PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Piotr Baginski (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shoichi Kosugi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Baginski kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is WALECZNE SERCE. Piotr Baginski has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Baginski
vs
Kosugi

175 cm
30
170 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

187 cm
24
181 lbs
7 - 7 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Piotr Baginski!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Shoichi Kosugi !
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Ben Zyskovitsi and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kosugi shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Baginski counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Baginski.
Baginski misses with a short punch on the inside.

Baginski escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Baginski scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Kosugi gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Baginski counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Baginski moves into the clinch.
Baginski wants to stall.
Baginski throws a punch but it's blocked by Kosugi .
Baginski scores with a nice hook to the head.
Baginski lands with a left to the head.
Baginski lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Baginski tries to work over Kosugi 's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Kosugi has Baginski pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Baginski manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Piotr Baginski has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shoichi Kosugi .
Baginski stalling in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baginski lands a left hand.
Baginski lands an uppercut.
Baginski lands a nice uppercut.
A hook to the body from Baginski.
Baginski working aggressively here.
Baginski lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Baginski lands with a short head shot on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Baginski.
Baginski scores with a nice hook to the head.
A short uppercut from Baginski.
Baginski softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Kosugi letting Baginski take a breather here.
A shot in the inside from Baginski.
Kosugi is looking to take this one to the mat.
Baginski lands a right hand that snaps the head of Kosugi backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baginski working aggressively here.
Kosugi has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Baginski is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Baginski misses with the head strike.
A head punch on the inside from Baginski fails to land.
Baginski digs a right hand into Kosugi 's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Kosugi 's gas tank.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Kosugi as Baginski tries to tie him up.
Baginski lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Kosugi backwards.
Baginski is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Baginski swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Baginski taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Baginski misses with a hook to the ribs.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Baginski.
Kosugi wants to take the fight to the mat but Baginski manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baginski tries a body shot but Kosugi blocks it.
A nice left hand lands by Baginski.
Kosugi has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Baginski is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Baginski lands with a left to the head.
Baginski slowing the pace effectively.
Baginski lands an uppercut.
Kosugi has Baginski pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Baginski manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Baginski leaning against his opponent.
Baginski working aggressively here.
Kosugi is looking to take this one to the mat.
Baginski working aggressively here.
Kosugi drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Baginski gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Baginski misses with some punches.
Baginski prevents a takedown attempt there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Baginski throws a punch but it's blocked by Kosugi .
Baginski working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Kosugi drops down looking for an ankle pick but Baginski pulls his leg out and moves away.
Baginski uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Kosugi has time to react.
Horrible takedown by Kosugi or perhaps it was just good defense by Baginski which made him look bad.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kosugi tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Baginski swivels and escapes.
Baginski is looking to clinch.
Kosugi gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Baginski cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The fight stays on the outside here - Baginski looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Baginski is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Piotr Baginski dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Baginski moves into the clinch.
Baginski prevents the takedown attempt.
Baginski prevents Kosugi from breaking the clinch.
Kosugi is looking to take this one to the mat.
Baginski stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Baginski lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Kosugi .
Baginski lands a left hand.
A head punch on the inside from Baginski fails to land.
Kosugi goes for a takedown in the clinch but Baginski prevents it.
Piotr Baginski has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shoichi Kosugi .
Baginski misses with some punches.
The referee calls for Baginski to work.
Baginski lands a hook that snaps the head of Kosugi backwards.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Baginski.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baginski lands a hook to the side of the head.
Baginski is pressed up against the cage. Kosugi has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Baginski down to the mat. Baginski avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

Kosugi throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Baginski tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Kosugi is in Baginski's guard.
Baginski might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Baginski has Kosugi pulled in close to control his posture.

Piotr Baginski has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Baginski drives through and clinches with Kosugi against the cage.

Baginski lands a takedown into guard.
Baginski trying to control but Kosugi is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
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!
Baginski stands up over Kosugi , holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Baginski controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Kosugi wants to sweep here but Baginski controlling him for the moment.
Kosugi working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Baginski.
Kosugi keeping moving, preventing Baginski from controlling successfully.
Baginski postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Kosugi is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Kosugi keeping full guard, as Baginski tries to pass.
Kosugi trying to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baginski wants to pass the guard but Kosugi is keeping the position.
Baginski working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Baginski avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Baginski pushes down on Kosugi 's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Baginski is looking to take a break and control but Kosugi is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Kosugi can do anything to dispel that myth.
Baginski is taking a breather. Kosugi says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

Kosugi looking for submissions off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Baginski is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Kosugi defends it well.
Baginski works his way into side control.
Baginski trying to control the action but Kosugi is working from the bottom.
Kosugi parries the strikes from Baginski easily there. Baginski is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Kosugi to escape.
Baginski trying to control the action but Kosugi is working from the bottom.
Baginski is working Kosugi over with some ground and pound from side control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kosugi tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Baginski has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Baginski grinds an elbow into Kosugi 's temple.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Piotr Baginski dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Baginski tries to clinch but Kosugi is having none of it.
Baginski dodges the punch combination from Kosugi .
Baginski takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Baginski scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Kosugi gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Baginski makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Kosugi really felt that one!
Kosugi tries to move into range but Baginski moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Kosugi misses with a takedown attempt - Baginski sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Baginski thows a body kick. Kosugi tries to catch it but that hurt him.
The fight stays on the outside here - Baginski looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Kosugi avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Kosugi fails with the takedown
and Baginski counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Piotr Baginski has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shoichi Kosugi .
Kosugi takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Baginski drives through with a takedown into guard.
Baginski content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Baginski slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Baginski trying to control but Kosugi is working from the bottom.

Baginski thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Baginski throws a big elbow that misses.
Baginski stands and throws Kosugi 's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Kosugi tries to buck Baginski off but Baginski is having none of it.
The referee asks Baginski politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Baginski prefers to stall for the moment though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baginski grinds an elbow into Kosugi 's temple.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Baginski controlling from side mount.
Baginski working away.

Baginski thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Baginski landing strikes.
Kosugi is not content to let Baginski control the position.

Baginski wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Kosugi , who protects the arm well.
Baginski cracks Kosugi with a big right hand but Kosugi just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Baginski tries for a kimura but Kosugi is defending well.
Baginski cracks Kosugi with a big right hand but Kosugi just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Baginski working the head and body with strikes.
Kosugi really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Baginski. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Kosugi avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Baginski.
Check out the look on Baginski's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Kosugi tries to improve position but can't.
Baginski working the body and head with strikes.

Kosugi is rocked!
Baginski trying to control the action but Kosugi is working from the bottom.
Kosugi is still in real trouble! Can Baginski finish him?

Baginski is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Kosugi has escaped the position, nice work there.
Kosugi seems to have recovered his senses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Baginski working away.
Kosugi takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Baginski working away.

Baginski wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Kosugi , who protects the arm well.
Kosugi is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Baginski moves nicely into side control.
Kosugi is trying to get back to half guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Baginski is trying to get an arm triangle but Kosugi is defending well.
Baginski working the body and head with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Piotr Baginski clearly takes that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Kosugi takes one on the button.
Kosugi shoots in but Baginski avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Kosugi swats away the attempt to clinch by Baginski.
Baginski lands a nice looking body kick.
Kosugi misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Kosugi tries to clinch but Baginski is having none of it.
Kosugi will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Kosugi wants to clinch up but Baginski keeps it at a distance.
Left hook, right uppercut from Baginski.
Kosugi keeps the fight on the outside.
Kosugi throws a lazy right hand but Baginski sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
A jab from Baginski finds it's way through Kosugi 's defenses.
Shoichi Kosugi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Baginski tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kosugi fails with the takedown
and Baginski counters with a nice uppercut.
Piotr Baginski has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shoichi Kosugi .
Kosugi is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.
Baginski tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kosugi paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Baginski looks to clinch
and Kosugi counters with a left and a right that stings Baginski.
Kosugi takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Baginski tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Kosugi manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Baginski is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Kosugi can do to turn this around?
Baginski thuds his right hand into Kosugi 's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Kosugi tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Baginski clinches.
Baginski gets underhooks to prevent Kosugi 's takedown attempt.
Baginski lands with a short shot to the head.
Kosugi blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Baginski slowing the pace effectively.
Baginski lands with a short punch from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kosugi is looking to break free of the clinch but Baginski has double underhooks.
Baginski has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Kosugi avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Baginski misses with a hook from the clinch.
Kosugi has Baginski pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Baginski manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Baginski jumps guard.
Baginski seems keen to control Kosugi 's posture.
Baginski lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Kosugi !
Baginski landing shots from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baginski landing shots from mount.
Baginski landing strikes from the mount and Kosugi is in trouble!
Baginski controlling from the full mount.
Baginski lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Oooh a big shot lands for Baginski! Kosugi is out! The ref dives in to save him from more punishment!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:47 of round 4, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Piotr Baginski!
An out of breath Piotr Baginski thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.