PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Sebastien Linne (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicky Santoro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Linne kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Arcturus - The Chaos Path. 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.

Linne
vs
Santoro

170 cm
45
158 lbs
42 - 24 - 0

160 cm
32
158 lbs
26 - 12 - 1

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
KO power

Olympic wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Perkele!
KnockOut

Perkele!

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 42 - 24 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sebastien Linne!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Nicky Santoro!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Don Winkell and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Linne lands with an uppercut that bounces Santoro off the cage and back into range.
Santoro connects with a single shot there.
Santoro rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Linne moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Linne is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Linne is looking to chop away at Santoro's legs.
Santoro misses the shot to the body.
Linne throws a big counter combination but Santoro scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Linne misses with a body punch
and Santoro counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Santoro scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Linne sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Nice strikes from Santoro there.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Santoro is looking for a kimura here.
Linne is not content to let Santoro control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santoro takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Linne is not content to let Santoro control the position.

Santoro is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Linne sees it coming and defends easily.
Linne is looking for a sweep. Santoro is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Santoro seems to be looking for submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Santoro trying to control from half guard but Linne is working away.
Linne avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Santoro.
Linne wants to get back to full guard.
Santoro seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Santoro not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Santoro missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Santoro is looking for a kimura here.
Linne is staying active underneath Santoro, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Santoro has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
A big left from Linne misses.
Linne swings for the body but Santoro moves out of range.
Santoro is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Santoro fails with a takedown attempt.

Santoro closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Linne is not content to let Santoro control the position.
Santoro lands an elbow.
Santoro landing strikes.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Santoro looking to control but instead Linne has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Linne gets back to full guard.
Santoro trying to control but Linne is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

The fighters circling - Linne throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Santoro swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Linne.

Santoro gets the takedown into side control.
Linne parries the strikes from Santoro easily there. Santoro is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Linne to escape.
Santoro throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Linne works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
Santoro working Linne over with strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Santoro controlling the action here.
Linne holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santoro seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Linne wants to improve his position but Santoro is controlling well.
Linne is trying to control but can't.
Linne moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Santoro throws an elbow that misses. Linne uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Santoro's guard. Nice move by Linne!

Santoro looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Linne puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santoro trying to control here.
Santoro regains full guard. Nicely done.
Santoro wants to sweep here but Linne controlling him for the moment.
Santoro not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Our spies down at at Brown House inform us that Santoro has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Santoro had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Linne defends it easily.
Santoro trying to strike off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Linne trying to control but Santoro is working from the bottom.

Santoro throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Santoro looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Santoro wants to sweep but no luck.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Santoro is on top in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santoro postures up.
Santoro throwing strikes from guard but Linne blocks nicely.
Linne trying to keep a closed guard but Santoro is proving a slippery customer.
Santoro postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Santoro throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Santoro is working Linne over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Santoro accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Linne tries to land a sweep but no joy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nicky Santoro showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Linne scoring well with a low kick there.
Santoro has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Santoro bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Linne's head backwards.
Santoro lands a nice shot to the body.
Santoro blocks a jab.
Linne misses with a head kick.
Santoro with a nice cross.
We've been told by Linne's head coaches at The Stray Dogs that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Santoro shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Linne counters with a slapping leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Santoro closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Linne's guard.
Santoro throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Linne works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Santoro wants to control from the top but Linne keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Linne looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Linne working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Santoro.
Santoro wants to control from the top but Linne keeps moving.
Santoro throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Santoro trying to control the position from guard on top but Linne is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Linne misses with a lunging right hand
and Santoro counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Sebastien Linne has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Linne takes one to the side of the head.
Santoro throws a jab but it's blocked by Linne.
A combination from Linne does no damage.
A little jabbing left from Santoro on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Sebastien Linne is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Linne misses with a wild combination.

Santoro closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Linne's guard.
Santoro trying to control but Linne is working from the bottom.
Santoro looking to sit in guard and control but Linne gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santoro looking to control.
Linne is fighting to break Santoro's control of his arms but Santoro is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Linne preventing the sweep.
Santoro trying to keep a closed guard but Linne is proving a slippery customer.
Linne preventing the sweep.
Linne landing with the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Santoro is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Santoro thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Linne is looking to land body kicks.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Linne lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Santoro has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Santoro and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Santoro misses with a body shot.
Santoro uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A bone on bone clash there as Santoro blocks the leg kick.
And Santoro tries to counter it with a takedown but Linne pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Linne swings for the body but Santoro moves out of range.
Santoro is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Linne with a body shot.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nicky Santoro comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Santoro 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 27:30
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 27:30
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nicky Santoro!
Nicky Santoro managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, Perkele!, into his post fight interview.
The defeated Sebastien Linne had this to say: 'Feel proud now, huh? Beating up an old man like me? '.