PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Because I Can (ranked 1570 p4p, 160 weight class) and Derui Pake (ranked 673 p4p, 74 weight class). Pake is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Band Maid - Thrill. Because I Can has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

I Can
vs
Pake

155 cm
28
145 lbs
17 - 19 - 0

172 cm
27
160 lbs
13 - 5 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

THE END 32

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Because I Can!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Derui Pake!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Tarja Halkonen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pake ducks under a wild hook from I Can.
I Can thows a left - swing and a miss!
It seemed like Pake was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
I Can takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Pake lands a nice hook to I Can's body. I Can takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

I Can lands a left and a right that sends Pake crashing to the canvas! I Can dives into mount looking to finish!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
I Can avoids the attempt from Pake to control.
Pake trying desperately to get to his feet.
Pake tries to lock up and control but I Can gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pake tries to get back to half guard but can't.
I Can trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Pake tries to buck I Can off but he can't manage it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
I Can can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Pake is looking to escape.
I Can sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
We've been hearing good reports from I Can's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
I Can won't let Pake get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
I Can throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
I Can controlling from the full mount.
I Can looking to control but Pake is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Pake really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
I Can looking to control but Pake is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

I Can working for a guillotine from mount but Pake is in no mood to give up.
I Can wants to control the pace but Pake is squirming around nicely.
I Can looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Pake tries to get back to half guard but can't.

I Can jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Pake is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Pake and I Can has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.

I Can tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no I Can has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pake is looking to reverse the position.
Pake wants to get back to his feet.
Pake is not content to let I Can control the position.
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Pake wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
I Can wants to lay and pray for a moment but Pake keeps working.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Pake manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
I Can seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
I Can prevents Pake from improving his position.

I Can wants to work for an arm triangle but Pake is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Pake keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Pake is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of I Can's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take I Can's back!
I Can might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
I Can tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Because I Can dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Pake displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from I Can.
I Can slips a jab and a cross from Pake.

I Can darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

Pake looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

I Can is working for a submission of some sort.
Pake felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pake wants to get back to full guard.
Because I Can overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pake is looking to get back to is feet but I Can passes into side control.
Pake wants to get back to his feet.
Pake tries to bench press I Can off him but I Can keeps the position.
I Can is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Pake can do to turn this around?
Pake is trying to control I Can's posture but I Can avoids it.
Pake is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
I Can is trying to control. Pake wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

I Can is looking for a kimura but Pake is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for I Can to get the leverage.
I Can is looking to pass Pake's guard but actually Pake recovers to full guard.
I Can prevents Pake from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
I Can trying to control the position from guard on top but Pake is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
I Can stopping the sweep attempt from Pake.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Pake holds on and takes a little breather.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
I Can drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Pake swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by I Can.
Pake staying out of range there.
Pake takes a swing at I Can's ribcage but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from I Can misses.
Pake misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
I Can scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
I Can swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Sloppy strikes from Pake. Those never looked like landing.
Pake lands with a slapping head kick.
The fighters circling - Pake throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
I Can lands an overhand right.
Pake showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from I Can.
I Can throws a jab when Pake was well out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
I Can throws a body punch but Pake moves out of range.
Pake goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
I Can takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Pake showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from I Can.
Pake fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
I Can misses with a body shot.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Pake! But no joy.
Pake lands with a slapping head kick.

I Can is rocked!
I Can circles to his right, straight into a beautiful hook by Pake. I Can falls face first into the canvas - great knockout victory for Pake!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Derui Pake!
During a confident post fight interview, Derui Pake thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.
In defeat, Because I Can stepped up to the mic, saying 'I'm so handsome i'm not surprised this guy was all over me the way he was!'.