PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Taring Singa (ranked 4551 p4p, 5222 weight class) and Michael Bednar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bednar has chosen Poison as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Singa
vs
Bednar

186 cm
25
195
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
25
186
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Determined

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Taring Singa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Michael Bednar!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Roosa Järviläinen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Singa closes the distance and pushes Bednar back into the cage.

Bednar breaks the clinch.
Singa changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Bednar tries to avoid it but Singa manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Bednar to the ground. Bednar escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Bednar misses with a series of wild punches.

Bednar drives through with a takedown into guard.
Singa controls Bednar momentarily but Bednar frees himself.
Singa is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Bednar trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bednar throws a big right hand that misses.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Singa not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Bednar stays in close to Singa's body and controls the position.
Bednar working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bednar postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Singa has his foot on Bednar's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Bednar works his way back into a safe position though.
Singa keeping full guard, as Bednar tries to pass.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Bednar's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

Bednar stands and steps away. Singa gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Bednar scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Singa is trying to escape the position but Bednar is controlling the position.

Bednar is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Singa knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Bednar cracks Singa with a big right hand but Singa just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Singa struggling a bit here.

Bednar tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Bednar has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Bednar is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Singa knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Singa prevents Bednar from improving position.
Bednar wants to control but Singa is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Singa is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Bednar's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

Singa looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Bednar winds up and cracks Singa with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Bednar tries to pass the half guard into mount. Singa knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Ground and pound from Bednar.
Bednar lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Bednar is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Singa doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Bednar.
Bednar throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Bednar looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Bednar wants to pass the guard but Singa is defending well.
Bednar trying to control from half guard but Singa is working away.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Bednar lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Bednar dominated that 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.

Bednar fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Singa to the ground. Bednar is now in Singa's guard.
Bednar is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Singa is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Bednar showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Bednar throwing strikes from guard but Singa blocks nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bednar won't allow Singa to sweep him here.
Bednar trying to control the position from guard on top but Singa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Singa trying to keep a closed guard but Bednar is proving a slippery customer.

Singa escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Bednar gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Bednar wants to pass the guard but Singa is keeping the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Singa lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Bednar at a distance.

Bednar shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Bednar showed some decent athleticism there.

Singa has one foot on Bednar's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Singa gets tackled into the cage by Bednar. Bednar maintains the clinch.

Bednar gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bednar looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Singa with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Singa is trying to maintain the position but Bednar is very close to passing his half guard.

Singa looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Bednar is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Bednar is taking a breather. Singa 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 three minutes gone in the round.
Singa wants to improve his position but Bednar is controlling well.
Michael Bednar has got the better of the ground game so far.
Bednar is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Singa won't allow Bednar to pass to mount.
Singa is positioning himself well to prevent Bednar advancing to mount.
Still in half guard, Bednar seems content to control.
Bednar wants to pass to mount but Singa is defending the position.
Bednar wants to control but Singa is keeping him busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Singa trying to control but Bednar postures up.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Singa gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Bednar slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Bednar scoring with punches to the head and body.
Bednar controls from within his opponent's guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Bednar thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Bednar showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Bednar shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Singa's guard.
Bednar is standing up over Singa. Singa looks to escape but Bednar dives into side control.

Bednar swings around for an armbar but Singa sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Bednar's guard.
Bednar has Singa pulled in close to control his posture.
Singa is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Singa looking to pass the guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Singa would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Bednar has control of Singa's left arm, preventing Singa from doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bednar wants to get back to his feet but Singa is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Bednar has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Bednar looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Bednar has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Singa won't allow Bednar to sweep him here.
Singa works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Singa tries to stand and escape but Bednar is controlling the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Bednar moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Bednar tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Singa postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Bednar manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.

Bednar jumps guard and drags Singa to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Singa trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Bednar manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

Bednar seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Bednar trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bednar seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

Singa pushes Bednar off and gets back to his feet.
Singa shoots for a takedown but Bednar saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Bednar loads up on a big right hand but Singa slips the punch.

Singa gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Bednar's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Bednar trying to control the position from guard on top but Singa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bednar works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Bednar wants to pass to mount but Singa is defending the position.
Bednar takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Singa is staying active underneath Bednar, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Bednar landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Bednar lands with a punch from half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Singa trying to control from the bottom.
Singa taking some punishment here, with Bednar in his half guard.
Taring Singa has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Michael Bednar is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Bednar is figuring out what he wants to do next.

And that's the end of the fight!
Michael Bednar comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Bednar has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Michael Bednar!