan shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Soini moves into the clinch.
samoan is trying to break the clinch but Soini has him pressed against the cage.
samoan takes an elbow to the temple.
Soini using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
samoan tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Soini just stands there and leans against the cage.
Soini putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has samoan in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Soini connects with a knee to the head.
Soini using the Thai plumb to throw knees but samoan has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
samoan tries to stall but Soini uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Soini creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through samoan's defenses.
samoan gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Soini.
Soini crunches a lovely knee into samoan's ribcage.
samoan tries to pull guard but Soini holds him up against the cage and eventually samoan drops back down to his feet.
Soini lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Soini lands an elbow inside that samoan shrugs off.
Soini connects with a knee to the head.
samoan gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
samoan jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Soini walks away with a smile on his face. samoan gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Soini fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with samoan, pushing him back against the cage.
Soini lands an elbow that stopped samoan in his tracks for a moment.
samoan takes a knee to the side of the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Timo Soini showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Soini rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but samoan moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
samoan avoids the head kick by Soini.

Soini moves into the clinch successfully.
Soini lands an elbow that stopped samoan in his tracks for a moment.
samoan drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Soini gets the underhooks and prevents it.
samoan gets underhooks to prevent Soini's takedown attempt.
Soini landing knees to the body.
Soini tries for a takedown but samoan manages to get underhooks.

samoan breaks from the clinch.
Soini tries to clinch up.
Soini throws a leg kick that is checked
and samoan counters with a slapping leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Soini throws a half hearted mid kick.
samoan tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Soini paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Soini closes the distance looking to clinch

and samoan counters with a takedown into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
samoan throwing strikes but Soini manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!

Soini decides to stand up, so the ref orders samoan to his feet.
samoan shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Soini pinned against the cage. Soini gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A head kick by Soini misses
and samoan counters with a nice kick to the body.
samoan checks a leg kick.
A head kick misses from Soini.

Soini moves into the clinch.
Soini working samoan over with knees to the body.
samoan misses with an elbow strike.
Soini creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through samoan's defenses.
Soini changes levels and goes for a takedown here. samoan fights it off and pushes away nicely.
simon samoan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Timo Soini.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
samoan tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Soini counters by clinching up.
Soini stalling in the clinch.
Soini with a knee to the head.

samoan breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
No luck with that takedown attempt from samoan.
Soini pulls out of a head kick attempt.

samoan moves into the clinch.
Soini comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Soini is trying to work for a single leg takedown but samoan pulls him back up using the underhooks.
samoan jumps guard but Soini stands there with samoan around his waist. samoan gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Nice elbow from Soini.
samoan tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Soini has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. samoan is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Soini landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Timo Soini seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
samoan is trying to maintain a safe position but Soini gets an underhook and turns samoan into the cage.
Soini putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has samoan in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Soini with an attempt at a knee that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soini lands an elbow just above samoan 's eye.
samoan goes for a takedown in the clinch but Soini prevents it.
Soini landing knees to the body.
Soini lands a knee to the body.
samoan tries to pull guard but Soini won't allow it.
Soini creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through samoan's defenses.
Soini lands an elbow inside.
Soini lands an elbow that stopped samoan in his tracks for a moment.

samoan pulls guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
samoan is trying to hold Soini in close to prevent damage but Soini has managed to pass into half guard.
samoan is looking for a sweep. Soini is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Timo Soini is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Soini in particular looking to stall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
samoan is looking to improve his position.
samoan is trying to maintain the position but Soini is very close to passing his half guard.

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 simon samoan.
I think Soini 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 28:29
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 28:29
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Timo Soini!