PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Paavali Pietari (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Anders Silvason (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Anders Silvason will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Pietari
vs
Silvason

200 cm
18
188 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

188 cm
22
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Paavali Pietari!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Anders Silvason!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pietari fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Silvason.
Pietari does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
A head kick misses from Silvason.
Silvason fails with an attempt to clinch.
Silvason tries to clinch but Pietari is having none of it.
Silvason chopping away at his opponent's legs.

Pietari moves into the clinch.
Pietari landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Pietari tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Silvason avoids it.
Silvason tries to stall but Pietari uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Pietari tries a knee to the head but Silvason blocks it.
Pietari really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Silvason misses with a knee to the head.
Pietari tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Silvason just stands there and leans against the cage.
Silvason is trying to maintain a safe position but Pietari gets an underhook and turns Silvason into the cage.
Silvason looking to throw knees to the head but Pietari is blocking nicely.

Pietari pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Pietari pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Pietari misses with a hook.
Pietari scores with a head kick.
Pietari throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Silvason tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Pietari counters with a nice body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Pietari moves into the clinch.
Pietari trying to land knees to the body.
Pietari lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Silvason misses with a knee strike.
Silvason on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Silvason is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Pietari managing to block the knees to the body from Silvason.
Silvason on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Pietari missing with knees to the body.
Silvason taking a breather.
Silvason tries to land knees in the clinch but Pietari avoids the damage to the body.
Silvason looks gassed!
Silvason stalling in the clinch but Pietari improves position.
Pietari slows down the pace here.
Knees to the body from Pietari.

Pietari pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Pietari looks for a takedown but Silvason sprawls well.
Pietari throws a lazy head kick
and Silvason counters with a head kick. That will keep Pietari thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pietari throws a series of punches but Silvason avoids them all with ease.
Silvason tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Pietari counters with a good low kick that Silvason was not able to check.
Silvason wants to clinch but Pietari slips to the side
and Pietari connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Pietari takes the fight into the clinch.
Silvason looking to slow down the pace here.
Pietari misses with a knee strike.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Pietari obliges.

Silvason ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Silvason no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Pietari throwing strikes from guard but Silvason blocks nicely.
Pietari throwing strikes from guard but Silvason blocks nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silvason is looking to stand up but Pietari isn't so interested in that idea.
Silvason preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Pietari thows a big elbow that misses.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Silvason working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Pietari.
Pietari stops Silvason from standing up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Pietari connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Silvason momentarily.
Silvason throws a sloppy head kick
and Pietari counters with a flying knee. Nice.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Pietari throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Paavali Pietari seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pietari scores with a leg kick.

Pietari rushes Silvason and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Silvason tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Pietari avoids it.
Silvason is trying to stall.
Pietari taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Silvason misses with a knee to the head.
A knee to the head by Pietari.
Pietari lands an elbow inside.
Silvason blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Silvason on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Pietari drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Silvason gets the underhooks and prevents it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Paavali Pietari. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Silvason looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Silvason lands a knee to the head.
Pietari creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Silvason's defenses.
Pietari throws an elbow that misses.
Silvason tries to land a knee to the head but Pietari blocks with his arms.

Pietari breaks from the clinch.
Pietari connects with a single shot there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Pietari tries a head kick but it misses.
Silvason stuffs the takedown.
Pietari feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Silvason's calf.

Pietari moves into the clinch.
Silvason blocks an elbow strike from Pietari.
Silvason with a knee to the head.
Silvason using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Pietari has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Silvason on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Silvason fails to pull guard.
Silvason is trying to stall.

Pietari breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Paavali Pietari is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Pietari clinches up with Silvason and pushes him back against the cage.
Silvason tries a knee to the head but Pietari blocks it.
Knees in the clinch landing for Silvason.
Silvason misses with a knee to the head.
Pietari looking to throw knees to the head but Silvason is blocking nicely.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Silvason looking to slow down the pace here.

Silvason ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Silvason no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Silvason working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Pietari.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pietari is looking to stand up but Silvason won't let him.
Pietari throws a strike but Silvason rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Pietari looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Silvason has picked Pietari up and slammed him! Pietari can't keep hold of the triangle and Silvason manages to pass to side control!
Pietari tries to bench press Silvason off him but Silvason keeps the position.
Silvason trying to control the action but Pietari is working from the bottom.
Pietari is trying to buck Silvason off.

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.
Pietari tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Silvason wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Pietari manages to work his way to half guard, despite Silvason's best efforts.

Pietari has guillotine here! It looks pretty tight! Could this be all over! No, Silvason escapes and passes into side control at the same time. Nice work there by Silvason!
Silvason wants to lay and pray for a moment but Pietari keeps working.
Pietari is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Silvason is controlling him well.
Silvason wants to control but Pietari is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pietari wants to control but Silvason postures up.
Pietari is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Pietari misses with the body kick
and Silvason counters with a nice kick to the body.
Silvason tries to clinch but Pietari moves away
and Pietari counters with a three punch combo that has Silvason backing up. Silvason nods at Pietari to acknowledge the strikes.
Silvason tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Pietari paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Pietari keeps the fight on the outside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Pietari misses with a double jab
and Silvason counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Pietari misses with a two punch combination.
Silvason tries to clinch but Pietari moves out of range.
Pietari misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Pietari is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Silvason closes the distance but Pietari moves to the side

and Pietari moves into the clinch.
Pietari throws a knee to the head but misses.
Silvason displaying some good clinch control by pressing Pietari up against the cage.
Silvason tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Pietari misses with an elbow strike.
Silvason avoiding damage as Pietari throws knees to the body.
Silvason wants to get back to striking at distance but Pietari won't allow it.
Silvason is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Pietari is keeping busy.
Pietari throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anders Silvason showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! 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.

Pietari throws a sloppy head kick
and Silvason counters with an inside leg kick.
Pietari avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Silvason moves out of range as Pietari throws a body kick.
Silvason tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Silvason tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Pietari clinches with his opponent.
Silvason throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Pietari blocks it with crossed arms.
Silvason throws a knee to the head but misses.
Pietari missing with knees to the body.
A knee to the head by Silvason.
Silvason takes a knee to the side of the body.
Silvason throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Pietari blocks it with crossed arms.
Silvason misses with a knee strike.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Pietari goes for a takedown in the clinch but Silvason prevents it.

Pietari's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
A head kick by Pietari misses
and Silvason counters with a solid body kick.
Silvason takes one on the chin but seems OK.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pietari looks to land a body kick but Silvason moved away.
Silvason closes the distance looking to clinch
and Pietari counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Pietari avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Silvason has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Pietari.
A right-left combo lands from Pietari.
Silvason tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Pietari paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Pietari tries to clinch up but Silvason circles away and keeps his distance.
Silvason fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Pietari scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Silvason darts in trying to clinch

and Pietari holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Silvason avoids the elbow strike from Pietari, against the cage.
Pietari drops down looking for an ankle pick but Silvason pulls his leg out and moves away.
Pietari circles away from the clinch attempt

and Pietari holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Silvason lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Silvason pushes Pietari back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Pietari prevents Silvason from breaking the clinch.
Silvason is trying to maintain a safe position but Pietari gets an underhook and turns Silvason into the cage.
Pietari is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Silvason with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pietari fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Paavali Pietari. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pietari has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Silvason is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Knees to the body from Pietari.
Silvason tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Silvason blocks the elbow strike.
Pietari lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Silvason scores with a knee to the head.
Silvason trying to stall but Pietari improves his position.
Pietari tries to score a body lock takedown but Silvason shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Silvason is trying to maintain a safe position but Pietari gets an underhook and turns Silvason into the cage.
Silvason gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Pietari.
Silvason avoids a wild elbow strike from Pietari.
Silvason prevents a takedown attempt there.
Silvason controlling the action here for a moment.
Pietari tries to land a knee to the head but Silvason blocks with his arms.

Silvason manages to break the clinch.
Silvason is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Pietari misses with a series of wild punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silvason tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Pietari counters with a left and a right that stings Silvason.
Silvason tries to clinch up
and Pietari counters with a big head kick but Silvason shrugs it off.
Silvason tries to clinch but Pietari moves away

and Pietari moves into the clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Pietari just misses with a elbow thrown towards Silvason's brow.
Pietari works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Silvason tries to land a knee to the head but Pietari blocks with his arms.

Pietari pulls guard effortlessly.

Pietari looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Silvason passes into half guard.
Pietari wants to sweep but Silvason has passed to side control!

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Paavali Pietari.
I think Pietari has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 28:29
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Paavali Pietari!