PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tadeusz Soplica (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Herberto Mingo (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 middleweight MMA rules bout between Tadeusz Soplica and Herberto Mingo. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Soplica
vs
Mingo

185 cm
25
185 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

180 cm
28
186 lbs
5 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
Great elbows
Big heart

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Tadeusz Soplica!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Herberto Mingo!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Ben Zyskovitsi and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Soplica tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Mingo manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Soplica closes the distance and clinches.

Soplica manages to pull guard.
Mingo has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Soplica is proving hard to escape from.
Soplica trying to keep a closed guard but Mingo is proving a slippery customer.
Soplica on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Soplica tries to get out of the position.
Soplica throws a nice elbow from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Soplica is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Mingo defends well.

Mingo stands up from guard. Let's bang!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mingo tries a head kick but it misses.

Mingo gets caught napping as Soplica dives in and scores a takedown. Mingo manages to retain guard.
Soplica won't allow Mingo to get back to his feet.
Soplica wants to control from the top but Mingo keeps moving.
Soplica tries to free his leg and advance position but Mingo is retaining full guard.
Soplica controls from within his opponent's guard.
Soplica seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Mingo for as long as he can get away with.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mingo keeping full guard, as Soplica tries to pass.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Soplica throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Mingo works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Soplica closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Soplica lands in his opponent's guard.
Soplica trying to control but Mingo is working from the bottom.
Mingo keeping full guard, as Soplica tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mingo wants to get back to his feet but Soplica is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Soplica looking to sit in guard and control but Mingo gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Soplica tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Mingo wants to get up but he can't break Soplica's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Soplica controls Mingo momentarily but Mingo frees himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Mingo wants to stand but Soplica has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Mingo shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Soplica misses with a series of wild punches.
Soplica fails to land with a series of punches.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Mingo! But no joy.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Soplica tries to close the distance and clinch but Mingo swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Soplica misses with a head kick.
Soplica tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Mingo manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tadeusz Soplica dominated that round.
That's time! Soplica's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Mingo throws a series of punches but Soplica avoids them all with ease.

Mingo gets caught napping as Soplica dives in and scores a takedown. Mingo manages to retain guard.

Soplica stands up from Mingo's guard - Soplica perhaps looking for a knockout.

Soplica gets a double leg takedown into Mingo's guard.
Mingo is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Soplica dives into side control.
Tadeusz Soplica overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
A lull in the action here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Soplica is looking to take a break and control but Mingo is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soplica working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mingo is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Mingo is not content to let Soplica control the position.
Mingo tries to escape but Soplica is in control.

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.

Soplica decides to take the fight back to the feet.
A head kick misses from Soplica.
Some wild striking there from Mingo.

Soplica throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Mingo was covering up waiting for the punch and Soplica finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Mingo wants to get back to his feet but Soplica is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Soplica showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soplica passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Mingo is trying to get back to his feet.
Soplica is looking to take a break and control but Mingo is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Mingo wants to get back to his feet but Soplica drags him back down.
Mingo on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

Soplica decides to stand up, so the ref orders Mingo to his feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Soplica drives through with a takedown into guard.

Soplica gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tadeusz Soplica dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Soplica blocks a head kick by Mingo.
Soplica is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Mingo can do to turn this around?
Mingo throws a right and a left that Soplica avoids nicely.

Mingo gets caught flat footed, as Soplica shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Soplica looking to sit in guard and control but Mingo gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Soplica doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Soplica is controlling Mingo's posture.
Mingo wants to stand but Soplica is controlling his posture from full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Soplica looking to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soplica is pulling down on Mingo's head to control his posture.
Mingo wants to stand but Soplica is controlling his posture from full guard.
Mingo postures up.
Mingo wants to stand but Soplica has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Mingo swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Soplica drops down looking for a counter takedown but Mingo sprawls and moves away.
Soplica fails with an attempt to clinch.
It seemed like Mingo was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.

Soplica scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Soplica wants to work for an arm triangle but Mingo is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Soplica controlling the action here.
Soplica is trying to control the action in half guard but Mingo is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Soplica prevents Mingo from standing back up.
Soplica not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mingo tries to kick Soplica off but Soplica keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Mingo uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Soplica.
Mingo avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Soplica manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Mingo on his heels. He'll look to pass Mingo's guard now, I'm sure.
Mingo is wriggling around but Soplica manages to pass to half guard.
Soplica trying to control the action but Mingo is working from the bottom.
Mingo looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soplica is trying to control the action in half guard but Mingo is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Mingo pushes Soplica off looking to stand but Soplica dives back in and keeps control.
Soplica is just content to waste time from the top position. Mingo takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Soplica trying to control but Mingo is working from the bottom.
Soplica sitting in guard, not really doing much.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Soplica avoids the head kick by Mingo.
Herberto Mingo has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tadeusz Soplica is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Mingo tries to land a leg kick but Soplica saw it coming and moves away.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tadeusz Soplica showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Soplica, 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tadeusz Soplica!