PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Emil Gustafsson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Callum Pagnozzi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gustafsson comes into the arena with Two Steps from Hell - Heart of Courage blaring out of the sound system. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Gustafsson
vs
Pagnozzi

190 cm
24
185 lbs
8 - 8 - 0

190 cm
22
181 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

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 8 - 8 - 0, fighting out of London, Emil Gustafsson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Callum Pagnozzi!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Phil Schofield and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pagnozzi moves out of range of the strikes.
Gustafsson lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Pagnozzi takes one to the chin there.
Pagnozzi throws a poor cross that misses
and Gustafsson counters with an inside leg kick.
Gustafsson checks the leg kick nicely there.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Pagnozzi has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Pagnozzi.
Gustafsson throws a low kick but Pagnozzi moves out of range easily.
Pagnozzi scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Gustafsson doesn't seem bothered though.
Gustafsson finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Gustafsson scores with a spinning back kick!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gustafsson looking to land some kicks to the body here.

Pagnozzi looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Pagnozzi trying to control from half guard but Gustafsson is working away.
Gustafsson keeping control of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gustafsson avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Pagnozzi.
Gustafsson is looking to improve his position.
Pagnozzi sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gustafsson defending well though.
Well, if Pagnozzi is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Gustafsson is looking to control Pagnozzi's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Gustafsson avoid being mounted?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pagnozzi trying to control from half guard but Gustafsson is working away.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Pagnozzi blocks a low kick nicely.
Pagnozzi works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Gustafsson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Gustafsson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Pagnozzi.
Pagnozzi blocks a head kick by Gustafsson.
Gustafsson bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Pagnozzi is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Gustafsson.
Pagnozzi misses with a straight right.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pagnozzi fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Gustafsson on the side of the head.
Emil Gustafsson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Pagnozzi throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Gustafsson looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Pagnozzi lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Gustafsson at a distance.
Gustafsson takes one on the button.
Gustafsson ducks under a wild hook from Pagnozzi.
Gustafsson lands with a nice body kick.
Gustafsson closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Pagnozzi throws out a loose jab but Gustafsson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Gustafsson throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Gustafsson throws a half hearted mid kick.
Gustafsson's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Pagnozzi connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Gustafsson scrambles back to his feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gustafsson throws a head kick that misses.
Pagnozzi cracks Gustafsson with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Pagnozzi might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Pagnozzi checks a leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pagnozzi shoots in looking for a takedown. Gustafsson tries to sprawl out of it but Pagnozzi keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Gustafsson manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Pagnozzi lands a body shot.
Gustafsson looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Gustafsson misses with a low kick.
Gustafsson moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Pagnozzi misses with a jab, cross combination.
Pagnozzi misses with a body shot.
Pagnozzi ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Callum Pagnozzi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gustafsson fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Pagnozzi manages to avoid it.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Pagnozzi takes a jab right on the kisser.
Pagnozzi ducks under a wild hook from Gustafsson.
Pagnozzi's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Gustafsson connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Pagnozzi scrambles back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Callum Pagnozzi will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Pagnozzi throws a big shot that misses.
Pagnozzi misses with the combination.
Gustafsson pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Gustafsson tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Pagnozzi walks into a jab.
Pagnozzi on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Gustafsson. Gustafsson obviously looking to wear him down.
Gustafsson just misses with a punch to the body.
Gustafsson connects with the punch.
Gustafsson scoring well with a low kick there.
Gustafsson throws a push kick but Pagnozzi slaps the foot to one side.
Pagnozzi will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Pagnozzi looks to land a left hand but Gustafsson moved out of range nicely.
Gustafsson throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Pagnozzi on the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pagnozzi connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Gustafsson is looking to slow Pagnozzi down with leg kicks.
A jab from Pagnozzi does it's job there.
Pagnozzi connects with a nice looking jab.
Pagnozzi misses with an uppercut
and Gustafsson counters with a nice uppercut.
A looping hook to the body misses from Pagnozzi. Gustafsson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Pagnozzi throws a lazy right hand but Gustafsson sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Gustafsson is looking to land body kicks.
Gustafsson misses with a low kick.
Pagnozzi takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Pagnozzi walks forward, straight into a front kick from Gustafsson.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Pagnozzi takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Pagnozzi is breathing heavily.
Gustafsson throws a leg kick which misses Pagnozzi's front leg but catches the back leg as Pagnozzi tries to avoid it.
Pagnozzi on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson keeps Pagnozzi at a distance using the push kick.
Gustafsson connects with a leg kick. Pagnozzi looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Pagnozzi moves forwards but Gustafsson connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Gustafsson lands with a nice body punch.
Emil Gustafsson is winning the standup battle so far.
Gustafsson feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Pagnozzi's calf.
Gustafsson fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Pagnozzi swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Gustafsson scores with a three punch combo!

It looks like Callum Pagnozzi has been cut.

Gustafsson lands a big head kick that sends Pagnozzi tumbling to the mat! Gustafsson takes a step backwards and waves Pagnozzi back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Pagnozzi is rocked!
Pagnozzi slips a jab and a cross from Gustafsson.
Pagnozzi ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Gustafsson moves away.
Gustafsson lands a jab to Pagnozzi's midsection.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pagnozzi waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Gustafsson.
Pagnozzi blocks the body kick.
Pagnozzi lands a really nice looking cross but Gustafsson seems unphased.
Pagnozzi fails with a takedown attempt.
Pagnozzi throws a series of punches but Gustafsson avoids them all with ease.
Pagnozzi on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Gustafsson. Gustafsson obviously looking to wear him down.
Gustafsson throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Gustafsson cracks Pagnozzi with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Pagnozzi takes a shot to the body in his stride.
A nice inside leg kick there by Gustafsson. That's going to slow Pagnozzi down.
Pagnozzi takes one on the button.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Pagnozzi has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Gustafsson finds it's way round the side to connect with Pagnozzi's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pagnozzi slips a straight right by Gustafsson.
Pagnozzi has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Gustafsson.
Some bone on bone action there as Pagnozzi checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Gustafsson just misses with a punch to the body.
Pagnozzi missing with a left hand there. Gustafsson was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Pagnozzi throws out a loose jab but Gustafsson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Pagnozzi throws a lazy right hand but Gustafsson sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Gustafsson tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A nice leg kick lands there from Gustafsson.
A thudding body kick lands there by Gustafsson!
Gustafsson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Pagnozzi throws out the jab.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
No luck with that takedown attempt from Pagnozzi.
Emil Gustafsson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Callum Pagnozzi.
Pagnozzi defending well as Gustafsson loads up on a big left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Emil Gustafsson dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Callum Pagnozzi's cut.
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. This is the final round!

Gustafsson pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Pagnozzi checks the leg kick nicely there.
A shot to the liver by Pagnozzi. Beautiful body shot.
Pagnozzi connects with a crisp jab.
Pagnozzi cracks Gustafsson with an open hand slap.
Pagnozzi looks to throw the jab but Gustafsson is out of range.
A big left from Pagnozzi misses.
Pagnozzi throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Gustafsson counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Pagnozzi looks to land a right hand but Gustafsson moved out of range.
Pagnozzi misses with a series of wild punches.
Gustafsson is looking to land body kicks.
Pagnozzi connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Pagnozzi avoids the head kick by Gustafsson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pagnozzi darts in looking for a takedown but Gustafsson gets double underhooks and turns Pagnozzi into the cage.
Pagnozzi lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Gustafsson blocking some punches.
Pagnozzi tries to throw a body punch but Gustafsson avoids it by throwing Pagnozzi back against the cage.
Pagnozzi has a couple of punches blocked by Gustafsson.
Pagnozzi misses with some punches.
Gustafsson scores with a nice hook to the head.
Gustafsson gets underhooks to prevent Pagnozzi's takedown attempt.
Pagnozzi takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Gustafsson blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Gustafsson landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Still in the clinch, Pagnozzi scores with a nice short uppercut.
Come on Gustafsson - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gustafsson breaks from the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Gustafsson lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Pagnozzi has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Pagnozzi and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Gustafsson slips under a jab.
Pagnozzi throws a hook but Gustafsson blocks it.
Pagnozzi digs a good body shot into Gustafsson's ribs.
Pagnozzi on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Gustafsson. Gustafsson obviously looking to wear him down.
Gustafsson scores with a hook.
Pagnozzi throws a lazy right hand but Gustafsson sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Pagnozzi keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Gustafsson thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Pagnozzi if he has to take too many more of those.
Gustafsson scores with a punch to the head.
Gustafsson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Pagnozzi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pagnozzi takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
The fighters circling - Pagnozzi throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Gustafsson moves out of range as Pagnozzi strikes.
Gustafsson scores with a body shot.
Pagnozzi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A punch lands to the side of Gustafsson 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Pagnozzi slips a jab from Gustafsson.
Pagnozzi gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Gustafsson.
Pagnozzi fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Gustafsson.
The fighters circling - Pagnozzi throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Pagnozzi looks to land a left hand but Gustafsson moved out of range nicely.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Gustafsson, as that shot connected.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A swing and a miss from Pagnozzi.
A solid body kick from Gustafsson.
Pagnozzi takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Gustafsson throws a lazy head kick
and Pagnozzi counters with a lovely straight right hand!
A big left from Pagnozzi misses.
Gustafsson with a nice cross.
Gustafsson fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Gustafsson throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Pagnozzi.
Pagnozzi is still on wobbly legs! Can Gustafsson finish him?
Pagnozzi moves away from the strike by Gustafsson.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nice uppercut there from Gustafsson.
Gustafsson throws a body punch but Pagnozzi moves out of range.

And that's the end of the fight!
Emil Gustafsson showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Gustafsson has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Andrew Berry scores the fight 29:28
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Emil Gustafsson!
Emil Gustafsson thanked the fans post fight for their support.