PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Riza Rakija (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aatos Kesti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rakija comes to the cage accompanied by Rakija. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Rakija
vs
Kesti

174 cm
25
167 lbs
4 - 6 - 0

169 cm
24
155 lbs
7 - 7 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

KAISER Nutrition - Q160/$250

GREEN!160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Riza Rakija!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Aatos Kesti!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kesti dives in for a single leg takedown but Rakija sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Rakija tries to clinch up but Kesti circles away and keeps his distance.
Kesti changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Rakija tries to avoid it but Kesti manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Rakija to the ground. Rakija escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Kesti tries for a takedown but Rakija sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Riza Rakija has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aatos Kesti.
Kesti avoids a punch combination nicely.

Kesti dives in and scores a takedown into Rakija's guard.
Kesti with a flurry of punches that miss.
Rakija bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Kesti's guard.

Kesti being controlled here, momentarily.
Rakija has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rakija trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Kesti is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Rakija dives into side control.
Rakija remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Kesti is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Rakija staying calm.
Rakija is looking to take a break and control but Kesti is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kesti pushes Rakija away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Rakija gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Rakija laying and praying for a moment but Kesti takes advantage and regains half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kesti won't allow Rakija to pass to mount.
Rakija looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Rakija prevents Kesti from standing back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
A bone on bone clash there as Kesti blocks the leg kick.
Kesti keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Rakija.
Rakija looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Rakija throws a right and a left that both miss.
Kesti shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Rakija as he jumps to the side.
Rakija throws a big counter combination but Kesti scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.

Kesti tries to keep at a distance but Rakija has taken the fight into the clinch.
Kesti drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kesti tries to score a body lock takedown but Rakija shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Kesti drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Rakija is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Kesti is looking for a takedown.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kesti wants a takedown but no success here.

Rakija breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Rakija throws a good cross that connects.
The fight stays on the outside here - Rakija looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Riza Rakija dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Kesti shoots in for a takedown but Rakija shows good takedown defense.

Rakija has managed to clinch.

Rakija breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Kesti darts in looking for a takedown but Rakija gets double underhooks and turns Kesti into the cage.

Kesti shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Rakija manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Rakija looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Kesti trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Rakija manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

Rakija trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rakija seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Rakija wants to stand but Kesti has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kesti keeping moving, preventing Rakija from controlling successfully.
Rakija controls from within his opponent's guard.
Rakija trying to control but Kesti is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Rakija postures up in Kesti's guard and throws a big left but Kesti blocks it.
Rakija tries to stand but Kesti is controlling from the bottom.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Rakija is stalling in the full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rakija tries to clinch but Kesti is having none of it.
Riza Rakija is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kesti shoots in looking for a takedown but Rakija manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Kesti's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Riza Rakija has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aatos Kesti.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Rakija's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kesti fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kesti shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Rakija but Rakija pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Kesti avoids a punch combination nicely.
Rakija tries to clinch up but Kesti circles away and keeps his distance.
Kesti changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.

Kesti shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Rakija avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Rakija looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Rakija is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Kesti can do to turn this around?
Kesti postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Kesti preventing the sweep.
Rakija is pulling down on Kesti's head to control his posture.
Rakija is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rakija controlling the action here.
Rakija passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Kesti!
Rakija looking to control and managing it successfully.
Riza Rakija overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Riza Rakija dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Kesti will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
An attempted straight right counter from Rakija misses the target.

Kesti closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Rakija to the mat! Rakija manages to get full guard.
Rakija preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Kesti working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Rakija holds on and takes a little breather.
Rakija manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Kesti manages to get himself to full guard.

Rakija stops Kesti from standing up.
Rakija wants to pass the guard but Kesti is keeping the position.
Kesti really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Rakija. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rakija stays in close to Kesti's body and controls the position.
Kesti wants to stand and escape but Rakija is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kesti keeping moving, preventing Rakija from controlling successfully.
Kesti is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Rakija is controlling him.

Kesti kicks Rakija off and gets to his feet.
Kesti has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Rakija.
Rakija throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Kesti shoots in for a takedown but Rakija shows good takedown defense.

Rakija moves into the clinch.

Rakija breaks from the clinch.
Kesti throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Rakija's waist but Rakija gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Kesti off to one side.
It looked like Rakija wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Riza Rakija has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Aatos Kesti.
Rakija is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
And Kesti tries to counter it with a takedown but Rakija pushes his down on his head and steps out.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rakija takes a swing at Kesti's ribcage but misses.
Rakija slaps away a takedown attempt from Kesti, before circling back to the center of the mat.
It looked like Rakija wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.

Kesti fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Rakija to the ground. Kesti is now in Rakija's guard.
Kesti must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kesti missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Kesti stands up over his opponent, looking to dive in with a big punch. Here he comes, superman style! Oh, the punch misses and Rakija has got him in a triangle choke for good measure! Oh no! Kesti manages to get his head free but now Rakija has transitioned to an armbar! Kesti grimaces and is forced to tap! Beautiful Jiu Jitsu from Rakija! I'd be surprised if that didn't end up as submission of the night!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:41 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Riza Rakija!
Our winner, Riza Rakija, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.