PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Holy Diver (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bocco Badz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Diver's entrance music is Holy Diver by Dio. A fine choice. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Bocco Badz was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Diver
vs
Badz

161 cm
27
174 lbs
11 - 15 - 0

188 cm
25
170 lbs
12 - 12 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Experienced

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Powerful

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 11 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Holy Diver!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Bocco Badz!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Badz rushes Diver and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Diver tightens his grip and picks Badz up, before dumping him to the ground. Badz manages to land in guard.
We've been hearing that Diver has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Diver throwing strikes but missing.
Diver stopping the sweep attempt from Badz.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Diver throwing strikes from guard but Badz blocks nicely.
Diver is fighting to break Badz's control of his arms but Badz is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

Diver avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Diver trying to control the position from guard on top but Badz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Badz utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Diver postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Diver wants to pass the guard but Badz is keeping the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Badz wants to sweep but no luck.
Diver throws a strike but Badz rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Badz trying to control but Diver is working from the bottom.
Badz controls from within his opponent's guard.

Badz thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Diver wants to stand up but Badz is controlling him.
Badz is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Diver is on top in guard.
Badz pulls Diver in close to prevent any damage.
Badz working a defensive guard here.
Badz keeping moving, preventing Diver from controlling successfully.
Diver working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Badz looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Diver loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Diver postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Diver working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diver scoring with punches to the head and body.
Diver lands a couple of elbows.
Diver trying to control the position from guard on top but Badz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Diver throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Badz works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Diver postures up in Badz's guard and throws a big left but Badz blocks it.
Diver loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Badz controls Diver momentarily but Diver frees himself.
Badz has Diver pulled in close to control his posture.

Diver avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Diver is looking to work some ground and pound but Badz has wrist control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Badz trying to control the position.
Diver looking to sit in guard and control but Badz gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Badz trying to control but Diver is working from the bottom.
Badz wants to pass the guard but Diver is keeping the position.
Badz trying to control but Diver is working from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Badz being controlled here momentarily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Badz is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Holy Diver will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Diver keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.

Diver moves into the clinch successfully.
Diver gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Badz.

Diver has clasped his hands together around Badz's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Badz is trying to get back to half guard.
You can see the frustration on Badz's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Diver tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Diver has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
The strikes coming from Diver are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Sloppy strikes there by Diver.
Diver wants to control but Badz is keeping him busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Badz is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Diver prevents Badz from improving his position.
Diver working the head and body with strikes.
Diver lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Badz is trying to maintain the position but Diver is very close to passing his half guard.
Nice strikes from Diver there.

Diver is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Badz trying to hold on to Diver's head to control him but Diver postures up.
Badz is trying to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diver thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Badz's head.
Diver sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Badz defending well though.
Badz trying to hold on to Diver's head to control him but Diver postures up.
Diver content to control rather than advance.
Diver slips a nice elbow through Badz's hands, connecting with Badz's forehead.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Badz makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Badz.
Badz keeping moving, preventing Diver from controlling successfully.
Diver with a nice head shot there.
Diver is looking to advance position but Badz has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Badz looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Badz trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Diver can't escape the position.
Diver really wants to buck Badz off and get back to his feet.

Badz has control of Diver's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Diver regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Badz controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diver tries to lock up and control but Badz gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

Badz looking for a guillotine from mount but Diver is having none of it.
Badz controlling from the full mount.
Badz's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Badz trying to control but he's not successful this time.
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 Holy Diver will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Diver gets a takedown into half guard.
Diver tries to pass the half guard into mount. Badz knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Badz keeping hold of Diver's head, controlling as best he can.
Badz trying to hold on to Diver's head to control him but Diver postures up.
Diver sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Badz defending well though.
Diver working over Badz with some ground and pound. Badz looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Diver throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Diver not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Badz keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diver wants to get back to his feet.
Badz is trying to get back to full guard.

Diver is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Badz doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Diver.
Diver throwing shots but Badz is blocking nicely.
Diver trying to control the pace.
Badz trying to hold on to Diver's head to control him but Diver postures up.
Badz is staying active underneath Diver, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diver not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Diver is pressing down on Badz's thigh, looking to free his foot. Badz is holding on for now.
Diver missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Badz makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Badz.
Diver preventing the sweep.
Diver connects with a couple of short punches.
Badz avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Diver wants to control from the top but Badz keeps moving.
Badz managing to control the position.
Diver looking to sit in guard and control but Badz gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Diver might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diver is looking to stand up but Badz isn't so interested in that idea.
Diver can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Badz controls the pace.
Diver keeping moving, preventing Badz from controlling successfully.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Diver is on top in guard.
Badz looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Diver trying to control but Badz is working from the bottom.
Bocco Badz has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diver throws a big elbow that misses.
Badz avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Diver throwing strikes from guard but Badz blocks nicely.
Diver trying to stand up but can't free himself from Badz's guard.
Diver working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Badz looking for a sweep. Not yet Badz, not yet.
Badz working a defensive guard here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Diver wants to control from the top but Badz keeps moving.
Holy Diver is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Diver with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

And that's the end of the fight!
Holy Diver showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Diver has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Holy Diver!
Holy Diver decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.