PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bongo Bongo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Elmeri Salonen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Bongo might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Bang Time. Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Bongo
vs
Salonen

210 cm
20
260 lbs
3 - 5 - 0

200 cm
19
275 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Bongo Bongo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Elmeri Salonen!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, Daniel Bishop and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Salonen swats away the attempt to clinch by Bongo.
Salonen tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Bongo decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Salonen's guard.
Bongo missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Bongo throwing strikes but missing.

Salonen escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Bongo gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Bongo is looking to work some ground and pound but Salonen has wrist control.
Bongo scoring with some ground and pound.
Bongo thows a big elbow that misses.
Bongo works over Salonen with some ground and pound from guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bongo thows a big elbow that misses.
Bongo with a nice head shot there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bongo working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Salonen is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Bongo working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Salonen has momentary wrist control but Bongo slips an elbow through the middle.
Salonen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Salonen wants to stand up but Bongo is controlling him.

Salonen is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Salonen looks gassed!
Salonen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bongo distracts Salonen with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Bongo scoring with some ground and pound.
Bongo loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Bongo throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Bongo throws a big right hand that misses.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Bongo is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Bongo stopping the sweep attempt from Salonen.
Bongo throws a big right hand that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bongo content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

Salonen is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Bongo postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Bongo postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Bongo is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Bongo throws and elbow that misses. Salonen uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Bongo's guard. Nice move by Salonen!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bongo has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Bongo looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Salonen trying to control the position from guard on top but Bongo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Salonen is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Salonen preventing the sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Salonen wants to clinch

and Bongo holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Salonen looking to slow down the pace here.
A head punch on the inside from Salonen fails to land.
Salonen drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Bongo gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Bongo can't get the takedown.
Salonen tries to break the clinch but Bongo is controlling the position.
Bongo tries to pull guard but Salonen holds him up against the cage and eventually Bongo drops back down to his feet.
Salonen is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Bongo is keeping busy.
Salonen is trying to slow the pace down but that's a couple of times in a row that he's tried to get underhooks and Bongo has denied him.

Bongo pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Salonen wants to clinch

and Bongo counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Bongo loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Salonen has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Bongo off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salonen tries to clinch up

and Bongo moves into the clinch.
Bongo goes for a takedown attempt but Salonen pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bongo Bongo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Salonen tries to clinch up

and Bongo counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Bongo is nestled in close to Salonen, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Bongo scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Bongo looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Salonen with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Salonen is trying to stand back up but Bongo is controlling him

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bongo prevents Salonen from improving his position.
Salonen keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Bongo looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Salonen with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Bongo missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Bongo sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Salonen defending well though.
Bongo 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.
Bongo throwing shots but Salonen is blocking nicely.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Salonen slaps away a takedown attempt from Bongo, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Salonen wants to clinch but Bongo slips to the side

and Bongo counters by moving into the clinch.

Salonen breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Salonen keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salonen wants to clinch

and Bongo decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Salonen's guard.
Bongo throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Salonen works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Bongo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Bongo content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Bongo distracts Salonen with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Bongo lands a couple of elbows.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bongo accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Salonen has his feet on Bongo's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salonen is looking to clinch but Bongo is avoiding it.
No joy there for Salonen, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Bongo is trying hard to land a takedown here. Salonen sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Salonen swats away the attempt to clinch by Bongo.

Bongo tries to keep at a distance but Salonen has taken the fight into the clinch.
Salonen jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Bongo walks away with a smile on his face. Salonen gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Salonen closes the distance looking to clinch

and Bongo counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Salonen!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bongo has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Salonen's face.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bongo Bongo dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - 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.

Salonen darts in trying to clinch
and Bongo counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Salonen is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Nice takedown defense from Salonen. No joy for Bongo on that attempt.
Salonen wants to clinch

and Bongo counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Bongo.
Bongo is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Salonen can do to turn this around?
Bongo with a flurry of punches that miss.
Salonen keeping full guard, as Bongo tries to pass.
Bongo is looking to work some ground and pound but Salonen has wrist control.

Salonen working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Bongo doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Bongo manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salonen is pulling down on Bongo's head. It's preventing any offense from Bongo, at least for the moment.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Bongo scoring with some ground and pound.
Salonen working a defensive guard here.
Bongo landing some decent shots from guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Bongo's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Bongo Bongo overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

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.
Bongo postures up in Salonen's guard and throws a big left but Salonen blocks it.

Salonen is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Bongo throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Bongo loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Bongo working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Salonen's head.
Bongo postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Bongo keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Salonen's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bongo cracks Salonen with a solid left hand.
Bongois looking to pass into half guard but Salonen pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Salonen is in guard.
Bongo is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Bongo wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Bongo Bongo is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Bongo has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

Salonen stands up from guard. Let's bang!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bongo tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
A punch combination from Salonen misses.
Bongo shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Salonen defends it nicely.
Elmeri Salonen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Salonen closes the distance but Bongo moves to the side

and Bongo counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Bongo.
Bongo has Salonen pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Salonen manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bongo Bongo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Salonen putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Bongo in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Salonen wants a takedown.
Bongo fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Salonen gets control of Bongo's arms and successfully pulls guard. Salonen will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bongo accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Bongo looking to pass the guard.
Elmeri Salonen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bongo is working Salonen over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bongo Bongo showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Bongo, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 30:26
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:26
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bongo Bongo!