PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Samoa Joe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sun Ra (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Joe's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Sitting Sideways . Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Joe
vs
Ra

160 cm
28
139 lbs
18 - 7 - 1

174 cm
26
148 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Gilop®

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 18 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Samoa Joe!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sun Ra!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Ben Zyskovitsi and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ra looks to score with a jab to the body but Joe is just out of range.
Joe with a nice cross.
Ra lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Joe waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Ra.

Joe gets tackled into the cage by Ra. Ra maintains the clinch.
Ra tries to land a knee to the head but Joe blocks with his arms.
Ra throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Ra connects with a knee to the head.
Ra using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Joe has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Ra misses with an elbow over the top.
Knees to the body from Ra.
Ra manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Joe goes for a takedown attempt but Ra pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Joe misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ra throws a jab but it's blocked by Joe.
Ra thows a left - swing and a miss!
Ra lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Joe circles away quickly and effectively.
Joe swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Joe misses with a hook
and Ra connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
A clash of legs there as Joe blocks the low kick.
Joe pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A slow jab from Joe misses its intended target.
A telegraphed right hand from Joe misses the target.
Ra walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ra throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Joe on the side of the head.
Ra throws an off balance right hand
and Ra takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Joe jabs Ra right on the nose. Ra blinks but takes it well.
Joe throws out a loose jab but Ra uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ra misses with a body kick.
Ra takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Joe looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Joe scoring well with a low kick there.
A telegraphed right hand from Ra misses the target.
Ra throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Joe checks a low kick from Ra.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ra misses with a hook. Joe ducked under it nicely.
Joe throws a hook to the side of Ra's head but Ra sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Ra waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Joe.
Ra slips a straight right by Joe.
Joe throws a lazy right hand but Ra sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Joe shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Ra wants to slow Joe down by chopping away at his legs.
Some bone on bone action there as Joe checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Joe is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Joe missing with a left hand there. Ra was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
A slow jab from Ra misses its intended target.
A swing and a miss from Joe.
Joe fails with the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Samoa Joe. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ra takes one on the button.
Joe throws a poor cross that misses
and Ra counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Joe throws a right hand that misses
and Ra counters with a good low kick that Joe was not able to check.
Joe has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Joe there as he acknowledges the shot.
Ra misses with a low kick.
A slapping leg kick lands for Ra.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ra throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Joe tries to move into range but Ra moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ra defending well as Joe loads up on a big left hand.
A big right from Joe misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sun Ra dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Joe misses with a straight right.
Joe walks into a straight right hand from Ra.
A big left from Joe misses.
Ra scores with a nice right hand.
Ra looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Ra throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Sun Ra seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Ra lands with a kick to the temple. Joe shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Joe looks to score with a jab to the body but Ra is just out of range.
Ra thows a body shot but no joy.
Ra lands with an overhand left.
Ra uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Joe.
Ra tries to land a leg kick but Joe saw it coming and moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Joe checks a leg kick.
Ra looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Ra uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Joe.
Ra ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Joe moves away.
Joe moves out of range as Ra strikes.
Joe jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Ra ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Joe moves away.
A left lands for Joe.
Joe misses the shot to the body.
Ra closes the distance but Joe moves to the side
and Joe counters with a right hand to the body.
Donk. Joe catches Ra right on the button with a cross.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Joe throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Joe shoots in for a takedown but Ra shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Joe throws a jab but it's blocked by Ra.
Ra tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ra cracks the inside of Joe's front leg.
Ra moves out of range as Joe strikes.
Joe lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Joe throws a shot from downtown. Ra moves away and avoids it.
Joe showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Ra.
A solid body kick from Ra.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ra misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Ra ducks under a wild hook from Joe.
Ra is looking to slow Joe down with leg kicks.
Joe on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Ra. Ra obviously looking to wear him down.
Joe's jab looks to have found its range, popping Ra under the eye.
Joe avoids the body shot from Ra.
Ra ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Joe moves away.
Ra throws a low kick but it's checked well by Joe.
Joe bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Joe loads up on a big right hand but Ra slips the punch.
Joe throws an overhand right that lands on Ra's shoulder, as Ra tries to avoid the shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Joe takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Joe ducks right into an uppercut from Ra.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Joe misses with a double jab.
Ra blocks a jab.
Joe on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Ra. Ra obviously looking to wear him down.
Ra fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Joe throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Ra sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Ra goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ra swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Ra turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Joe takes a swing at Ra's ribcage but misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Sun Ra will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Ra with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

Joe changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Ra looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Ra parries the strikes from Joe easily there. Joe is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Ra to escape.
Ra is trying to control Joe's posture but Joe avoids it.
Ra avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Joe.
Joe tries to score with some ground and pound. Ra controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Ra wants to control but Joe postures up.
The ground and pound from Joe seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Ra defending against the ground and pound.
Ra tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Joe working the ground and pound from side control.
Joe landing a few strikes.

Joe is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Ra has escaped the position, nice work there.
Joe creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Ra sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

Joe goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Ra rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Joe's guard! Nice work there by Ra!
Joe not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ra controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Ra trying to control the position from guard on top but Joe is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Joe is trying to control the position but Ra postures up.
Ra's corner is telling him to maintain position.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Ra stalks Joe and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Joe's face. Joe staggers backwards, shaken.

It looks like Samoa Joe has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nice cross by Joe.
Ra fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Joe manages to avoid it.
Joe throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Ra connects with a high kick.
Ra lands a nice shot that snaps Joe's head back.

Joe is rocked!
Ra cracks Joe with a nasty uppercut that draws ooohs from the crowd and sends Joe tumbling backwards onto the mat. He tries to recover but Ra pounces and lands a hail of unanswered strikes that forces the referee to step in to end the fight! Joe is not happy but he gave the referee no choice!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:05 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Sun Ra!
A relieved looking Sun Ra thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.