PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Adam Wanderlei (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Raimo Pukki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Wanderlei
vs
Pukki

176 cm
18
130 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

170 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Adam Wanderlei!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Raimo Pukki!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Hirohito Nitta and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Wanderlei closes this distance looking for a takedown but Pukki circles away.
Pukki keeps the fight on the outside.
Wanderlei fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Wanderlei misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Adam Wanderlei. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wanderlei throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Pukki swinging wilding here.
Pukki looking to land some kicks to the body here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wanderlei wants to clinch.
Wanderlei fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wanderlei is looking to clinch.
Wanderlei tries to clinch up.
Pukki stuffs the takedown.
Pukki rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Wanderlei moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Pukki is looking to chop away at Wanderlei's legs.
Pukki lands a two punch combo.
Pukki throws a right and a left that Wanderlei avoids nicely.
Wanderlei fails with a takedown attempt.
Wanderlei looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Pukki is fending him off so far but Wanderlei persists. Nope, Pukki circles away and we're back to standing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Wanderlei misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Pukki fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Wanderlei is out of range.
Pukki scoring well with a low kick there.
Wanderlei shoots in for a takedown but Pukki shows good takedown defense.
Wanderlei will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Pukki connects with a body shot.
Pukki avoids the head kick by Wanderlei.
Wanderlei throws a combination that misses
and Pukki counters with a straight right hand.
Wanderlei gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Pukki counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Pukki wants to stand but Wanderlei has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pukki gets to his feet - Wanderlei follows without any prompting.
Wanderlei shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Pukki counters with a nice leg kick.
Wanderlei fails with the takedown
and Pukki makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Wanderlei takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Wanderlei closes the distance but Pukki moves to the side

and Pukki counters with a shoot takedown. Wanderlei fights it but they end up in guard.
Pukki trying to control the position from guard on top but Wanderlei is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Wanderlei working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wanderlei manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Pukki tries to hold on but Wanderlei postures up.
Pukki is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Pukki wants to get back to his feet.
Wanderlei landing strikes from the mount and Pukki is in trouble!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Raimo Pukki 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.

Wanderlei misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Pukki counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Wanderlei throws a sloppy head kick and Pukki moves out of range easily.
Wanderlei misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Wanderlei tries for a takedown but Pukki circles away easily
and Pukki counters with a head kick.
Wanderlei really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Wanderlei tries for a takedown but Pukki circles away easily
and Pukki counters with a left to the body.
Pukki fails to land with a series of punches.
A head kick by Wanderlei misses
and Pukki counters with an outside leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wanderlei fails with the takedown
and Pukki counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Adam Wanderlei. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pukki throws a hook but Wanderlei avoids it easily.
A punch combination from Wanderlei misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wanderlei shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Pukki connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Wanderlei with a lazy takedown attempt

and Pukki counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Wanderlei wants to get back to full guard but Pukki has mounted him!
Pukki looking to control but Wanderlei is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Wanderlei tries to hold on but Pukki postures up.
Pukki trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Pukki is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wanderlei bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Pukki keeping moving, preventing Wanderlei from controlling successfully.

Pukki throws his legs up looking for a submission but Wanderlei uses it to pass to side control.
Pukki is breathing heavily.
Wanderlei controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pukki wants to get back to his feet but Wanderlei drags him back down.
Wanderlei is looking to take a break and control but Pukki is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Pukki really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Wanderlei. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Wanderlei is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Wanderlei is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Wanderlei tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pukki is trying to control Wanderlei's posture but Wanderlei avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Pukki is not content to let Wanderlei control the position.
Pukki on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Wanderlei wants to lay and pray for a moment but Pukki keeps working.

Wanderlei decides to stand up, so the ref orders Pukki to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Wanderlei fails with the takedown
and Pukki counters with an inside leg kick.
Wanderlei misses with a takedown
and Pukki counters with a lovely straight right hand!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Raimo Pukki showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Wanderlei misses with a takedown
and Pukki counters with an outside leg kick.
Wanderlei gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Pukki counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Wanderlei's guard now.

Pukki stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Wanderlei shoots and misses
and Pukki counters with a straight right hand.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Adam Wanderlei. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wanderlei gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Pukki counters with a takedown into side control.
Wanderlei wants to control but Pukki postures up.
Pukki postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Wanderlei is trying to control Pukki's posture but Pukki avoids it.
Wanderlei is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Pukki decides to stand back up.
Pukki takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Wanderlei closes the distance looking to clinch
and Pukki cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Wanderlei gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Pukki counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Wanderlei gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Pukki counters with a leg kick.
Wanderlei misses with the body kick

and Pukki counters with a nice double leg into side control. Wanderlei won't be happy with that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wanderlei wants to control but Pukki postures up.
Wanderlei has control of an arm but Pukki manages to advance to Pukki's back!
Pukki scores with a nice shot to the head of his opponent. Wanderlei is looking for a way out.
Wanderlei tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Wanderlei wants to hold on but Pukki pushes him away.
Wanderlei is working to get back to half guard.
Wanderlei tries to lock up and control but Pukki gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Pukki tries to control but Wanderlei wriggling away.
Wanderlei can't escape the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pukki avoids the attempt from Wanderlei to control.
Pukki can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Wanderlei is looking to escape.
Wanderlei is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Pukki trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Wanderlei tries to hold on but Pukki postures up.
Pukki controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Wanderlei tries to lock up and control but Pukki gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Wanderlei bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Wanderlei trying to control the position from guard on top but Pukki is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Adam Wanderlei just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Wanderlei tries for a takedown but Pukki circles away easily
and Pukki counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Wanderlei misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Adam Wanderlei has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Pukki misses with an attempted mid kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
Raimo Pukki comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Pukki 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 27:30
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Raimo Pukki!