PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kevin Safej (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Karl Burgh (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Burgh has chosen Oy, da ne vecher, russian folk song as his entrance music. Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Safej
vs
Burgh

186 cm
25
191 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

190 cm
18
200 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Kevin Safej!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Karl Burgh!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Marco Blurström and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Safej slaps away a takedown attempt from Burgh, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Safej looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Safej tries a head kick but it misses.
Burgh shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Safej as he avoids it easily.
Burgh avoids the head kick by Safej.
Safej lands a head kick!
Safej throws a head kick that misses.
Safej misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Burgh tries to clinch up.
A head kick misses from Burgh.
Safej swats away the attempt to clinch by Burgh.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Safej gets caught flat footed, as Burgh shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Safej keeping moving, preventing Burgh from controlling successfully.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Burgh working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Burgh's corner is telling him to maintain position.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Karl Burgh.
A combination from Burgh does no damage.
A head kick from Safej lands but Burgh takes it in his stride.
Burgh moves in looking to clinch but Safej pushes him off.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burgh is looking to clinch but Safej is avoiding it.
Burgh tries to clinch but Safej moves out of range.
Safej lands a high kick!
Burgh throws a head kick that misses.
Safej looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Safej throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Burgh.
Safej displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Burgh.
Kevin Safej has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Karl Burgh.
Burgh throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Safej counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Burgh is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Burgh shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Safej defends it nicely.
Burgh is looking to score with low kicks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Burgh looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Burgh is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Burgh must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Safej is scooting his butt against the cage and has managed to get back to his feet. Burgh presses him back against the cage, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.
Burgh tries to pull guard but Safej holds him up against the cage and eventually Burgh drops back down to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Safej missing with knees to the body.
Burgh can't break the clinch.
Knees to the body from Safej.
Safej is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Burgh is defending well for now.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Knees to the body from Safej.
Safej misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Burgh.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karl Burgh dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Burgh throws a leg kick that is checked

and Safej holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Safej missing with knees to the body.
With the fighters up against the cage, Burgh throws an elbow but misses.

Burgh has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Safej uses from the top position.
Safej looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Burgh is trying to hold Safej in close to prevent damage but Safej has managed to pass into half guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Safej is thwarting Burgh's attempts to control the position.
Safej performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

We're going to have a standup here because Kevin Safej wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Safej misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Burgh cracks a nice hook into Safej's ribs.
Burgh misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Karl Burgh seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Burgh shoots in looking for a takedown. Safej tries to sprawl out of it but Burgh keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Safej manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
A head kick misses from Safej.
Burgh looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Kevin Safej is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Safej.
Burgh fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Kevin Safej has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Karl Burgh.
Safej tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Safej lands a high kick!
Safej avoids the head kick by Burgh.
Safej throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Burgh's head.
Burgh tries to land a front kick but Safej steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Safej throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burgh darts in looking for a takedown but Safej gets double underhooks and turns Burgh into the cage.
Burgh is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Safej to keep the fight standing.
Burgh is trying to pull guard but Safej turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Burgh jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Safej walks away with a smile on his face. Burgh gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Burgh looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Safej is fending him off so far but Burgh persists. Nope, Safej circles away and we're back to standing.
Burgh looks for a takedown but Safej sprawls well.
Safej tries a head kick but it misses.
A head kick misses from Safej.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Kevin Safej will probably get the nod.
That's time! Safej's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. And we move into the final round!

Burgh tries to clinch there but Safej circles away.
Burgh pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Safej slaps away a takedown attempt from Burgh, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Safej misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Safej lands with a kick to the temple. Burgh shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Safej throws a sloppy head kick and Burgh moves out of range easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Safej throws a sloppy head kick and Burgh moves out of range easily.
Burgh darts in looking for a takedown but Safej gets double underhooks and turns Burgh into the cage.
Burgh blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burgh tries to pull guard but Safej holds him up against the cage and eventually Burgh drops back down to his feet.
Kevin Safej has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Karl Burgh.
Burgh is trying to push Safej away but Safej has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Burgh tries for a takedown but Safej manages to get underhooks.
A knee to the head by Safej.
Safej tries to land knees in the clinch but Burgh avoids the damage to the body.
Safej lands a nice knee to the body.
Safej tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Burgh avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burgh changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Safej fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Safej tries a head kick but it misses.
Safej misses with a head kick.
Nice sprawl there from Safej as Burgh shoots in.
A head kick from Safej lands but Burgh takes it in his stride.
Burgh doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Safej counters with a flying knee. Nice.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Safej throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Burgh swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Safej counters with a single leg into guard. Burgh didn't expect that.
Safej controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Kevin Safej wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Burgh looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Burgh throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Kevin Safej is winning the standup battle so far.
Safej throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Burgh tries for a takedown but Safej sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Burgh tries to close the distance and clinch up but Safej swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Burgh looking for a takedown here - he's got it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kevin Safej showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Safej 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 Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 29:28
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kevin Safej!
Karl Burgh spoke after the fight, saying 'Maybe I have lost but that, that doesn't mean I give up. I shall rise higher and get stronger for my motherland!'.