PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Peko Rarse (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frank Lister (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Rarse
vs
Lister

200 cm
19
204 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

197 cm
21
215 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Peko Rarse!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Frank Lister!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Johanna Lukiainen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rarse drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Rarse looking to control but instead Lister has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
Rarse missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Rarse is trying to work for a kimura but Lister is defending well.
Lister wants to get back to his feet.
Lister is looking for a sweep. Rarse is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Lister has one foot on Rarse's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Lister tries to close the distance and clinch but Rarse swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Rarse defending well as Lister loads up on a big left hand.
Rarse steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Lister.
Rarse slips a jab from Lister.
Lister throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Lister tries to close the distance and clinch but Rarse swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Rarse moves away from the strike by Lister.
Rarse shoots in but Lister avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Rarse blocks a jab.

Rarse pushes Lister up against the cage in a clinch.
Lister can't break the clinch.
Rarse is working for takedown but Lister is calmly controlling the position for now.
Lister tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A left hand lands to the body for Lister.
Rarse tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Lister smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Peko Rarse. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lister stuffs the takedown attempt from Rarse. Rarse gets slowly back to his feet.
Lister misses with a straight left.
Nice defenses there by Rarse.
Rarse slips a jab from Lister.
Nice sprawl there from Lister as Rarse shoots in.
Rarse shoots in and drives through. Lister sprawls well.
Lister tries to clinch but Rarse moves away

and Rarse counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Lister's guard now.
Rarse is breathing heavily.
Rarse stops Lister from standing up.
Rarse throwing strikes but missing.

Lister pushes Rarse off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Lister closes the distance and clinches.
Lister misses with a knee to the head.
Lister lands with a right to the head.
Rarse tries to pull guard but Lister holds him up against the cage and eventually Rarse drops back down to his feet.
Lister doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Rarse tries to pull guard but Lister holds him up against the cage and eventually Rarse drops back down to his feet.
Lister presses Rarse against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

Lister breaks the clinch.
Nice straight punches there by Lister. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Lister.
Lister throws a hook but Rarse blocks it.
Rarse will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Lister wants to clinch up but Rarse keeps it at a distance.
Lister throws a big shot that misses.
Frank Lister is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Lister tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Rarse counters with a single leg into guard. Lister didn't expect that.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Lister uses the cage to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rarse takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

Lister closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Lister misses with a short punch on the inside.
Lister throws a punch but it's blocked by Rarse.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Lister lands a nice uppercut.

Lister pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rarse defending well as Lister loads up on a big left hand.
Lister throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Lister is looking to clinch but Rarse is avoiding it.
The fighters circling - Lister throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Lister misses with a looping left.

Rarse rushes Lister and presses him up against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lister throws a head punch that misses.
Rarse is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
A nice right hand lands inside from Lister.
Lister misses with a short punch on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Frank Lister will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Lister tests Rarse's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Rarse ducks under a wild hook from Lister.
Peko Rarse is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rarse uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Lister.
Rarse moves away from the strike by Lister.

Rarse pushes Lister up against the cage in a clinch.
Lister has a couple of punches blocked by Rarse.
Lister is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Rarse gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Rarse tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Lister throws a head punch that misses.
Lister lands a hook that snaps the head of Rarse backwards.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rarse.
Lister misses with some punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A head punch on the inside from Lister fails to land.
Lister misses with a hook from the clinch.
Lister throws a punch but it's blocked by Rarse.
Lister tries to stall but Rarse uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Lister stops a takedown attempt from Rarse.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Rarse pulls guard successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rarse bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Lister's guard.
Rarse trying to control the position from guard on top but Lister is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rarse with a flurry of punches that miss.
Lister keeping moving, preventing Rarse from controlling successfully.

Lister pushes Rarse off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Lister connects with a single shot there.
Lister throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

Rarse moves into the clinch.
Lister throws a head punch that misses.
Lister doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Lister throws a punch but it's blocked by Rarse.
Lister misses with a hook from the clinch.
Lister lands with a right to the head.
Lister lands a body punch in the clinch.
A short right from Lister.
A head punch on the inside from Lister fails to land.
Lister lands a shoulder strike.
Rarse's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A right hand to the body from Lister.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Lister.
Lister lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
A right hand to the body from Lister.
A shot in the inside from Lister.
Lister is pressed up against the cage. Rarse has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Lister down to the mat. Lister avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Peko Rarse. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lister tries to clinch but Rarse moves away

and Rarse decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Lister's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rarse wants to control from the top but Lister keeps moving.
Lister bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Rarse's guard.
Rarse wants to stand but Lister is controlling the position.

Lister stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Lister 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Lister takes the fight into the clinch.
Lister misses with a knee strike.
Lister lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Rarse blocking some punches.
Lister is trying to stall.
Lister lands with a left to the head.
Rarse tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Lister just stands there and leans against the cage.
Rarse has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Lister avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.

Lister escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Rarse circles away from the clinch attempt.
Lister wants to clinch up but Rarse keeps it at a distance.
Rarse slips a jab from Lister.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Frank Lister showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Lister misses with a hook. Rarse ducked under it nicely.
Rarse shoots in and drives through. Lister sprawls well.
Rarse uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lister.
Lister tries to clinch up but Rarse circles away and keeps his distance.
Rarse misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Rarse throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Lister's waist but Lister gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Rarse off to one side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Peko Rarse. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lister throws an overhand right that lands on Rarse's shoulder, as Rarse tries to avoid the shot.
Rarse keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Lister.
Rarse staying out of range there.
Rarse circles away from the clinch attempt.
Lister tries to close the distance and clinch but Rarse swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Lister is looking to clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lister looks to land a right hand but Rarse moved out of range.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rarse shoots in for a double leg but Lister sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Rarse uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Lister.
Rarse ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Rarse drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Rarse swats away the attempt to clinch by Lister.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lister misses with a looping left.
Lister jabbing away but nothing is landing.

Rarse closes the distance and clinches.

Lister manages to break the clinch.

Lister gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Rarse looking to sit in guard and control but Lister gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Rarse working for submissions but it's allowed Lister to get to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Lister decides to return to a standing position.
Rarse avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Lister tries to clinch up

so Rarse counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Rarse tries to free his leg and advance position but Lister is retaining full guard.
Lister is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Lister seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lister working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rarse.
Lister seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

Rarse has gone for a leg lock! Lister slips out almost immediately though and dives into Rarse's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Rarse being controlled here, momentarily.
Frank Lister is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Lister gets to his feet. Rarse looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Rarse fails to land the takedown.
Peko Rarse has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rarse takes a jab right on the kisser.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Frank Lister.
I've got Lister winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Frank Lister!