PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Joe Masseria (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jake Valhala (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be fireworks!

Masseria
vs
Valhala

185 cm
20
218 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

174 cm
20
212 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
KO power

Good wrestler
Brawler
Powerful

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 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Joe Masseria!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jake Valhala!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Tarja Halkonen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Valhala shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Masseria as he jumps to the side.
Horrible takedown by Valhala or perhaps it was just good defense by Masseria which made him look bad.
Masseria tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Valhala paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Valhala displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Valhala swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Valhala misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Masseria.
Masseria connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Masseria is looking to land body kicks.
Valhala throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Valhala throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Masseria misses with a series of wild punches.
Valhala shoots in but no luck this time.
Joe Masseria has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jake Valhala.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Masseria stuffs the takedown.
Valhala misses with a combination

and Masseria counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Masseria lands a nice uppercut.
Masseria digs a right hand into Valhala's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Valhala's gas tank.
Valhala looks gassed!
Both guys are working to get underhooks.

Masseria has hold of one of Valhala's legs. Valhala is fighting the takedown attempt but Masseria gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Masseria trying to control but Valhala is working from the bottom.
Masseria is really struggling to control Valhala but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Masseria will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Valhala looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Masseria trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Masseria trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Masseria landing some decent shots from guard.
Masseria postures up in Valhala's guard and throws a big left but Valhala blocks it.
Masseria with a flurry of punches that miss.
Masseria postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Masseria thows a big elbow that misses.
Masseria throwing strikes from guard but Valhala blocks nicely.
Valhala utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Masseria throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Valhala works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Valhala can do anything to dispel that myth.
Valhala working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Masseria.
Masseria connects with a couple of short punches.
Masseria throwing strikes from guard but Valhala blocks nicely.
Valhala wants to sweep but no luck.
Masseria trying to control but Valhala is working from the bottom.
Valhala lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Masseria!
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Masseria can't escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
BOOM! Valhala connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Masseria avoids a series of strikes thrown by Valhala.
Valhala looking to ground and pound but Masseria is blocking nicely.
Valhala with a couple of short strikes.
Valhala thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Valhala is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Masseria can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Valhala throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
A nice elbow there by Valhala.
Valhala landing strikes from the mount and Masseria is in trouble!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Valhala punishing his opponent with strikes.
Masseria is looking to improve his position but Valhala isn't that keen on the idea.
Poor strikes thrown by Valhala there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jake Valhala dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Valhala misses the shot to the body.
Valhala shoots and misses

and Masseria counters with a single leg into guard. Valhala didn't expect that.
Masseria is looking to work some ground and pound but Valhala has wrist control.
Valhala trying to keep a closed guard but Masseria is proving a slippery customer.
Valhala tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Valhala working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Masseria.
Masseria postures up in Valhala's guard and throws a big left but Valhala blocks it.
Masseria throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Valhala works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Masseria working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Masseria 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Masseria throws a strike but Valhala rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Valhala looking to pass the guard.
Valhala in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Valhala is looking to work some ground and pound but Masseria has wrist control.
Valhala is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Valhala pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Masseria is keeping the position for now.
Masseria lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Valhala!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Masseria throwing strikes here but Valhala is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Valhala is trying to escape the mount.
Jake Valhala has got the better of the ground game so far.
Masseria landing punches.
Masseria throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Masseria throws some wild stikes that Valhala manages to avoid easily.
Masseria lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Masseria thowing shots but they're missing.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Valhala wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Masseria.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Masseria landing strikes, looking to finish!
Poor strikes thrown by Masseria there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Masseria cracks Valhala with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Masseria avoids the attempt from Valhala to control.
Valhala wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Masseria.
Masseria sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Masseria thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Masseria throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Masseria looking to ground and pound but Valhala is blocking nicely.
Masseria thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Valhala is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Masseria working away from the top, dropping strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Masseria dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Masseria is looking to clinch but Valhala is avoiding it.
Valhala swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Masseria counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Valhala lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Masseria circles away quickly and effectively.
Valhala swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Masseria counters with a leg kick.
Valhala fails with the takedown

and Masseria moves into the clinch.
Valhala tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
The referee is keeping an eye on Valhala - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.

Masseria has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Valhala regains guard immediately.
Masseria content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Masseria is looking to work some ground and pound but Valhala has wrist control.
Valhala takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Masseria trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Masseria scoring with some ground and pound.
Masseria postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Valhala utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Masseria lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Masseria is looking to work some ground and pound but Valhala has wrist control.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Masseria accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Masseria postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Masseria postures up in Valhala's guard and throws a big left but Valhala blocks it.
Valhala wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Masseria missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Masseria throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Valhala trying to control the position here.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Jake Valhala hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
No joy there for Valhala, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Valhala swings for the body but Masseria moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Valhala shoots and misses

and Masseria moves into the clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Valhala.
Masseria stalling in the clinch.
Valhala has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Masseria is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Joe Masseria has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jake Valhala.
Masseria being controlled against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Valhala.
Masseria misses with a punch to the body.
Masseria misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Valhala.
Masseria is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Valhala is defending well for now.
Valhala tries for a takedown. No joy.
Masseria unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Valhala is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Masseria lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Masseria landing knees to the head.

Valhala has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Masseria regains guard immediately.
Valhala in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Valhala throws a big right hand that misses.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Valhala accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Valhala throwing strikes from guard but Masseria blocks nicely.
Masseria preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Masseria pulls Valhala in to control the position.
Valhala keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Masseria's head.
Valhala is looking to work some ground and pound but Masseria has wrist control.
Masseria has Valhala pulled in close to control his posture.
Valhala missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Valhala stands up over Masseria, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Valhala's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Valhala with a flurry of punches that miss.
Valhala postures up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joe Masseria showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Masseria 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joe Masseria!