PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Valdemar Friman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jordan Ross (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Friman comes to the ring accompanied by Metallica - Damage Inc.. Ross has chosen All Along The Watchtower as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Jordan Ross told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Friman
vs
Ross

168 cm
22
160 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

179 cm
19
155 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Determined

The Red Eye

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Valdemar Friman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jordan Ross!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Matti Vanhoillinen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ross throws a right hand that Friman ducks under and follows up with a left that Friman also avoids with ease.
Friman takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Friman wants to clinch.
Ross throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Ross circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ross misses with a two punch combination.
Friman fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Ross rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Friman moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Friman closes the distance and pushes Ross back into the ropes.
Friman throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Ross blocks it with crossed arms.
Ross drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Friman gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

It looks like Jordan Ross has been cut.
Friman lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Friman scores with a knee to the head.
Ross wants a takedown.
Friman landing knees to the body.
Ross takes a knee right on the jaw!
Ross has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Friman avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Valdemar Friman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jordan Ross.
Ross looks gassed!
Friman lands an elbow inside.
Friman landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
A knee to the head by Friman.
Ross takes an elbow to the forehead.
Friman landing knees to the body.
Friman lands a damaging elbow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Friman landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Friman landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Friman lands a damaging elbow.
Friman connects with a nasty looking knee right to Ross's face.
Friman landing knees to the head.
Friman lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Ross takes an elbow to the temple.
Knees in the clinch landing for Friman.
Friman lands a damaging elbow.
Friman landing knees to the body.
Friman scores a nice knee to the body.
Friman connects with a nasty looking knee right to Ross's face.
Friman lands an elbow inside that Ross shrugs off.
Friman lands a knee to the body.
Friman is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Friman prevents the takedown attempt.
Friman comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Ross tries to break the clinch but Friman is controlling the position.
Friman scores a nice knee to the body.
Friman landing knees to the head.
Friman comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Friman lands an elbow just above Ross 's eye.

Friman successfully pulls guard.

Friman has his foot on Ross's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Ross works his way back into a safe position though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ross preventing the sweep.

Friman is working an open guard so Ross takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Friman misses the jab.
A combination from Ross does no damage.
Ross fails to land with a series of punches.
Friman is looking to clinch but Ross is avoiding it.

Ross tries to keep at a distance but Friman has taken the fight into the clinch.
Friman landing knees to the body.
Ross is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
Ross has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Friman avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Friman scores with a knee to the head.
Friman comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Friman is pressed up against the ropes. Ross has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Friman down to the mat. Friman avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Friman showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Ross.
Friman is looking to clinch but Ross is avoiding it.
Friman ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Ross thows a body shot but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Friman moves into the clinch successfully.
Ross takes a knee right on the jaw!
Friman gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Ross takes an elbow to the forehead.

Friman tightens his grip and picks Ross up, before dumping him to the ground. Ross manages to land in guard.
Friman won't allow Ross to get back to his feet.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Friman pushes down on Ross's leg and manages to get into half guard.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Ross wants to get back to his feet.
Friman seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Ross does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Friman not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Friman sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Ross defending well though.
Ross is trying to stand.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Ross takes one on the button.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Friman tries to clinch up but Ross circles away and keeps his distance.
Friman moves in looking to clinch but Ross pushes him off.

Friman shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Friman was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Ross somehow manages to escape the mount and get back to his feet!
Ross misses with the combination.
Ross swats away the attempt to clinch by Friman.

Friman moves into range and clinches up with Ross.
Friman lands a nice knee to the body.
Friman stalling the fight.
Friman tries to land a knee to the head but Ross blocks with his arms.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ross drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Friman working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Friman unloads a knee to the mid-section. Ross lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Ross drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Friman gets the underhooks and prevents it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Valdemar Friman dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Jordan Ross'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.

Friman is looking to clinch.

Friman has closed the distance and engaged Ross in a clinch.
Ross goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Friman lands an elbow that stopped Ross in his tracks for a moment.
Friman gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Ross takes an elbow to the temple.
Friman with a knee to the head.
Ross takes an elbow to the temple.

Friman has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Ross uses from the top position.

Ross decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Friman, up you get!

Friman forces Ross back against the ropes and clinches.
Friman connects with a knee to the head.
Ross takes a knee right on the jaw!
Friman with a knee to the head.
Knees in the clinch landing for Friman.
Friman tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Ross smiles and moves away.
Friman is looking to score with low kicks.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ross connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Friman wants to clinch up but Ross keeps it at a distance.
Nice uppercut there from Ross.
Ross will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Ross throws a good cross that connects.
Friman tries to close the distance and clinch but Ross swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Ross checks a leg kick.
Some wild striking there from Ross.
Friman slips a jab and a cross from Ross.
Friman cracks Ross with a right hand to the side of the head.
Ross takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Friman throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Friman moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.

Friman pushes Ross up against the ropes in a clinch.
Ross takes a knee right on the jaw!
Ross drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Friman looking to throw knees to the head but Ross is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ross takes a knee right on the jaw!
Ross is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Friman pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Ross can't get the takedown.
Valdemar Friman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jordan Ross.
Friman lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Friman looking to throw knees to the head but Ross is blocking nicely.
Ross is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Friman pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Friman lands an elbow inside.
Ross is trying to drag Friman to the mat but Friman just about manages to keep his footing. He used the ropes to his advantage there.
Friman landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Friman misses with a knee to the head.
Ross is looking for a takedown up against the ropes. Friman gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
A short uppercut from Friman.
Friman prevents Ross from breaking the clinch.
Friman using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Ross has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Friman comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Ross goes for a takedown in the clinch but Friman prevents it.
Friman lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Friman stops a takedown attempt from Ross.
Ross changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Friman fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Valdemar Friman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Friman tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ross swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ross takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Ross throws a body punch but Friman moves out of range.
Ross lands with a right hand.
Friman tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ross swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Friman doesn't manage to clinch there - Ross circles away.
Ross takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Ross misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Ross waving his hands out infront of him, looking to distract Friman.
Friman throws a sloppy head kick and Ross moves out of range easily.
Ross swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Friman fails with an attempt to clinch.

Friman pushes Ross up against the ropes in a clinch.
Ross goes for a takedown in the clinch but Friman prevents it.
Friman lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
The fighters are pressed against the ropes, as the pace of the fight slows.
Ross wants to break free but Friman has control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Friman lands a nice elbow.

Friman gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Ross regains guard.
Ross wants to stand up but Friman is controlling him.

Friman drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Friman jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Ross wants to stand up but Friman is controlling him.
Friman working some strikes from top position.
Friman throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Ross works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ross wants to stand and escape but Friman is having none of it.
Friman in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Friman is looking to work some ground and pound but Ross has wrist control.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Friman throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Valdemar Friman dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Jordan Ross's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Ross misses with a looping right.
Ross swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Friman lands a nice leg kick that just misses Ross's sensitive parts.
Jordan Ross is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Friman shoots in for a takedown but Ross shows good takedown defense.
Friman looks to land a right hand but Ross moved out of range.

Friman rushes Ross and pushes him back against the ropes in a clinch.
Friman scores with a knee to the head.
Friman throws a knee to the head but misses.
Friman gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Ross.

Ross has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Friman is trying to keep an underhook but Ross manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Friman might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Ross wants to stand up but Friman is controlling the position.
Ross is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Friman flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Ross wants to get back to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Friman wants to control but Ross is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Ross wants to stand but Friman has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Friman wants to clinch up but Ross keeps it at a distance.
Friman works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Friman is looking to clinch but Ross is avoiding it.
Friman moves in looking to clinch but Ross pushes him off.
Ross misses with a few strikes there.
Ross tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Friman moves in looking to clinch but Ross pushes him off.
Friman is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Friman is looking to clinch but Ross is avoiding it.
Jordan Ross is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ross throws a nice looking combination but Friman bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Friman is looking to clinch.
Friman wants to clinch.
Friman tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Ross paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Friman tries to close the distance and clinch but Ross swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Friman fails in his attempt to clinch.
Friman is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Friman avoids the body shot from Ross.
Friman throws a big shot that misses.
Ross gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

Friman moves into the clinch successfully.
Ross managing to block the knees to the body from Friman.
Knees in the clinch landing for Friman.
Ross lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Ross is trying to drag Friman to the mat but Friman just about manages to keep his footing. He used the ropes to his advantage there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Friman trying to stall but Ross improves his position.
Ross drops down looking for an ankle pick but Friman pulls his leg out and moves away.
Valdemar Friman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jordan Ross.
Friman tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Ross paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Friman moves into the clinch successfully.
Friman lands a damaging elbow.
Ross looking for a takedown.
Ross wants a takedown.
Ross wants to break free but Friman has control.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Friman gets underhooks to prevent Ross's takedown attempt.
Friman creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Ross's defenses.
Valdemar Friman has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Friman stalling in the clinch but Ross improves position.
Ross drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Friman is pressed up against the ropes. Ross has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Friman down to the mat. Friman avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Friman tries to clinch up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Friman fails with an attempt to clinch.
Friman jabs Ross right on the nose. Ross blinks but takes it well.
Ross lands an overhand right.
Friman connects with a solid leg kick.
Friman tries to clinch but Ross is having none of it.
Ross misses with a straight left.

Friman gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Knees to the body from Friman.
Ross has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Friman avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Friman scores with a knee to the head.
Nice elbow from Friman.
Ross is working for takedown but Friman is calmly controlling the position for now.
Friman connects with a knee to the head.

Friman gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Friman in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Valdemar Friman is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Friman drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Ross manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Friman has Ross in his guard.
Jordan Ross has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Friman is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

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

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Valdemar Friman!