PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Sauli Niinisto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcelo Petroni (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Niinisto
vs
Petroni

190 cm
21
178 lbs
7 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
175 lbs
6 - 3 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent elbows
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Syndicate Drugs

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 7 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sauli Niinisto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Marcelo Petroni!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Aleksandr Martynov and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Petroni lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Petroni throws a right hand that Niinisto ducks under and follows up with a left that Niinisto also avoids with ease.
Niinisto uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Petroni.
Niinisto tries to clinch but Petroni is having none of it.
Petroni ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Niinisto moves away.
Petroni misses with a double jab.
Petroni connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Niinisto throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Petroni punishes Niinisto's body with a nice straight punch.

Niinisto darts in and clinches Petroni up against the cage.
Niinisto is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Niinisto taking a breather.
Niinisto prevents a body shot from Petroni.
Niinisto lands an elbow just above Petroni 's eye.
Petroni has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Niinisto throws a knee to the head but misses.
Petroni tries a body shot but Niinisto blocks it.
Petroni lands a right hand.
Niinisto with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Petroni tries to circle away but Niinisto has him pinned against the cage.
Petroni letting Niinisto take a breather here.
Niinisto landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Petroni fails to pull the fight into his guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Niinisto lands an elbow that stopped Petroni in his tracks for a moment.
Niinisto scores a nice knee to the body.
Petroni has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Niinisto is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Petroni takes an elbow to the forehead.
Niinisto lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Niinisto unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Petroni looks gassed!
Niinisto misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Petroni.
Petroni jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Niinisto walks away with a smile on his face. Petroni gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Sauli Niinisto has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marcelo Petroni.
Niinisto pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Niinisto moves in looking to clinch but Petroni pushes him off.
Petroni stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Niinisto.
Niinisto tries to close the distance and clinch up but Petroni swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Niinisto moves into the clinch successfully.
Niinisto lands a nice elbow.
Niinisto has Petroni pushed against the cage.
Knees in the clinch landing for Niinisto.
Niinisto lands an elbow inside.
Niinisto utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Niinisto lands a damaging elbow.
Niinisto is pushing Petroni up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Petroni wants to break free but Niinisto has control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Petroni takes an elbow to the temple.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Niinisto with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Niinisto lands a knee to the head.
Niinisto comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Niinisto comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Niinisto lands a knee to the body.
Petroni avoiding damage as Niinisto throws knees to the body.
Niinisto creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Niinisto throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Petroni blocks it with crossed arms.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Petroni.
Niinisto tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Petroni avoids it.
Niinisto landing knees to the head.
Niinisto misses with a knee to the head.
Niinisto pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Petroni wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Petroni takes an elbow to the temple.
Niinisto creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Petroni's defenses.
Niinisto holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Niinisto lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Petroni taking a breather.
Niinisto misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Petroni.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Petroni tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Petroni avoids a wild elbow strike from Niinisto.
Stalling in the clinch from Niinisto.
Petroni blocks the elbow strike.
Niinisto tries to land knees in the clinch but Petroni avoids the damage to the body.
Niinisto looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Petroni takes an elbow to the forehead.
Niinisto lands an elbow just above Petroni 's eye.
Petroni blocks an elbow strike.
Niinisto throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Niinisto is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Petroni lands a shot to the body.
Petroni working hard to break the clinch.
Petroni jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Niinisto walks away with a smile on his face. Petroni gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Niinisto avoids the body shot from Petroni.
Niinisto avoids the body shot from Petroni.
Petroni misses with a jab, cross combination.
Niinisto slips a jab from Petroni.
Niinisto tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Niinisto tries to clinch up.
Sauli Niinisto seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Petroni throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Niinisto tries to work over Petroni's front leg with a kick but Petroni checks it.
Petroni throws a nice looking combination but Niinisto bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Niinisto darts in and clinches Petroni up against the cage.
Petroni tries to pull guard but Niinisto won't allow it.
Niinisto blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Niinisto connects with a knee to the head.
Niinisto crunches a lovely knee into Petroni's ribcage.
Niinisto unloads a knee to the mid-section.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Niinisto.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Niinisto.
Niinisto lands an elbow that stopped Petroni in his tracks for a moment.

Petroni breaks from the clinch.
Niinisto fails in his attempt to clinch.
Niinisto takes a swing at Petroni's ribcage but misses.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Niinisto instigates a clinch.
Niinisto landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Niinisto lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Niinisto putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Petroni in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Niinisto lands a knee to the head.
Niinisto lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sauli Niinisto dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Niinisto fails with an attempt to clinch.
A combination from Petroni does no damage.
Petroni misses with a few strikes there.
Niinisto turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

Niinisto moves into range and clinches up with Petroni.
Petroni dodges an elbow strike from Niinisto.
Petroni jumps guard but Niinisto stands there with Petroni around his waist. Petroni gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Niinisto creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Petroni's defenses.
Niinisto misses with a knee to the head.
Niinisto with a knee to the head.
Niinisto stalling.
Niinisto working Petroni over with knees to the body.
Niinisto lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Petroni on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Niinisto lands an elbow that stopped Petroni in his tracks for a moment.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Niinisto crunches a lovely knee into Petroni's ribcage.
Niinisto leaning against his opponent.
Petroni blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Niinisto lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Niinisto lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Niinisto lands a good knee to the midsection. Petroni won't want to take too many of those.
Petroni takes an elbow to the temple.
Petroni trying to stall but Niinisto improves his position.
Niinisto missing with knees to the body.
Niinisto misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Petroni.
Petroni tries to circle away but Niinisto has him pinned against the cage.
Niinisto comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Niinisto lands a damaging elbow.
Petroni is trying to force a seperation but Niinisto has the dominant position.
Niinisto stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Niinisto creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Petroni's defenses.
Petroni tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Petroni working aggressively here.
Niinisto with a knee to the head.
Petroni blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Niinisto lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Petroni takes an elbow to the forehead.
Niinisto lands a nice knee to the body.
Petroni tries to break the clinch but Niinisto is controlling the position.
Niinisto prevents Petroni from breaking the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Niinisto lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Petroni is leaning against Niinisto and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Niinisto lands a damaging elbow.
Petroni tries to circle away but Niinisto has him pinned against the cage.
Niinisto with a knee to the head.
Niinisto lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Niinisto is pressed up against the cage. Petroni has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Niinisto down to the mat. Niinisto avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Sauli Niinisto has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marcelo Petroni.
Niinisto tries to clinch but Petroni moves out of range.
Petroni throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Marcelo Petroni is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Niinisto throws a looping overhand right but Petroni ducks down to avoid it.
Niinisto throws a body punch but Petroni moves out of range.
Niinisto showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Petroni.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Niinisto.
Niinisto tries to close the distance and clinch but Petroni swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Niinisto moves into the clinch successfully.
Niinisto holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Niinisto using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Petroni has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Niinisto has Petroni pushed against the cage.
Sauli Niinisto has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Niinisto misses with a knee strike.
Petroni misses with a short punch on the inside.
Niinisto tries to land knees in the clinch but Petroni avoids the damage to the body.
Niinisto throws an elbow that misses.
Niinisto tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Niinisto.
Petroni can't break the clinch.

Petroni successfully pulls guard.
Petroni wants to hit a switch here but Niinisto passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Petroni there!
Petroni tries to get back to half guard but can't.

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.
Petroni is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Niinisto is dominating on the ground here - he's now on his opponent's back, looking to sink in the hooks. Petroni is in real trouble.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sauli Niinisto dominated that second round.
That's time! Niinisto's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

A lazy left from Petroni finds it's target.
Niinisto moves in looking to clinch but Petroni pushes him off.
Niinisto tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Petroni just misses with a punch to the body.
Niinisto throws a sloppy head kick and Petroni moves out of range easily.
Niinisto throws a chopping leg kick but Petroni manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Some bone on bone action there as Petroni checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Niinisto tries to score with a low kick but Petroni moves his leg out of the way.
Petroni will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Niinisto has managed to clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Petroni tries for a takedown but Niinisto manages to get underhooks.
Niinisto keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Petroni's efforts to push away.
Petroni takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Petroni has had enough of the clinch but Niinisto keeps him there for the moment.
Petroni wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Niinisto has him pressed against the cage.
Petroni tries to break the clinch but Niinisto is controlling the position.
Niinisto has Petroni pressed against the cage, preventing Petroni from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Niinisto stalls.
Niinisto looking to stall.
Niinisto tries to land knees in the clinch but Petroni avoids the damage to the body.
Niinisto is pushing Petroni up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Niinisto misses with an elbow strike.
Petroni wants to break the clinch but can't.
Niinisto lands a good knee to the midsection. Petroni won't want to take too many of those.
Niinisto with a knee to the head.
Niinisto lands an elbow that stopped Petroni in his tracks for a moment.
Nice elbow from Niinisto.
Petroni is trying to force a seperation but Niinisto has the dominant position.
Niinisto is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Knees to the body from Niinisto.
Niinisto connects with a knee to the head.
Niinisto utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Niinisto creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Petroni's defenses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Niinisto lands an elbow just above Petroni 's eye.
A knee to the head by Niinisto.
Nice elbow from Niinisto.
Niinisto lands an elbow just above Petroni 's eye.
Knees to the body from Niinisto.
Niinisto lands a damaging elbow.
Petroni is trying to maintain a safe position but Niinisto gets an underhook and turns Petroni into the cage.
Niinisto landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Niinisto with a knee to the head.
Niinisto lands a nice knee to the body.
Petroni dodges an elbow strike from Niinisto.
Petroni lands with a right to the head.
Petroni tries to stall but Niinisto uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Niinisto keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Petroni's efforts to push away.
Petroni tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Niinisto lands a damaging elbow.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Petroni.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Petroni takes an elbow to the forehead.
Niinisto slows down the pace here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Niinisto has Petroni pressed against the cage, preventing Petroni from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

Petroni ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Petroni no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Petroni looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Niinisto is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Petroni keeping full guard, as Niinisto tries to pass.

Niinisto gets to his feet. Petroni looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's four 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.
Petroni looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Niinisto is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Petroni can do to turn this around?
Petroni looks to land a left hand but Niinisto moved out of range nicely.
Marcelo Petroni has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Niinisto tries a head kick but it misses.
Niinisto tries to clinch but Petroni is having none of it.
Niinisto tries to close the distance and clinch but Petroni swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Niinisto tries to clinch but Petroni moves out of range.
Niinisto fails with an attempt to clinch.
Nice body kick from Niinisto.
Petroni looks to land a combination but Niinisto avoids it well.
Niinisto tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Petroni misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Niinisto.
Niinisto tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sauli Niinisto showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Niinisto, 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sauli Niinisto!