PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Petri Saarinen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Reggie Lafleur (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Petri Saarinen could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Reggie Lafleur's chin.

Saarinen
vs
Lafleur

190 cm
24
183 lbs
6 - 11 - 0

186 cm
27
178 lbs
8 - 9 - 1

BJJ Brown Belt
Great elbows
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Petri Saarinen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 9 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Reggie Lafleur!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Alan Glass and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lafleur tries to close the distance and clinch but Saarinen swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Saarinen takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Saarinen throws a chopping leg kick but Lafleur manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Saarinen lets loose with a powerful body kick. Lafleur will feel that in the morning.
Lafleur misses with a head kick.
Saarinen throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Lafleur throws a head kick that misses
and Saarinen counters with a slapping leg kick.
Lafleur chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Saarinen can pounce on him.
Saarinen is looking to slow Lafleur down with leg kicks.
Lafleur throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saarinen is looking to land body kicks.
Lafleur misses with an uppercut.
Saarinen fakes the leg kick and cracks Lafleur in the body.
Saarinen misses with a kick to the body.
Saarinen throws a body kick that misses.
Lafleur checks a leg kick.
Saarinen misses with a leg kick
and Lafleur counters with a nice low kick that buckles Saarinen's knee momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saarinen throws a leg kick but Lafleur checks it.
Lafleur misses with a head kick.
Lafleur throws a sloppy head kick and Saarinen moves out of range easily.
Lafleur throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Lafleur misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Saarinen tries to close the distance and clinch up but Lafleur swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Lafleur fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Lafleur pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Saarinen back to the cage. Lafleur follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lafleur checks a leg kick nicely.
Saarinen finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Saarinen misses with a body kick.
Saarinen tries to clinch up.
Lafleur lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Saarinen circles away quickly and effectively.
Saarinen throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Saarinen throws a leg kick but Lafleur sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Saarinen pivots, looking for a leg kick but Lafleur is out of range and Saarinen settles back down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lafleur misses with a head kick.
Petri Saarinen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Saarinen scores with a push kick.
Saarinen throws a leg kick but Lafleur moved away.

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

Saarinen is defending against the submission attempts here by Lafleur.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Saarinen pushes Lafleur off looking to stand but Lafleur dives back in and keeps control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Reggie Lafleur will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Lafleur moves into the clinch.

Lafleur's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Saarinen throws a leg kick that is checked

and Lafleur counters with a shoot takedown. Saarinen fights it but they end up in guard.
Saarinen wants to stand and escape but Lafleur is having none of it.

Lafleur stands and steps away. Saarinen gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Saarinen throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Saarinen looks for the body kick but Lafleur saw that one coming.
Lafleur fails in his attempt to clinch.
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!
Saarinen tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Lafleur counters with a three punch combo that has Saarinen backing up. Saarinen nods at Lafleur to acknowledge the strikes.
Saarinen misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saarinen lands a nice leg kick that just misses Lafleur's sensitive parts.
Saarinen throws a solid leg kick but Lafleur takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Saarinen.
Saarinen throws a leg kick that is checked
and Lafleur counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Lafleur throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Saarinen pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Lafleur takes a kick to the side of the head.
Lafleur misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A nice inside leg kick there by Saarinen. That's going to slow Lafleur down.
Lafleur avoids a kick to the body.
Saarinen throws a low kick but it's checked well by Lafleur.
Lafleur throws a right and a left that both miss.
Saarinen tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Lafleur is able to avoid easily.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Lafleur closes the distance and pushes Saarinen back into the cage.
Saarinen throws an elbow but it misses.
Lafleur avoiding damage as Saarinen throws knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Lafleur breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A low kick from Saarinen is predictable there
and Lafleur counters with a two punch combo.
Lafleur tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Saarinen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Saarinen throws a lazy body kick
and Lafleur counters with a nice leg kick.
Saarinen tries to score with a low kick but Lafleur moves his leg out of the way.
An inside leg kick lands from Saarinen.
Lafleur throws a series of punches but Saarinen moves out of range.
Saarinen tries to land a front kick but Lafleur steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lafleur throws a sloppy head kick and Saarinen moves out of range easily.
Saarinen throws a low kick but it's checked well by Lafleur.
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!

Lafleur feints and as Saarinen raises his hands in defense, Lafleur changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Saarinen keeping moving, preventing Lafleur from controlling successfully.

Lafleur stands and steps away. Saarinen gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Saarinen thows a leg kick but Lafleur checks it
and Lafleur counters with a leg kick.
Lafleur swings and misses with a hook to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Reggie Lafleur showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Saarinen scoring well with a low kick there.
Lafleur scores with a jab to the head.
Saarinen blocks a head kick by Lafleur.
Lafleur scores with a jab.
Saarinen turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Lafleur moves out of range of the body kick from Saarinen.
Saarinen looks for the body kick but Lafleur saw that one coming.
Both fighters circling a little - Lafleur finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saarinen tries to work over Lafleur's front leg with a kick but Lafleur checks it.
Nice body kick there by Lafleur.
Saarinen throws a leg kick but Lafleur checks it.
Lafleur throws a head kick but Saarinen moves out of range.
Lafleur swinging wildly here.
Lafleur shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Saarinen but Saarinen pushes him off and we're back to square one.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lafleur scores with a jab. Saarinen acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Saarinen throws a leg kick that is checked
and Lafleur counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Saarinen is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Saarinen. Lafleur shrugs it off though.
A good leg kick by Saarinen.
Lafleur throws a sloppy head kick
and Saarinen counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Lafleur drives through and clinches with Saarinen against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lafleur blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Saarinen connects with a knee to the head.
Saarinen tries to land knees in the clinch but Lafleur avoids the damage to the body.

Lafleur escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A lazy left from Lafleur finds it's target.
Saarinen misses with a leg kick
and Lafleur counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Saarinen throws a leg kick
and Saarinen takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lafleur takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Saarinen fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Lafleur is out of range.
Reggie Lafleur is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saarinen misses with a low kick.
Saarinen throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Saarinen fakes the leg kick and cracks Lafleur in the body.
Lafleur lands a head kick!
Reggie Lafleur seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Lafleur checks a leg kick.
Petri Saarinen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lafleur scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.

And that's the end of the fight!
Reggie Lafleur comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Lafleur 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 Gwen Towbar scores the fight 27:30
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 27:30
Judge George Francis scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Reggie Lafleur!
Reggie Lafleur gave a mention to STEEL PENN'S 160 OF STEEL $50 Hilo in his post fight interview. That will please them (and hopefully generate some sales).