PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Magnus Gustafson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sloan Kettering (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Gustafson
vs
Kettering

190 cm
18
189 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

187 cm
22
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Tends to cut

Attliction

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Magnus Gustafson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sloan Kettering!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Anni Minnemäki and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gustafson tries to clinch there but Kettering circles away.
Gustafson throws a sloppy head kick and Kettering moves out of range easily.
Gustafson is looking to clinch.
Gustafson wants to clinch up but Kettering keeps it at a distance.
A punch combination from Kettering misses.

Kettering drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Kettering looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Gustafson is avoiding damage well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kettering misses with the ground and pound.
Gustafson sneaks back into half guard.
Kettering moves into full mount! Gustafson won't be happy about that!
Kettering lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

Kettering with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Gustafson blocking the ground and pound.
Gustafson slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Gustafson avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Kettering.
Gustafson strikes from the bottom but Kettering passes into mount!
Kettering throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Gustafson because Kettering loaded up on that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kettering tries to control but Gustafson wriggling away.
Kettering prevents Gustafson from getting the reversal.
Gustafson gets back to half guard.
Kettering has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Kettering lands a nice short elbow.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The fighters are battling for position here. Gustafson manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Gustafson wants to sweep here but Kettering controlling him for the moment.
Gustafson is looking to stand up but Kettering isn't so interested in that idea.
Kettering missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Gustafson looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Gustafson bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Kettering's guard.
Gustafson postures up in Kettering's guard and throws a big left but Kettering blocks it.
Kettering controls Gustafson momentarily but Gustafson frees himself.
Gustafson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kettering works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Kettering throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kettering working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Gustafson.
Kettering utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Gustafson accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Gustafson is looking to work some ground and pound but Kettering has wrist control.
Gustafson is breathing heavily.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Gustafson tries to clinch there but Kettering circles away.

Kettering closes the distance and clinches.
Kettering misses with some punches.
Gustafson prevents Kettering from breaking the clinch.
Gustafson looking for a takedown.
Gustafson wants to stall.

Gustafson is fighting off a takedown attempt but Kettering is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Gustafson to the mat. Gustafson regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Kettering connects with a couple of short punches.

Kettering stands and steps away. Gustafson gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Gustafson dodges the punch combination from Kettering.
Gustafson tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Kettering holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Gustafson goes for a takedown in the clinch but Kettering prevents it.
Gustafson is stalling here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kettering trying to stall but Gustafson improves his position.

Gustafson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Gustafson wants to clinch but Kettering slips to the side

and Kettering counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Kettering.
Kettering taking a breather.
Gustafson slows down the pace here.
Gustafson has Kettering pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Kettering manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Magnus Gustafson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Gustafson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Kettering pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Kettering tries to clinch there but Gustafson circles away.
Kettering circles away from the clinch attempt

and Kettering counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Gustafson!
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Gustafson is trying desperately to improve position.
Kettering pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Gustafson slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Gustafson is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Kettering scores with a couple of nice shots.

Kettering wants to work for an arm triangle but Gustafson is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gustafson is looking for a sweep. Kettering is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Kettering scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Kettering drops an elbow to the side of Gustafson's head.
Gustafson is trying to get back to full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Gustafson tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Kettering counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Kettering tries to stall but Gustafson uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Gustafson wants to stall.

Gustafson escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gustafson tries to clinch

and Kettering decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Gustafson's guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kettering working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Gustafson's head.
Gustafson trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Kettering throwing strikes but missing.
Kettering missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sloan Kettering dominated that round.
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.

Gustafson closes the distance but Kettering moves to the side

and Kettering counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Kettering doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Gustafson wants the takedown. Kettering is fighting it off but Gustafson persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Kettering's guard against the cage.
Gustafson makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Kettering wants to get back to his feet but Gustafson is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Kettering throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Sloan Kettering has got the better of the ground game so far.
Gustafson sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Kettering's guard.
Gustafson not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Kettering punching from the bottom.
Kettering trying to control from the bottom.
Kettering works his way to full guard. Good work.
Gustafson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Gustafson loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Kettering 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.
Kettering throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Gustafson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kettering.

Gustafson closes the distance and clinches.
Kettering stalling in the clinch but Gustafson improves position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gustafson stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Gustafson wants to stall.
Kettering wants to get back to striking at distance but Gustafson won't allow it.

Gustafson has clasped his hands together around Kettering's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.

Gustafson thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Kettering is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Kettering is positioning himself well to prevent Gustafson advancing to mount.
Kettering landing rabbit punches to the side of Gustafson's head. Not doing much damage but still scoring a few points.

Gustafson is working for a submission of some sort.
Kettering missing with punches from the bottom.
The fighters are battling for position here. Kettering manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Kettering trying to strike off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kettering preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Kettering is on top in guard.
Kettering throws a big right hand that misses.
Gustafson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kettering is one step ahead there.
Kettering postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Gustafson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kettering is one step ahead there.
Gustafson preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Gustafson 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.
Kettering advances position into side control!
Gustafson defending against the ground and pound.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Kettering throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Gustafson closes the distance but Kettering moves to the side

and Kettering counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Gustafson!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gustafson throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Kettering throwing strikes here but Gustafson is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Gustafson throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Gustafson tries to reverse the position but Kettering maintains control.

Kettering is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Gustafson has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Gustafson is trying to escape the mount.
Kettering scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Gustafson?
Kettering with the ground and pound from mount.
BOOM! Kettering connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Kettering in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Kettering lands with some strikes.
Gustafson is in a horrible position here. Kettering smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Kettering unloading with bombs!
Kettering cracks Gustafson with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Kettering with shots to the head and body - Gustafson looks very uncomfortable down there.
Kettering putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Gustafson tries to reverse the position but Kettering maintains control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kettering controlling his opponent.
Kettering working Gustafson over with strikes here.
Kettering unloading with bombs!
Kettering is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Kettering landing shots from mount.
Kettering has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Gustafson's face.
Kettering prevents Gustafson from getting the reversal.
Gustafson manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Gustafson throws a sloppy strike from the bottom. He's now off balance and Kettering manages to pass to side control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gustafson is trying to improve his position.
Kettering throws an elbow but Gustafson slips to the side and avoids it well.
Gustafson manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sloan Kettering showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Kettering tries to bum rush Gustafson with a series of wild strikes but Gustafson uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Kettering misses the jab.
Gustafson darts in trying to clinch

and Kettering counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Gustafson!
Kettering looking to finish Gustafson with some ground and pound. This is bad for Gustafson!
Kettering pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Gustafson tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Gustafson throwing hammer fists to the chest of Kettering. What's that going to do exactly?
Kettering landing strikes, looking to finish!
Kettering unloading with bombs!
Kettering lands a heavy elbow.
Gustafson is bucking up trying to escape but Kettering cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
A nice elbow there by Kettering.
Kettering is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Gustafson can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kettering lands a heavy elbow.
Kettering throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Gustafson because Kettering loaded up on that one.
Gustafson is looking to get to half guard.
Gustafson is working hard here to advance position.
Kettering throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kettering tries to control but Gustafson wriggling away.
Kettering scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Gustafson?
Gustafson punching to the body and holding on for dear life.
Kettering with a couple of short strikes.
Kettering working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Gustafson is wriggling around trying to escape.
Kettering connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Kettering with the ground and pound from mount.
Kettering with good strikes from the mount here!
Kettering landing punches.
Kettering lands a big elbow.
Kettering working the ground and pound effectively.
Kettering landing shots from mount.
Kettering has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Gustafson's face.
Kettering lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Gustafson flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kettering raining down shots from the mount!
Kettering in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Kettering lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Gustafson hang on?
Kettering lands a big shot there that rocks Gustafson but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Kettering lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Kettering punching from mount but Gustafson doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Kettering is landing with some decent strikes but Gustafson is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Gustafson is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Gustafson blocking the ground and pound.
Kettering throwing strikes here but Gustafson is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Gustafson is wriggling around trying to escape.
Gustafson gets back to half guard.
Kettering thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Gustafson's head.
Kettering not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Kettering connects with a nice short shot to Gustafson's temple.
Kettering is nestled in close to Gustafson, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Nice strikes from Kettering there.
Kettering drops an elbow to the side of Gustafson's head.
Kettering sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gustafson defending well though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gustafson tries to roll over but Kettering keeps him under control.
Kettering throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Kettering is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Kettering putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Kettering landing strikes from the mount.
Gustafson is wriggling around trying to escape.
Kettering breaks from Gustafson's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Kettering dominating with strikes here.
Kettering has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Gustafson's face.
Gustafson tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Kettering landing shots from mount.
Kettering trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Gustafson is wriggling around trying to escape.
Gustafson taking shots to the head.
Gustafson swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Kettering dominating with strikes here.
Kettering thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!

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.
Gustafson is in all sorts of trouble here.
Kettering with the ground and pound from mount.
Magnus Gustafson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Kettering cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Gustafson is trying to escape the mount.
Kettering looking to finish with strikes here!
Kettering prevents Gustafson from getting the reversal.
Kettering throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Kettering prevents Gustafson from getting the reversal.
Kettering throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Gustafson because Kettering loaded up on that one.
Gustafson throwing hammer fists to the chest of Kettering. What's that going to do exactly?

And that's the end of the fight!
Sloan Kettering comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Kettering winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sloan Kettering!