PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Hriday Kakkar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Lower (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kakkar's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, The Call of Ktulu. This should be fireworks!

Kakkar
vs
Lower

170 cm
25
155 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

170 cm
21
150 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Hriday Kakkar!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, James Lower!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Johanna Lukiainen and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kakkar circles away from the clinch attempt
and Kakkar counters with a slapping leg kick.
Kakkar shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Lower but Lower pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Kakkar throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Lower tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Kakkar is in Lower's guard.
Kakkar postures up.
Lower wants to control but Kakkar passes easily into half guard.
Lower trying to hold on to Kakkar's head to control him but Kakkar postures up.

Kakkar is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Kakkar wants to lay and pray for a moment but Lower keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kakkar trying to pass the guard but Lower defending well.
Kakkar frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Lower really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kakkar. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Kakkar cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Lower can do anything to dispel that myth.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Kakkar cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Kakkar is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Lower is trying to escape the mount.
Kakkar lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Lower throwing hammer fists to the chest of Kakkar. What's that going to do exactly?
Kakkar raining down hammerfists from mount.
Kakkar avoids the attempt from Lower to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lower tries to reverse the position but Kakkar maintains control.
Lower taking shots to the head.
Kakkar looking to control but Lower is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Kakkar is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Lower is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Lower is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Kakkar scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Kakkar prevents Lower from getting the reversal.
Lower wants to hold on but Kakkar pushes him away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kakkar takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Kakkar scoring with strikes but Lower is staying in there.
Lower takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Kakkar scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Lower?
Kakkar working Lower over with strikes here.
Kakkar 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.
Lower tries to buck Kakkar off but he can't manage it.

Kakkar is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Lower is surviving well by controlling Kakkar's body position as best he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Kakkar cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kakkar working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Kakkar with shots to the head and body - Lower looks very uncomfortable down there.

Lower is rocked!
Kakkar looking to control but Lower is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Lower is still in real trouble! Can Kakkar finish him?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lower is desperately trying to improve his position but Kakkar has a good base and remains in mount.
Lower seems to have recovered his senses.
Lower is squirming around, avoiding Kakkar's attempts to control the action.
Lower tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Kakkar trying to control but Lower is having none of it.
Kakkar lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Kakkar tries to control but Lower wriggling away.
Kakkar fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Lower is looking to improve his position but Kakkar isn't that keen on the idea.
Kakkar has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Lower's face.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hriday Kakkar dominated that round.
That's time! Kakkar's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Kakkar shoots in looking for a takedown. Lower tries to sprawl out of it but Kakkar keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Lower manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Kakkar fails with a takedown attempt.

Lower drives through with a takedown into guard.
Lower wants to control from the top but Kakkar keeps moving.
Lower wanted to stand there but Kakkar had control of the position.
Lower wants to control from the top but Kakkar keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Lower stands up and waves to Kakkar to follow him.

Lower closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Kakkar blocking the ground and pound attempt from Lower.

Lower wants to work for an arm triangle but Kakkar is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Lower trying to control from half guard but Kakkar is working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kakkar manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Kakkar keeps the fight on the outside.

Kakkar shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Lower's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kakkar preventing the sweep.
Lower is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Lower keeping moving, preventing Kakkar from controlling successfully.
Kakkar throws a big elbow that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lower keeping full guard, as Kakkar tries to pass.
Lower trying to control the position.
Lower wants to control but Kakkar passes easily into half guard.

Kakkar is working for a kimura but Lower is defending it quite comfortably.
Kakkar uses his free foot to push down on Lower's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Lower.
Kakkar postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Lower looks a forlorn figure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kakkar scoring with strikes but Lower is staying in there.
Kakkar lands a heavy elbow.
Kakkar lands a nice shot to the head.
Kakkar working Lower over with strikes here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kakkar is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Lower wants to control but Kakkar is having none of it.
Kakkar postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Lower looks a forlorn figure.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kakkar in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Kakkar looking to finish Lower with some ground and pound. This is bad for Lower!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hriday Kakkar dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Kakkar checks a leg kick.
Kakkar circles away from the clinch attempt.
Kakkar shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Lower counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Kakkar!
Kakkar is trying to escape the mount.
Kakkar is working hard here to advance position.
Kakkar is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kakkar is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Kakkar is squirming around, avoiding Lower's attempts to control the action.
Kakkar manages to regain half guard. Good work.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Lower is just content to waste time from the top position. Kakkar takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lower postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Lower must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Lower has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Kakkar is proving hard to escape from.
Lower postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Lower gets to his feet - Kakkar follows without any prompting.
Lower closes the distance but Kakkar moves to the side

and Kakkar counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lower is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Lower looking for a guillotine here but Kakkar defends easily.
Kakkar passes Lower's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Hriday Kakkar overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Lower wants to control but Kakkar is keeping busy.
Kakkar passes the guard and advances to mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kakkar landing shots from mount.
Hriday Kakkar is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Lower tries to hold on but Kakkar postures up.
Kakkar content just to control the position here.
Lower is bucking up trying to escape but Kakkar cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lower working to try and regain half guard.
James Lower has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kakkar blocks Lower's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Hriday Kakkar.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kakkar, 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight for Hriday Kakkar!
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight for Hriday Kakkar!
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight for Hriday Kakkar!

Hriday Kakkar wins by unanimous decision!