PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Keiji Mutou (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Soa Palelei (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Palelei comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Miracle - We Ain't Scared kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Soa Palelei is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Mutou
vs
Palelei

188 cm
25
213 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

185 cm
27
218 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Keiji Mutou!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Soa Palelei!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Palelei tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Mutou is able to avoid easily.
Palelei misses with a low kick.
Palelei tries a low kick but Mutou avoids it.

Palelei darts in and clinches Mutou up against the cage.
Palelei being controlled against the cage.
Mutou wants a takedown.
Palelei taking a breather.
Mutou prevents a body shot from Palelei.
Palelei tries to break free but Mutou pushes him back against the cage.
Mutou holding his opponent close, against the cage.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Palelei.
Palelei tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mutou will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Palelei up against the cage.
Mutou is trying to maintain a safe position but Palelei gets an underhook and turns Mutou into the cage.
Still in the clinch, Palelei scores with a nice short uppercut.

Mutou breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Nice takedown defense from Palelei. No joy for Mutou on that attempt.
Palelei throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Mutou on the side of the head.
Palelei throws a big shot that misses.
Mutou has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Rings Russia in the buildup to the fight.
Palelei throws a looping overhand right but Mutou ducks down to avoid it.
Palelei throws a right and a left that Mutou avoids nicely.
Mutou shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Palelei defends it nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Keiji Mutou. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mutou shoots in looking for a takedown but Palelei manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Mutou's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Mutou tries for a takedown but Palelei sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Mutou checks a leg kick.
A solid leg kick lands there for Palelei.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mutou uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Palelei.
Palelei bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Palelei chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Palelei stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Palelei wants it to stay on the feet.
Soa Palelei is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Mutou goes for a double leg but Palelei avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Palelei continues to drive forward.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Palelei lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Mutou backwards.
Mutou is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Palelei gets underhooks to prevent Mutou's takedown attempt.

Mutou gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Palelei wants to improve his position but Mutou is controlling well.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Palelei controlling the position well.
Palelei gets full guard.
Mutou throwing strikes from guard but Palelei blocks nicely.
Palelei is controlling Mutou's posture.
Mutou postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mutou preventing the sweep.
Palelei bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Mutou's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mutou tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Palelei missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Palelei won't allow Mutou to sweep him here.
Mutou working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Palelei.
Mutou avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Palelei throws an elbow that misses. Mutou uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Palelei's guard. Nice move by Mutou!
Palelei is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Mutou stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Palelei swivels though and keeps the full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Palelei pushes Mutou off and gets back to his feet.
Nice shot lands for Palelei.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Soa Palelei dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Palelei throws a low kick but it's checked well by Mutou.
A clash of legs there as Mutou blocks the low kick.
Soa Palelei seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Mutou looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Palelei seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Palelei avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Palelei has his hands on Mutou's head, controlling the position.
Palelei trying to keep a closed guard but Mutou is proving a slippery customer.
Mutou throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Palelei is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Mutou has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Soa Palelei hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Mutou closes this distance looking for a takedown but Palelei circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mutou keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Mutou.
Mutou creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Mutou working the head with strikes.
Palelei dodges the ground and pound from Mutou.
Palelei is looking for a sweep.
Palelei keeps trying to improve his position.
Palelei wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
The strikes coming from Mutou are missing the target in this wave of attacks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mutou working away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Palelei is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Palelei is holding on to half guard well.
Palelei is looking to control Mutou's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Palelei avoid being mounted?
Mutou is trying to control the action in half guard but Palelei is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Palelei manages to get to full guard.
Mutou trying to control the position from guard on top but Palelei is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mutou looking to pass the guard.
Palelei is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Palelei tries a head kick but it misses.
Palelei throws a head kick but Mutou moves out of range.
Mutou shoots in but Palelei avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Palelei throws a head kick that misses.
Mutou takes a jab right on the kisser.

Mutou dives in and scores a takedown into Palelei's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Palelei wants to get back to his feet but Mutou is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Soa Palelei has got the better of the ground game so far.
Palelei lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Mutou!
Mutou working to try and regain half guard.
Mutou is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Palelei punching from mount but Mutou doing a good job of avoiding damage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mutou avoids a series of strikes thrown by Palelei.
Palelei avoids the attempt from Mutou to control.
Palelei looking to finish with strikes here!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Soa Palelei will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Mutou looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Palelei is fending him off so far but Mutou persists. Nope, Palelei circles away and we're back to standing.
Mutou shoots for a double leg takedown but Palelei sprawls well. He's pushed Mutou's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
A swing and a miss from Palelei.
Palelei wants to clinch up but Mutou keeps it at a distance.
Palelei connects with a right hand. Mutou shakes it off.
Palelei finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Mutou has a takedown stuffed.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Keiji Mutou. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Mutou decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Palelei manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Mutou keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.
Palelei scores with a nice hook to the head.

Palelei breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A good leg kick by Palelei.
Nice sprawl there from Palelei as Mutou shoots in.
Palelei misses with a body shot.
A leg kick checked by Mutou.
Nice jab there from Palelei.
Soa Palelei seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Mutou changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Palelei tries to avoid it but Mutou manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Palelei to the ground. Palelei escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Mutou avoids the body shot from Palelei.
Palelei looking to land some kicks to the body here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Palelei tries to clinch but Mutou moves out of range.
Palelei wants to land a leg kick but Mutou is out of range.
Mutou moves out of range of the leg kick from Palelei.
Palelei misses with a looping left.
Palelei lands a head shot.

Mutou is rocked!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Palelei cracks the inside of Mutou's front leg.
Palelei tries to clinch but Mutou is having none of it.
Palelei is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Palelei throws a sloppy head kick and Mutou moves out of range easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Palelei lands a nice hook to Mutou's body. Mutou takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Palelei scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Mutou.
Palelei shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Palelei throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Mutou stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Mutou slips a straight right by Palelei.
Mutou tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
An inside leg kick from Palelei misses.
Mutou loads up on a big right hand but Palelei slips the punch.
Palelei tries to clinch but Mutou moves out of range.
A solid leg kick lands there for Palelei.
Good work by Mutou as he checks the leg kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A clash of legs there as Mutou blocks the low kick.
Palelei misses with a looping right.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mutou ducks under a wild hook from Palelei.
Keiji Mutou has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mutou fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Palelei avoids it really well and circles away.

And that's the end of the fight!
Soa Palelei comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Palelei has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 28:30
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Soa Palelei!
A very excited looking Soa Palelei made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.