PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ara Virta (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Manny Calavera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Manny Calavera told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Virta
vs
Calavera

174 cm
27
184 lbs
16 - 8 - 0

180 cm
26
182 lbs
5 - 10 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ara Virta!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Manny Calavera!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Ben Zyskovitsi and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Virta fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
A looping hook to the body misses from Calavera. Virta does a little dance to reset his feet.
Virta takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Calavera throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
No joy there for Calavera, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Virta gets a double leg takedown into Calavera's guard.
Virta wants to pass the guard but Calavera is keeping the position.
Virta stays in close to Calavera's body and controls the position.
Virta has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Virta stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Calavera swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Ara Virta has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Virta tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Calavera manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Virta swings for the body but Calavera moves out of range.

Virta rushes Calavera and presses him up against the cage.
Virta lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Virta stalls.
Calavera tries to circle away but Virta has him pinned against the cage.
Virta blocks an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Calavera fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Virta manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Calavera blocks a body shot from Virta.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Virta.
Virta creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Calavera's defenses.

It looks like Manny Calavera has been cut.
Virta goes for a takedown attempt but Calavera pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Virta is looking to clinch.
Ara Virta seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Virta throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Calavera sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Calavera looks to score with a jab to the body but Virta is just out of range.
Virta lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Calavera scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Calavera ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Virta moves away.
Virta displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Calavera throws out the jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Calavera defending well as Virta loads up on a big left hand.
Nice defenses there by Virta.
Virta cracks Calavera with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Calavera misses the shot to the body.
Calavera throws out a loose jab but Virta uses good head movement to avoid it.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Virta.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ara Virta. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Virta works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Calavera is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Virta.
A looping hook to the body misses from Calavera. Virta does a little dance to reset his feet.
Virta shoots in looking for a takedown but Calavera manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Virta's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
A chopping leg kick lands by Virta.
Calavera has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
A telegraphed right hand from Virta misses the target.
Virta misses with a takedown attempt - Calavera sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Virta is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Calavera's half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

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!
Virta thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Calavera's head.
Virta performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Virta looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Virta trying to control from half guard but Calavera is working away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Virta stalling.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ara Virta dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Manny Calavera's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Virta throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Calavera tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Virta is in Calavera's guard.
Virta throwing strikes from guard but Calavera blocks nicely.
Virta wants to control from the top but Calavera keeps moving.
Virta stays in close to Calavera's body and controls the position.
Virta passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Calavera is looking for a sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Calavera struggling a bit here.
Virta controls the position.
Calavera is not content to let Virta control the position.
Virta tries to advance to mount but Calavera denies him.
Virta remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Calavera tries to escape but Virta is in control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Virta trying to control the action but Calavera is working from the bottom.
Virta is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Calavera's shoulder. That is not cool.
Virta passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Calavera!
Virta controlling from the full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Calavera really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Virta. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Virta lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Calavera keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Calavera wants to control but Virta is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Calavera in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Calavera tries to hold on but Virta pushes him away.
Calavera wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Virta.
Virta misses with a head shot.
Calavera wants to hold on but Virta pushes him away.
Ara Virta overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Virta looking to control but Calavera is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Virta takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ara Virta dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Manny Calavera's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Virta uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Calavera.
Calavera takes a swing at Virta's ribcage but misses.
Virta throws a head kick that Calavera semi-blocks.
A big left from Calavera misses.
A combination from Virta does no damage.
Ara Virta is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Calavera pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Calavera throws a jab when Virta was well out of range.
Calavera looks to score with a jab to the body but Virta is just out of range.
Virta scores with a push kick.
Calavera walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Calavera throws a jab when Virta was well out of range.
Calavera throws a series of punches but Virta moves out of range.
Virta looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Calavera walks into a jab.
Calavera uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Virta.
Virta wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Calavera connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Virta's hands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Calavera. Virta does a little dance to reset his feet.
Virta throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Calavera on the side of the head.
Virta scores with a body shot.
Calavera walks into a straight right hand from Virta.
Calavera cracks Virta with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Virta fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Calavera tries to bum rush Virta with a series of wild strikes but Virta uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Virta drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Calavera is looking for a sweep.
Virta with the ground and pound but Calavera regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Virta is looking to stall here but Calavera recovers full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Virta is looking to work some ground and pound but Calavera has wrist control.
Virta throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Calavera works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Calavera being controlled here, momentarily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Virta keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Calavera's head.
Manny Calavera has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Calavera keeping moving, preventing Virta from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Virta trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Calavera lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Virta!
Virta is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Virta sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Virta trying to control here.
Virta is positioning himself well to prevent Calavera advancing to mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Calavera wants to advance to full mount but Virta doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Virta wants to sweep but no luck.
Virta pulls Calavera in close to prevent any damage.
Calavera wants to control from the top but Virta keeps moving.
Ara Virta is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Virta looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Virta scrambles and gets back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ara Virta showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Virta has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 30:27
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ara Virta!