PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ulquiorra Cifer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joahan Nikkenen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nikkenen has chosen Tango from Poland as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the ring.

Cifer
vs
Nikkenen

178 cm
25
240 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

202 cm
26
260 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

Dangerous GnP
Counter striker
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ulquiorra Cifer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Joahan Nikkenen!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Anni Minnemäki and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cifer shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Nikkenen pinned against the ropes. Nikkenen gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Nikkenen closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Nikkenen is working Cifer over with some ground and pound from side control.
Nikkenen is chipping away with strikes.
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!
Cifer struggling a bit here.
Nikkenen landing strikes.
Cifer could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Nikkenen scores with punches from side control.
Cifer is looking for a sweep.
Nikkenen really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Cifer. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Nikkenen in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Nikkenen working away.
Cifer taking punishment in the form of punches.
Nikkenen looks up at the clock and then as Cifer takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Nikkenen smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Check out the look on Nikkenen's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!

Nikkenen is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Cifer is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nikkenen working the head with strikes.

Cifer is rocked!
Cifer might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Cifer is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Nikkenen off and has taken his back!
Cifer tries to keep control of the position but Nikkenen is staying busy.
Nikkenen breaks Cifer's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Nikkenen postures up in Cifer's guard and throws a big left but Cifer blocks it.
Nikkenen looking to pass the guard.

Cifer has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Nikkenen can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Nikkenen must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Cifer is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Nikkenen defends well.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Cifer is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nikkenen is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Cifer is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Nikkenen tries to free his leg and advance position but Cifer is retaining full guard.
Cifer looking to hit a scissor sweep but Nikkenen is one step ahead there.
Nikkenen scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Cifer has momentary wrist control but Nikkenen slips an elbow through the middle.
Cifer trying to control the position.
Nikkenen with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Cifer keeping full guard, as Nikkenen tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nikkenen works over Cifer with some ground and pound from guard.
Nikkenen postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Nikkenen works over Cifer with some ground and pound from guard.
Nikkenen is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
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!
Cifer manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Cifer wants to control the pace but Nikkenen is squirming around nicely.
Nikkenen tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Cifer tries to control but Nikkenen wriggling away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nikkenen working to try and regain half guard.
Cifer wants to control the pace but Nikkenen is squirming around nicely.
Nikkenen is in all sorts of trouble here.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cifer looking to control but Nikkenen is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joahan Nikkenen dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Nikkenen shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

Cifer looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Cifer has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Nikkenen is working away from the top position though.
Joahan Nikkenen has got the better of the ground game so far.
Well, if Nikkenen is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Cifer gets full guard.

Cifer throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Cifer looking to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nikkenen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Nikkenen stopping the sweep attempt from Cifer.
Nikkenen postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Nikkenen lands a couple of digs.
Cifer not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Cifer has momentary wrist control but Nikkenen slips an elbow through the middle.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Nikkenen preventing the sweep.
Nikkenen wants to control from the top but Cifer keeps moving.
Nikkenen postures up and lands a big shot to Cifer's brow.
Nikkenen wants to control from the top but Cifer keeps moving.
Nikkenen wants to get up but he can't break Cifer's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Nikkenen has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cifer is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Nikkenen trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Nikkenen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Nikkenen trying to control the position from guard on top but Cifer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Nikkenen lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Nikkenen trying to control but Cifer is working from the bottom.
Nikkenen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Cifer is keeping the position for now.
Nikkenen trying to stand up but can't free himself from Cifer's guard.
Cifer trying to keep a closed guard but Nikkenen is proving a slippery customer.
Cifer is really struggling to control Nikkenen but he's trying to hold on to the position.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Nikkenen takes the fight into the clinch.
Cifer struggles to land a body shot inside as Nikkenen controls his hands.
Nikkenen lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

Nikkenen has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Cifer is trying to keep an underhook but Nikkenen manages to get the takedown into half guard.

Nikkenen looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Ground and pound from Nikkenen.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nikkenen slips a nice elbow through Cifer's hands, connecting with Cifer's forehead.
Nikkenen tries to pass the half guard into mount. Cifer knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

Nikkenen is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Cifer is just riding it out for now. Nikkenen eventually gives up the hold.
Nikkenen not landing any meaningful shots this time.
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!
Cifer is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Nikkenen scores with a couple of nice shots.
Cifer taking some punishment here, with Nikkenen in his half guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nikkenen scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Nikkenen drops an elbow to the side of Cifer's head.
Cifer slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Cifer looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joahan Nikkenen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Nikkenen scores a takedown into full mount!
Cifer sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Nikkenen drops an elbow to the side of Cifer's head.
Nikkenen is thwarting Cifer's attempts to control the position.
Nikkenen working Cifer over with strikes.
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!

Cifer looking for submissions off his back.
Nikkenen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Cifer taking some punishment here, with Nikkenen in his half guard.
Nikkenen working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Oh Cifer is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Nikkenen is looking to take a break and control but Cifer is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Cifer seems to have got his legs back now.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Nikkenen is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nikkenen gets to his feet - back to striking we go!
Joahan Nikkenen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Nikkenen clinches up with Cifer and pushes him back against the ropes.

Nikkenen drags the fight down to the ground.
Nikkenen keeping moving, preventing Cifer from controlling successfully.
Cifer slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

Cifer is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Nikkenen knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Nikkenen bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!

Nikkenen closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nikkenen trying to control from half guard but Cifer is working away.
Cifer slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Nikkenen lands a couple of digs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nikkenen lands a couple of elbows.
Nikkenen trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Cifer is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Nikkenen is looking to stand up but Cifer won't let him.
Cifer is trying to control the position but Nikkenen postures up.
Nikkenen is in close to Cifer's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Nikkenen scoring with some ground and pound.
Nikkenen trying to control the position from guard on top but Cifer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Cifer looking for a sweep. Not yet Cifer, not yet.
Nikkenen works over Cifer with some ground and pound from guard.
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!
Nikkenen lands a couple of digs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nikkenen makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Nikkenen trying to control the position from guard on top but Cifer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Cifer not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Cifer keeping full guard, as Nikkenen tries to pass.
Nikkenen is looking to stand up but Cifer won't let him.
Nikkenen throws a big elbow that misses.
Cifer looking to control.
Cifer looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Joahan Nikkenen is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Nikkenen works over Cifer with some ground and pound from guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nikkenen 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.
Nikkenen is looking to stand up but Cifer won't let him.
Ulquiorra Cifer has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nikkenen is working Cifer over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joahan Nikkenen comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Nikkenen 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 27:30
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joahan Nikkenen!