PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ica Paliki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tom Jones (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tom Jones will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Paliki
vs
Jones

178 cm
18
205 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

193 cm
19
205 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ica Paliki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Tom Jones!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Tarja Halkonen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jones fails to land with a series of punches.
Paliki fails to land the takedown.
Jones misses with the combination.
Paliki avoids a punch combination nicely.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Paliki.
Jones lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Jones lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Jones looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Paliki closes this distance looking for a takedown but Jones circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ica Paliki. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jones looks to land a combination but Paliki avoids it well.
Paliki shoots for a double leg takedown but Jones sprawls well. He's pushed Paliki's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Jones scores with a head kick.
Jones scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Paliki shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Jones looks gassed!
Paliki missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Paliki lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Paliki postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Paliki throws a big right hand that misses.
Paliki is working Jones over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Jones has momentary wrist control but Paliki slips an elbow through the middle.
Paliki might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Paliki makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Paliki with a flurry of punches that miss.
Paliki 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.
Jones has momentary wrist control but Paliki slips an elbow through the middle.
Jones preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Paliki missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Paliki throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Jones works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jones looking for a sweep. Not yet Jones, not yet.
Jones is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Paliki trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Jones lands with a thumping leg kick.
Jones misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Paliki shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Paliki is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Jones can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Jones can do anything to dispel that myth.
Paliki landing strikes from the mount.
Paliki scoring with strikes but Jones is staying in there.
Jones taking shots to the head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Paliki thowing shots but they're missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Paliki postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Jones looks a forlorn figure.
Paliki putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Paliki scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Jones?
Jones wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Paliki.
Paliki lands a heavy elbow.
Paliki raining down shots from the mount!
Paliki is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Jones can't stay in a position like this for much longer.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Jones bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Jones postures up.
Jones is looking to stand up but Paliki won't let him.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Paliki is on top in guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Jones preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Paliki in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
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 Ica Paliki will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Paliki tries for a takedown but Jones sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Paliki shoots in for a double leg but Jones sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Tom Jones seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Paliki avoids a punch combination nicely.
Paliki takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Paliki.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ica Paliki. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A right-left combo lands from Jones.
Paliki dodges the punch combination from Jones.
No joy there for Jones, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Paliki fails to land the takedown.
Paliki walks into a left hand.
Paliki dodges the punch combination from Jones.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jones tries to bum rush Paliki with a series of wild strikes but Paliki uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Jones defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Paliki.
Jones throws a nice looking combination but Paliki bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Danga de danga de dang - Jones scores with a four punch combination!
Paliki shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Jones pinned against the cage. Jones gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Paliki takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Jones swinging wildly here.
Paliki could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Jones throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Paliki shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Jones pinned against the cage. Jones gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Jones lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Jones punishes Paliki's body with a nice straight punch.

Paliki pushes Jones up against the cage in a clinch.
Jones can't break the clinch.
Paliki tries for a takedown. No joy.
Jones tries to circle away but Paliki has him pinned against the cage.
Paliki misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Jones.
Jones wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Jones wants to break free but Paliki has control.
Paliki prevents Jones from breaking the clinch.

Paliki has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Jones is trying to keep an underhook but Paliki manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Paliki thows a big elbow that misses, also allowing Jones to regain full guard.
Paliki throwing strikes but missing.
Paliki content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Paliki looking to pass the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Paliki cracks Jones with a solid left hand.
Paliki won't allow Jones to get back to his feet.
Jones has momentary wrist control but Paliki slips an elbow through the middle.
Jones working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Paliki.
Paliki stands up over Jones, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Paliki thows a big elbow that misses.
Jones avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Jones looking for a sweep. Not yet Jones, not yet.
Paliki postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Paliki is looking to work some ground and pound but Jones has wrist control.
Paliki throws and elbow that misses. Jones uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Paliki's guard. Nice move by Jones!
Paliki bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Jones's guard.
Jones really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Paliki. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Jones looking for a sweep. Not yet Jones, not yet.
Jones utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Paliki postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Paliki working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Paliki throwing strikes from guard but Jones blocks nicely.
Paliki loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Ica Paliki will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Jones stuffs the takedown.
Jones lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Jones looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Jones misses with a wild combination.

Paliki shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Jones manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Paliki content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Jones has momentary wrist control but Paliki slips an elbow through the middle.
Paliki throwing strikes from guard but Jones blocks nicely.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Paliki throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Jones works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Paliki postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ica Paliki overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Paliki postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Paliki stopping the sweep attempt from Jones.
Jones controls Paliki momentarily but Paliki frees himself.
Paliki throwing strikes but missing.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Paliki closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Jones did well to prevent Paliki getting side control.
Jones is trying to stand up here but Paliki is controlling him well.
Paliki working the head and body with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jones is looking to escape.
Paliki thows a huge punch but Jones dodges it nicely.
Jones is trying to stand.
Jones keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Paliki throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Paliki shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Ground and pound from Paliki.
Jones wants to get back to his feet.
Jones on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Paliki looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Jones with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Jones wants to get back to his feet.
Paliki moves nicely into side control.
Tom Jones has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Jones taking punishment in the form of punches.
Jones is looking for a sweep.
Paliki scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Jones to see if he's OK.
Paliki is chipping away with strikes.
Jones dodges the ground and pound from Paliki.
The ground and pound from Paliki seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Paliki grinds an elbow into Jones's temple.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Jones's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Paliki landing strikes.
Jones manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Jones not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Jones is thwarting Paliki's attempts to control the position.
Paliki blocking the ground and pound attempt from Jones.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ica Paliki showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Paliki, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 28:29
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 28:29
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Tom Jones!