PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Seppo Taalasmaa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cormac Whelan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Taalasmaa comes to the cage accompanied by Smurffit - Tunteisiin. Whelan is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Bonny Portmore. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Taalasmaa
vs
Whelan

172 cm
29
162 lbs
20 - 11 - 0

170 cm
23
165 lbs
14 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Good gas tank

M/S Paint Fightwear

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 20 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Seppo Taalasmaa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Cormac Whelan!
The judges for this bout are Radbod Blank, Daniel Blasius and Nard Betker.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Whelan scores with a hook to the body. Taalasmaa takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Whelan throws a lazy right hand but Taalasmaa sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Taalasmaa misses with an uppercut
and Whelan counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Whelan throws a nice looking combination but Taalasmaa bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Whelan uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Taalasmaa.
Whelan looks to score with a jab to the body but Taalasmaa is just out of range.
Whelan scores with a crisp jab that stopped Taalasmaa in his tracks.
Taalasmaa slips a straight right by Whelan.
Whelan throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Taalasmaa on the side of the head.
Whelan looks to score with a jab to the body but Taalasmaa is just out of range.
Whelan throws a jab but it's blocked by Taalasmaa.
Whelan thows a left - swing and a miss!
Whelan throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Whelan throws a jab when Taalasmaa was well out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whelan with a nice cross.
Whelan misses with a jab to the body
and Taalasmaa counters with a stiff right hand.
Taalasmaa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Whelan just misses with a punch to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Whelan. Taalasmaa does a little dance to reset his feet.
Whelan throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Whelan scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Seppo Taalasmaa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Taalasmaa lands a slapping body shot.
Taalasmaa misses with an uppercut.
Taalasmaa lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Taalasmaa throws an overhand right that lands on Whelan's shoulder, as Whelan tries to avoid the shot.
Whelan staying out of range there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taalasmaa swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Taalasmaa throws the left hand but Whelan avoids the punch easily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Whelan keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Whelan fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Taalasmaa manages to avoid it.
Taalasmaa jabs Whelan to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Taalasmaa scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Whelan scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Taalasmaa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Whelan slips a straight right by Taalasmaa.
Whelan swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Whelan slips a jab from Taalasmaa.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whelan avoids the body shot from Taalasmaa.
Taalasmaa keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Taalasmaa looks to score with a jab to the body but Whelan is just out of range.
Taalasmaa swings and misses with a shot to the body
letting Whelan counter with a right hand.
Whelan swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Whelan. Taalasmaa does a little dance to reset his feet.
Whelan is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Taalasmaa rather than just go for the knockout.
Taalasmaa moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
No joy there for Whelan, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Taalasmaa throws a hook to the side of Whelan's head but Whelan sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Taalasmaa throws a jab when Whelan was well out of range.
Taalasmaa scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Taalasmaa throws the left hand but Whelan avoids the punch easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taalasmaa comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Whelan ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Taalasmaa moves away.
Taalasmaa keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Whelan looks to score with a jab to the body but Taalasmaa is just out of range.
Taalasmaa misses the shot to the body.
Taalasmaa jabs at Whelan's body.
Whelan displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Taalasmaa throws out the jab.
Taalasmaa bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Whelan pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Whelan scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Taalasmaa jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Taalasmaa lands the left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Cormac Whelan will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Whelan throws a good cross that connects.
Whelan connects with a body shot.
Whelan drops his hands momentarily and Taalasmaa takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.

Whelan is rocked!
Whelan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Taalasmaa closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Taalasmaa lands in his opponent's guard.
Whelan is still in real trouble! Can Taalasmaa finish him?
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Whelan bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Taalasmaa's guard.
Whelan seems to have recovered his senses.
Taalasmaa is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Taalasmaa wants to sweep here but Whelan controlling him for the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taalasmaa is working hard here to advance position.

Taalasmaa is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Taalasmaa controls Whelan momentarily but Whelan frees himself.
Whelan must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Seppo Taalasmaa just wasn't active enough.
Taalasmaa lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Whelan scores with a shot to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Taalasmaa. Whelan does a little dance to reset his feet.
A cross from Whelan lands.
Taalasmaa avoids the body shot from Whelan.
Cormac Whelan is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Donk. Taalasmaa catches Whelan right on the button with a cross.
Taalasmaa waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Whelan.
Taalasmaa scores with a hook.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sloppy strikes from Taalasmaa. Those never looked like landing.
Whelan checks a leg kick.
Whelan ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Taalasmaa moves away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taalasmaa throws a sloppy body shot
and Whelan counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Taalasmaa thinking.
Taalasmaa lands the left hand.
Taalasmaa takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Whelan misses the shot to the body.
Taalasmaa looks to score with a jab to the body but Whelan is just out of range.
Taalasmaa shoots for a takedown but Whelan saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Nice defenses there by Whelan.
Taalasmaa throws an ugly left hook that misses
letting Whelan counter with a right hand.
Whelan misses with a body shot.
Taalasmaa connects with a looping right hand.
Whelan swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taalasmaa misses with a hook.
Taalasmaa misses with a body shot.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Whelan throws a jab but it's blocked by Taalasmaa.
A swing and a miss from Whelan.
Taalasmaa ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Whelan moves away.
Whelan throws a body punch but Taalasmaa moves out of range.
Whelan with a hook.
Taalasmaa slips under a jab.
Whelan throws a body punch but Taalasmaa moves out of range.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Taalasmaa lands a jab.
Taalasmaa misses with a lunging right hand
enabling Whelan to counter with a crisp jab.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Taalasmaa.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Cormac Whelan will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Taalasmaa misses the shot to the body.
Whelan scores with a nice head shot.

Taalasmaa bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Taalasmaa misses with the ground and pound.
Taalasmaa has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Whelan keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Taalasmaa lands a nice shot to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whelan is looking to get to half guard.
Whelan is squirming around, avoiding Taalasmaa's attempts to control the action.
Taalasmaa is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Whelan can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Taalasmaa wants to control the pace but Whelan is squirming around nicely.
Seppo Taalasmaa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whelan blocking the ground and pound.
Taalasmaa looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Taalasmaa unloads with some shots from mount but Whelan bucks and avoids them well.
Taalasmaa thowing shots but they're missing.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Poor strikes thrown by Taalasmaa there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Taalasmaa tries to control but Whelan wriggling away.
Cormac Whelan is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whelan is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Whelan working to try and regain half guard.
Taalasmaa can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Whelan is looking to escape.
Taalasmaa lands a big elbow - Whelan is in trouble! More strikes from the mount and Whelan is forced to tap out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:05 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Seppo Taalasmaa!
Seppo Taalasmaa decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.