PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tahboule Alawi (ranked 2257 p4p, 4084 weight class) and Elias Lonnrot (ranked 291 p4p, 473 weight class). Alawi comes to the cage accompanied by The Ruler of Everything. Elias Lonnrot will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Alawi
vs
Lonnrot

170 cm
20
150
5 - 1 - 0

170 cm
20
155
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Tahboule Alawi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Elias Lonnrot!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Matti Vanhoillinen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Alawi drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Lonnrot throws a right hand that Alawi ducks under and follows up with a left that Alawi also avoids with ease.
Alawi wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Elias Lonnrot seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Alawi scores with a takedown into Lonnrot's guard.
Alawi's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Lonnrot wants to sweep here but Alawi controlling him for the moment.
Alawi showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lonnrot keeping full guard, as Alawi tries to pass.
Alawi engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alawi passes Lonnrot's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Lonnrot trying to control from the bottom.
Lonnrot won't allow Alawi to pass to mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Alawi takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Lonnrot trying to control here.
Alawi sitting and controlling from the half guard.

That's two 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.
Alawi working over Lonnrot with some ground and pound. Lonnrot looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Alawi tries to pass to full mount but Lonnrot defends it.
Lonnrot on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Alawi wants to lay and pray for a moment but Lonnrot keeps working.
We've been hearing that Alawi has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.

Alawi is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Lonnrot has managed to free his arm - good work.
Lonnrot is trying to stand back up but Alawi is controlling him
Alawi seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lonnrot is refusing to be controlled, as Alawi sits in half guard.

Alawi is looking for a kimura but Lonnrot is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Alawi to get the leverage.
Lonnrot is trying to stand.
Lonnrot on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

Alawi is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Lonnrot has managed to free his arm - good work.
Lonnrot tries to get to full guard but Alawi has control of the leg.
Lonnrot really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Alawi. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Alawi slows the pace down in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lonnrot tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Alawi has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Alawi controlling from mount.
Lonnrot is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Alawi with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Alawi trying to control but Lonnrot is having none of it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Tahboule Alawi dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Sloppy strikes from Lonnrot. Those never looked like landing.
Alawi feinted with a counter takedown.
Alawi needs to keep his hands up - Lonnrot had a free shot at his head there.
Lonnrot looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Alawi slips a jab and a cross from Lonnrot.
Sloppy strikes from Lonnrot. Those never looked like landing.
Lonnrot looks to land a combination but Alawi avoids it well.
Alawi half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Lonnrot misses with a double jab

and Alawi counters by moving into the clinch.

Alawi gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Tahboule Alawi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Alawi lands with a punch from half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Alawi is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Alawi is taking a breather. Lonnrot says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lonnrot trying to hold on to Alawi's head to control him but Alawi postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Lonnrot is defending against the submission attempts here by Alawi.
Lonnrot is trying to stand back up but Alawi is controlling him
Lonnrot is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Alawi with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Alawi is nestled in close to Lonnrot, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Lonnrot trying to control from the bottom.
Lonnrot on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

Alawi is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Still in half guard, Alawi seems content to control.
Lonnrot is trying to control but can't.
Lonnrot slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alawi wants to control from the top but Lonnrot keeps moving.
Lonnrot tries to strike from the bottom.

Lonnrot looking for subs off his back but Alawi has passed one foot through into half guard.
Alawi is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Lonnrot can do to turn this around?
Alawi uses his free foot to push down on Lonnrot's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Lonnrot.
Alawi is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Lonnrot can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Lonnrot is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Alawi fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alawi controlling from the full mount.
Lonnrot is controlling an arm, preventing Alawi from taking his back. Although keeping him in mount is no better to be honest.
Alawi landing punches.
Alawi controlling his opponent.

Alawi working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Alawi lands a big elbow.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Alawi goes for an armbar but Lonnrot turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Lonnrot.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Alawi looking to control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Tahboule Alawi dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Alawi tries to clinch but Lonnrot moves out of range.
Lonnrot throws a counter combo.
Some wild striking there from Lonnrot.
Alawi appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Alawi has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Lonnrot throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Alawi.
Alawi appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Some wild striking there from Lonnrot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lonnrot throws a nice looking combination but Alawi bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Lonnrot throws a series of punches but Alawi moves out of range.
Alawi tries to counter with a takedown but Lonnrot is quick to defend against it.
Sloppy strikes from Lonnrot. Those never looked like landing.
Lonnrot misses with the combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Alawi looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Alawi slips nicely into half guard.
Alawi frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Alawi avoids the attempt from Lonnrot to control.
Alawi looking to control and managing it successfully.
Alawi has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A nice elbow there by Alawi.
Lonnrot is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Lonnrot wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.
Oooh a big shot gets through from Alawi. Many more shots like that and the referee will have to think about stepping in!
The referee is taking a good look at Lonnrot as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Alawi!
Alawi 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.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lonnrot just trying to survive but Alawi is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Alawi is looking for the choke from the back position but Lonnrot is controlling his hands well.

Alawi tightening his grip on Lonnrot, looking for the choke.

Alawi is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Lonnrot knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Lonnrot for a finish.

Alawi looking to break Lonnrot's wrist control so he can sink in the choke. Lonnrot remaining controlled and patient though - he really has to keep calm otherwise Alawi will wrap this one up with the rear naked choke!
Oooh a big shot gets through from Alawi. Many more shots like that and the referee will have to think about stepping in!

Alawi is working for a rear naked choke. Lonnrot is not defending it well and Alawi has tightened it up quickly! This could be all over! Lonnrot refuses to tap and goes to sleep, forcing the referee to intervene. A little trickle of blood came out of Lonnrot's nose as his head slumped to the floor. That is naaaasty!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:58 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Tahboule Alawi!
Tahboule Alawi seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.