PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Andy Berdich (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Puntti Manne (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). He arrived on a last minute flight shortly after looking tired and unhappy. Officials decided the fight should still take place, much to the delight of the fans in attendance.
Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Andy Berdich and Puntti Manne. Manne has chosen Redrama - Music as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Berdich
vs
Manne

170 cm
32
142 lbs
20 - 10 - 0

170 cm
26
155 lbs
14 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Hellbent
V-Mask Clothing (10%)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 20 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Andy Berdich!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Puntti Manne!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Timothy Bukovac and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Berdich blocks a head kick by Manne.
Berdich ducks under a wild hook from Manne.
Berdich avoids the body shot from Manne.
Andy Berdich seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Manne rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Berdich moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Manne misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Berdich tries for a takedown but Manne circles away easily
and Manne counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

Berdich drives through with a takedown into guard.
Berdich wants to control from the top but Manne keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Berdich avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Manne utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Berdich drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Manne dives on top into guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manne is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Berdich is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Manne is not content to let Berdich control the position.
Berdich lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Berdich tries to pass to full mount but Manne defends it.
Berdich is stalling here. Manne is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Berdich seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Manne has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Berdich is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Manne's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Berdich wants to improve his position but Manne is controlling well.
Manne wants to control but Berdich is keeping him busy.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Manne thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Berdich's head.
Berdich is looking to improve his position.
Manne not doing much here.
Manne prevents Berdich from improving his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Manne lands a nice short elbow.
Ground and pound from Manne.
Manne not doing much here.
Berdich manages to get to full guard.
Berdich lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Manne looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Berdich trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Manne has his hands on Berdich's head, controlling the position.
Manne looking for a sweep. Not yet Manne, not yet.
Berdich slips nicely into half guard.
Berdich works his way into side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Berdich is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Manne is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
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 Andy Berdich will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Berdich with a poor takedown
and Manne counters with a left to the body.
Berdich misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Berdich shoots in looking for a takedown but Manne manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Berdich's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Andy Berdich. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Berdich shoots in for a takedown but Manne shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Manne throws a leg kick

and Berdich counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Berdich postures up.
Berdich trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Manne working a defensive guard here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Berdich postures up and lands a big shot to Manne's brow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Berdich content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Manne not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Manne lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Manne is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Berdich is trying to keep Manne in close.

Berdich looking for a guillotine here but Manne defends easily.
Berdich looking for a sweep. Not yet Berdich, not yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Manne controlling from the top position.
Manne is continuing to stall.
Berdich 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.
Berdich trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Manne misses with a head kick.
Manne throws a sloppy head kick and Berdich moves out of range easily.
Berdich ducks right into an uppercut from Manne.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manne lands a right hook to the body.
Berdich shoots in but no luck this time.

Berdich looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Manne!
Berdich in side control, throwing shots but Manne defends.
Manne stops Berdich from passing to mount.
Manne is looking to regain half guard here but Berdich keeps moving and retains side control.
Manne prevents Berdich from moving into mount.
Manne manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Manne working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.
Manne tries to pass to full mount but Berdich defends it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Berdich is trying to get back to full guard.
Still in half guard, Manne seems content to control.
Manne wants to take a breather but Berdich is having none of it.
Berdich tries to get to full guard but Manne has control of the leg.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Berdich wants to control but Manne is keeping busy.
Berdich is trying to get back to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Puntti Manne will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

A chopping leg kick lands by Manne.
Berdich fails with a takedown attempt.
Horrible takedown attempt by Berdich or perhaps it was just good defense by Manne, which made it look bad.
Manne throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Berdich stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Manne misses with a leg kick.
Manne lands a really nice looking cross but Berdich seems unphased.
Berdich darts in looking for a takedown but Manne gets double underhooks and turns Berdich into the cage.
Berdich backing away here, and Manne unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Berdich looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Andy Berdich. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Berdich shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Berdich showed some decent athleticism there.
Manne wants to control but Berdich is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Berdich is looking to stall here but Manne recovers full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Manne is on top in guard.

Andy Berdich overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Berdich looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Berdich throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Berdich is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Manne trying to control but Berdich is working from the bottom.
Berdich looking to control.
Manne seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Manne chips away with some ground and pound.
Manne controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Berdich is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Berdich being controlled here, momentarily.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Berdich throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Manne's waist but Manne gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Berdich off to one side.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manne stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Manne wants it to stay on the feet.
Manne misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Manne with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Manne looks to score with a jab to the body but Berdich is just out of range.
A nice inside leg kick there by Manne. That's going to slow Berdich down.
Manne thuds his right hand into Berdich's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Manne misses with a jab, cross combination.
Good exchange - Manne coming out on top.
Puntti Manne is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Berdich slips a straight right by Manne.
Berdich dives in and grabs Manne's left leg, looking for a takedown. Manne pushes down on Berdich's head and hops out.

Berdich 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.
Manne looking for a sweep. Not yet Manne, not yet.
Manne utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Manne 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.
Manne avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Berdich wants to pass the guard but Manne is keeping the position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Berdich is looking to work some ground and pound but Manne has wrist control.
Berdich advances position into side control!
You can see the frustration on Manne's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Manne takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Berdich postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.

And that's the end of the fight!
Puntti Manne comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Manne has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 27:30
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Andy Berdich!
During a confident post fight interview, Andy Berdich thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.