PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Johnny Pickett (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mahamud Najib Osman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Pickett
vs
Najib Osman

153 cm
18
150 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

178 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Johnny Pickett!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Mahamud Najib Osman!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Ben Zyskovitsi and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice takedown defense from Pickett. No joy for Najib Osman on that attempt.
Pickett tries to bum rush Najib Osman with a series of wild strikes but Najib Osman uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Najib Osman moves in looking to clinch but Pickett pushes him off.
Najib Osman darts in trying to clinch

and Pickett counters by moving into the clinch.
Pickett gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Najib Osman.
Najib Osman wants to break free but Pickett has control.
Pickett really is a fat lump.

Pickett decides to pull guard.

Pickett working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Najib Osman doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Najib Osman manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Pickett not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pickett looking for a sweep. Not yet Pickett, not yet.
Pickett keeping moving, preventing Najib Osman from controlling successfully.
Pickett tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Pickett is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Najib Osman defends well.
Najib Osman is stalling in the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Mahamud Najib Osman has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Pickett closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Najib Osman to the mat! Najib Osman manages to get full guard.

Najib Osman is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Pickett defends well.
Najib Osman looks winded!
Najib Osman avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Pickett with a nice head shot there.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Pickett gets to his feet - Najib Osman follows without any prompting.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Najib Osman shoots in but Pickett avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Johnny Pickett has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mahamud Najib Osman.
Pickett swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Pickett lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Najib Osman circles away quickly and effectively.
Pickett fails with an attempt to clinch.
Pickett leaves Najib Osman with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Najib Osman gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Pickett to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Pickett postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pickett in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Najib Osman preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Pickett content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Najib Osman is trying to keep Pickett in close.
Pickett makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pickett keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Najib Osman's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Johnny Pickett dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Pickett misses with a few strikes there.
Najib Osman looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Najib Osman looking to land some kicks to the body here.

Najib Osman shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Najib Osman showed some decent athleticism there.
Pickett gets back to full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pickett is trying to control the position but Najib Osman postures up.
Najib Osman is breathing heavily.
Najib Osman stands and throws Pickett's legs to the side, diving into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Najib Osman tries to stand but Pickett is controlling his head.
Pickett might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Pickett regains half guard.
Najib Osman is just content to waste time from the top position. Pickett takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Pickett manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pickett fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

Najib Osman defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Pickett.
Pickett landing shots from mount.
Pickett working Najib Osman over with strikes here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pickett in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

Pickett has control of Najib Osman's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Najib Osman regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Pickett working the ground and pound effectively.
Najib Osman taking shots to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Najib Osman is working to get back to half guard.
Pickett breaks from Najib Osman's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Najib Osman keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Pickett putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Najib Osman is in a horrible position here. Pickett smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pickett unloading with bombs!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Johnny Pickett dominated that second round.
That's time! Pickett's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Pickett has a takedown stuffed.

Pickett shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Najib Osman is looking to control Pickett's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Najib Osman avoid being mounted?

Pickett stands up out of the half guard.
Najib Osman looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Najib Osman tries to clinch but Pickett is having none of it.
Najib Osman takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Najib Osman shoots in but no luck this time.
The fight stays on the outside here - Pickett looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Pickett clinches up with Najib Osman and pushes him back against the cage.
Pickett fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Najib Osman is defending well against a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Johnny Pickett. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Najib Osman taking a breather.
Pickett is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Najib Osman pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Pickett is looking to take this one to the mat.

Pickett has hold of one of Najib Osman's legs. Najib Osman is fighting the takedown attempt but Pickett gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Najib Osman is trying to keep Pickett in close.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pickett lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Pickett works over Najib Osman with some ground and pound from guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Pickett accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Najib Osman looking to control but Pickett passes into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ground and pound from Pickett.
Najib Osman is looking to escape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pickett looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Najib Osman with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Pickett winds up and cracks Najib Osman with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Pickett has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Pickett lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Pickett takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Pickett connects with a nice short shot to Najib Osman's temple.
Pickett stops Najib Osman from getting back to his feet.
Najib Osman gets back to full guard.
Johnny Pickett overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pickett with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Pickett chips away with some ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pickett chips away with some ground and pound.
Najib Osman really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Pickett. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Pickett is working Najib Osman over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Pickett postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pickett throws a big elbow that misses.
Mahamud Najib Osman has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Johnny Pickett is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pickett is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Najib Osman can do to turn this around?
This has been an exciting period of action!
Pickett is working Najib Osman over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Johnny Pickett showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Pickett has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 30:27
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Johnny Pickett!