PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ricardo Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jyrska Velmu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Velmu has chosen Doctor Doctor by UFO as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Ricardo Gracie has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Gracie
vs
Velmu

175 cm
25
182 lbs
12 - 1 - 0

177 cm
27
177 lbs
24 - 8 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Brute
BioPharm Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Ricardo Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 24 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Jyrska Velmu!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Roosa Järviläinen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gracie digs a good body shot into Velmu's ribs.
Gracie rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Velmu counters with a nice uppercut.
Velmu looks to score with a jab to the body but Gracie is just out of range.
Gracie blocks a jab.
Velmu shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Gracie as he avoids it easily.
Velmu stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Velmu shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Gracie but Gracie pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Velmu slips under a jab.
Velmu is looking to score with low kicks.
Gracie ducks right into an uppercut from Velmu.
A slow jab from Gracie misses its intended target.
Gracie shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Velmu shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Gracie sprawls well. Gracie wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Velmu gets slowly back to his feet.
Ricardo Gracie has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jyrska Velmu.
Velmu misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Gracie.
Gracie scores with a hook.
A jab from Velmu does it's job there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Velmu will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Gracie misses the shot to the body.
Velmu connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Jyrska Velmu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gracie lands with a cross.
Velmu swats away the attempt to clinch by Gracie.
Velmu shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Velmu feints and as Gracie raises his hands in defense, Velmu changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Velmu pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Gracie is keeping the position for now.
Gracie lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Velmu!
The referee warns Velmu that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gracie landing punches.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Gracie trying to control but Velmu is having none of it.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Velmu is looking to improve his position but Gracie isn't that keen on the idea.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie landing strikes from the mount and Velmu is in trouble!
Gracie looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

Velmu is rocked!
Gracie in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Velmu is still in real trouble! Can Gracie finish him?
Velmu keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Gracie lands a heavy elbow.
Velmu is in all sorts of trouble here.
Gracie looking to finish here with some ground and pound. He lands one big shot that has Velmu covering up... and two more big strikes land, forcing the referee to step in and put and end to proceedings! This fight is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:45 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Ricardo Gracie!
An out of breath Ricardo Gracie thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.