PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Artur Grygiel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Niko Sirkiä (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Grygiel comes into the arena with Sobota- Za damski h... blaring out of the sound system. Sirkiä comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Thergothon - Elemental kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Grygiel
vs
Sirkiä

187 cm
26
185 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

178 cm
21
156 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very quick

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Artur Grygiel!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Niko Sirkiä!
The judges for this bout are Patrick Alders, Paul Aken and Paulsen Ambrosius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sirkiä misses with a body shot.
Grygiel throws a right and a left that both miss.
Grygiel tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sirkiä swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Grygiel is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Niko Sirkiä seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sirkiä closes this distance looking for a takedown but Grygiel circles away.
Grygiel misses with a hook. Sirkiä ducked under it nicely.

Sirkiä throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Grygiel was covering up waiting for the punch and Sirkiä finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Sirkiä content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Grygiel is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Sirkiä dives into side control.
Sirkiä misses with an attempted head punch from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sirkiä in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Grygiel is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Sirkiä is controlling him well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sirkiä throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Grygiel is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Sirkiä asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Sirkiä controlling the position from side mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sirkiä landing strikes.
Grygiel is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Sirkiä is controlling him well.
Sirkiä trying to control the action but Grygiel is working from the bottom.
Grygiel takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Grygiel is trying to get back to his feet.
Sirkiä fails to land a wild elbow strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sirkiä wants to lay and pray for a moment but Grygiel keeps working.
Sirkiä working the ground and pound but Grygiel is defending the strikes.
Sirkiä working the head and body with strikes.
Sirkiä in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Sirkiä wants to control but Grygiel is keeping him busy.
Sirkiä scoring with punches and elbows.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sirkiä throws a strike aimed at the side of Grygiel's head but Grygiel avoids it well.
Sirkiä working the head and body with strikes.
Sirkiä working the ground and pound.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The referee asks Sirkiä politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Sirkiä prefers to stall for the moment though.
Sirkiä sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Grygiel is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Grygiel taking punishment in the form of punches.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
An elbow from Sirkiä crashes against the mat.
Sirkiä throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Sirkiä is working Grygiel over with some ground and pound from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Sirkiä jabs at Grygiel's body.
Grygiel swings widly with a right hand
and Sirkiä counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Sirkiä scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Grygiel doesn't seem bothered though.
Sirkiä connects with the punch.
Grygiel throws a looping overhand right but Sirkiä ducks down to avoid it.
Sirkiä throws a hook to the side of Grygiel's head but Grygiel sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Grygiel falls off balance throwing a combination
and Sirkiä counters with a nice uppercut.
Sirkiä lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Sirkiä shoots in for a takedown but Grygiel shows good takedown defense.
Sirkiä looks to land a combination. Grygiel sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

It looks like Artur Grygiel has been cut.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sirkiä moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Sirkiä throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grygiel misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Grygiel takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Grygiel misses with a lunging right hand
letting Sirkiä counter with a right hand.
A leg kick checked by Sirkiä.
Sirkiä scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Grygiel throws a leg kick
and Grygiel takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Sirkiä tests Grygiel's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Grygiel is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Sirkiä.
Grygiel slips a jab and a cross from Sirkiä.
Grygiel takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Sirkiä fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Grygiel to the ground. Sirkiä is now in Grygiel's guard.
Sirkiä has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Grygiel working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sirkiä.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sirkiä with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sirkiä stops Grygiel from standing up.
Sirkiä pushes down on Grygiel's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Sirkiä thows a huge punch but Grygiel dodges it nicely.
Sirkiä wants to lay and pray for a moment but Grygiel keeps working.
Sirkiä content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sirkiä wants to lay and pray for a moment but Grygiel keeps working.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Grygiel kicks off Sirkiä and gets to his feet.
Sirkiä throws a nice inside leg kick.
The fight stays on the outside here - Grygiel looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Grygiel swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Sirkiä misses with a looping right.
Sirkiä fails with a takedown attempt.
Sirkiä fails to land with a series of punches.
Sirkiä scores with a shot to the body.
Sirkiä with a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sirkiä tries for a takedown but Grygiel sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Artur Grygiel has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Niko Sirkiä.
Sirkiä shoots in for a double leg but Grygiel sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Grygiel lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Sirkiä circles away quickly and effectively.
Nice body punch from Sirkiä.
Grygiel on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sirkiä lands with a nice combination. Grygiel backs away looking to recover.
Decent striking displayed by Sirkiä there.
Niko Sirkiä seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Grygiel throws a series of punches but Sirkiä moves out of range.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Grygiel defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Sirkiä.
Nice shot lands for Sirkiä.
Grygiel with a jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Niko Sirkiä showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Artur Grygiel's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Sirkiä wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Sirkiä lands a jab to the head.
Grygiel is looking to clinch.
Sirkiä takes one to the side of the head.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sirkiä. Grygiel does a little dance to reset his feet.
Sirkiä throws out a powerful jab.
Grygiel tries to bum rush Sirkiä with a series of wild strikes but Sirkiä uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Sirkiä with a hook.
Grygiel tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Sirkiä manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Sirkiä throws the left hand but Grygiel avoids the punch easily.

Sirkiä shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Grygiel is trying to defend but Sirkiä finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Sirkiä prevents Grygiel from standing back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grygiel blocking the ground and pound attempt from Sirkiä.
Sirkiä trying to control from half guard but Grygiel is working away.
Sirkiä lands with a punch from half guard.
Sirkiä takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Grygiel is trying to stand.
Sirkiä takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
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. Sirkiä connects with a nice short shot to Grygiel's temple.
Sirkiä sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Grygiel defending well though.
Sirkiä has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sirkiä not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Sirkiä wants to control but Grygiel is keeping him busy.
Sirkiä scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Grygiel blocking the ground and pound attempt from Sirkiä.
Sirkiä throwing shots but Grygiel is blocking nicely.
Sirkiä is nestled in close to Grygiel, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Still in half guard, Sirkiä seems content to control.
Sirkiä is keen to just control but Grygiel is a slippery customer.
Sirkiä 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.
Sirkiä working the head and body with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grygiel keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Grygiel is trying to stand.
Sirkiä is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Sirkiä seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Grygiel does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Grygiel on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Nice strikes from Sirkiä there.
Niko Sirkiä has got the better of the ground game so far.
Sirkiä throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Sirkiä slows the pace down in half guard.
Sirkiä missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sirkiä is trying to control the action in half guard but Grygiel is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Artur Grygiel has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sirkiä sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Grygiel defending well though.
Sirkiä 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.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sirkiä not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Still in half guard, Sirkiä seems content to control.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Grygiel pushes Sirkiä off looking to stand but Sirkiä dives back in and keeps control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Niko Sirkiä comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Sirkiä 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 Patrick Alders scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Niko Sirkiä!