PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Gunnar Nelson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pena Hirmu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hirmu has chosen AC/DC - War Machine as his entrance music. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Nelson
vs
Hirmu

193 cm
22
198 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

180 cm
29
195 lbs
14 - 12 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

{GTI} - HGH Nutrients
{GTI} - HGH Nutrients

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Gunnar Nelson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Pena Hirmu!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The fight stays on the outside here - Nelson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Hirmu ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Nelson tries a low kick but Hirmu avoids it.

Hirmu decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Nelson regains full guard. Nicely done.
Nelson wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Nelson wants to sweep but no luck.
Nelson has Hirmu pulled in close to control his posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Pena Hirmu was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Nelson misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Hirmu scores with a shot to the body.
Nice straight punches there by Hirmu. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Hirmu.
Nelson tries to close the distance and clinch but Hirmu swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Hirmu fails to land with a series of punches.
Hirmu checks a leg kick nicely.
Hirmu throws a hook but Nelson blocks it.
Nice body punch from Hirmu.
A left lands for Nelson.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Hirmu.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The referee asks Hirmu politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Hirmu prefers to stall for the moment though.
Hirmu is looking to take a break and control but Nelson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pena Hirmu has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Hirmu moves out of range of the leg kick from Nelson.
Nelson throws a half hearted mid kick.
Nelson throws a nice inside leg kick.
Hirmu walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Nelson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Hirmu.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Hirmu checks a leg kick.
Hirmu avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Hirmu cracks Nelson with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Nelson gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Left hook, right uppercut from Hirmu.

It looks like Gunnar Nelson has been cut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Nelson closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Hirmu quickly recovers to half guard.
Hirmu is staying active underneath Nelson, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Nelson content to control rather than advance.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hirmu is looking for a sweep. Nelson is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Nelson is trying to control. Hirmu wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Nelson sitting and controlling from the half guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Gunnar Nelson.
Nelson shoots in for a takedown but Hirmu shows good takedown defense.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Pena Hirmu will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Gunnar Nelson's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Hirmu circles away from the clinch attempt.
Hirmu scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Nelson attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
A punch combination from Nelson misses.
Pena Hirmu seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Hirmu misses the shot to the body.
Nelson lands a really nice looking cross but Hirmu seems unphased.
Hirmu blocks a leg kick.
Hirmu misses the shot to the body.
Hirmu misses with a wild combination.
Hirmu blocks a head kick by Nelson.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Hirmu, as that shot connected.
Hirmu is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Nelson rather than just go for the knockout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nelson misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Nelson throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Hirmu takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Hirmu connects with a body shot that sends Nelson's belly button to the back.
Jab by Hirmu.
Nelson misses with an uppercut
and Hirmu counters with a lovely shot to the body.
A slow jab from Hirmu misses its intended target.
A looping hook to the body misses from Nelson. Hirmu does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nelson showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Hirmu.
Hirmu lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Hirmu.
Hirmu swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hirmu swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hirmu throws a hook but Nelson blocks it.
Hirmu displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Nelson takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Hirmu pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Nelson throws a leg kick but Hirmu moved away.
Hirmu scores with a sloppy right hand. Nelson should have avoided that one.
Nelson fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Hirmu checks it well.
Nelson throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Nelson slips a jab and a cross from Hirmu.
Nelson is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Nelson ducks under a wild hook from Hirmu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nelson misses with a body shot.
Nelson slips under a jab.
Nelson throws a push kick but Hirmu slaps the foot to one side.
Hirmu digs a good hook to Nelson's body.
Hirmu throws a body punch but Nelson moves out of range.
Good leg kick by Nelson there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Hirmu rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Nelson moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Hirmu keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Hirmu thuds a left hand into Nelson's body.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Nelson.
Nelson pivots, looking for a leg kick but Hirmu is out of range and Nelson settles back down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hirmu ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Hirmu takes a swing at Nelson's ribcage but misses.
Hirmu's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Hirmu duly obliges.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nelson misses with a low kick.
Hirmu throws a series of punches but Nelson moves out of range.
Nelson misses with a leg kick.
Hirmu blocks a low kick nicely.
Nelson takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
A jab from Hirmu misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hirmu defending well as Nelson loads up on a big left hand.
A head kick misses from Nelson.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pena Hirmu showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Gunnar Nelson's cut.
That's time! Nelson's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Nelson misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A bone on bone clash there as Hirmu blocks the leg kick.
Hirmu scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Hirmu lands with a nice combination. Nelson backs away looking to recover.
Nelson misses with a body kick.
Gunnar Nelson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hirmu scores with a nice right hand.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Hirmu.
Hirmu tries to bum rush Nelson with a series of wild strikes but Nelson uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Hirmu connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Nelson connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Hirmu's hands.
A low kick from Nelson misses
and Hirmu counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hirmu misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Nelson.
Nelson throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Nelson throws a leg kick
and Hirmu cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Nelson.
Hirmu throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Hirmu moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Nelson ducks right into an uppercut from Hirmu.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hirmu. Nelson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Hirmu lands with a hook. Nelson tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Hirmu moves out of range of the strikes.
A head kick misses from Nelson.
Gunnar Nelson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Pena Hirmu is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hirmu scores with a shot to the body.
Good standup being displayed there by Nelson as he connects with a hook.
Nelson tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Hirmu is able to avoid easily.
A jab from Nelson misses.
Hirmu throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Hirmu scores with a jab to the jaw.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hirmu with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Hirmu chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Nelson can pounce on him.
Hirmu misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Nelson.
Hirmu loads up on a big right hand but Nelson slips the punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hirmu takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Hirmu takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Nelson moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Hirmu lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Nelson.
Nelson misses with a takedown
and Hirmu counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Nelson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hirmu paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Hirmu shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Nelson napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Nelson manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
This has been an exciting period of action!

Nelson is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Hirmu sees it coming and defends easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hirmu is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Hirmu wants to control but Nelson is keeping busy.
Hirmu is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Nelson's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Nelson's back!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nelson tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Hirmu looking to control but Nelson is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Pena Hirmu.
Well Hirmu has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pena Hirmu!