PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tre Jokinen (ranked 978 p4p, 1105 weight class) and Daniel Maverick (ranked 127 p4p, 145 weight class). Daniel Maverick 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!

Jokinen
vs
Maverick

171 cm
23
162
7 - 3 - 0

172 cm
23
161
10 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Honest Apparel ($30 SPECIAL ALL Shorts!)

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 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Tre Jokinen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Daniel Maverick!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Alec Ball and Ian Loll.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jokinen takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Jokinen misses the shot to the body.
Maverick throws out a counter right but Jokinen avoids it with no problem.
Jokinen lands a nice looking body shot.
Some wild striking there from Maverick.
Maverick throws a leg kick

so Jokinen counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Jokinen stays in close to Maverick's body and controls the position.

Jokinen thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Maverick 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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Maverick looking to control.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Jokinen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jokinen trying to control but Maverick is working from the bottom.
Maverick avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Jokinen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Jokinen postures up in Maverick's guard and throws a big left but Maverick blocks it.
Jokinen stopping the sweep attempt from Maverick.
Jokinen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Maverick is keeping the position for now.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Maverick moves out of range as Jokinen strikes.
Maverick throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Jokinen blocks a head kick by Maverick.
Jokinen tries to counter by clinching up but Maverick breaks away and moves out of range.
Maverick slips a jab from Jokinen.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Jokinen forces Maverick back against the cage and clinches.

Maverick breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A telegraphed right hand from Jokinen misses the target.
Maverick goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Jokinen feinted with a counter takedown.
Jokinen throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Jokinen misses the shot to the body.
Jokinen takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Maverick lands a lovely overhand right.
Maverick scores with a nice right hand.
Maverick misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Jokinen.
Jokinen swings away with a body shot that misses
and Maverick counters with a right hand to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Maverick misses with a straight right.
Maverick leaves Jokinen with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Maverick follows through with a counter body kick but it doesn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maverick throws a quick inside leg kick.
Jokinen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Maverick.
Maverick misses with a two punch combination.
Maverick takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Maverick takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Jokinen sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Maverick slips a straight right by Jokinen.
Jokinen misses the shot to the body.
Maverick is trying to counter with his kicks.
Jokinen shoots for a takedown but Maverick saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Maverick raises up his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
Daniel Maverick is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A head kick misses from Maverick.
Maverick looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Jokinen fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maverick displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Jokinen throws out the jab.
Jokinen lands a nice looking body shot.
Maverick slips under a jab from Jokinen.

Jokinen darts in and clinches Maverick up against the cage.
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!
Jokinen jumps guard but Maverick stands there with Jokinen around his waist. Jokinen gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tre Jokinen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jokinen misses with a punch to the body.
Jokinen lands a right hand.
Maverick trying to control the position but instead, Jokinen has worked for underhooks and has pushed Maverick into the cage.
Maverick is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Jokinen is keeping busy.
Maverick is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Maverick misses with a body punch.

Jokinen manages to pull guard.
Maverick must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Maverick looking to sit in guard and control but Jokinen gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Jokinen passes Maverick's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Maverick is looking to improve his position.
Maverick is not content to let Jokinen control the position.

Jokinen is working for a kimura but Maverick is defending it quite comfortably.
Jokinen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Maverick felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Maverick is looking for a sweep. Jokinen is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Jokinen tries to pass the half guard into mount. Maverick knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Jokinen wants to take a breather but Maverick is having none of it.

Maverick is defending against the submission attempts here by Jokinen.
Jokinen thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.

Jokinen is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Maverick defends it well.
Maverick is controlling Jokinen's position as best he can from this difficult position.

Jokinen wants to work for an arm triangle but Maverick is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Maverick is not content to let Jokinen control the position.
Maverick controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's eight 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.
Jokinen slips a nice elbow through Maverick's hands, connecting with Maverick's forehead.
Jokinen seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Maverick does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Maverick is trying to get back to full guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Maverick is refusing to be controlled, as Jokinen sits in half guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Maverick throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Jokinen has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Maverick.
Maverick throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Jokinen counters with a nice double leg into side control. Maverick won't be happy with that.
Jokinen wants to control but Maverick is keeping him busy.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Maverick to see if he's OK.

Jokinen is trying to get an arm triangle but Maverick is defending well.
Maverick is trying to get back to half guard.

Jokinen is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Maverick is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Maverick tries to bench press Jokinen off him but Jokinen keeps the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Maverick sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Tre Jokinen 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.

Jokinen throws a lazy uppercut
and Maverick counters with a left to the body.
Jokinen swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Maverick pushes Jokinen away with a front kick.
Maverick throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Jokinen's head.

It looks like Tre Jokinen has been cut.
Nice uppercut there from Maverick.
Daniel Maverick seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Maverick throws a body punch but Jokinen moves out of range.
Jokinen listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Jokinen is looking to clinch but Maverick is avoiding it.
Maverick scores with a jab to the jaw.
Maverick throws a hook but Jokinen avoids it easily.
Maverick gets off balance looking for a body kick

and Jokinen decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Maverick's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Maverick is adopting a defensive guard.
Tre Jokinen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Jokinen controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maverick trying to control the position here.
Jokinen slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Jokinen tries to free his leg and advance position but Maverick is retaining full guard.
Maverick looking to control.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Jokinen is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Maverick keeps Jokinen at a distance using the push kick.
Maverick looks to land a left hand but Jokinen moved out of range nicely.

Jokinen moves into the clinch.

Maverick pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Jokinen jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Maverick tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Maverick shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Maverick uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Jokinen.
Jokinen jabs Maverick right on the nose. Maverick blinks but takes it well.
Jokinen fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Jokinen swings for the body but Maverick moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen throws an off balance right hand
and Maverick counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Jokinen rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Maverick counters with a straight right hand.
A looping hook to the body misses from Jokinen. Maverick does a little dance to reset his feet.
Maverick steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
Jokinen misses with a double jab.
Maverick rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Jokinen moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Jokinen looks to land a right hand but Maverick moved out of range.
Jokinen lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Good exchange - Jokinen coming out on top.

Jokinen pushes Maverick up against the cage in a clinch.
Maverick misses with a hook to the ribs.
Jokinen tries to pull guard but Maverick won't allow it.
Jokinen tries a body shot but Maverick blocks it.
Maverick lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Maverick fails to land.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Maverick can't break the clinch.
Jokinen tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Maverick breaks the clinch.
Jokinen swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Maverick tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A telegraphed right hand from Jokinen misses the target.
Jokinen looks to score with a jab to the body but Maverick is just out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Maverick. Jokinen does a little dance to reset his feet.
Jokinen looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Maverick throws a body kick that misses.
Maverick looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut lands for Maverick. That snapped Jokinen's head back.
Maverick throws a right hand that misses

and Jokinen moves into the clinch.
A right hook to the body lands for Jokinen.
Jokinen tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A right handed body shot lands from Jokinen.
Maverick trying to control the position but instead, Jokinen has worked for underhooks and has pushed Maverick into the cage.
Maverick misses with a punch to the body.
Maverick is trying to stall.
Jokinen lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Maverick or not.
Jokinen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Maverick tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Maverick swings wildly with an uppercut but Jokinen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Jokinen fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tre Jokinen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jokinen prevents Maverick from breaking the clinch.
Maverick blocks an uppercut.
Maverick wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Jokinen has him pressed against the cage.

Jokinen pulls guard successfully.

Jokinen is looking for a triangle but Maverick pushes his legs off easily.

Jokinen working for a triangle but Maverick defends it easily.

Jokinen is looking for a triangle here but Maverick uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Maverick trying to control the action but Jokinen is working from the bottom.
Jokinen tries to buck Maverick off but Maverick is having none of it.
Jokinen keeping his opponent close.
You can see the frustration on Jokinen's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Maverick wants to take a breather but Jokinen manages to regain guard - a lesson learnt for Maverick.
Jokinen trying to control the position.
Maverick trying to control the position from guard on top but Jokinen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Maverick controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Jokinen looking to control.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Maverick slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Maverick trying to control but Jokinen is working from the bottom.
Maverick looking to sit in guard and control but Jokinen gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Jokinen passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Jokinen working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Tre Jokinen will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Tre Jokinen's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Maverick blocks a jab.
Maverick scores with a jab.
Jokinen closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Jokinen looks to land a combination but Maverick avoids it well.
Maverick avoids the body shot from Jokinen.
Jokinen just misses with a punch to the body.
Jokinen moves out of range as Maverick throws a body kick.
Maverick throws a head kick that misses.
Jokinen uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Maverick lands a head kick!
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Jokinen, as that shot connected.
A nice leg kick lands there from Maverick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jokinen misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Maverick counters with a nice body kick.
A jab from Jokinen misses.
Jokinen backing away here, and Maverick unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
A swing and a miss from Jokinen.
Maverick misses with a kick to the body.
Jokinen swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Jokinen misses with an uppercut.
Maverick misses with a head kick.
Maverick misses with a few strikes there.
Maverick throws a leg kick but Jokinen sees it coming and moves out of range.
Maverick cracks Jokinen with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Maverick slips a straight right by Jokinen.
Maverick throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Jokinen counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maverick wants to control but Jokinen is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Jokinen sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Maverick defending well though.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Jokinen throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Maverick really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Jokinen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Jokinen seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Maverick does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Jokinen looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

Jokinen is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Jokinen trying to control the action but Maverick is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen controlling the pace.
Jokinen lands strikes from half guard.
Maverick wants to get back to full guard.
Maverick wants to control but Jokinen is keeping busy.
Maverick is trying to control but Jokinen passes into side control!
Jokinen is looking to take a break and control but Maverick is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Jokinen tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.

That's four 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.
Maverick is trying to improve his position.
Jokinen lands an elbow.
Jokinen looks up at the clock and then as Maverick takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Jokinen smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Maverick tries to bench press Jokinen off him but Jokinen keeps the position.
Jokinen scoring with punches from side control.
Jokinen lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Jokinen just content to control the position.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Maverick takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Jokinen 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.
Maverick manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

Jokinen is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Jokinen is keen to just control but Maverick is a slippery customer.
Jokinen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Maverick can do to turn this around?
Jokinen not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Maverick has hold of Jokinen's hands but Jokinen slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Maverick wants to get back to full guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Jokinen working over Maverick with some ground and pound. Maverick looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Jokinen winds up and cracks Maverick with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Jokinen throwing shots but Maverick is blocking nicely.
Maverick gets back to full guard.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Maverick is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Jokinen lands with an overhand left.
Maverick fails to land with a series of punches.
A nice inside leg kick there by Maverick. That's going to slow Jokinen down.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen blocks a head kick by Maverick.
Maverick keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Jokinen.
Maverick pivots, looking for a leg kick but Jokinen is out of range and Maverick settles back down.
Jokinen lands a jab to the head.
Maverick scores with a hook to the body. Jokinen takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Jokinen misses with an uppercut.
Jokinen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Maverick moves away.
Maverick let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Jokinen shoots in for a double leg but Maverick sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Jokinen swinging wildly here.
Jokinen ducks under a wild hook from Maverick.
Jokinen tries to counter by clinching up but Maverick breaks away and moves out of range.
Maverick fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Tre Jokinen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Maverick thumps Jokinen with a low kick.
Maverick misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
As Maverick tries to get set, Jokinen tries to push him back and clinch up but Maverick manages to avoid the attempt.
Daniel Maverick has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Jokinen feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Mavericks jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Jokinen avoids the head kick by Maverick.
Jokinen wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Jokinen ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Maverick misses with the body kick

and Jokinen counters with a shoot takedown. Maverick fights it but they end up in guard.
Jokinen not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Jokinen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Maverick is keeping the position for now.
Maverick trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tre Jokinen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Jokinen, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tre Jokinen!
Tre Jokinen seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.