PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between John Anas (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Seppo Taalasmaa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Taalasmaa's choice of entrance music: Anna Hanski - Tunteisiin. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Anas
vs
Taalasmaa

180 cm
21
158 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

172 cm
20
161 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

Attliction

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, John Anas!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Seppo Taalasmaa!
The judges for this bout are Anthony Taglia, Bruno Lombardi and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Anas moves away from the strike by Taalasmaa.
Anas tries to clinch but Taalasmaa moves out of range.
Anas throws a hook but Taalasmaa avoids it easily.
John Anas seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Taalasmaa misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Anas.
Taalasmaa throws a poor cross that misses
and Anas counters with a big head kick but Taalasmaa shrugs it off.
Taalasmaa misses with a jab, cross combination.
Taalasmaa thows a leg kick but Anas checks it
and Anas counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Taalasmaa is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Anas shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Taalasmaa as he jumps to the side.
Taalasmaa fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Anas checks it well.
Taalasmaa misses the jab.
Taalasmaa shoots for a takedown but Anas saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Taalasmaa throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Taalasmaa throws a shot from downtown. Anas moves away and avoids it.
Taalasmaa shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Anas as he avoids it easily.
Taalasmaa swats away the attempt to clinch by Anas.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anas moves in looking to clinch but Taalasmaa pushes him off.
Anas tries to clinch up but Taalasmaa circles away and keeps his distance.
Anas tries to clinch but Taalasmaa is having none of it.
Taalasmaa avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Taalasmaa swings for the body but Anas moves out of range.
Anas wants to clinch.
Taalasmaa misses with an uppercut
and Anas counters with a two punch combo.
A punch combination from Anas misses.
A low kick from Taalasmaa misses
and Anas finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Taalasmaa fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Anas manages to avoid it.
Taalasmaa closes the distance and clinches up with Anas, looking for a takedown. Taalasmaa pushes Anas against the cage but Anas circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
John Anas has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Seppo Taalasmaa.
Nice cross by Taalasmaa.
Anas is looking to clinch but Taalasmaa is avoiding it.
Taalasmaa swats away the attempt to clinch by Anas.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taalasmaa throws an off balance right hand
and Anas counters with a left and a right that stings Taalasmaa.
A head kick misses from Anas.
Anas fails in his attempt to clinch.
Anas misses with a head kick.
Anas thuds his shin into the meat of Taalasmaa's side.
Anas throws a head kick that misses.
Taalasmaa avoids the head kick by Anas.
Anas throws a head kick that misses.

Taalasmaa gets a takedown into half guard.
Anas is breathing heavily.
Taalasmaa frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Taalasmaa with the ground and pound from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taalasmaa connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Taalasmaa raining down shots from the mount!
Anas manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Taalasmaa working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Taalasmaa takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Taalasmaa slows the pace down in half guard.
Taalasmaa working the head and body with strikes.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Taalasmaa in particular looking to stall.
Taalasmaa 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.
Taalasmaa content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Ground and pound from Taalasmaa.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Taalasmaa content to control rather than advance.
Taalasmaa throwing shots but Anas is blocking nicely.
Taalasmaa content to control rather than advance.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Taalasmaa looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Seppo Taalasmaa dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Anas is looking to clinch.
John Anas is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Anas fails in his attempt to clinch.
Taalasmaa on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Anas fails with an attempt to clinch.
Anas slips a jab from Taalasmaa.
Anas fails in his attempt to clinch.
Anas tries to clinch but Taalasmaa moves out of range.
Anas throws a head kick but Taalasmaa moves out of range.
Anas tries to close the distance and clinch up but Taalasmaa swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Anas throws a head kick that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Anas pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Anas tries to clinch there but Taalasmaa circles away.
Anas lands a nice looking body kick.
Anas displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Taalasmaa throws out the jab.
Taalasmaa fails to land the takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anas is looking to clinch.
Anas tries to clinch there but Taalasmaa circles away.
Anas misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Anas slips a jab from Taalasmaa.
Anas tries to close the distance and clinch up but Taalasmaa swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Anas tries a head kick but it misses.
Taalasmaa lands a nice hook to Anas's body. Anas takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Anas tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Taalasmaa throws a front kick aimed at Anas's knee but Anas avoids it well.

Taalasmaa feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Taalasmaa slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Taalasmaa working the head with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Anas takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Taalasmaa wants to control but Anas is keeping him busy.
Anas wants to get back to his feet.
Taalasmaa lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Anas down.
Taalasmaa scores with punches from side control.
Taalasmaa is trying to ground and pound but Anas uses the momentary lack of control by Taalasmaa to regain half guard.
Anas is looking to escape.
Taalasmaa has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Taalasmaa with shots to the head and body - Anas looks very uncomfortable down there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Anas is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Taalasmaa wants to control the pace but Anas is squirming around nicely.
Taalasmaa content just to control the position here.
Taalasmaa landing strikes from the mount.
Taalasmaa looking to finish Anas with some ground and pound. This is bad for Anas!
Taalasmaa working the ground and pound effectively.
Seppo Taalasmaa has got the better of the ground game so far.
Anas is trying desperately to improve position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taalasmaa lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Anas hang on?
Taalasmaa unloading with bombs!
Taalasmaa looking to finish Anas with some ground and pound. This is bad for Anas!
Taalasmaa is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Anas can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Anas taking shots to the head.

Anas is rocked!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Taalasmaa with a couple of short strikes.
Oh Anas is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Taalasmaa is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Anas can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Taalasmaa landing strikes from the mount and Anas is in trouble!
Taalasmaa lands a heavy elbow.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Taalasmaa is landing with some decent strikes but Anas is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Taalasmaa fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Taalasmaa with the ground and pound from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Seppo Taalasmaa showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Anas's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Crack! Taalasmaa connects with the perfect overhand right and Anas falls face first to the canvas. Timbeeeeeeeer! Beautiful knockout for Taalasmaa!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:05 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Seppo Taalasmaa!