PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Chilun Rassaaja (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Maximus Meridius (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rassaaja comes to the cage accompanied by No Words/No Thoughts by The Swans. Meridius has chosen Now We Are Free as his entrance music. Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Rassaaja
vs
Meridius

200 cm
34
275 lbs
24 - 12 - 0

187 cm
30
221 lbs
25 - 11 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 12 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Chilun Rassaaja!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Maximus Meridius!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Anni Minnemäki and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rassaaja fails with a takedown attempt.
Rassaaja throws a nice looking combination but Meridius bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Rassaaja misses with a low kick.
Rassaaja lands a body shot.
Rassaaja checks a low kick from Meridius.

Rassaaja gets a double leg takedown into Meridius's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rassaaja accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Meridius is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Meridius working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rassaaja.
Meridius keeping moving, preventing Rassaaja from controlling successfully.
Rassaaja looking to sit in guard and control but Meridius gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Meridius trying to control but Rassaaja is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rassaaja trying to control the position.
Meridius pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Rassaaja is keeping the position for now.
Meridius trying to control the position from guard on top but Rassaaja is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Meridius looking to pass the guard.
Meridius missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rassaaja wants to sweep here but Meridius controlling him for the moment.
Meridius slips nicely into half guard.
Rassaaja wants to improve his position but Meridius is controlling well.
Rassaaja trying to hold on to Meridius's head to control him but Meridius postures up.
Rassaaja is staying active underneath Meridius, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Meridius throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Meridius thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Meridius looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Rassaaja is looking to control Meridius's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Rassaaja avoid being mounted?
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Meridius scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Rassaaja won't allow Meridius to pass to mount.
Meridius is looking to take a break and control but Rassaaja is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Meridius throwing shots but Rassaaja is blocking nicely.
Meridius missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Meridius misses with a head shot. Rassaaja uses the momentum to regain guard.
Rassaaja is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Meridius trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rassaaja not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Rassaaja has his hands on Meridius's head, controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Maximus Meridius will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Meridius lands with a shot to the body.
Chilun Rassaaja is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rassaaja scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

It looks like Maximus Meridius has been cut.
Rassaaja throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Rassaaja misses with a body shot.
Meridius lands a head shot.
Rassaaja misses with a jab, cross combination.
Meridius misses with a hook.
Rassaaja tries to clinch there but Meridius circles away.
Meridius swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Rassaaja.

Meridius closes the distance and pushes Rassaaja back into the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rassaaja putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Meridius in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Meridius tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rassaaja's elbow.
Meridius working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Rassaaja has a couple of punches blocked by Meridius.
Rassaaja throws an elbow that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Rassaaja fails to land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Meridius is stalling here.
Rassaaja goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Rassaaja tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Meridius is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Rassaaja pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Meridius is trying to maintain a safe position but Rassaaja gets an underhook and turns Meridius into the cage.
Rassaaja fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Meridius managing to block the knees to the body from Rassaaja.
Rassaaja can't find room to land a body shot as Meridius controls the action.
A shot in the inside from Meridius.
Rassaaja blocks an elbow strike from Meridius.

Meridius breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rassaaja throws a right and a left that Meridius avoids nicely.

Rassaaja fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Meridius, pushing him back against the cage.
Rassaaja with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Meridius tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Meridius blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rassaaja misses with a punch on the inside.

Meridius has clasped his hands together around Rassaaja's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Rassaaja is trying to control Meridius's posture but Meridius avoids it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rassaaja is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.
Meridius working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Meridius looks up at the clock and then as Rassaaja takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Meridius smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!

Meridius swings around for an armbar but Rassaaja sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Meridius's guard.

Meridius has his foot on Rassaaja's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Rassaaja works his way back into a safe position though.
Rassaaja trying to control but Meridius is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Meridius 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.
Rassaaja has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Rassaaja controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Rassaaja missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Meridius has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Rassaaja looking to sit in guard and control but Meridius gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Rassaaja will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Meridius postures up and lands a big shot to Rassaaja's brow.
Meridius preventing the sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rassaaja not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Meridius passes Rassaaja's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Rassaaja wants to improve his position but Meridius is controlling well.
Meridius lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Meridius trying to pass the guard but Rassaaja defending well.
Meridius wants to control but Rassaaja is keeping him busy.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rassaaja moves into full guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Meridius sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Rassaaja's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Maximus Meridius will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Maximus Meridius's cut.
That's time! Rassaaja's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Meridius tries to clinch but Rassaaja is having none of it.
Rassaaja goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Meridius with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Rassaaja throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Rassaaja tries to clinch there but Meridius circles away.
Nice defenses there by Meridius.
Meridius fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Rassaaja.
Meridius takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Nice body punch from Meridius.
Meridius avoids the body shot from Rassaaja.
Meridius throws a sloppy head kick and Rassaaja moves out of range easily.
Chilun Rassaaja is winning the standup battle so far.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Meridius swats away the attempt to clinch by Rassaaja.
Meridius throws a series of strikes that have Rassaaja backpedaling.
Meridius takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Rassaaja moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Meridius keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick from Meridius lands but Rassaaja takes it in his stride.

It looks like Chilun Rassaaja has been cut.
Meridius throws a push kick but Rassaaja slaps the foot to one side.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Meridius. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Meridius thuds a left hand into Rassaaja's body.
Rassaaja takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Meridius throws a leg kick which misses Rassaaja's front leg but catches the back leg as Rassaaja tries to avoid it.
Rassaaja tries to close the distance and clinch up but Meridius swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Rassaaja is looking to wear down Meridius with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Meridius throws a solid leg kick but Rassaaja takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Meridius.
Meridius throws the left hand but Rassaaja avoids the punch easily.
Meridius misses the shot to the body.
Meridius avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Meridius.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Meridius is staying tight to Rassaaja's torso, preventing him from escaping.

Meridius working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Meridius tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Meridius has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
You can see the frustration on Rassaaja's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Maximus Meridius has got the better of the ground game so far.
Rassaaja tries to buck Meridius off but Meridius is having none of it.
Maximus Meridius is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Meridius has control of an arm but Rassaaja manages to advance to Meridius's back!
Rassaaja gets his hands free as Meridius looks to control.
I really don't envy Meridius right now.
The referee is taking a good look at Meridius as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Rassaaja!
Meridius looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.

Meridius showing good submission defense here.
Rassaaja is throwing strikes by Meridius counters by rolling into a better position. After a scramble, Meridius regains half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Meridius gets full guard.
Chilun Rassaaja has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Meridius looking for a sweep. Not yet Meridius, not yet.
Rassaaja trying to control but Meridius is working from the bottom.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Rassaaja accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rassaaja throws a big elbow that misses.
Rassaaja scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Maximus Meridius.
I've got Meridius 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 27:30
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Maximus Meridius!
During a confident post fight interview, Maximus Meridius thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.