PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Muru Aalto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alexi Laiho (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Aalto
vs
Laiho

175 cm
26
160 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

168 cm
19
160 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Prefers standup

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

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 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Muru Aalto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Alexi Laiho!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Johanna Lukiainen and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Laiho moves to clinch but Aalto breaks away
and Aalto counters with a nice uppercut.
Aalto stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Aalto throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Laiho counters by clinching up.
Laiho lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Laiho scores a nice knee to the body.
Aalto can't break the clinch.
Laiho landing knees to the body.
Aalto is trying to break the clinch but Laiho has him pressed against the cage.
Laiho connects with a nasty looking knee right to Aalto's face.
Aalto looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Laiho working Aalto over with knees to the body.
Aalto is breathing heavily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Aalto takes a knee to the side of the body.
Laiho connects with a knee to the head.

It looks like Muru Aalto has been cut.
A body shot lands from Laiho.
Laiho landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Laiho landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Laiho is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Laiho obliges.
Laiho lands a good knee to the midsection. Aalto won't want to take too many of those.
Laiho lands a good knee to the midsection. Aalto won't want to take too many of those.
Laiho using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Aalto tries to circle away but Laiho has him pinned against the cage.
Laiho lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aalto working hard to break the clinch.
Laiho lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Laiho obliges.
Laiho lands an elbow inside.
Aalto takes a knee right on the jaw!
Laiho working Aalto over with knees to the body.
Laiho landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Laiho lands a nice knee to the body.
Laiho lands an elbow inside that Aalto shrugs off.
Laiho is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Laiho creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Aalto's defenses.
Laiho landing knees to the head.
Laiho lands an elbow inside that Aalto shrugs off.
Laiho unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Laiho gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Laiho with a knee to the head.
Aalto is trying to break the clinch but Laiho is controlling him.
Laiho lands a knee to the head.
Laiho scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Knees to the body from Laiho.
Laiho throws an elbow that misses.
Aalto is trying to break the clinch but Laiho is controlling him.
Laiho works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Laiho comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Laiho unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Knees to the body from Laiho.
Aalto wants to break free but Laiho has control.
Laiho lands an elbow inside that Aalto shrugs off.
Laiho landing knees to the body.
Aalto is trying to break the clinch but Laiho has him pressed against the cage.
Laiho crunches a lovely knee into Aalto's ribcage.
Aalto takes a knee to the side of the body.
Aalto tries to circle away but Laiho has him pinned against the cage.
Laiho lands a hook that snaps the head of Aalto backwards.
Laiho lands an elbow inside that Aalto shrugs off.
Laiho lands an elbow just above Aalto 's eye.
Laiho putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Aalto in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Laiho landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Aalto working hard to break the clinch.
Laiho gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
A knee to the head by Laiho.
Knees in the clinch landing for Laiho.
Aalto wants to break free but Laiho has control.
Laiho prevents Aalto from breaking the clinch.
Laiho putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Aalto in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laiho scores with a knee to the head.
Laiho is working Aalto over against the cage.
Laiho lands an elbow that stopped Aalto in his tracks for a moment.
Laiho presses Aalto against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Aalto on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Laiho misses with a knee to the head.
A short right from Aalto.
Aalto working hard to break the clinch.
Aalto takes a knee to the side of the body.
Laiho lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Laiho using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Aalto has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Aalto tries to break the clinch but Laiho is controlling the position.
A nice left hand lands by Laiho.
A frustrated look appears on Aalto's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Aalto wants to get back to striking at distance but Laiho won't allow it.
Laiho lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Laiho lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Laiho unloads a knee to the mid-section. Aalto lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Laiho is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Nice elbow from Laiho.
A short body shot lands from Laiho as the two fighters clinch.
Laiho landing knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Laiho tries a knee to the head but Aalto blocks it.
Laiho with a knee to the head.
Aalto can't break the clinch.
Aalto is trying to break the clinch but Laiho is controlling him.
Laiho landing knees to the head.
Laiho utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Laiho gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Aalto has had enough of the clinch but Laiho keeps him there for the moment.
Laiho connects with a knee to the head.
Aalto has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Laiho lands a good knee to the midsection. Aalto won't want to take too many of those.
Laiho scores a nice knee to the body.
Aalto working hard to break the clinch.
Aalto is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Laiho utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Aalto is trying to force a seperation but Laiho has the dominant position.
Laiho lands an elbow inside.
Laiho lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Aalto working hard to break the clinch.
Aalto looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexi Laiho dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Muru Aalto's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Laiho tries to clinch up.
Aalto misses with a lunging right hand

and Laiho counters by moving into the clinch.
Laiho tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Laiho with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Aalto wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Laiho gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Aalto wants to get back to striking at distance but Laiho won't allow it.
Aalto wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
A knee to the head by Laiho.
Aalto tries to circle away but Laiho has him pinned against the cage.
Laiho connects with a knee to the head.
Laiho digs a right hand underneath Aalto's ribcage. Aalto let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Laiho lands a damaging elbow.
Laiho tries to land knees in the clinch but Aalto avoids the damage to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Aalto working hard to break the clinch.
Laiho throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Aalto tries to break free but Laiho pushes him back against the cage.
Laiho landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Alexi Laiho seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Laiho swings wildly with an uppercut but Aalto uses good head movement to avoid it.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Laiho missing with knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aalto has had enough of the clinch but Laiho keeps him there for the moment.
Aalto has had enough of the clinch but Laiho keeps him there for the moment.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Laiho obliges.
Laiho gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Laiho landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Laiho keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Aalto's efforts to push away.
Aalto wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Aalto tries to break the clinch but Laiho is controlling the position.
Laiho prevents Aalto from breaking the clinch.
Laiho comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Laiho scores with a knee to the head.
Aalto tries to circle away but Laiho has him pinned against the cage.
Laiho lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Aalto.
Laiho connects with a nasty looking knee right to Aalto's face.
Aalto is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Laiho connects with a nasty looking knee right to Aalto's face.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Laiho.
Laiho lands an elbow that stopped Aalto in his tracks for a moment.
Aalto on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Laiho has Aalto pressed against the cage, preventing Aalto from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Aalto wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Laiho has him pressed against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Laiho scores with a shot to the side of Aalto's head.
Laiho connects with a knee to the head.
Aalto wants to break the clinch but can't.
A nice left hand lands by Laiho.
Laiho scores with a knee to the head.
Aalto looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Laiho lands a damaging elbow.
Laiho lands a nice knee to the body.
Laiho lands a knee to the head.
Laiho connects with a nasty looking knee right to Aalto's face.
Aalto has had enough of the clinch but Laiho keeps him there for the moment.
Laiho keeps control of Aalto as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Laiho comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Aalto is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Laiho lands a knee to the head.
Nice elbow from Laiho.
Laiho has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Aalto wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Aalto working hard to break the clinch.
Laiho lands an elbow just above Aalto 's eye.
Aalto tries to break the clinch but Laiho is controlling the position.
Laiho lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Laiho lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laiho with a knee to the head.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Laiho obliges.
Laiho scores with a knee to the head.
Aalto is trying to push Laiho away but Laiho has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Laiho connects with a knee to the head.
Aalto is trying to push Laiho away but Laiho has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Laiho comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Aalto is trying to break the clinch but Laiho is controlling him.
Laiho lands an elbow that stopped Aalto in his tracks for a moment.
Laiho lands a damaging elbow.
Laiho lands a knee to the body.
Laiho throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Aalto blocks it with crossed arms.
Laiho unloads a knee to the mid-section. Aalto lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Laiho gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Laiho with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Laiho scores with a knee to the head.
Laiho gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Laiho lands a knee to the head.
Laiho lands a knee to the head.
Laiho lands a knee to the head.
Laiho creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Aalto's defenses.
Aalto takes an elbow to the forehead.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Laiho lands a knee to the body.
Aalto looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Laiho lands a knee to the head.
Aalto takes a knee to the side of the body.
Aalto has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Laiho.
Laiho creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Aalto's defenses.
Laiho gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Laiho misses with a knee to the head.
Aalto blocks the elbow strike.
Laiho is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Aalto is defending well for now.
Aalto wants to break the clinch but can't.
Aalto blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Laiho lands an elbow inside that Aalto shrugs off.
Aalto looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Aalto is trying to break the clinch but Laiho is controlling him.
A knee to the head by Laiho.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Laiho is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Aalto is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Aalto has had enough of the clinch but Laiho keeps him there for the moment.
Laiho lands a good knee to the midsection. Aalto won't want to take too many of those.
Laiho lands a knee to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexi Laiho showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Muru Aalto's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Aalto throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Laiho counters with a slapping leg kick.

Laiho moves into the clinch successfully.
Laiho landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Laiho lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Laiho using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Laiho lands a nice elbow.
Laiho cracks Aalto with a nice body shot.
Laiho lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Aalto is trying to break the clinch but Laiho is controlling him.
Laiho lands a good knee to the midsection. Aalto won't want to take too many of those.
Laiho lands an elbow inside that Aalto shrugs off.
Laiho creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Aalto's defenses.
Laiho misses with a knee to the head.
Laiho trying to land knees to the body.
Aalto tries to break the clinch but Laiho is controlling the position.
Laiho prevents Aalto from breaking the clinch.
Laiho creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Aalto's defenses.
Aalto takes a knee to the side of the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Laiho with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Aalto takes a knee right on the jaw!
Laiho tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Laiho scores a nice knee to the body.
Aalto takes an elbow to the forehead.
Laiho tries to land knees in the clinch but Aalto avoids the damage to the body.
Aalto wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Laiho has him pressed against the cage.
Aalto working hard to break the clinch.
A knee to the head by Laiho.
Laiho scores a nice knee to the body.
Laiho trying to land knees to the body.
Aalto is trying to force a seperation but Laiho has the dominant position.
Laiho lands a knee to the head.
Aalto tries to break free but Laiho pushes him back against the cage.
Laiho unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Aalto is looking to break free of the clinch but Laiho has double underhooks.
Laiho keeps control of Aalto as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Aalto tries to circle away but Laiho has him pinned against the cage.
Laiho creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Aalto's defenses.
Laiho landing knees to the head.
Laiho has Aalto pressed against the cage, preventing Aalto from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Laiho lands a knee to the body.
Laiho lands a knee to the body.
Aalto wants to break the clinch but can't.
Laiho landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Laiho tries a knee to the head but Aalto blocks it.
Laiho with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Laiho tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Aalto avoids it.
Laiho keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Aalto's efforts to push away.
Laiho landing knees to the body.
A frustrated look appears on Aalto's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Laiho gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Aalto takes an elbow to the forehead.
Laiho lands a shoulder strike.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Laiho.
Laiho lands a good knee to the midsection. Aalto won't want to take too many of those.
Laiho lands a damaging elbow.
Laiho scores a nice knee to the body.
Laiho throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Aalto blocks it with crossed arms.
Aalto wants to break free but Laiho has control.
Laiho with a knee to the head.
Aalto working hard to break the clinch.
Aalto takes a knee right on the jaw!
Aalto tries to break free but Laiho pushes him back against the cage.
Laiho utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Laiho connects with a nasty looking knee right to Aalto's face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laiho lands a nice shot to the body.
Laiho lands a damaging elbow.
Aalto is trying to break free.
Laiho lands an elbow inside.
Laiho using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Aalto is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Laiho working Aalto over with knees to the body.
Aalto takes an elbow to the temple.
Laiho is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Laiho.
Aalto is trying to push Laiho away but Laiho has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Laiho unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Laiho keeps control of Aalto as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Laiho putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Aalto in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Aalto takes an elbow to the forehead.
Aalto wants to break free but Laiho has control.
Laiho crunches a lovely knee into Aalto's ribcage.
Laiho unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Aalto is trying to push Laiho away but Laiho has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Laiho landing knees to the body.
Aalto has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Muru Aalto has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Laiho crunches a lovely knee into Aalto's ribcage.
Laiho lands a damaging elbow.
Laiho lands a damaging elbow.
Laiho has Aalto pressed against the cage, preventing Aalto from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Aalto wants to break the clinch but can't.
Laiho lands a nice knee to the body.
Laiho lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
A knee to the head by Laiho.
Laiho using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Laiho tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Aalto avoids it.
Aalto has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Aalto tries to break free but Laiho pushes him back against the cage.
Laiho works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Laiho scores with a knee to the head.
Laiho landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Aalto is trying to force a seperation but Laiho has the dominant position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Knees in the clinch landing for Laiho.
Aalto takes an elbow to the forehead.
Laiho lands with a right to the head.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Laiho obliges.
Alexi Laiho is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Aalto wants to break the clinch but can't.
Laiho is leaning against Aalto and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexi Laiho comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Laiho 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 26:30
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 26:30
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexi Laiho!