PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Patrick Plo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gichin Funakoshi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Plo's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, ISIS - Grinning Mouths. Funakoshi comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Martial Art Drum Beat kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Gichin Funakoshi has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Patrick Plo's chin.

Plo
vs
Funakoshi

173 cm
29
150 lbs
22 - 11 - 0

168 cm
26
154 lbs
18 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

CEC Nutrition Q159

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 22 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Patrick Plo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Gichin Funakoshi!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Roosa Järviläinen and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Good exchange - Funakoshi coming out on top.
Plo scores with a jab. Funakoshi acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Funakoshi swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Funakoshi cracks Plo with a good jab.
Funakoshi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Plo avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Funakoshi connects with a crisp jab.

Plo is rocked!
A big left from Funakoshi misses.
Oh Plo is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Funakoshi misses with a looping right.
Funakoshi looks to land a left hand but Plo moved out of range nicely.
Plo seems to have got his legs back now.
Funakoshi takes one to the side of the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Plo misses with a straight left.
Plo bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Funakoshi misses with a hook.
Plo throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Funakoshi is looking to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Funakoshi thows a body shot but no joy.
Funakoshi ducks under a wild hook from Plo.
Plo throws an overhand right that lands on Funakoshi's shoulder, as Funakoshi tries to avoid the shot.
Plo moves out of range as Funakoshi strikes.
The fight stays on the outside here - Funakoshi looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Funakoshi cracks Plo with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Funakoshi 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.
Funakoshi swings for the body but Plo moves out of range.

Plo looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Funakoshi is not content to let Plo control the position.
Funakoshi manages to get to full guard.
Funakoshi wants to sweep here but Plo controlling him for the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Plo forces his way into half guard.
Plo controlling the pace.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Funakoshi tries to roll over but Plo keeps him under control.
Funakoshi taking some punishment here, with Plo in his half guard.
Funakoshi wants to get back to full guard but Plo has passed into side control.
Funakoshi tries to bench press Plo off him but Plo keeps the position.
Plo lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Funakoshi down.
Funakoshi is trying to improve his position.
You can see the frustration on Funakoshi's face as Plo controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Funakoshi sneaks back into half guard.
Funakoshi has hold of Plo's hands but Plo slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Funakoshi looks like he's trying to stand up.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Plo is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Funakoshi has managed to free his arm - good work.
Funakoshi is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Funakoshi flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.

Funakoshi kicks Plo off and gets back to his feet.
Funakoshi misses with a lunging right hand
and Plo counters with a straight right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Plo uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Funakoshi has time to react.
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!
Plo feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Funakoshis jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Plo throws a good cross that connects.

Funakoshi is rocked!
Funakoshi misses with an uppercut.
Funakoshi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Plo.
Plo throws a hook but Funakoshi blocks it.
Gichin Funakoshi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Plo ducks under a wild hook from Funakoshi.
Funakoshi misses with an uppercut.
Funakoshi takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Plo misses with a hook.
Plo is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Funakoshi.
Plo misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Funakoshi.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Patrick Plo dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Funakoshi misses the shot to the body.
Funakoshi swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Plo.
Plo on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Funakoshi tries to close the distance and clinch but Plo swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Plo ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Plo catches Funakoshi with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Funakoshi avoids the body shot from Plo.
Funakoshi looks to land a left hand but Plo moved out of range nicely.
Funakoshi looks to throw the jab but Plo is out of range.
Plo throws a shot from downtown. Funakoshi moves away and avoids it.
No joy there for Funakoshi, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Funakoshi tries to bum rush Plo with a series of wild strikes but Plo uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Funakoshi misses with a left hand
and Funakoshi takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Plo scores with a jab.
Funakoshi lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Nice defenses there by Plo.
Plo scores with a nice right hand.
Funakoshi throws a big shot that misses.
Plo uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Funakoshi.
Nice straight punches there by Plo. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Plo.
Plo dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Plo lands with an overhand left.
Funakoshi is still on wobbly legs! Can Plo finish him?
Plo looks to score with a jab to the body but Funakoshi is just out of range.
Plo pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Funakoshi seems to have recovered his senses.

Funakoshi gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Plo to score an easy takedown into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Funakoshi manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Funakoshi misses with a head shot.
Funakoshi avoids the attempt from Plo to control.
Funakoshi thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Funakoshi throws a wild left hand from mount and Plo manages to wriggle his way back to half guard.
Funakoshi throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Funakoshi looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Funakoshi thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Funakoshi with the ground and pound but Plo uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Funakoshi postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Patrick Plo overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Plo has momentary wrist control but Funakoshi slips an elbow through the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Funakoshi scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Plo looking to control.
Funakoshi with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Funakoshi trying to control the position from guard on top but Plo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Plo is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Funakoshi is looking to improve his position.
Plo wants to lay and pray for a moment but Funakoshi keeps working.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Plo stalling.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Funakoshi wants to get back to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Gichin Funakoshi will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Funakoshi misses with an uppercut. Plo saw that one coming.
Funakoshi tries to clinch but Plo moves out of range.
Plo throws a predictable looking body shot
and Funakoshi counters with a nice body shot.
A swing and a miss from Funakoshi.
Funakoshi fails with an attempt to clinch.
Plo slips under a jab from Funakoshi.
Funakoshi tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Plo manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Plo moves out of range of the strikes.
Funakoshi tries to clinch but Plo is having none of it.
Funakoshi slips a jab from Plo.
Funakoshi tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Plo was well out of range. Poor timing from Funakoshi.
Funakoshi displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Plo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Plo on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Funakoshi tries to close the distance and clinch but Plo swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Gichin Funakoshi is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Funakoshi works Plo's body with a nice hook.
Plo throws a big shot that misses.
Plo just misses with a punch to the body.
Plo ducks under a wild hook from Funakoshi.
Funakoshi pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Funakoshi displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Plo throws out the jab.
Funakoshi throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Plo sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Plo misses with an uppercut. Funakoshi saw that one coming.
Funakoshi dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Funakoshi closes the distance and pushes Plo back into the cage.

Plo successfully pulls guard.
Funakoshi postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Funakoshi trying to control the position from guard on top but Plo is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Plo looking for a sweep. Not yet Plo, not yet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Funakoshi missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Funakoshi throws a big right hand that misses.
Funakoshi in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Plo trying to control the position.
Funakoshi is fighting to break Plo's control of his arms but Plo is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Funakoshi trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Plo tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Funakoshi looking to sit in guard and control but Plo gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Plo throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Funakoshi works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Plo connects with a couple of short punches.
Funakoshi throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

Funakoshi is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Plo is aware though and is defending well.
Plo trying to control but Funakoshi is working from the bottom.
Funakoshi controlling Plo's posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Funakoshi looking to hit a scissor sweep but Plo is one step ahead there.
Funakoshi is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Funakoshi being controlled here, momentarily.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Gichin Funakoshi.
Plo ducks under a wild hook from Funakoshi.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Plo keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Plo misses with a straight left.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gichin Funakoshi comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Funakoshi 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 29:29
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 29:29
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 28:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!