PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between What Cheem (ranked 4655 p4p, 454 weight class) and Joe Baker (ranked 6404 p4p, 552 weight class). Joe Baker told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Cheem
vs
Baker

175 cm
18
162 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

178 cm
25
166 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
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 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, What Cheem!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Joe Baker!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, George Francis and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Cheem moves into the clinch.
Cheem tries a knee to the head but Baker blocks it.
Cheem misses with a knee to the head.
Cheem with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Cheem lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

It looks like Joe Baker has been cut.
Cheem using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Baker has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Cheem with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Cheem misses with a knee to the head.
Baker misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Baker lands a right hand.
Baker tries a body shot but Cheem blocks it.
Baker misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Cheem throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Baker blocks it with crossed arms.
Baker working aggressively here.
Cheem using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Baker has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Cheem with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Cheem blocks an uppercut.
Baker misses with a body punch.
Baker throws a punch but it's blocked by Cheem.
Cheem connects with a nasty looking knee right to Baker's face.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Baker avoids it.
Cheem misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Baker.
Cheem missing with knees to the body.
Cheem unloads a knee to the mid-section.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baker avoiding damage as Cheem throws knees to the body.
Cheem with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Baker avoiding damage as Cheem throws knees to the body.
Baker avoiding damage as Cheem throws knees to the body.
Cheem throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Baker blocks it with crossed arms.
Cheem is breathing heavily.
Baker avoiding damage as Cheem throws knees to the body.
Baker fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Baker swings wildly with an uppercut but Cheem uses good head movement to avoid it.
Cheem throws a knee to the head but misses.
Cheem missing with knees to the body.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
A right hand to the body from Baker.
Baker misses with the head strike.
Baker misses with a hook from the clinch.
Baker misses with a punch to the body.
Baker misses with some punches.
Baker lands a hook to the side of the head.
Cheem using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Baker working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baker swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Baker tries to work over Cheem's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cheem with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Cheem lands a knee to the head.
Baker misses with a hook from the clinch.
Baker lands an uppercut.
Baker lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Cheem or not.
Baker misses with the head strike.
Baker lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Cheem or not.
Baker goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Baker lands with a light punch inside.
Baker on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Baker fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Cheem tries to land knees in the clinch but Baker avoids the damage to the body.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Baker.
Baker tries to throw a body punch but Cheem avoids it by throwing Baker back against the cage.
Cheem lands a knee to the body.
Baker doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Baker lands with a light punch inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baker tries a body shot but Cheem blocks it.
Baker has a couple of punches blocked by Cheem.
Baker lands a left hand.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Baker.
Baker softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Cheem tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Baker blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Baker swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Baker managing to block the knees to the body from Cheem.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Cheem obliges.
Baker doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Baker lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Cheem or not.
Baker misses with the head strike.
Cheem blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Cheem throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Baker blocks it with crossed arms.
Cheem with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Cheem misses with a knee to the head.
Baker misses with a hook to the ribs.
Baker goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cheem connects with a nasty looking knee right to Baker's face.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Baker misses with the head strike.
Cheem lands a nice knee to the body.
Cheem blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Cheem throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Baker blocks it with crossed arms.
Cheem putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Baker in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Baker can't find room to land a body shot as Cheem controls the action.
Cheem blocking some punches.
Cheem looking to throw knees to the head but Baker is blocking nicely.
Cheem scores with a knee to the head.
Cheem misses with a knee to the head.
Cheem throws a knee to the head but misses.
Baker tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Still in the clinch, Baker scores with a nice short uppercut.
Baker misses with some punches.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Baker avoids it.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Baker avoids it.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Baker has a couple of punches blocked by Cheem.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Baker.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that What Cheem will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Joe Baker's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Cheem clinches up against the cage.
Cheem throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Baker blocks it with crossed arms.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Baker.
Cheem scores a nice knee to the body.
Cheem tries to land knees in the clinch but Baker avoids the damage to the body.
Baker throws a head punch that misses.
Baker misses with some punches.
Cheem scores a nice knee to the body.
Baker misses with a punch on the inside.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the head but Baker blocks with his arms.
Cheem tries to land knees in the clinch but Baker avoids the damage to the body.
Cheem misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Baker.
Baker misses with some punches.
Cheem tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cheem lands a knee to the head.
Cheem missing with knees to the body.
Cheem blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Cheem with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Cheem lands a knee to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cheem missing with knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baker has a couple of punches blocked by Cheem.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Baker lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Cheem blocks a body shot from Baker.
Baker swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Cheem looking to throw knees to the head but Baker is blocking nicely.
Cheem misses with a knee strike.
Cheem scores a nice knee to the body.
Baker misses with a hook to the ribs.
Baker misses with a hook from the clinch.
Cheem tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Baker avoids it.
Cheem looking to throw knees to the head but Baker is blocking nicely.
Cheem blocking some punches.
Baker working aggressively here.
Baker misses with a punch on the inside.
Cheem with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Baker.
Baker lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Baker throws a head punch that misses.
A short right from Baker on the inside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baker misses with a hook from the clinch.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Cheem throws a knee to the head but misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Baker.
Cheem blocks an uppercut.
Cheem has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Baker tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Cheem misses with a knee strike.
Baker misses with the head strike.
Cheem misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Baker.
Baker misses with a punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Baker fails to land.
Baker throws a punch but it's blocked by Cheem.
Baker misses with some punches.
Baker swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Baker misses with some punches.
Cheem looking to throw knees to the head but Baker is blocking nicely.
Baker doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
What Cheem has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Cheem blocks an uppercut.
Baker throws a punch but it's blocked by Cheem.
Baker tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Baker lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Cheem.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Cheem blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Baker misses with the head strike.
Cheem blocks an uppercut.
Cheem looking to throw knees to the head but Baker is blocking nicely.
Cheem throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Baker blocks it with crossed arms.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Baker avoids it.
Baker tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Baker working aggressively here.
A short body shot lands from Baker as the two fighters clinch.
Baker misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Baker misses with some punches.
Cheem throws a knee to the head but misses.
Baker lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Baker misses with some punches.
Cheem unloads a knee to the mid-section. Baker lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Cheem throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Baker blocks it with crossed arms.
Baker can't find room to land a body shot as Cheem controls the action.
Baker on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Baker cracks Cheem with a nice body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Baker working aggressively here.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Cheem.
Cheem trying to land knees to the body.
Baker takes a knee right on the jaw!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Baker misses with a hook from the clinch.
Cheem blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Baker swings wildly with an uppercut but Cheem uses good head movement to avoid it.
Cheem throws a knee to the head but misses.
Baker digs a right hand underneath Cheem's ribcage. Cheem let out a lung full of air as it connected.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Baker.
A left hand lands to the body for Baker.
Baker doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Cheem blocking some punches.
Baker misses with a punch on the inside.
Baker tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A nice left hand lands by Baker.
Baker tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Baker swings away with an uppercut that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Baker showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Joe Baker'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. This is the final round!

Baker clinches up with Cheem and pushes him back against the cage.
Cheem unloads a knee to the mid-section. Baker lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
A head punch on the inside from Baker fails to land.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Cheem throws a knee to the head but misses.
Baker doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Baker misses with a hook from the clinch.
Cheem unloads a knee to the mid-section. Baker lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Cheem throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Baker blocks it with crossed arms.
Cheem with a knee to the head.
Baker avoiding damage as Cheem throws knees to the body.
Baker doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Baker lands a right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Cheem.
A right hook to the body lands for Baker.
Cheem with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Cheem using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Baker has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Cheem trying to land knees to the body.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Baker avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cheem throws a knee to the head but misses.
Baker fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Cheem blocks a body shot from Baker.
Baker tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Baker misses with a punch to the body.
Baker tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Cheem's elbow.
Baker misses with some punches.
Baker working aggressively here.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Cheem.
Baker lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Cheem backwards.
Baker misses with a hook to the ribs.
Baker on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Baker tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Cheem lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Baker swings wildly with an uppercut but Cheem uses good head movement to avoid it.
Baker is leaning against Cheem and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Cheem missing with knees to the body.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Baker avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cheem with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Cheem blocks an uppercut.
Cheem blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Baker misses with the head strike.
Cheem blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Cheem tries to land knees in the clinch but Baker avoids the damage to the body.
Cheem blocks a body shot from Baker.
Cheem misses with a knee strike.
Baker tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Baker working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Cheem using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
A knee to the head by Cheem.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Cheem.
Baker working aggressively here.
Cheem prevents a body shot from Baker.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the head but Baker blocks with his arms.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the head but Baker blocks with his arms.
Cheem tries a knee to the head but Baker blocks it.
Baker misses with a punch to the body.
Baker throws a punch but it's blocked by Cheem.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cheem with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Baker tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Baker swings wildly with an uppercut but Cheem uses good head movement to avoid it.
Baker misses with a punch to the body.
Cheem using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Baker has a couple of punches blocked by Cheem.
Cheem with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Baker scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Cheem using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Baker has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Baker working aggressively here.
Cheem tries to land knees in the clinch but Baker avoids the damage to the body.
Baker throws a punch but it's blocked by Cheem.
Cheem tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Baker.
Baker throws a head punch that misses.
Baker has a couple of punches blocked by Cheem.
Cheem blocks an uppercut.
Baker softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cheem blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Nice body punch from Baker.
Baker tries to throw a body punch but Cheem avoids it by throwing Baker back against the cage.
Cheem using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Baker has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Cheem.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Baker swings wildly with an uppercut but Cheem uses good head movement to avoid it.
Cheem misses with a knee strike.
Baker doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Baker tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Cheem's elbow.
Cheem looking to throw knees to the head but Baker is blocking nicely.
Cheem blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Cheem looking to throw knees to the head but Baker is blocking nicely.
Baker misses with some punches.
Baker blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Cheem prevents a body shot from Baker.
Cheem lands a knee to the body.
Cheem tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Baker avoids it.
Cheem misses with a knee to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Joe Baker.
Well Baker 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 Cecil Peabody scores the fight 29:28
Judge George Francis scores the fight 28:29
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Joe Baker!