PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Habib Al Tawil (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sonatas Small (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Al Tawil
vs
Small

195 cm
27
210 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

195 cm
27
215 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Great elbows
Cardio machine

BJJ White Belt
Good low kicks
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Habib Al Tawil!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sonatas Small!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Tarja Halkonen and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Small swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Small fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Al Tawil manages to avoid it.
Small throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Al Tawil throws a sloppy head kick
and Small counters with a slapping leg kick.
Small scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Al Tawil looks to land a body kick but Small moved away.
Small takes a swing at Al Tawil's ribcage but misses.
Small blocks a head kick by Al Tawil.
Small throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Al Tawil stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Small blocks a head kick by Al Tawil.
Sonatas Small seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Al Tawil misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Jab, jab by Small - just one landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Small avoids the head kick by Al Tawil.
Small connects with a leg kick. Al Tawil looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Al Tawil is breathing heavily.
Small connects with a crisp jab.
Small keeps Al Tawil at a distance using the push kick.
Small cracks a nice hook into Al Tawil's ribs.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Small jabs at Al Tawil's body.
Small jabs Al Tawil to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Small lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Small scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Al Tawil takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Small throws a shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Small jabs at Al Tawil's body.
Small throws a leg kick which misses Al Tawil's front leg but catches the back leg as Al Tawil tries to avoid it.
Small scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Al Tawil doesn't seem bothered though.
Good standup being displayed there by Small as he connects with a hook.
Al Tawil needs to keep his hands up - Small had a free shot at his head there.
Small throws a shot to the body.
Small punishes Al Tawil's body with a nice straight punch.
Al Tawil takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Small fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Al Tawil looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Small lands with a thumping leg kick.
Small's jab looks to have found its range, popping Al Tawil under the eye.
Small ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Small lands a front kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
An inside leg kick lands from Small.
Small works Al Tawil's body with a nice hook.
Small lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Al Tawil at a distance.
Small digs a good hook to Al Tawil's body.
Al Tawil moves out of range as Small throws a body kick.
A jab from Small does it's job there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Small throws a shot to the body.
Small scores with a body shot.
Small scores with a shot to the body.
Al Tawil takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Small punishes Al Tawil's body with a nice straight punch.
Small cracks a nice hook into Al Tawil's ribs.
Small with a body punch. A glancing blow.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Small scores with a hook to the body. Al Tawil takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Small with a nice cross.
Small scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Al Tawil doesn't seem bothered though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sonatas Small dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Small stuns Al Tawil with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Small jabs Al Tawil to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Small lands a nice shot to the body.
Small connects with a body shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Small digs a good body shot into Al Tawil's ribs.
Small fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Small scores with a nice strike.
Al Tawil takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Small connects with a body shot.
Small ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Small connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Small throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Al Tawil stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Small scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Small connects with a body shot.
Al Tawil doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Al Tawil takes a shot to the body in his stride.
A slapping leg kick lands for Small.
Small dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Small scores with a push kick.
Small changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Small punishes Al Tawil's body with a nice straight punch.
Small scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Al Tawil doesn't seem bothered though.
Al Tawil takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Small lands a nice hook to Al Tawil's body. Al Tawil takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Al Tawil takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Small lands a body shot.
Al Tawil on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Small. Small obviously looking to wear him down.
Small has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Small digs a good hook to Al Tawil's body.
Small scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Small lands a right hook to the body.
Small bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Al Tawil's head.
Al Tawil takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Al Tawil might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
Good leg kick by Small there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Small scores with a hook to the body. Al Tawil takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Small cracks a nice hook into Al Tawil's ribs.
Sonatas Small seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Small lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Small is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Al Tawil rather than just go for the knockout.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Small scores with a body shot.
Small works Al Tawil's body with a nice hook.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Small scores with a hook to the body. Al Tawil takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Small connects with a body shot that sends Al Tawil's belly button to the back.
Al Tawil has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Al Tawil there as he acknowledges the shot.
Small listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Small throws a one two combo.
Small fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Al Tawil on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Small stuns Al Tawil with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Small moves into range and connects with a jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sonatas Small showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Small lands with a nice body punch.
Al Tawil has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Small scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Small lands a slapping body shot.
Small scores with a jab to the body.
Al Tawil on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Al Tawil is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Oooooh!!! Small has knocked Al Tawil down with a huge combo! Small steps away and waves a wobbly Al Tawil back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!

Al Tawil is rocked!
Small lands a nice looking body shot.
Oh Al Tawil is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Small scores with a leg kick.
Small scores with a jab to the jaw.
Small connects with a body shot that sends Al Tawil's belly button to the back.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Small lands with a good body shot.
Al Tawil seems to have got his legs back now.
Al Tawil shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Al Tawil takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Al Tawil takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Small cracks a nice hook into Al Tawil's ribs.
Small stuns Al Tawil with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Small jabs Al Tawil right on the nose. Al Tawil blinks but takes it well.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Small drops Al Tawil with a hook right on the temple. He thinks about going to the ground but Al Tawil looks back up at him and smiles so Small waves him back to his feet - he obviously thinks he can knock him out after that shot landed.
Habib Al Tawil has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Small scores with a hook to the body. Al Tawil takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Small thuds a left hand into Al Tawil's body.
Small lands a body shot.
Small bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Al Tawil's head.
Small jabs Al Tawil to the body, keeping him at a distance.
A good leg kick by Small.
Al Tawil takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Small scores with a shot to the body.
Small lands a front kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Small lands a left and a right that send Al Tawil crashing to the mat, dazed. Small thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!
Al Tawil takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Small's corner calls for a 1-2. Small obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Small jabs Al Tawil to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Al Tawil blocks a head kick by Small.
Al Tawil drops his hands momentarily and Small takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Al Tawil looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Al Tawil throws a push kick but Small slaps the foot to one side.
This has been an exciting period of action!
An inside leg kick lands from Small.
Small fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Al Tawil takes a body punch but keeps moving.
A slapping leg kick lands for Small.
Nice uppercut there from Small.
Small avoids the head kick by Al Tawil.
Small lands with a shot to the body.
Al Tawil takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Al Tawil on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Small. Small obviously looking to wear him down.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Small fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Small fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Al Tawil has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sonatas Small comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Small 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 24:30
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 24:30
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 24:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sonatas Small!