PBP Commentary

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

Kapanen
vs
Sampaio

155 cm
24
155 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

178 cm
21
145 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Very confident

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Sami Kapanen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Cesar Sampaio!
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Paul Gruel and Micheangelo Fripello.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kapanen feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Kapanen's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Kapanen has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Sampaio is looking to stand up but Kapanen isn't so interested in that idea.
Kapanen looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

Sami Kapanen has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Sampaio misses with a body kick.
Sampaio lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Kapanen goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

Kapanen clinches up against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kapanen gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Still in half guard, Kapanen seems content to control.
Sampaio is trying to stand up here but Kapanen is controlling him well.
Sampaio is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Kapanen wants to pass the guard but Sampaio is defending well.
Sampaio wants to get back to his feet.
Sampaio wants to get back to full guard.

Kapanen is trying to work for a kimura but Sampaio is defending well.
Kapanen passes to side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kapanen thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Sampaio on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sampaio wants to get back to his feet but Kapanen drags him back down.
Sampaio is looking for a sweep.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kapanen controls the position from side control.
Kapanen lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Sampaio down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sampaio is looking for a sweep.

Kapanen stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Kapanen fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Sampaio, pushing him back against the cage.

Kapanen has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Sampaio uses from the top position.

Kapanen pushes Sampaio off and gets back to his feet.
Sampaio lands with a right hand.
Sampaio tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Sampaio fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Kapanen is out of range.
Sampaio takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sampaio throws a leg kick which misses Kapanen's front leg but catches the back leg as Kapanen tries to avoid it.

Kapanen instigates a clinch.

Kapanen wants the takedown. Sampaio is fighting it off but Kapanen persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Sampaio's guard against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Kapanen gets to his feet. Sampaio looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Kapanen pivots, looking for a leg kick but Sampaio is out of range and Kapanen settles back down.
Sampaio lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Sampaio looks winded!

Kapanen has taken the fight to the clinch.
Sampaio wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Kapanen has him pressed against the cage.
Sampaio goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sampaio lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sampaio wants to break the clinch but can't.

Kapanen's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Kapanen closes the distance and clinches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Sampaio throws a series of punches but Kapanen moves out of range.
Sampaio throws a leg kick but Kapanen sees it coming and moves out of range.
A left lands for Sampaio.
Kapanen ducks right into an uppercut from Sampaio.
Sampaio misses with a double jab.
Sampaio throws a right and a left that both miss.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Sampaio tries to break the clinch but Kapanen is controlling the position.
A frustrated look appears on Sampaio's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Kapanen with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Sampaio has had enough of the clinch but Kapanen keeps him there for the moment.
Kapanen pressing his opponent against the cage.
Sampaio has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Kapanen is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kapanen jumps guard and drags Sampaio to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Sampaio trying to control but Kapanen is working from the bottom.
Kapanen has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

We're going to have a standup here because Sami Kapanen wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Sampaio throws a nice looking combination but Kapanen bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Sloppy strikes from Sampaio. Those never looked like landing.

Kapanen dives in and scores a takedown into Sampaio's guard.
Sampaio is breathing heavily.
Kapanen stays in close to Sampaio's body and controls the position.
Kapanen might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kapanen with a nice head shot there.

Kapanen is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Kapanen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kapanen wants to pass the guard but Sampaio is keeping the position.
Kapanen won't allow Sampaio to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sampaio is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Kapanen stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Some wild striking there from Sampaio.
Kapanen misses with a head kick.
Sampaio is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Sampaio buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Sampaio misses with a two punch combination.

Kapanen rushes Sampaio and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Kapanen's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Sloppy strikes from Sampaio. Those never looked like landing.
Sami Kapanen is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sampaio throws a combination that misses

and Kapanen decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Sampaio's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kapanen sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Sampaio's guard.
Kapanen content to control rather than advance.
Kapanen lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Kapanen trying to control the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sami Kapanen dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Kapanen avoids a punch combination nicely.
Sloppy strikes from Sampaio. Those never looked like landing.

Sampaio tries to sprawl but Kapanen drives through with a takedown into half guard.

Sampaio actively working from the bottom here.
Kapanen perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Sampaio is trying to stand.
Sampaio takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kapanen takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Sampaio tries to kick Kapanen off but Kapanen keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Sami Kapanen has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Sampaio gets caught napping as Kapanen dives in and scores a takedown. Sampaio manages to retain guard.
Kapanen controlling from the top position.
Kapanen advances position into side control!
Kapanen taking a breather here.
Sampaio tries to bench press Kapanen off him but Kapanen keeps the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sampaio is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Sampaio seems a little lost for a moment, as Kapanen dominates the positioning.

Kapanen stands up.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sampaio misses with a series of wild punches.
Kapanen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sampaio can do to turn this around?

Kapanen shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Sampaio is trying to defend but Kapanen finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Kapanen lands with a punch from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kapanen content to control rather than advance.
Cesar Sampaio has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kapanen working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

Kapanen escapes and gets back to his feet.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Sampaio enables Kapanen to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Sampaio manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Kapanen landing some decent shots from guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kapanen passes into half guard.
Kapanen blocks the strikes from Sampaio.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Kapanen in particular looking to stall.
Sampaio is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Kapanen jumps into side control!
Kapanen gets to mount! Sampaio was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Kapanen wants to finish this one by submission but Sampaio is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Kapanen.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sami Kapanen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kapanen, 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 Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight for Sami Kapanen!
Judge Paul Gruel scores the fight for Sami Kapanen!
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight for Sami Kapanen!

Sami Kapanen wins by unanimous decision!