PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Jake Belcher (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tapio Sammalkorpi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Belcher
vs
Sammalkorpi

180 cm
26
185 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

177 cm
26
176 lbs
10 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Granite chin

Leviathan Clothing
Sully's Bar & Grill

Sully's Bar & Grill
Leviathan Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Jake Belcher!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Tapio Sammalkorpi!
The judges for this bout are Santiago Holmes, Bart Greer and Sandra Marshall.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sammalkorpi shoots for a takedown but Belcher saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Sammalkorpi throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Belcher's waist but Belcher gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Sammalkorpi off to one side.
Belcher has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Sammalkorpi shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Belcher defends it nicely.
Jake Belcher has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tapio Sammalkorpi.
Sammalkorpi fails with a takedown attempt.
Sammalkorpi shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Belcher counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Belcher throwing strikes from guard but Sammalkorpi blocks nicely.
Belcher with a nice head shot there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sammalkorpi looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Belcher passes Sammalkorpi's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Belcher trying to pass the guard but Sammalkorpi defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sammalkorpi avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Belcher.
Belcher sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Sammalkorpi defending well though.
Sammalkorpi is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Belcher winds up and cracks Sammalkorpi with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Belcher is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Belcher passes to side control.
Belcher working the ground and pound but Sammalkorpi is defending the strikes.
Belcher tries to move into full mount but can't pass Sammalkorpi's legs.
Sammalkorpi sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Belcher missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Sammalkorpi is trying to control but can't.
Sammalkorpi is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Belcher's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Belcher's back!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belcher is keeping busy.
Sammalkorpi throwing sloppy strikes.
Sammalkorpi missing with punches from the back.
Belcher can't escape the position.
Sammalkorpi thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Belcher has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Sammalkorpi.
Sammalkorpi looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Belcher trying to control the position but Sammalkorpi manages to sink in the hooks.
Sammalkorpi punches the canvas rather than the man.
Sammalkorpi is looking to control Belcher but Belcher is wriggling around and keeping busy.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Belcher is in bad spot here.
Belcher tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Belcher can't escape the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sammalkorpi scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Belcher 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.
Sammalkorpi in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Belcher manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Sammalkorpi throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Sammalkorpi prevents Belcher from improving his position.

Sammalkorpi is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Sammalkorpi wants to pass the guard but Belcher is defending well.
Belcher moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Sammalkorpi sitting in guard here, content to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sammalkorpi throws a big elbow that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Belcher working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sammalkorpi.
Sammalkorpi is stalling in the full guard.
Belcher wants to sweep here but Sammalkorpi controlling him for the moment.
Sammalkorpi chips away with some ground and pound.
Belcher has his hands on Sammalkorpi's head, controlling the position.
Sammalkorpi won't allow Belcher to sweep him here.
Sammalkorpi missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Belcher tries to land a sweep but no joy.
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 Jake Belcher will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Sammalkorpi tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Belcher defends well and Sammalkorpi ends up having to push Belcher into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Sammalkorpi shoots for a takedown but Belcher saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Sammalkorpi.
Jake Belcher has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tapio Sammalkorpi.
Belcher fails with an attempt to clinch.

Belcher looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Sammalkorpi looking to hit a scissor sweep but Belcher is one step ahead there.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Belcher accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Sammalkorpi is on top in guard.

Belcher controlling Sammalkorpi's posture.
Belcher tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sammalkorpi working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Belcher looking to hit a scissor sweep but Sammalkorpi is one step ahead there.
Belcher lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Sammalkorpi keeping moving, preventing Belcher from controlling successfully.
Sammalkorpi avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sammalkorpi is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Sammalkorpi has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Belcher can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Sammalkorpi is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Belcher is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sammalkorpi can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belcher is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Belcher's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

Sammalkorpi looking for a guillotine here but Belcher defends easily.
Belcher with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Belcher working some strikes from top position.
Sammalkorpi looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Sammalkorpi is looking for a triangle but Belcher pushes his legs off easily.
Belcher with a nice head shot there.
Sammalkorpi working a defensive guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belcher is working Sammalkorpi over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Belcher postures up.
Belcher is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Belcher trying to control but Sammalkorpi is working from the bottom.
Belcher scoring with punches to the head and body.
Belcher trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Sammalkorpi pushes a forearm under Belcher's chin to create some space. He's escaped his hips and pivoted quickly for an armbar! Can he extend the arm? Yes, Belcher is tapping out! Damn, that was fast!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:53 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Tapio Sammalkorpi!
Tapio Sammalkorpi is the new welterweight champion!
A relieved looking Tapio Sammalkorpi thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.