PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Maiki Taison (ranked 21110 p4p, 18511 weight class) and Yeshua Immanuel (ranked 116 p4p, 127 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Taison
vs
Immanuel

182 cm
28
179
0 - 1 - 0

181 cm
39
190
14 - 16 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Maiki Taison!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Yeshua Immanuel!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Marco Blurström and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Immanuel.
Taison wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Immanuel keeps control of Taison as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Immanuel.

Taison breaks from the clinch.
Taison swats away the attempt to clinch by Immanuel.
Immanuel fails with an attempt to clinch.
Taison looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
A combination from Taison does no damage.

Taison forces Immanuel back against the cage and clinches.
Taison can't break the clinch.
Immanuel blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Immanuel misses with the head strike.
Immanuel tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Immanuel lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Immanuel working aggressively here.
Immanuel softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Immanuel fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Immanuel has a couple of punches blocked by Taison.
Immanuel working some nice short punches in the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Immanuel.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short right from Immanuel.
Taison is trying to push Immanuel away but Immanuel has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Immanuel lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Taison backwards.
Immanuel throws a punch but it's blocked by Taison.
Taison is trying to force a seperation but Immanuel has the dominant position.
Immanuel working aggressively here.
Still in the clinch, Immanuel scores with a nice short uppercut.
Immanuel scores with a shot to the side of Taison's head.
Immanuel has a couple of punches blocked by Taison.
A frustrated look appears on Taison's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Immanuel tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Taison working hard to break the clinch.
Immanuel misses with some punches.
A nice right hand lands inside from Taison.

Taison breaks the clinch.
Yeshua Immanuel seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Some wild striking there from Taison.

Immanuel closes the distance and clinches.
Taison lands a shoulder strike.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Immanuel swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Taison breaks from the clinch.
Taison swats away the attempt to clinch by Immanuel.

Immanuel drives through and clinches with Taison against the cage.
Immanuel working aggressively here.
Immanuel has Taison pressed against the cage, preventing Taison from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Taison wants to break the clinch but can't.
Taison lands a shot to the body.
Taison wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Immanuel has him pressed against the cage.

Taison's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Immanuel gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Taison.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Taison.
Taison misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Immanuel swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Taison manages to break the clinch.
Taison fails with an attempt to clinch.
Taison displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Taison fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Immanuel on the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Immanuel takes the fight into the clinch.
Taison can't break the clinch.
Immanuel misses with the head strike.
Taison misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Immanuel.
Immanuel fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Immanuel fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Taison wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Immanuel has him pressed against the cage.
Immanuel lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Immanuel swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Taison can't break the clinch.

Taison breaks from the clinch.

Immanuel gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Taison manages to break the clinch.

Immanuel tries to keep at a distance but Taison has taken the fight into the clinch.
Immanuel fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Immanuel misses with a punch on the inside.
Taison blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Taison is trying to break the clinch but Immanuel has him pressed against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Immanuel fails to land.
Immanuel misses with a short punch on the inside.
Taison is trying to break the clinch but Immanuel is controlling him.
A nice right hand lands inside from Immanuel.
A head punch on the inside from Immanuel fails to land.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Immanuel throws a head punch that misses.
Immanuel misses with a short punch on the inside.
Taison wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Immanuel fails to land.
Taison taking a breather.
A head punch on the inside from Immanuel fails to land.
Taison lands an uppercut.
Immanuel lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Immanuel has a couple of punches blocked by Taison.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Taison throws an elbow that misses.

Taison manages to break the clinch.
Taison misses with a double jab.
Immanuel tries to close the distance and clinch up but Taison swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Taison gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Yeshua Immanuel dominated that round.
That's time! Taison's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Taison moves into range and clinches up with Immanuel.
Taison wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Immanuel has him pressed against the cage.
Taison misses with some punches.
Immanuel lands a hook that snaps the head of Taison backwards.
Immanuel prevents Taison from breaking the clinch.
Taison blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Immanuel has a couple of punches blocked by Taison.
Immanuel lands an uppercut.
Immanuel lands a right hand.

Taison's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Taison avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Immanuel steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Taison.
Immanuel looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A left and a right from Taison both land. Nice combination.

Taison has taken the fight to the clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Taison breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Immanuel moves into range and clinches up with Taison.
Taison slows down the pace here.
Immanuel throws a head punch that misses.
Taison is trying to push Immanuel away but Immanuel has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A frustrated look appears on Taison's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Taison throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Immanuel blocks it with crossed arms.
Immanuel prevents Taison from breaking the clinch.
Immanuel working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Taison tries to break free but Immanuel pushes him back against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Immanuel.
Taison blocks an uppercut.
Immanuel fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Immanuel misses with the head strike.
Immanuel misses with the head strike.
Taison tries to circle away but Immanuel has him pinned against the cage.

Taison's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
A slow jab from Taison misses its intended target.
It seemed like Immanuel was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.

Immanuel gets a clinch.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Taison tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Taison is trying to break the clinch but Immanuel is controlling him.
Taison blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taison is trying to break the clinch but Immanuel has him pressed against the cage.
Taison blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Immanuel misses with a short punch on the inside.
Taison misses with a hook to the ribs.
Immanuel on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Taison tries to work over Immanuel's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Taison doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Taison wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Immanuel has him pressed against the cage.
Immanuel misses with some punches.
Taison blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A head punch on the inside from Immanuel fails to land.
Immanuel has a couple of punches blocked by Taison.
Taison has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Immanuel lands a hook to the side of the head.
Immanuel misses with a hook from the clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Taison.
Immanuel swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Taison is trying to break the clinch but Immanuel has him pressed against the cage.
Immanuel scores with a shoulder strike.
Taison blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Taison is trying to break free.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taison has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Taison escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
The fight stays on the outside here - Taison looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Taison fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Immanuel manages to avoid it.
Taison swinging wildly here.
Maiki Taison is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Taison throws a body shot but no joy.
A little jabbing left from Immanuel on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.

Taison moves into range and clinches up with Immanuel.
Immanuel gets through Taison's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Taison blocks an uppercut.
Immanuel swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A short uppercut from Taison.
Immanuel lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Immanuel tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Immanuel throws a head punch that misses.
Immanuel has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Immanuel prevents Taison from breaking the clinch.
Taison can't break the clinch.
Immanuel lands a right hand that snaps the head of Taison backwards.
Immanuel prevents Taison from breaking the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taison wants to get back to striking at distance but Immanuel won't allow it.
Immanuel has a couple of punches blocked by Taison.
Immanuel throws a punch but it's blocked by Taison.

Taison escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Immanuel doesn't manage to clinch there - Taison circles away.
Taison throws a right and a left that Immanuel avoids nicely.
Immanuel moves in looking to clinch but Taison pushes him off.

Taison takes the fight into the clinch.
Taison is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Immanuel is defending well for now.
Taison lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Immanuel lands with a right to the head.
Immanuel misses with some punches.
Immanuel misses with some punches.
A nice left hand lands by Taison.
Immanuel scores with a nice hook to the head.
A nice left hand lands by Taison.
Taison lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Immanuel throws a head punch that misses.
Taison tries to circle away but Immanuel has him pinned against the cage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Yeshua Immanuel will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Taison tries to keep at a distance but Immanuel has taken the fight into the clinch.
Taison wants to break free but Immanuel has control.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Taison.
Immanuel tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Immanuel.
Immanuel keeps control of Taison as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Taison blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Taison blocking some punches.

Taison breaks the clinch.
Immanuel tries to clinch up.
Immanuel tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Taison manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Taison misses with a wild combination.
It seemed like Immanuel was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Immanuel tries to clinch up but Taison circles away and keeps his distance.
As Immanuel looks to move away, Taison throws a big counter combo but Immanuel just gets out of the way.

Immanuel takes the fight into the clinch.
Immanuel throws a punch but it's blocked by Taison.
Taison lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Taison blocks an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Immanuel scores with a shoulder strike.
Immanuel softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Taison wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Taison is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Taison is looking to break free of the clinch but Immanuel has double underhooks.
Immanuel throws a punch but it's blocked by Taison.

Taison breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Maiki Taison is winning the standup battle so far.

Immanuel pushes Taison up against the cage in a clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Taison.
Immanuel prevents Taison from breaking the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Immanuel as Taison tries to tie him up.
Taison tries to circle away but Immanuel has him pinned against the cage.
Immanuel fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Immanuel misses with some punches.
Taison swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A short uppercut from Immanuel.

Taison escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Immanuel avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Immanuel showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Taison.
A little jabbing left from Immanuel on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Immanuel moves into range and clinches up with Taison.
A nice right hand lands inside from Immanuel.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Immanuel swings wildly with an uppercut but Taison uses good head movement to avoid it.

Taison breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Taison fails to land with a series of punches.
Taison tries to clinch but Immanuel moves out of range.
Taison looks to land a combination. Immanuel sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Taison misses with the combination.
Taison throws a head kick but Immanuel moves out of range.
Immanuel is looking to clinch.
Taison tries to bum rush Immanuel with a series of wild strikes but Immanuel uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Immanuel has closed the distance and engaged Taison in a clinch.
Immanuel lands a left hand.
Immanuel misses with a short punch on the inside.
Immanuel misses with the head strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Immanuel scores with a shot to the side of Taison's head.
Taison looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Taison misses with a knee strike.

Taison breaks from the clinch.

Immanuel closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Taison blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Yeshua Immanuel seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Immanuel has a couple of punches blocked by Taison.
Taison swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Immanuel has a couple of punches blocked by Taison.
Taison works on Immanuel's body with a couple of short punches.
Taison misses with a punch on the inside.
Taison is trying to break free.
Taison tries to circle away but Immanuel has him pinned against the cage.
Immanuel makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Taison blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Taison is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Taison working hard to break the clinch.
Taison is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Taison is trying to break the clinch but Immanuel has him pressed against the cage.
Immanuel working aggressively here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Immanuel fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Taison blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Taison's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Taison pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Immanuel walks into a left hand.

Taison forces Immanuel back against the cage and clinches.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Immanuel lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Immanuel misses with a punch on the inside.
Taison blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Taison lands a hook that snaps the head of Immanuel backwards.
Immanuel throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Taisons head.
Taison is trying to break the clinch but Immanuel has him pressed against the cage.
Immanuel throws a head punch that misses.
Immanuel has a couple of punches blocked by Taison.
Immanuel misses with a punch on the inside.
Taison blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Maiki Taison has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Taison.
Yeshua Immanuel is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Taison wants to get back to striking at distance but Immanuel won't allow it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yeshua Immanuel comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Immanuel 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 27:30
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yeshua Immanuel!
After winning the bout, Yeshua Immanuel thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.