PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Joey Diaz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Roope Rautakoura (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Diaz
vs
Rautakoura

185 cm
25
185 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

177 cm
26
185 lbs
6 - 6 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Big right hand

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Joey Diaz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Roope Rautakoura!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Marco Blurström and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rautakoura clinches up against the cage.
Rautakoura tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Rautakoura dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Rautakoura tries to throw a body punch but Diaz avoids it by throwing Rautakoura back against the cage.
Diaz wants to break free but Rautakoura has control.
Rautakoura lands an uppercut.
Rautakoura pushes off an throws an elbow but Diaz leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
The referee calls for Rautakoura to work.
Rautakoura lands an elbow inside.

It looks like Joey Diaz has been cut.
Rautakoura lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Diaz is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Rautakoura stalling the fight.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Rautakoura obliges.
Rautakoura tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Diaz avoids it.
Rautakoura lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Rautakoura obliges.
Rautakoura putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Diaz in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
A short right from Rautakoura on the inside.
Diaz fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Rautakoura misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Diaz.
Rautakoura lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Rautakoura stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Rautakoura lands an uppercut.
Rautakoura throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Diaz blocks it with crossed arms.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Rautakoura just misses with a elbow thrown towards Diaz's brow.
Rautakoura slows down the pace here.
Diaz is trying to break the clinch but Rautakoura has him pressed against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz tries for a takedown but Rautakoura manages to get underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joey Diaz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rautakoura is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Rautakoura continues to stall. The referee tells him to work or he's going to break them up.
Rautakoura with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Rautakoura unloads a knee to the mid-section. Diaz lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Diaz letting Rautakoura take a breather here.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Roope Rautakoura.

Rautakoura moves into range and clinches up with Diaz.
Diaz being controlled against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rautakoura tries to throw a body punch but Diaz avoids it by throwing Rautakoura back against the cage.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Rautakoura tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Diaz avoids it.
Rautakoura lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Rautakoura is pushing Diaz up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Diaz managing to block the knees to the body from Rautakoura.
Diaz blocks an elbow strike.
Diaz jumps guard but Rautakoura stands there with Diaz around his waist. Diaz gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rautakoura avoiding damage.
A short left from Rautakoura.
Rautakoura holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Rautakoura tries a knee to the head but Diaz blocks it.
Diaz on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Rautakoura lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Diaz backwards.
Rautakoura tries to land knees in the clinch but Diaz avoids the damage to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rautakoura lands an elbow just above Diaz 's eye.
Rautakoura stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Rautakoura misses with a knee to the head.
Come on Rautakoura - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Roope Rautakoura dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Joey Diaz's cut.
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.

Diaz lands with an uppercut that bounces Rautakoura off the cage and back into rage.
Rautakoura is looking to clinch.
Joey Diaz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Diaz shoots in for a takedown but Rautakoura shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Rautakoura tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Diaz manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Diaz lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rautakoura circles away quickly and effectively.
Rautakoura is looking to clinch.
Diaz lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rautakoura circles away quickly and effectively.

Rautakoura closes the distance and clinches.
Diaz tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Rautakoura just stands there and leans against the cage.
Rautakoura pressing his opponent against the cage.
Rautakoura presses Diaz against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Rautakoura.
Roope Rautakoura seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Rautakoura stalling against the cage.
Diaz avoiding damage as Rautakoura throws knees to the body.
Diaz blocks an elbow strike.
Diaz tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Rautakoura smiles and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joey Diaz. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Rautakoura moves into range and clinches up with Diaz.
Rautakoura lands a nice elbow.
Still in the clinch, Rautakoura scores with a nice short uppercut.
Rautakoura is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Diaz is defending well for now.
Diaz wants to get back to striking at distance but Rautakoura won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rautakoura stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Rautakoura throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Diaz managing to block the knees to the body from Rautakoura.
Rautakoura will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Diaz up against the cage.
Rautakoura landing some nice looking knees to the body.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rautakoura landing knees to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rautakoura lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Diaz takes a knee to the side of the body.
The referee calls for Rautakoura to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaz blocks the elbow strike.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Rautakoura.
Rautakoura unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Rautakoura lands a good knee to the midsection. Diaz won't want to take too many of those.
Rautakoura putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Diaz in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Rautakoura takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Rautakoura has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Rautakoura missing with knees to the body.
Rautakoura tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rautakoura holding his opponent close, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rautakoura lands a right hand.
The referee calls for Rautakoura to work.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Roope Rautakoura.
Rautakoura wants to clinch up but Diaz keeps it at a distance.
Diaz dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Rautakoura clinches up against the cage.
Rautakoura scores with a nice hook to the head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Diaz on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Rautakoura tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Rautakoura is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Roope Rautakoura showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Joey Diaz's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Rautakoura pushes Diaz up against the cage in a clinch.
Diaz being controlled against the cage.
Rautakoura scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Rautakoura's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Rautakoura unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Rautakoura lands a right hand that snaps the head of Diaz backwards.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rautakoura lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Diaz backwards.

Diaz has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Rautakoura uses from the top position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Diaz wants to improve his position but instead Rautakoura has moved into half guard.
Diaz avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Rautakoura.
Rautakoura missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Rautakoura with the ground and pound but Diaz uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Rautakoura working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Diaz looking for a sweep. Not yet Diaz, not yet.
Rautakoura has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Rautakoura is pushing down on Diaz's leg trying to pass to half guard. Diaz is fighting to maintain full guard but Rautakoura has managed to sneak the leg through.
Rautakoura throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Diaz avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Rautakoura.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rautakoura tries to pass the half guard into mount. Diaz knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Diaz on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Diaz on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Diaz taking some punishment here, with Rautakoura in his half guard.
Rautakoura throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Diaz avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Rautakoura.
Diaz avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Rautakoura.
Rautakoura is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Rautakoura passes to full mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rautakoura scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Diaz?
Rautakoura lands with some strikes.
Rautakoura landing strikes from the mount.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Rautakoura cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Roope Rautakoura is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Rautakoura takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Let's hope that Rautakoura has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Rautakoura throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Diaz because Rautakoura loaded up on that one.
Rautakoura working the ground and pound effectively.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rautakoura raining down shots from the mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rautakoura content just to control the position here.
Rautakoura lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Roope Rautakoura has got the better of the ground game so far.
Rautakoura controlling his opponent.
Joey Diaz has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rautakoura working Diaz over with strikes here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Roope Rautakoura comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Rautakoura has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Roope Rautakoura!