PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mike Soldier (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Xavier Bastarrachea (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bastarrachea has chosen Young Folks as his entrance music. Both these fighters are unbeaten, so somebody's 0 has got to go!Mike Soldier has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Soldier
vs
Bastarrachea

186 cm
20
213 lbs
6 - 0 - 0

188 cm
20
216 lbs
6 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent elbows
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Mike Soldier!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Xavier Bastarrachea!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Anni Minnemäki and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A head kick from Bastarrachea lands but Soldier takes it in his stride.
Bastarrachea lands with a slapping head kick.
Soldier goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Soldier misses with a head kick.

Bastarrachea instigates a clinch.
Bastarrachea with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Bastarrachea tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Soldier avoids it.
Bastarrachea is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Soldier is defending well for now.
Soldier tries to circle away but Bastarrachea has him pinned against the cage.
Soldier tries to break free but Bastarrachea pushes him back against the cage.
Soldier is trying to break free.
Soldier tries to circle away but Bastarrachea has him pinned against the cage.
Soldier can't break the clinch.
Bastarrachea manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Soldier blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Soldier working hard to break the clinch.
Bastarrachea is looking to control Soldier's arms but Soldier gets an underhook and turns him. Now Bastarrachea has his back to the cage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

Bastarrachea breaks from the clinch.
Bastarrachea throws a leg kick but Soldier sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Bastarrachea chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Bastarrachea, right into the meat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soldier avoids the head kick by Bastarrachea.
A punch combination from Soldier misses.
Soldier takes a kick to the side of the head.

Bastarrachea has managed to clinch.
Soldier is trying to break free.
Bastarrachea avoiding damage as Soldier throws knees to the body.
Bastarrachea is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Soldier is trying to break the clinch but Bastarrachea has him pressed against the cage.
Bastarrachea tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Soldier avoids it.
Soldier unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Bastarrachea landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.

Soldier escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Soldier on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Bastarrachea. Bastarrachea obviously looking to wear him down.
Bastarrachea throws a lazy head kick
and Soldier counters with a nice body kick.
Bastarrachea throws a head kick that half lands.
Soldier wants to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An inside leg kick from Bastarrachea misses.
Bastarrachea lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Soldier wants to clinch but Bastarrachea slips to the side
and Bastarrachea counters with a nice leg kick.
Soldier throws a sloppy head kick
and Bastarrachea counters with a big head kick but Soldier shrugs it off.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Soldier misses with a straight left.
Soldier throws the kick towards the body but Bastarrachea avoids it.
Bastarrachea ducks under a wild hook from Soldier.
A nice inside leg kick there by Bastarrachea. That's going to slow Soldier down.
Bastarrachea looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Bastarrachea avoids the head kick by Soldier.
Soldier misses with an uppercut.
A head kick by Soldier misses
and Bastarrachea makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Bastarrachea cracks the inside of Soldier's front leg.
Soldier is breathing heavily.
Bastarrachea throws a sloppy head kick
and Soldier counters with a low kick, right behind Bastarrachea 's knee.
Soldier takes a kick to the side of the head.
A chopping leg kick lands by Bastarrachea.
Good leg kick by Bastarrachea there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soldier throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Soldier throws an overhand right that lands on Bastarrachea's shoulder, as Bastarrachea tries to avoid the shot.
Soldier throws out a loose jab but Bastarrachea uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bastarrachea throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Soldier's head.
Nice shot lands for Soldier.
A thudding body kick lands there by Bastarrachea!
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Bastarrachea - that will leave a mark!
Bastarrachea connects with a solid leg kick.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Bastarrachea, right into the meat.
Soldier takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Bastarrachea cracks the inside of Soldier's front leg.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
An inside leg kick lands from Bastarrachea.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Bastarrachea, right into the meat.
Bastarrachea moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.

Bastarrachea moves into the clinch.
Bastarrachea misses with an elbow strike.
Soldier takes a knee to the side of the body.
Bastarrachea landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Bastarrachea lands a body punch in the clinch.
Soldier avoids the elbow strike from Bastarrachea, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bastarrachea slowing the pace effectively.
Bastarrachea missing with knees to the body.
Soldier is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Bastarrachea with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Bastarrachea keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Soldier's efforts to push away.
Bastarrachea stalling in the clinch.
Bastarrachea is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Soldier blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Soldier blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Bastarrachea trying to land knees to the body.
Bastarrachea lands an elbow that stopped Soldier in his tracks for a moment.

It looks like Mike Soldier has been cut.
Bastarrachea missing with knees to the body.
Bastarrachea stalls.
Bastarrachea managing to block the knees to the body from Soldier.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bastarrachea dodges an elbow strike from Soldier.
Bastarrachea creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
The referee is keeping an eye on Soldier - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Xavier Bastarrachea dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mike Soldier's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Bastarrachea closes the distance and pushes Soldier back into the cage.
Soldier wants to stall.
Bastarrachea tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Soldier avoids it.
Bastarrachea tries to stall but Soldier uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Bastarrachea pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Bastarrachea holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Soldier avoiding damage as Bastarrachea throws knees to the body.
Bastarrachea avoids a wild elbow strike from Soldier.
Bastarrachea crunches a lovely knee into Soldier's ribcage.
Soldier lands a knee to the body.
Soldier is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Bastarrachea is defending well for now.
Soldier blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Soldier is trying to force a seperation but Bastarrachea has the dominant position.
Bastarrachea struggles to land a body shot inside as Soldier controls his hands.
Bastarrachea effectively controlling the action here.
Bastarrachea receives a warning from the referee for stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bastarrachea misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Soldier.
Bastarrachea tries to land knees in the clinch but Soldier avoids the damage to the body.
Bastarrachea scores with a knee to the head.

Soldier manages to break the clinch.
Soldier looks to clinch
and Bastarrachea counters with a body kick that stops Soldier in his tracks momentarily.
Bastarrachea throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Soldier's head.
Soldier misses with a double jab.
Soldier throws a head kick that misses
and Bastarrachea counters with a head kick. That will keep Soldier thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Bastarrachea has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Soldier crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Bastarrachea - the referee stops the clock and Soldier gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Bastarrachea. Soldier manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Bastarrachea turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Soldier misses with a jab, cross combination.
Bastarrachea lands with a slapping head kick.
Soldier takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Bastarrachea feints and then cracks Soldier's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Soldier down.
Bastarrachea thuds his shin into the meat of Soldier's side.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Bastarrachea closes the distance and pushes Soldier back into the cage.
Stalling in the clinch from Bastarrachea.
Soldier avoiding damage as Bastarrachea throws knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soldier is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Bastarrachea is keeping busy.
Bastarrachea on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Soldier is trying to break the clinch but Bastarrachea is controlling him.
Bastarrachea looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Bastarrachea tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Soldier tries to break the clinch but Bastarrachea is controlling the position.
Soldier letting Bastarrachea take a breather here.
Soldier avoids the elbow strike from Bastarrachea, against the cage.
Soldier tries to circle away but Bastarrachea has him pinned against the cage.
Bastarrachea throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Soldier avoiding damage as Bastarrachea throws knees to the body.
Bastarrachea just leaning against Soldier, taking a breather.
Soldier takes a knee to the side of the body.
Bastarrachea avoiding damage.
Soldier tries to break free but Bastarrachea pushes him back against the cage.
Bastarrachea dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Bastarrachea looking to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bastarrachea stalling against the cage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Xavier Bastarrachea.

Bastarrachea rushes Soldier and presses him up against the cage.

Soldier escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A solid leg kick lands there for Bastarrachea.
A lazy body kick from Soldier
and Bastarrachea counters with a low kick, right behind Soldier 's knee.
Soldier lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Crunch! Bastarrachea slams his shin into Soldier's torso.
Soldier tries a head kick but it misses.
Bastarrachea throws a sloppy head kick and Soldier moves out of range easily.
Bastarrachea throws a head kick that misses.
Xavier Bastarrachea seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Soldier wants to clinch
and Bastarrachea counters with an outside leg kick.
Bastarrachea looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
An inside leg kick lands from Bastarrachea.
Soldier will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Soldier misses the jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bastarrachea throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Soldier cracks the inside of Bastarrachea's front leg.
Bastarrachea lands a head kick!
Soldier throws a sloppy head kick and Bastarrachea moves out of range easily.
Soldier waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Bastarrachea.

Bastarrachea darts in and clinches Soldier up against the cage.
Bastarrachea scores a nice knee to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bastarrachea's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Soldier is looking to break free of the clinch but Bastarrachea has double underhooks.
A frustrated look appears on Soldier's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Bastarrachea putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Soldier in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Bastarrachea utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bastarrachea missing with knees to the body.
Bastarrachea with a knee to the head.
Bastarrachea prevents Soldier from breaking the clinch.
Bastarrachea throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Xavier Bastarrachea showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Mike Soldier's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

A nice leg kick lands there from Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea throws a sloppy head kick and Soldier moves out of range easily.
A punch combination from Soldier misses.
Bastarrachea feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Soldier's calf.
Bastarrachea scoring well with a low kick there.
A good leg kick by Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea lands a nice looking body kick.
Soldier tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Soldier throws a lazy head kick

and Bastarrachea moves into the clinch.
Soldier taking a breather.
Bastarrachea has Soldier pressed against the cage, preventing Soldier from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Bastarrachea stalling in the clinch.
Soldier managing to block the knees to the body from Bastarrachea.
Soldier looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Bastarrachea trying to stall but Soldier improves his position.
Bastarrachea keeps control of Soldier as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Bastarrachea tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Soldier avoids it.
Bastarrachea is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Soldier is defending well for now.
Bastarrachea tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Soldier avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bastarrachea stalling in the clinch.
Xavier Bastarrachea seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Soldier pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
The referee is keeping an eye on Bastarrachea - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Bastarrachea throws an elbow but it misses.
Soldier takes a knee to the side of the body.
Soldier is trying to force a seperation but Bastarrachea has the dominant position.
Bastarrachea taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Soldier blocks an elbow strike from Bastarrachea.
A frustrated look appears on Soldier's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Soldier wants to get back to striking at distance but Bastarrachea won't allow it.
Soldier comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Bastarrachea tries to land knees in the clinch but Soldier avoids the damage to the body.
Bastarrachea lands an elbow just above Soldier 's eye.
Bastarrachea is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.

Bastarrachea escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Soldier throws out a loose jab but Bastarrachea uses good head movement to avoid it.
Soldier looks for the body kick but Bastarrachea saw that one coming.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A head kick by Bastarrachea misses
and Soldier counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

Bastarrachea darts in and clinches Soldier up against the cage.
Bastarrachea tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Soldier avoids it.
Soldier has had enough of the clinch but Bastarrachea keeps him there for the moment.
Bastarrachea misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Soldier.
Soldier takes a knee to the side of the body.
Bastarrachea is struggling to control the position.
Soldier avoiding damage as Bastarrachea throws knees to the body.
Bastarrachea misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Soldier.
Bastarrachea avoiding damage as Soldier throws knees to the body.
Bastarrachea tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Soldier avoids it.
Bastarrachea throws an elbow that misses.
Soldier has had enough of the clinch but Bastarrachea keeps him there for the moment.
Bastarrachea trying to land knees to the body.
Soldier is trying to break the clinch but Bastarrachea is controlling him.
Bastarrachea pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Soldier is trying to maintain a safe position but Bastarrachea gets an underhook and turns Soldier into the cage.
Soldier avoids a wild elbow strike from Bastarrachea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soldier throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Soldier lands an elbow inside that Bastarrachea shrugs off.
Soldier wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Bastarrachea has him pressed against the cage.
Bastarrachea tries to land knees in the clinch but Soldier avoids the damage to the body.
Soldier avoiding damage as Bastarrachea throws knees to the body.
Soldier lands an elbow that stopped Bastarrachea in his tracks for a moment.
Soldier on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Soldier escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Bastarrachea walks into a jab.
A solid body kick from Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea lands a head kick!
Bastarrachea throws a leg kick which misses Soldier's front leg but catches the back leg as Soldier tries to avoid it.
A slapping leg kick lands for Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea cracks the inside of Soldier's front leg.
Bastarrachea blocks a head kick by Soldier.
Soldier is looking to clinch.
Bastarrachea with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bastarrachea displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Soldier throws out the jab.
Bastarrachea avoids a punch combination nicely.
Bastarrachea thumps Soldier with a low kick.
Bastarrachea scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Soldier chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Bastarrachea can pounce on him.
Bastarrachea chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Bastarrachea lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Bastarrachea connects with a solid leg kick.
Soldier stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Bastarrachea.
Both fighters circling a little - Bastarrachea finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
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!
Bastarrachea lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

Bastarrachea drives through and clinches with Soldier against the cage.
Bastarrachea lands an elbow just above Soldier 's eye.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bastarrachea dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Knees in the clinch landing for Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Soldier avoids it.
Bastarrachea taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Xavier Bastarrachea really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mike Soldier's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Soldier takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Bastarrachea goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Soldier wants to clinch.
Soldier lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Bastarrachea scoring well with a low kick there.
Soldier swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Bastarrachea dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Soldier. That did some damage!
Soldier avoids the head kick by Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Soldier.
Bastarrachea scores with a leg kick.
Soldier stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea throws a sloppy head kick
and Soldier counters with a nice kick to the body.
Bastarrachea connects with a solid leg kick.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
A nice inside leg kick there by Bastarrachea. That's going to slow Soldier down.
Soldier will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Good leg kick by Bastarrachea there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bastarrachea cracks the inside of Soldier's front leg.
Bastarrachea scoring well with a low kick there.
Bastarrachea goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Bastarrachea with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Soldier stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Bastarrachea.
A chopping leg kick lands by Bastarrachea.
Soldier avoids the head kick by Bastarrachea.
A nice inside leg kick there by Bastarrachea. That's going to slow Soldier down.
A nice inside leg kick there by Bastarrachea. That's going to slow Soldier down.
Bastarrachea moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Bastarrachea, right into the meat.
Bastarrachea connects with a solid leg kick.
Soldier takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A good leg kick by Bastarrachea.

Bastarrachea clinches with his opponent.
Bastarrachea stalling against the cage.
Soldier wants to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bastarrachea misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Soldier.
Bastarrachea displaying some good clinch control by pressing Soldier up against the cage.
Bastarrachea landing knees to the body.
Bastarrachea putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Soldier in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
The referee calls for Bastarrachea to work.
Soldier managing to block the knees to the body from Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Soldier blocks an elbow strike from Bastarrachea.
Soldier avoids the elbow strike from Bastarrachea, against the cage.
Bastarrachea is struggling to control the position.
Bastarrachea trying to stall but Soldier improves his position.
Soldier blocks an elbow strike.
Bastarrachea tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Soldier avoids it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bastarrachea is pushing Soldier up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Soldier takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Bastarrachea lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Bastarrachea lands a nice knee to the body.
Bastarrachea lands a nice elbow.
Soldier looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Bastarrachea gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Soldier on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Bastarrachea landing knees to the head.
Soldier is looking to break free of the clinch but Bastarrachea has double underhooks.
Bastarrachea misses with an elbow strike.
Bastarrachea creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Bastarrachea looks to throw an elbow but misses.

Soldier pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Soldier throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Soldier connects with a single shot there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soldier pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Bastarrachea throws a leg kick which misses Soldier's front leg but catches the back leg as Soldier tries to avoid it.
Bastarrachea lands with a slapping head kick.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Bastarrachea lands an elbow just above Soldier 's eye.
Soldier blocks an elbow strike.
Soldier tries to stall but Bastarrachea uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Soldier pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Bastarrachea is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Soldier is defending well for now.
Soldier working hard to break the clinch.
Bastarrachea comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Soldier has had enough of the clinch but Bastarrachea keeps him there for the moment.
With the fighters up against the cage, Soldier throws an elbow but misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Soldier trying to control the position but instead, Bastarrachea has worked for underhooks and has pushed Soldier into the cage.
Bastarrachea is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Xavier Bastarrachea dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Mike Soldier's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

A good leg kick by Bastarrachea.
Soldier swinging wildly here.
Soldier throws a jab when Bastarrachea was well out of range.
Soldier takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Soldier looks for the body kick but Bastarrachea saw that one coming.
Bastarrachea gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
A shot to the liver by Soldier. Beautiful body shot.
A head kick by Soldier misses
and Bastarrachea counters with a thumping low kick.
Bastarrachea throws a nice head kick!
Soldier pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Soldier fails with an attempt to clinch.
Bastarrachea scores with a head kick.
A combination from Soldier does no damage.
Bastarrachea goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
An inside leg kick lands from Bastarrachea.
Mike Soldier is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bastarrachea lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soldier looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Bastarrachea thumps Soldier with a low kick.
Soldier stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea lands a head kick!
A slapping leg kick lands for Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Bastarrachea scores with a push kick.

Bastarrachea rushes Soldier and presses him up against the cage.
Come on Bastarrachea - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Bastarrachea misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Soldier.
Knees in the clinch landing for Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Come on Bastarrachea - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Soldier has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bastarrachea tries to land a knee to the head but Soldier blocks with his arms.
Bastarrachea lands an elbow inside that Soldier shrugs off.
Soldier managing to block the knees to the body from Bastarrachea.
Soldier on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Soldier looking to stall.
Soldier pushes off an throws an elbow but Bastarrachea leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Soldier takes a knee to the side of the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bastarrachea using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Bastarrachea landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Bastarrachea connects with a nasty looking knee right to Soldier's face.
Bastarrachea with a knee to the head.
Bastarrachea missing with knees to the body.
Bastarrachea working aggressively here.
Bastarrachea pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Soldier avoiding damage as Bastarrachea throws knees to the body.
Bastarrachea missing with knees to the body.
Soldier wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bastarrachea is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Soldier is defending well for now.
Bastarrachea misses with an elbow over the top.
Bastarrachea has Soldier pressed against the cage.
Soldier on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Bastarrachea scores a nice knee to the body.
Bastarrachea stalls.
Bastarrachea tries to stall but Soldier uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Soldier is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Bastarrachea is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Bastarrachea with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Bastarrachea wants to stall.
Bastarrachea missing with knees to the body.
Mike Soldier has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

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.
Soldier is trying to break the clinch but Bastarrachea has him pressed against the cage.
Soldier controlling the action here for a moment.
Bastarrachea's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Bastarrachea lands a damaging elbow.
With the fighters up against the cage, Bastarrachea throws an elbow but misses.
Soldier blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Soldier breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Soldier closes the distance looking to clinch
and Bastarrachea counters with a solid body kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bastarrachea plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Soldier jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Xavier Bastarrachea is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
An inside leg kick lands from Bastarrachea.
Bastarrachea misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
Xavier Bastarrachea comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Bastarrachea 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 44:50
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 44:50
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 41:50

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Xavier Bastarrachea!
Xavier Bastarrachea is the new light heavyweight champion!