PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Pasi Nurminen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Arga Buarga (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Nurminen
vs
Buarga

174 cm
22
166 lbs
10 - 3 - 2

185 cm
29
164 lbs
12 - 7 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

ADCC Champion
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 10 - 3 - 2, fighting out of St Petersburg, Pasi Nurminen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Arga Buarga!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Valeri Chadov and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Buarga moves into the clinch.
Nurminen's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Buarga tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Nurminen's elbow.
Nurminen prevents a body shot from Buarga.
Buarga looking to stall.
Buarga is trying to break the clinch but Nurminen has him pressed against the cage.
Buarga misses with a punch to the body.
Buarga tries to throw a body punch but Nurminen avoids it by throwing Buarga back against the cage.
Nurminen lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Nurminen's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Nurminen misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Nurminen scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Buarga gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Nurminen lands a nice looking body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nurminen gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Nurminen scores with a hook to the body.
Nurminen taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Buarga is trying to pull guard but Nurminen has him pressed against the cage.
Nurminen stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Nurminen scores with a nice hook to the head.
Buarga tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Nurminen lands a hook to the side of the head.
Nurminen gets through Buarga's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Nurminen is pushing Buarga up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Buarga wants to break free but Nurminen has control.
Nurminen is pushing Buarga up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Buarga tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Buarga has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Nurminen uses from the top position.
Nurminen not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Buarga tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nurminen's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Nurminen might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Pasi Nurminen has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Nurminen getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Buarga jabbing away but nothing is landing.

Buarga closes the distance and pushes Nurminen back into the cage.
Buarga goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Nurminen trying to control the position but instead, Buarga has worked for underhooks and has pushed Nurminen into the cage.
Buarga struggles to land a body shot inside as Nurminen controls his hands.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Nurminen.
Buarga misses with a punch to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nurminen is pressed up against the cage. Buarga has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Nurminen down to the mat. Nurminen avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Pasi Nurminen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Arga Buarga.
No joy there for Nurminen, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Nurminen has Buarga up against the cage in a clinch.
Buarga has a couple of punches blocked by Nurminen.
Nurminen has Buarga pressed against the cage.
Nurminen misses with a punch to the body.

Buarga pulls guard effortlessly.
Nurminen knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Buarga on the ground.
Nurminen is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

Buarga is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Nurminen defends well.
Buarga looking to hit a scissor sweep but Nurminen is one step ahead there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Buarga manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Nurminen manages to get himself to full guard.
Nurminen wants to stand up but Buarga is controlling him.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nurminen working a defensive guard here.
Nurminen has his hands on Buarga's head, controlling the position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Buarga looking to pass the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pasi Nurminen dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Nurminen scores with a sloppy right hand. Buarga should have avoided that one.
Buarga throws the left hand but Nurminen avoids the punch easily.
Nurminen lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Buarga takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Nurminen works over Buarga's head and body with a nice combination.

Buarga drives through and clinches with Nurminen against the cage.
Buarga pushes Nurminen back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Buarga jumps guard but Nurminen stands there with Buarga around his waist. Buarga gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Nurminen looking to slow down the pace here.
Nurminen lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Nurminen lands a shoulder strike.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Buarga lands a nice shot to the body.

Nurminen gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Buarga moves into full guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Buarga is on top in guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Buarga throwing strikes from guard but Nurminen blocks nicely.
Buarga trying to control the position from guard on top but Nurminen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Buarga is fighting to break Nurminen's control of his arms but Nurminen is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Buarga looking to pass the guard.
Buarga looking to sit in guard and control but Nurminen gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Nurminen has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Buarga wants to sweep here but Nurminen controlling him for the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Buarga is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Buarga manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!

Buarga goes for an armbar but Nurminen turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Nurminen.
Nurminen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Buarga is keeping the position for now.
Nurminen content to stall in guard here.
Nurminen wants to control from the top but Buarga keeps moving.
Buarga wants to sweep but no luck.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nurminen trying to control but Buarga is working from the bottom.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Buarga has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Nurminen can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Buarga is looking to sweep but instead, Nurminen has passed into half guard.
Nurminen uses his free foot to push down on Buarga's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Buarga.
Buarga is desperately trying to improve his position but Nurminen has a good base and remains in mount.
Nurminen controlling from the full mount.
Nurminen wants to take Buarga's back but he can't do it this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Buarga can't escape the position.
Nurminen trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Buarga is in all sorts of trouble here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nurminen controlling the position easily from mount.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Buarga is squirming around, avoiding Nurminen's attempts to control the action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Pasi Nurminen will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. And we move into the final round!

Nurminen doesn't manage to clinch there - Buarga circles away.
Pasi Nurminen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nurminen lands with an uppercut that bounces Buarga off the cage and back into range.
Nurminen connects with a body shot.
Buarga has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Nurminen looks to land a combination. Buarga sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

Buarga clinches up with Nurminen and pushes him back against the cage.
Pasi Nurminen has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Nurminen misses with the head strike.
Buarga tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Nurminen's elbow.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Buarga jumps guard but Nurminen turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Nurminen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Nurminen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Buarga tries to pull guard but Nurminen holds him up against the cage and eventually Buarga drops back down to his feet.
Nurminen lands with a light punch inside.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A short left from Buarga.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Buarga tries to break the clinch but Nurminen is controlling the position.
The referee is keeping an eye on Nurminen - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Nurminen misses with a hook from the clinch.
Buarga tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Nurminen just stands there and leans against the cage.
Pasi Nurminen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Arga Buarga.
A shot in the inside from Nurminen.
Nurminen blocks a body shot from Buarga.
A nice right hand lands inside from Nurminen.
Nurminen lands a body punch in the clinch.
Buarga tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
A short left from Nurminen.

Nurminen has hold of one of Buarga's legs. Buarga is fighting the takedown attempt but Nurminen gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Nurminen controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Buarga trying to strike off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Buarga wants to sweep but no luck.
Buarga looking to control.

Buarga working for a triangle but Nurminen defends it easily.

Buarga is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Buarga takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Buarga keeping moving, preventing Nurminen from controlling successfully.
Buarga is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Nurminen trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Buarga bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Nurminen's guard.
Nurminen wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Nurminen wants to sweep here but Buarga controlling him for the moment.
Buarga with a flurry of punches that miss.
Nurminen is pulling down on Buarga's head to control his posture.
Buarga is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Nurminen wants to sweep here but Buarga controlling him for the moment.
Buarga postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Buarga trying to control but Nurminen is working from the bottom.
Arga Buarga has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Buarga is looking to work some ground and pound but Nurminen has wrist control.
Buarga wants to control from the top but Nurminen keeps moving.
Buarga might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Nurminen kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

Nurminen is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Nurminen lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Buarga backwards.
Buarga is trying to break the clinch but Nurminen has him pressed against the cage.
Pasi Nurminen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nurminen blocks a body shot from Buarga.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nurminen digs a right hand into Buarga's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Buarga's gas tank.
Nurminen misses with a short punch on the inside.
Buarga misses with the head strike.
Nurminen blocks a body shot from Buarga.

And that's the end of the fight!
Pasi Nurminen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Nurminen, 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 Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pasi Nurminen!