PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Eriku Landstrimma (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ivan ORourke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Landstrimma
vs
ORourke

164 cm
23
143 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

180 cm
26
143 lbs
12 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Powerful

O'Brannigan's Fightwear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Eriku Landstrimma!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ivan ORourke!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Trevor Gratis and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
ORourke throws a sloppy head kick and Landstrimma moves out of range easily.
A head kick by ORourke misses
and Landstrimma counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Landstrimma throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. ORourke was covering up waiting for the punch and Landstrimma finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Landstrimma wants to pass the guard but ORourke is keeping the position.
Landstrimma stops ORourke from standing up.
ORourke is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Landstrimma throwing strikes from guard but ORourke blocks nicely.
Landstrimma throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Landstrimma trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Landstrimma throws a big right hand that misses.
Landstrimma 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.
Landstrimma throwing strikes from guard but ORourke blocks nicely.
Landstrimma trying to control but ORourke is working from the bottom.
Landstrimma in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Landstrimma throws and elbow that misses. ORourke uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Landstrimma's guard. Nice move by ORourke!
Landstrimma is trying to control the position but ORourke postures up.
Landstrimma looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two 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.
Landstrimma trying to keep a closed guard but ORourke is proving a slippery customer.
Landstrimma might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
ORourke stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Landstrimma swivels though and keeps the full guard.
ORourke stopping the sweep attempt from Landstrimma.

ORourke avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Landstrimma wants to improve his position but instead ORourke has moved into half guard.
ORourke tries to stand and escape but Landstrimma actually recovers to full guard.
Landstrimma wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Landstrimma working a defensive guard here.
Landstrimma looking for a sweep. Not yet Landstrimma, not yet.
Landstrimma wants to improve his position but instead ORourke has moved into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eriku Landstrimma dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Landstrimma misses with a wild body shot.

ORourke clinches.
Landstrimma blocking some punches.
Landstrimma jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as ORourke walks away with a smile on his face. Landstrimma gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
ORourke tries to clinch
and Landstrimma counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Landstrimma sizes up ORourke with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Landstrimma lands with a straight right. ORourke didn't see that one coming.

ORourke gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Landstrimma in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Landstrimma loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Landstrimma with a flurry of punches that miss.

Landstrimma drops back, looking for a kneebar! ORourke looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. ORourke looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from ORourke!
Landstrimma is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
You can see the frustration on Landstrimma's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Landstrimma tries to buck ORourke off but ORourke is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Landstrimma tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but ORourke presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Landstrimma is looking to get to half guard.
ORourke avoids the attempt from Landstrimma to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Landstrimma is trying desperately to improve position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Landstrimma bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if ORourke can do anything to dispel that myth.
ORourke avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Landstrimma tries to free his leg and advance position but ORourke is retaining full guard.
Landstrimma forces his way into half guard.
ORourke keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
ORourke regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Landstrimma.
Landstrimma trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Landstrimma throwing strikes but missing.
Landstrimma trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but ORourke manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Landstrimma controls ORourke momentarily but ORourke frees himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eriku Landstrimma 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!

ORourke moves to clinch but Landstrimma breaks away

and Landstrimma counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in ORourke's guard now.
ORourke keeping full guard, as Landstrimma tries to pass.

ORourke has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Landstrimma off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
ORourke tries to clinch
and Landstrimma counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Landstrimma moves out of range as ORourke strikes.
ORourke punishes Landstrimma's body with a nice straight punch.
Ivan ORourke seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Landstrimma walks forward, straight into a front kick from ORourke.
ORourke wants to clinch but Landstrimma slips to the side
and Landstrimma counters with a right hand to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
ORourke throws a poor cross that misses
and Landstrimma counters with a straight right hand.
Landstrimma takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
ORourke with a nice cross.
ORourke defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Landstrimma.
ORourke goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Landstrimma shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has ORourke pinned against the cage. ORourke gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
ORourke moves to clinch but Landstrimma breaks away
and Landstrimma counters with a left to the body.
Landstrimma takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Landstrimma scores with a takedown into ORourke's guard.
Landstrimma scoring with some ground and pound.
Landstrimma wants to pass the guard but ORourke is keeping the position.
Landstrimma prevents ORourke from getting back to his feet.
Landstrimma throwing strikes from guard but ORourke blocks nicely.
Landstrimma is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
ORourke keeping moving, preventing Landstrimma from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Landstrimma pushing down on ORourke's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Eriku Landstrimma overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Landstrimma throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
ORourke keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
ORourke blocking the ground and pound attempt from Landstrimma.
Landstrimma throwing shots but ORourke is blocking nicely.
Landstrimma wants to pass to mount but ORourke is defending the position.
ORourke on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's four 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.
Landstrimma passes the guard and advances to mount!
Landstrimma lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
ORourke takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
ORourke takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Eriku Landstrimma is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
ORourke blocking the ground and pound.
Landstrimma wants to control the pace but ORourke is squirming around nicely.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Landstrimma looking to control and managing it successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
Eriku Landstrimma showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Landstrimma, 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:27
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eriku Landstrimma!