PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Pascal Letaivu (ranked 3458 p4p, 22243 weight class) and Joe Smith (ranked 334 p4p, 540 weight class). Smith is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Ordinary Average Guy - Joe Walsh. On his way into the cage it seems that Pascal Letaivu has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Pascal Letaivu seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Letaivu
vs
Smith

170 cm
37
148
25 - 18 - 0

166 cm
28
150
8 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Powerful

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 25 - 18 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Pascal Letaivu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Joe Smith!
The judges for this bout are Wagner Zegers, Aafke Stam and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Smith tries a head kick but it misses.
Smith swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Letaivu counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Smith takes a swing at Letaivu's ribcage but misses.
Smith lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Smith tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Letaivu was well out of range. Poor timing from Smith.
Letaivu tries to bum rush Smith with a series of wild strikes but Smith uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Letaivu throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A swing and a miss from Letaivu.
Letaivu jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Letaivu misses with a low kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Letaivu throws a shot from downtown. Smith moves away and avoids it.
Letaivu jabs Smith to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Letaivu lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Smith avoids the body shot from Letaivu.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Smith.
A big left from Smith misses.
Letaivu tries to clinch there but Smith circles away.
Smith flicks out a counter leg kick but Letaivu steps away.
Pascal Letaivu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Smith steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Letaivu.
Letaivu pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Smith steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Letaivu.
Smith uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Letaivu.
Letaivu lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Letaivu throws out a loose jab but Smith uses good head movement to avoid it.
Smith throws a sloppy head kick and Letaivu moves out of range easily.
Letaivu comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Letaivu throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Smith blocks a jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Letaivu throws a series of strikes that have Smith backpedaling.
Letaivu throws a series of punches but Smith avoids them all with ease.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A low kick from Letaivu is predictable there
and Smith makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Nice defenses there by Letaivu.
A slow jab from Letaivu misses its intended target.
Letaivu pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Smith back to the cage. Letaivu follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Smith throws a series of punches but Letaivu avoids them all with ease.
Letaivu misses with a hook. Smith ducked under it nicely.
Letaivu misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Smith.
Smith is looking for the big counter here.
Letaivu fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Smith manages to avoid it.
Letaivu is looking to clinch.
Letaivu throws a solid leg kick but Smith takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Letaivu.
Letaivu showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Smith.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice jab there from Letaivu.
Some bone on bone action there as Smith checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Smith throws a combination. Letaivu tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Smith staying out of range there.
Smith scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Pascal Letaivu is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Smith connects with a body shot that sends Letaivu's belly button to the back.
The crowd cheers as Letaivu lands an impressive looking overhand right. Smith doesn't seem phased though.
Smith takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Letaivu lands with an uppercut that bounces Smith off the cage and back into range.
Letaivu throws a body shot but no joy.
A jab from Smith misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Letaivu tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Smith manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Smith takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Letaivu takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Smith throws a head kick that misses
and Letaivu counters with a nice low kick that buckles Smith's knee momentarily.
Letaivu takes a kick to the side of the head.
Letaivu misses with a hook. Smith ducked under it nicely.
A nice side step and Smith releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Smith fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Letaivu scores with a sloppy right hand. Smith should have avoided that one.
Smith misses with a hook. Letaivu ducked under it nicely.
Letaivu cracks Smith with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Letaivu fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Smith, pushing him back against the cage.
Letaivu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Letaivu lands a shot to the body.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Pascal Letaivu dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Smith slips under a jab from Letaivu.
Smith is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Letaivu rather than just go for the knockout.
Smith misses the jab.
Letaivu went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Letaivu is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Smith can do to turn this around?
Good shot there by Letaivu.
Letaivu chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Smith can pounce on him.
Smith throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Letaivu misses the shot to the body.
Smith is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Letaivu throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Pascal Letaivu is winning the standup battle so far.
Letaivu digs a good hook to Smith's body.
Letaivu throws a shot to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smith fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Letaivu throws a 1-2 combo that connects squarely on Smith's jaw, knocking him onto his back! Letaivu dives in looking to finish as Smith flails his arms in a desperate attempt to block Letaivu's strikes! Letaivu is raining down hammerfists and the ref stops it! Smith's desperate flailing just didn't constitute intelligent defence. Some people will probably question the ref's decision but Smith was definitely hurt and the ref saved him from taking unnecessary punishment. A fighter's safety is paramount in this sport.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:52 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Pascal Letaivu!
Pascal Letaivu took his opportunity to call for a title shot in his post fight interview.