PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Kustaa Pohjanala (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Katana (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Pohjanala might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to AC/DC - Hard as a Rock. The crowd seem to be enjoying Katana's choice of entrance music: Baby got back. James Katana struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 146.1lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Pohjanala
vs
Katana

168 cm
34
157 lbs
22 - 22 - 0

160 cm
31
160 lbs
14 - 15 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 22 - 22 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Kustaa Pohjanala!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, James Katana!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pohjanala throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Katana counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Pohjanala tries a head kick but it misses.
Katana misses with a hook.
Katana moves out of range of the strikes.
Pohjanala staying out of range there.
Katana throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Pohjanala swings for the body but Katana moves out of range.
Good standup being displayed there by Katana as he connects with a hook.
Katana misses with a hook. Pohjanala ducked under it nicely.
Katana uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Pohjanala.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Katana lands a head shot.
Katana throws a hook but Pohjanala blocks it.
Pohjanala swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Pohjanala moves in looking to clinch but Katana pushes him off.
Katana uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Pohjanala.
Pohjanala ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Pohjanala scores with a decent looking hook.
Katana throws the left hand but Pohjanala avoids the punch easily.
Katana takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Pohjanala misses.
Pohjanala throws a big shot that misses.
Katana scores with a jab to the jaw.
Pohjanala throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Pohjanala fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Katana has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Pohjanala thows a body shot but no joy.
Pohjanala swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Pohjanala tries to clinch there but Katana circles away.
Katana throws the left hand but Pohjanala avoids the punch easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pohjanala misses with a body shot
letting Katana counter with a right hand.
Pohjanala ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Katana moves away.
Katana jabs Pohjanala right on the nose. Pohjanala blinks but takes it well.
Pohjanala misses with a body shot
and Katana counters with a lovely straight right hand!
A looping hook to the body misses from Pohjanala. Katana does a little dance to reset his feet.

Pohjanala scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Pohjanala prevents Katana from standing back up.

Pohjanala is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Pohjanala wants to work for an arm triangle but Katana is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Pohjanala trying to control from half guard but Katana is working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pohjanala blocks the strikes from Katana.
Pohjanala thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Katana's head.
Katana is trying to stand up here but Pohjanala is controlling him well.

Katana makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A slow jab from Katana misses its intended target.
Pohjanala lands a head shot.
The fighters circling - Pohjanala throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Pohjanala moves out of range of the strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pohjanala misses with a wild body shot.
Pohjanala misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Katana counters with a straight right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kustaa Pohjanala 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.

Pohjanala takes a swing at Katana's ribcage but misses.
Nice body punch from Pohjanala.
Pohjanala takes a swing at Katana's ribcage but misses.
Pohjanala misses the body punch
and Katana counters with a nice uppercut.
Katana tries to move into range but Pohjanala moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Katana lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Pohjanala wants to clinch up but Katana keeps it at a distance.
Pohjanala is looking to clinch.
Pohjanala misses the body punch
and Katana counters with a straight right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pohjanala will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Pohjanala with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Pohjanala lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Nice shot by Katana.
Katana moves out of range as Pohjanala strikes.
Pohjanala throws a lazy right hand but Katana sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Katana displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Pohjanala.
Katana defending well as Pohjanala loads up on a big left hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pohjanala throws a lazy right hand but Katana sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Katana waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Pohjanala.
Pohjanala misses with a hook.
A looping hook to the body misses from Pohjanala. Katana does a little dance to reset his feet.
Katana showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Pohjanala.
Kustaa Pohjanala is winning the standup battle so far.

Pohjanala drives through and clinches with Katana against the cage.
Katana tries to break free but Pohjanala pushes him back against the cage.
Pohjanala misses with a punch to the body.
Pohjanala scores a nice knee to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pohjanala manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Katana wanted to stand there but Pohjanala had control of the position.

Pohjanala had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Katana defends it easily.
Katana is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by James Katana.
Katana waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Pohjanala.
Kustaa Pohjanala seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Katana misses with a straight left.
Pohjanala throws the kick towards the body but Katana avoids it.
Pohjanala throws a shot from downtown. Katana moves away and avoids it.
Pohjanala throws a lazy right hand but Katana sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Katana takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Katana fails with a takedown attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kustaa Pohjanala dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. And we move into the final round!

A head kick misses from Katana.
Pohjanala misses the jab.
Pohjanala throws a hook but Katana avoids it easily.
A big left from Pohjanala misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pohjanala throws a hook to the side of Katana's head but Katana sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Pohjanala throws a jab when Katana was well out of range.
Pohjanala tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Katana paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pohjanala takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Pohjanala misses with a telegraphed body shot
enabling Katana to counter with a crisp jab.
Pohjanala tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Katana was well out of range. Poor timing from Pohjanala.
Katana scores with a jab to the jaw.
Pohjanala ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Katana moves away.
Pohjanala throws a sloppy body shot
and Katana counters with a left to the body.
Pohjanala falls off balance throwing a combination
and Katana counters with a straight right hand.
Pohjanala moves away from the strike by Katana.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Katana avoids the body shot from Pohjanala.
Pohjanala fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Katana manages to avoid it.
Pohjanala jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Katana stuffs the takedown.
Katana closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Katana might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Pohjanala lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Pohjanala throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Jab from Katana.
Pohjanala gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Katana connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Katana moves out of range as Pohjanala strikes.
Pohjanala is looking to clinch but Katana is avoiding it.
Katana loads up on a big right hand but Pohjanala slips the punch.
Katana throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Pohjanala sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Pohjanala loads up on a big right hand but Katana slips the punch.
Katana connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Katana keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Pohjanala.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Katana lands a lovely overhand right.
A big right from Pohjanala misses.
Katana ducks under a wild hook from Pohjanala.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Pohjanala. Katana shrugs it off though.
Pohjanala throws a half hearted mid kick.
Kustaa Pohjanala is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pohjanala fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Katana manages to avoid it.
Pohjanala connects with a body shot.
Pohjanala throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
enabling Katana to counter with a crisp jab.
James Katana has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Pohjanala with a jab.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kustaa Pohjanala showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Pohjanala has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kustaa Pohjanala!