PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rasmus Soderstrom (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Emil Hammer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Soderstrom comes to the cage accompanied by Metallica Don't Tread on Me . Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Soderstrom
vs
Hammer

180 cm
27
168 lbs
11 - 4 - 0

167 cm
27
163 lbs
8 - 4 - 1

Good wrestling
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Rivers Edge Nutrition

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 11 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rasmus Soderstrom!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 1, fighting out of London, Emil Hammer!
The judges for this bout are Russell Pearce, Bruno Lombardi and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Soderstrom tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Hammer was well out of range. Poor timing from Soderstrom.
Soderstrom pivots, looking for a leg kick but Hammer is out of range and Soderstrom settles back down.
Soderstrom tries to close the distance and clinch up but Hammer swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A solid leg kick lands there for Soderstrom.
Hammer connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Soderstrom, right into the meat.
Soderstrom ducks under a wild hook from Hammer.
Hammer staying out of range there.
Soderstrom takes a jab right on the kisser.
A slow jab from Soderstrom misses its intended target.
A chopping leg kick lands by Soderstrom.
Hammer tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Soderstrom was well out of range. Poor timing from Hammer.
Hammer on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Soderstrom tries to clinch up but Hammer circles away and keeps his distance.
Soderstrom scores with a jab to the body.
Soderstrom scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Soderstrom throws a jab when Hammer was well out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Soderstrom looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Decent striking displayed by Soderstrom there.
Soderstrom tries a head kick but it misses.
Soderstrom gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Hammer.
Hammer throws a jab but it's blocked by Soderstrom.
Nice body kick there by Soderstrom.
A solid body kick from Soderstrom.
Hammer lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Soderstrom defending well as Hammer loads up on a big left hand.
Soderstrom misses with a head kick.
Hammer throws a hook but Soderstrom blocks it.
Soderstrom looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Soderstrom throws a sloppy head kick and Hammer moves out of range easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hammer throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Soderstrom thumps Hammer with a low kick.
Soderstrom pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A nice inside leg kick there by Soderstrom. That's going to slow Hammer down.
Hammer walks forward, straight into a front kick from Soderstrom.
Soderstrom tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Soderstrom throws a head kick that misses.
Soderstrom slips a jab from Hammer.
Soderstrom scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Soderstrom tries to work over Hammer's front leg with a kick but Hammer checks it.
Hammer throws a body punch but Soderstrom moves out of range.
Hammer misses with a straight left.
Soderstrom tries to clinch but Hammer is having none of it.
Hammer moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hammer lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Soderstrom backs up against the cage.

It looks like Rasmus Soderstrom has been cut.
Hammer rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Soderstrom moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A head kick misses from Soderstrom.
Hammer fails to land with a series of punches.
Rasmus Soderstrom seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Soderstrom throws a leg kick which misses Hammer's front leg but catches the back leg as Hammer tries to avoid it.
Soderstrom lands a head kick. Hammer smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Hammer misses with a jab, cross combination.
Soderstrom throws a hook to the side of Hammer's head but Hammer sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Soderstrom tries a head kick but it misses.
Soderstrom fails in his attempt to clinch.
Soderstrom buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Hammer's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Soderstrom scoring well with a low kick there.
A slow jab from Soderstrom misses its intended target.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A cross from Soderstrom lands.
Hammer misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Hammer bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Soderstrom's head.
Hammer scores with a nice strike.
Hammer misses with a two punch combination.
Hammer keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Soderstrom turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Soderstrom throws a nice head kick!
Soderstrom lands with a thumping leg kick.
Soderstrom dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Hammer. That did some damage!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Soderstrom throws a head kick that half lands.
Hammer throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Soderstrom misses with a kick to the body.
Soderstrom wants to slow Hammer down by chopping away at his legs.
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 Rasmus Soderstrom will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Rasmus Soderstrom's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

A head kick misses from Soderstrom.
Hammer 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.
Soderstrom throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Hammer sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Hammer avoids the head kick by Soderstrom.
The fight stays on the outside here - Soderstrom looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Soderstrom pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Soderstrom jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Soderstrom lands a body shot.
Soderstrom tries to clinch but Hammer moves out of range.
Soderstrom loads up on a big right hand but Hammer slips the punch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Soderstrom lands a high kick!
Soderstrom throws a head kick but Hammer moves out of range.
Emil Hammer is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Soderstrom lets loose with a powerful body kick. Hammer will feel that in the morning.
Hammer moves out of range of the body kick from Soderstrom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soderstrom on the wrong end of a nice hook.

Soderstrom has closed the distance and engaged Hammer in a clinch.
The referee calls for Soderstrom to work.
Soderstrom lands a nice elbow.
Soderstrom throws a knee to the head but misses.
Hammer wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Nice body punch from Soderstrom - that landed with a thud.
Soderstrom has Hammer pressed against the cage, preventing Hammer from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Hammer wants to get back to striking at distance but Soderstrom won't allow it.
Soderstrom creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Hammer's defenses.

It looks like Emil Hammer has been cut.
A short body shot lands from Soderstrom as the two fighters clinch.
Soderstrom throws a punch but it's blocked by Hammer.
Soderstrom is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Hammer wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
A knee to the head by Soderstrom.
Hammer has had enough of the clinch but Soderstrom keeps him there for the moment.
Soderstrom throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Soderstrom will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Hammer up against the cage.
Soderstrom misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hammer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soderstrom misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hammer.
Soderstrom scores a nice knee to the body.
Soderstrom lands a shot to the body.
Hammer has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
With the fighters up against the cage, Soderstrom throws an elbow but misses.
Soderstrom has Hammer pressed against the cage, preventing Hammer from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Hammer takes a knee right on the jaw!
Soderstrom throws a punch but it's blocked by Hammer.
Soderstrom looking to throw knees to the head but Hammer is blocking nicely.
Soderstrom pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Soderstrom gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Hammer is trying to break free.
Soderstrom lands a knee to the head.
Hammer is trying to break the clinch but Soderstrom is controlling him.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Hammer.
Hammer avoiding damage as Soderstrom throws knees to the body.
Soderstrom lands an elbow inside.
Hammer wants to break free but Soderstrom has control.
Hammer is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Soderstrom prevents Hammer from breaking the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soderstrom will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Hammer up against the cage.
Soderstrom tries to land knees in the clinch but Hammer avoids the damage to the body.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Soderstrom obliges.
Hammer is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
The referee is keeping an eye on Soderstrom - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.

Hammer breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Hammer cracks Soderstrom with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

Soderstrom closes the distance and clinches.
Soderstrom lands a good knee to the midsection. Hammer won't want to take too many of those.
Soderstrom keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Hammer's efforts to push away.
Soderstrom is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Hammer is defending well for now.
Soderstrom lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Soderstrom landing knees to the body.
Soderstrom is trying to stall.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hammer wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Hammer being controlled against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soderstrom has Hammer pressed against the cage, preventing Hammer from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Soderstrom creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Hammer's defenses.
Hammer tries to break free but Soderstrom pushes him back against the cage.
Soderstrom misses with a body punch.
With the fighters up against the cage, Soderstrom throws an elbow but misses.
Hammer is trying to break the clinch but Soderstrom has him pressed against the cage.
Hammer wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Soderstrom keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Hammer's efforts to push away.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Soderstrom lands a nice elbow.
Soderstrom lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Soderstrom tries a knee to the head but Hammer blocks it.
Nice elbow from Soderstrom.
Soderstrom keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Hammer's efforts to push away.
Hammer takes an elbow to the forehead.
Soderstrom stalls.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rasmus Soderstrom dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Soderstrom tries to clinch up.
Rasmus Soderstrom is winning the standup battle so far.
Soderstrom slips under a jab.
Soderstrom comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Soderstrom tries to clinch up but Hammer circles away and keeps his distance.
Good leg kick by Soderstrom there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
An inside leg kick lands from Soderstrom.
Soderstrom throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Soderstrom wants to clinch.
Hammer works Soderstrom's body with a nice hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A thudding body kick lands there by Soderstrom!
Hammer looks to land a left hand but Soderstrom moved out of range nicely.
Soderstrom misses with a body kick.
Soderstrom tries to work over Hammer's front leg with a kick but Hammer checks it.
Soderstrom pivots, looking for a leg kick but Hammer is out of range and Soderstrom settles back down.
Donk. Hammer catches Soderstrom right on the button with a cross.
Soderstrom throws a hook to the side of Hammer's head but Hammer sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Hammer throws a hook to the side of Soderstrom's head but Soderstrom sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Soderstrom takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
A head kick misses from Soderstrom.
Soderstrom throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Soderstrom swings away with a leg kick that misses.
The fight stays on the outside here - Soderstrom looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Hammer has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Soderstrom.
Hammer scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hammer loads up on a big right hand but Soderstrom slips the punch.
Soderstrom looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Hammer misses with a looping left.
Soderstrom digs a good body shot into Hammer's ribs.
Soderstrom swings for the body but Hammer moves out of range.
Hammer wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Hammer throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Hammer staying out of range there.
Hammer avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Soderstrom is looking to clinch but Hammer is avoiding it.
Hammer throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Soderstrom doesn't manage to clinch there - Hammer circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Hammer.
Soderstrom uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hammer.

Soderstrom clinches.
Soderstrom comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Hammer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Hammer wants to get back to striking at distance but Soderstrom won't allow it.
Hammer is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Hammer is trying to break free.
Soderstrom lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Hammer or not.
With the fighters up against the cage, Soderstrom throws an elbow but misses.
A frustrated look appears on Hammer's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Hammer is trying to break the clinch but Soderstrom is controlling him.
Soderstrom misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hammer.
Soderstrom scores a nice knee to the body.
Soderstrom utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Hammer is trying to force a seperation but Soderstrom has the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soderstrom lands a left hand.
Hammer working hard to break the clinch.
Emil Hammer has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hammer wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Soderstrom throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Hammer can't break the clinch.
Soderstrom unloads a knee to the mid-section. Hammer lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Soderstrom has Hammer pressed against the cage, preventing Hammer from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Hammer has had enough of the clinch but Soderstrom keeps him there for the moment.
Hammer takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hammer wants to break free but Soderstrom has control.
Hammer tries to break the clinch but Soderstrom is controlling the position.
Hammer has had enough of the clinch but Soderstrom keeps him there for the moment.
Rasmus Soderstrom is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Come on Soderstrom - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Hammer looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Soderstrom scores with a hook to the body.
Hammer has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Soderstrom lands an elbow inside.
Hammer is trying to break the clinch but Soderstrom is controlling him.
Hammer wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Soderstrom has Hammer pressed against the cage, preventing Hammer from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

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 Rasmus Soderstrom.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Soderstrom, 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 Russell Pearce scores the fight 29:28
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rasmus Soderstrom!