PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ramon Gracie (ranked 75 p4p, 14 weight class) and Oliver Hedman Karlsson (ranked 155 p4p, 28 weight class). Gracie kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Jiu Jitsu: Vai Finaliza!. I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Gracie
vs
Hedman Karlsson

180 cm
31
180 lbs
26 - 7 - 0

178 cm
29
180 lbs
20 - 10 - 0

BJJ Red Belt
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Freebok (85% Laundry)
Aspire Clothing

Aspire Clothing
Sin City Allstars

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 26 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, Ramon Gracie!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Oliver Hedman Karlsson!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, Paul Tew and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gracie bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

Gracie shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Hedman Karlsson keeps moving.
Gracie trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Hedman Karlsson is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Gracie stays in close to Hedman Karlsson's body and controls the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Hedman Karlsson looking for a guillotine here but Gracie defends easily.

Hedman Karlsson escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Gracie gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie wants to control from the top but Hedman Karlsson keeps moving.

Hedman Karlsson has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Gracie can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
We've been hearing that Gracie has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Hedman Karlsson keeping moving, preventing Gracie from controlling successfully.
Gracie stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hedman Karlsson swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Gracie pushing down on Hedman Karlsson's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Gracie trying to control the action but Hedman Karlsson is working from the bottom.
Hedman Karlsson taking some punishment here, with Gracie in his half guard.
Hedman Karlsson is looking for a sweep. Gracie is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Gracie lands a nice short elbow.

Gracie seems to be working for a kimura but Hedman Karlsson defends the submission attempt.
Hedman Karlsson tries to roll over but Gracie keeps him under control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie trying to control from Hedman Karlsson's half guard. Hedman Karlsson has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Gracie pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hedman Karlsson is keeping the position for now.
Hedman Karlsson looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Gracie puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Hedman Karlsson slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Gracie with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Gracie is stalling in the full guard.
Gracie lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hedman Karlsson is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Gracie wants to pass the guard but Hedman Karlsson is keeping the position.
Gracie working some strikes from top position.
Hedman Karlsson can't keep his opponent in guard - Gracie advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Hedman Karlsson is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Gracie scores with a couple of nice shots.
Hedman Karlsson moves into full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ramon Gracie dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Gracie forces Hedman Karlsson back against the cage and clinches.

Hedman Karlsson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Hedman Karlsson misses with a looping left.
Hedman Karlsson checks the leg kick.
Hedman Karlsson lands a jab to the nose.

Gracie shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Gracie was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Gracie lands some shots froms side control.
Gracie looking to control but instead Hedman Karlsson has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
Gracie seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Gracie works his way into full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie landing strikes, looking to finish!
Hedman Karlsson is trying desperately to improve position.
Gracie is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Hedman Karlsson can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Hedman Karlsson looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Gracie 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.
Gracie with shots to the head and body - Hedman Karlsson looks very uncomfortable down there.
Hedman Karlsson is trying desperately to improve position.
Gracie controlling the pace for now.
Gracie raining down shots from the mount!
Ramon Gracie overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Hedman Karlsson tries to reverse the position but Gracie maintains control.
Hedman Karlsson bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Gracie looking for a guillotine here but Hedman Karlsson defends easily.
Gracie controls Hedman Karlsson momentarily but Hedman Karlsson frees himself.

Gracie throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hedman Karlsson decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Hedman Karlsson works Gracie's body with a nice hook.
Gracie fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Hedman Karlsson scores with the left hand. Gracie knows he should have avoided that one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Hedman Karlsson has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Hedman Karlsson misses the shot to the body.
Gracie appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Gracie lands a glancing blow to the side of Hedman Karlsson's head.
A low kick from Gracie is predictable there
and Gracie takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Hedman Karlsson misses with a lunging right hand

and Gracie counters with a nice double leg into side control. Hedman Karlsson won't be happy with that.
Hedman Karlsson tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gracie punishes Hedman Karlsson with strikes from the back mount.
Gracie is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hedman Karlsson can do to turn this around?
Gracie slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ramon Gracie dominated that second 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. 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.

Hedman Karlsson smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Hedman Karlsson moves forwards but Gracie connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Hedman Karlsson lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Gracie is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Hedman Karlsson walks into a left hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gracie avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Hedman Karlsson avoids the body shot from Gracie.
Gracie ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Gracie changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hedman Karlsson looks to score with a jab to the body but Gracie is just out of range.
Hedman Karlsson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Nice defenses there by Gracie.

Gracie darts in and clinches Hedman Karlsson up against the cage.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Gracie stalling in the clinch.
Hedman Karlsson lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Gracie backwards.
Gracie has Hedman Karlsson pressed against the cage, preventing Hedman Karlsson from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Hedman Karlsson scores with a shot to the side of Gracie's head.
Gracie tries for a takedown. No joy.
Hedman Karlsson blocks an uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Gracie.

Hedman Karlsson pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A telegraphed right hand from Hedman Karlsson misses the target.
Gracie misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Hedman Karlsson counters with a nice body shot.
Oliver Hedman Karlsson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gracie slips a jab from Hedman Karlsson.
Nice straight punches there by Hedman Karlsson. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Hedman Karlsson.

It looks like Ramon Gracie has been cut.
A chopping leg kick lands by Gracie.
Hedman Karlsson throws a series of punches but Gracie moves out of range.
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!
The fight stays on the outside here - Gracie looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A jab from Hedman Karlsson misses.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Gracie.
Hedman Karlsson looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Gracie keeps Hedman Karlsson at a distance using the push kick.
Ramon Gracie is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Hedman Karlsson.
A clash of legs there as Hedman Karlsson blocks the low kick.
Oliver Hedman Karlsson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Hedman Karlsson misses with an uppercut. Gracie saw that one coming.
Gracie displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Hedman Karlsson throws out the jab.
Gracie drops down looking for a counter takedown but Hedman Karlsson sprawls and moves away.
Hedman Karlsson misses with a wild body shot.
Gracie tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Hedman Karlsson was well out of range. Poor timing from Gracie.

Gracie has managed to clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Hedman Karlsson fails to land.
Hedman Karlsson lands an elbow that stopped Gracie in his tracks for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hedman Karlsson looks to throw an elbow but misses.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Hedman Karlsson.
Gracie goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A right hook to the body lands for Hedman Karlsson.
Hedman Karlsson misses with a body punch.
Gracie avoiding damage as Hedman Karlsson throws knees to the body.
Hedman Karlsson looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Hedman Karlsson wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Hedman Karlsson breaks from the clinch.
Hedman Karlsson throws a looping overhand right but Gracie ducks down to avoid it.
Hedman Karlsson works the jab nicely.
Gracie misses with an uppercut
and Hedman Karlsson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hedman Karlsson throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

And that's the end of the fight!
Oliver Hedman Karlsson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Gracie has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Donald Grub scores the fight 29:28
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 29:28
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ramon Gracie!
Our winner, Ramon Gracie, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.