PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Konrad Hielscher (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marius Matei (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Hielscher
vs
Matei

181 cm
21
198 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

182 cm
28
194 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Powerful

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 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Konrad Hielscher!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Marius Matei!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Johanna Lukiainen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Some bone on bone action there as Hielscher checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Matei misses the jab.
Matei misses with a leg kick
and Hielscher counters with a nice body shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Matei. Hielscher does a little dance to reset his feet.
Matei fails in his attempt to clinch.

Matei gets a clinch.
Hielscher throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Mateis head.
Hielscher leaning his opponent against the cage.
Hielscher blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A right hand to the body from Hielscher.
Hielscher lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Hielscher scores with a shoulder strike.
Hielscher lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Matei stalling in the clinch but Hielscher improves position.
Hielscher stalls.
Hielscher misses with a hook to the ribs.
Hielscher has Matei pressed against the cage.
Hielscher digs a right hand into Matei's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Matei's gas tank.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hielscher blocks the elbow strike.
Hielscher content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Hielscher makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Hielscher stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Matei trying to land knees to the body.
Hielscher on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Matei misses with an elbow strike.
Matei trying to land knees to the body.
Hielscher on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Hielscher lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Matei pushes off an throws an elbow but Hielscher leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Matei lands a nice knee to the body.
Matei pushes off an throws an elbow but Hielscher leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Matei misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hielscher.
Matei is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Hielscher is defending well for now.
Hielscher lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Hielscher lands with a right to the head.
Hielscher lands with a left to the head.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Matei is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Hielscher creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Hielscher tries a body shot but Matei blocks it.
Hielscher lands with a right to the head.
Matei unloads a knee to the mid-section. Hielscher lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hielscher is pushing Matei up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Matei tries to score a body lock takedown but Hielscher shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Hielscher blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Hielscher effectively controlling the action here.
Hielscher looking to stall.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Hielscher.
Hielscher holding his opponent close, against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Konrad Hielscher.
Hielscher looks to score with a jab to the body but Matei is just out of range.
Matei is looking to clinch.
Hielscher takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Matei throws a looping overhand right but Hielscher ducks down to avoid it.
Hielscher showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Matei.
Hielscher misses with a low kick.
Hielscher takes a swing at Matei's ribcage but misses.
Hielscher tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Matei was well out of range. Poor timing from Hielscher.
Matei throws a shot from downtown. Hielscher moves away and avoids it.
Matei thows a left - swing and a miss!
Hielscher is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Matei is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Hielscher.
Hielscher lands with a shot to the body.
Hielscher 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Matei walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Matei ducks under a wild hook from Hielscher.
Hielscher displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Matei.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hielscher throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Matei jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Matei throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Matei bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Hielscher stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Hielscher wants it to stay on the feet.
Konrad Hielscher has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Marius Matei.
Matei throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Hielscher slips under a jab.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Matei keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Matei throws a jab when Hielscher was well out of range.
The crowd cheers as Hielscher lands an impressive looking overhand right. Matei doesn't seem phased though.
Matei shoots in for a double leg but Hielscher sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Konrad Hielscher will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Hielscher throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Hielscher lands with a hook. Matei tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Matei chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Hielscher can pounce on him.
No joy there for Hielscher, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Matei swings away with a body shot that misses
and Hielscher counters with a straight right hand.
Hielscher connects with a right hand. Matei shakes it off.
Matei takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Matei throws a hook but Hielscher avoids it easily.
Matei walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Hielscher checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Matei shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Matei takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hielscher throws a nice looking combination but Matei bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Matei lands a nice leg kick that just misses Hielscher's sensitive parts.
Hielscher throws a shot from downtown. Matei moves away and avoids it.
Hielscher misses with a low kick.
Hielscher scores with a decent looking hook.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hielscher steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Matei.
A nice leg kick lands there from Matei.
Matei tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Hielscher digs a good body shot into Matei's ribs.
Matei moves in looking to clinch but Hielscher pushes him off.
Hielscher ducks under a wild hook from Matei.
Matei looks to throw the jab but Hielscher is out of range.
A lazy left from Hielscher finds it's target.
Hielscher slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Matei misses with a hook.
Matei wants to clinch.
Matei misses with a series of wild punches.
Hielscher throws a right hand that Matei ducks under and follows up with a left that Matei also avoids with ease.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Matei catches Hielscher with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Hielscher clobbers Matei with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Matei takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Good exchange - Matei coming out on top.
Matei wants to slow Hielscher down by chopping away at his legs.
Hielscher throws a right hand that Matei ducks under and follows up with a left that Matei also avoids with ease.

Hielscher tries to keep at a distance but Matei has taken the fight into the clinch.
Matei tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Hielscher avoids it.
Hielscher avoiding damage as Matei throws knees to the body.
Hielscher avoiding damage as Matei throws knees to the body.
Hielscher blocks an elbow strike.
Hielscher struggles to land a body shot inside as Matei controls his hands.
Hielscher on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Matei.
A short left from Hielscher.
Matei misses with a knee strike.
Hielscher lands a right hand that snaps the head of Matei backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hielscher managing to block the knees to the body from Matei.
A body shot lands from Hielscher.
Hielscher tries to stall but Matei uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Hielscher lands with a light punch inside.
Nice body punch from Hielscher.
Matei misses with an elbow strike.
Hielscher stalling in the clinch.
A short right from Hielscher.
Matei missing with knees to the body.
Matei tries a knee to the head but Hielscher blocks it.
Hielscher lands a right hand.
Hielscher blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Matei is breathing heavily.
Matei tries to land knees in the clinch but Hielscher avoids the damage to the body.
Konrad Hielscher has scored more points in the clinch so far.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Hielscher lands a left hand.
Stalling in the clinch from Hielscher.
Hielscher makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Hielscher blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Matei pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Hielscher works on Matei's body with a couple of short punches.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Matei misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hielscher.
Hielscher gets through Matei's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Matei throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Hielscher blocks it with crossed arms.
Hielscher lands a body shot.
A bit of stalling here from Hielscher.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
A left hand lands to the body for Hielscher.
Hielscher throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Mateis head.
Hielscher lands a shot to the body.
Hielscher is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Hielscher managing to block the knees to the body from Matei.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hielscher scores with a nice hook to the head.
Hielscher managing to block the knees to the body from Matei.
A short uppercut from Hielscher.
Hielscher working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Matei is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Konrad Hielscher dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Matei takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Hielscher throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Hielscher throws a nice inside leg kick.
Matei thows a left - swing and a miss!
A big left from Matei misses.
Matei swinging wildly here.
Hielscher uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Matei.
Hielscher defending well as Matei loads up on a big left hand.
Hielscher fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Konrad Hielscher is winning the standup battle so far.
Hielscher misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Matei.
Hielscher uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Matei.
Hielscher displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Matei throws out the jab.
Hielscher takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Hielscher avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hielscher avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Hielscher uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Matei.
Matei throws a nice looking combination but Hielscher bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Matei doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Marius Matei seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Matei checks a leg kick nicely.
Matei takes a swing at Hielscher's ribcage but misses.
Hielscher connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Matei takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hielscher uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Matei.
Matei throws out a loose jab but Hielscher uses good head movement to avoid it.
Matei ducks right into an uppercut from Hielscher.
Hielscher takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Matei tries to close the distance and clinch up but Hielscher swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Hielscher lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Matei at a distance.
Matei scores with a crisp jab that stopped Hielscher in his tracks.
Matei on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Konrad Hielscher is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A big left from Matei misses.
Matei tries to work over Hielscher's front leg with a kick but Hielscher checks it.
Matei misses with a leg kick
and Matei takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Konrad Hielscher is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Hielscher staying out of range there.

Matei closes the distance and pushes Hielscher back into the cage.
A right handed body shot lands from Hielscher.
Hielscher on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Hielscher managing to block the knees to the body from Matei.
Hielscher pushes Matei back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hielscher on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Matei throws a knee to the head but misses.
Matei tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Hielscher avoids it.
Hielscher managing to block the knees to the body from Matei.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hielscher on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Hielscher makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

Matei pulls guard effortlessly.
Matei looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hielscher is one step ahead there.

Hielscher stands up from Matei's guard - Hielscher perhaps looking for a knockout.
Hielscher fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Matei has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Hielscher fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Hielscher lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Matei at a distance.
Hielscher turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Matei tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Hielscher manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Jab from Hielscher.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hielscher lands a glancing blow to the side of Matei's head.
Matei swinging wildly here.
Hielscher lands a body shot.
Matei takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Matei throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Hielscher.
Hielscher ducks under a wild hook from Matei.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Matei takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Matei misses with a leg kick
and Hielscher counters with an inside leg kick.

Matei bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Hielscher is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Hielscher is trying to control but can't.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hielscher blocking the ground and pound attempt from Matei.
Hielscher preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Marius Matei has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hielscher is trying to stand up here but Matei is controlling him well.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Konrad Hielscher.
Well Hielscher 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Konrad Hielscher!