PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Pikku Nakarainen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcus Garvey (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nakarainen's entrance music is Juice Leskinen - Vaasankin veri vapisee. A fine choice. Garvey comes into a darkened arena with his song building. One Loaf of Bread -- Damian Marley kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! 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.

Nakarainen
vs
Garvey

152 cm
21
147 lbs
7 - 0 - 1

170 cm
22
145 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Great low kicks
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Good low kicks
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Pikku Nakarainen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Marcus Garvey!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Roosa Järviläinen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Garvey misses with a head kick.
Nakarainen misses with a leg kick
and Garvey counters with a stiff right hand.
Nakarainen fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Garvey misses with a head kick.
Nakarainen moves out of range of the strikes.
A jab from Garvey does it's job there.
Nakarainen wants to clinch.
Nakarainen lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Garvey chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Nakarainen can pounce on him.
A nice leg kick lands there from Nakarainen.
Garvey will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakarainen wants to slow Garvey down by chopping away at his legs.
Nakarainen thows a leg kick but Garvey checks it
and Garvey counters with a good, hard body kick but Nakarainen shrugs it off.
Nakarainen throws a nice outside leg kick.
Nakarainen checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Nakarainen doesn't manage to clinch there - Garvey circles away.
Nakarainen scores with a crisp jab that stopped Garvey in his tracks.
Garvey throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nakarainen throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Garvey counters with a straight right hand.
Garvey throws a lazy right hand but Nakarainen sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Garvey misses with a shot to the kidneys.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garvey avoiding damage.
Garvey prevents a body shot from Nakarainen.
Nakarainen is pushing Garvey up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Nakarainen tries to throw a body punch but Garvey avoids it by throwing Nakarainen back against the cage.
Nakarainen tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Nakarainen goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Nakarainen is looking to control Garvey's arms but Garvey gets an underhook and turns him. Now Nakarainen has his back to the cage.
Garvey doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stalling in the clinch from Garvey.
Garvey can't find room to land a body shot as Nakarainen controls the action.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Garvey takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Garvey misses with a punch to the body.

Nakarainen pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Garvey scores with a crisp jab that stopped Nakarainen in his tracks.
Nakarainen fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Garvey is out of range.
Nakarainen throws a solid leg kick but Garvey takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Nakarainen.
Nakarainen lands a jab.
Garvey checks a leg kick nicely.
Nakarainen throws a chopping leg kick but Garvey manages to avoid taking any serious damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Good leg kick by Garvey there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Nakarainen looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Garvey stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Nakarainen.
Nakarainen takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Garvey.
Garvey throws a body punch but Nakarainen moves out of range.
Nakarainen lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Garvey has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Garvey stalks Nakarainen and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Nakarainen's face. Nakarainen staggers backwards, shaken.
Garvey tries to land a front kick but Nakarainen steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Garvey does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Garvey throws out a powerful jab.
Nakarainen throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Marcus Garvey will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Garvey throws a hook to the side of Nakarainen's head but Nakarainen sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Garvey fails to land with a series of punches.
Garvey is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Nakarainen.
Nakarainen tries to land a front kick but Garvey steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
A jab lands there for Nakarainen.
Garvey on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Nakarainen. Nakarainen obviously looking to wear him down.
Nakarainen feints and then cracks Garvey's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Garvey down.
A looping hook to the body misses from Garvey. Nakarainen does a little dance to reset his feet.
Garvey ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Nakarainen moves away.
Nakarainen misses with a body kick.
Garvey on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
A nice inside leg kick there by Nakarainen. That's going to slow Garvey down.
Nakarainen tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Garvey paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garvey throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Garvey throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nice body punch from Garvey.
Good work by Garvey as he checks the leg kick.
Garvey has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Nakarainen.
Garvey tries a head kick but it misses.
Garvey swings widly with a right hand
and Nakarainen counters with a nice leg kick.
A left lands for Nakarainen.
Nakarainen misses with an uppercut. Garvey saw that one coming.
Nakarainen fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Garvey has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Nakarainen throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Garvey's waist but Garvey gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Nakarainen off to one side.
Nakarainen looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garvey takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Nakarainen fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Garvey misses with the combination.
Nakarainen fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Garvey is out of range.
Garvey misses with a leg kick
and Nakarainen counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Garvey's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Garvey.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nakarainen lands a nice leg kick that just misses Garvey's sensitive parts.
Garvey changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Nakarainen lands a leg kick that knocks Garvey off balance momentarily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Nakarainen 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 Garvey has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Garvey and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Garvey throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Nakarainen thumps Garvey with a low kick.
Nakarainen showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Garvey.
Nakarainen misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Garvey counters with an inside leg kick.
Nakarainen misses with a leg kick.
Nakarainen tries a head kick but it misses.
Garvey slaps away a takedown attempt from Nakarainen, before circling back to the center of the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pikku Nakarainen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Nakarainen tries for a takedown but Garvey circles away easily
and Garvey counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Nakarainen throws a leg kick but Garvey sees it coming and moves out of range.
Pikku Nakarainen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Garvey keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nakarainen throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Garvey throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nakarainen looks to throw the jab but Garvey is out of range.
Nakarainen throws a leg kick but Garvey sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Marcus Garvey is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Garvey throws a sloppy head kick
and Nakarainen counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Nakarainen misses with a body kick.
Nakarainen avoids the head kick by Garvey.
Nakarainen moves out of range of the body kick from Garvey.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nakarainen throws a body kick that misses.
Pikku Nakarainen is winning the standup battle so far.
Nakarainen fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pikku Nakarainen 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. And we move into the final round!

Nakarainen wants to clinch.
Nakarainen uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Garvey.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Nakarainen.
Nakarainen moves out of range as Garvey strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Garvey throws the kick towards the body but Nakarainen avoids it.
Garvey tries to land a front kick but Nakarainen steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Garvey throws a push kick but Nakarainen slaps the foot to one side.
Nakarainen misses with a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Nakarainen.
Nakarainen throws a solid leg kick but Garvey takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Nakarainen.

Nakarainen looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Nakarainen passes to side control.

Nakarainen tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Nakarainen has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Garvey really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Nakarainen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Garvey is trying to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garvey can't do much from the bottom here.
Nakarainen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Garvey keeps working.
You can see the frustration on Garvey's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Garvey prevents Nakarainen from improving position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Garvey is looking to regain half guard here but Nakarainen keeps moving and retains side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nakarainen trying to control the position but Garvey is working away.

Nakarainen looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nakarainen misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Garvey struggling a bit here.
Nakarainen trying to control the action but Garvey is working from the bottom.
Garvey prevents Nakarainen from moving into mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Pikku Nakarainen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Nakarainen 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:28
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pikku Nakarainen!