PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jan Columbar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Timo Harjakainen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Harjakainen has chosen Let's Go Fiesta as his entrance music. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Columbar
vs
Harjakainen

175 cm
32
199 lbs
13 - 8 - 0

190 cm
25
212 lbs
15 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

KAISER

•• Beast Mode ••

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jan Columbar!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Timo Harjakainen!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Columbar looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Columbar lands a leg kick that knocks Harjakainen off balance momentarily.
Columbar fails with the takedown.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Columbar - that will leave a mark!
Columbar tries to land a front kick but Harjakainen steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Columbar takes a swing at Harjakainen's ribcage but misses.
Jan Columbar seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Columbar fails to land with a series of punches.
Columbar misses with a low kick.
Harjakainen lands with a right hand.
Harjakainen jabs at Columbar's body.
Columbar looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Harjakainen connects with a good right hand that stumbles Columbar. Columbar circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Harjakainen ducks under a wild hook from Columbar.
Columbar scores with a punch to the head.
Columbar swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Harjakainen misses with a straight left.
Columbar pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Good work by Harjakainen as he checks the leg kick.
Columbar is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Columbar takes a kick to the side of the head.
Columbar throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Columbar lands a nice looking body shot.
Harjakainen steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Columbar.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Columbar.
Timo Harjakainen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
That kick from Harjakainen tenderised Columbar's leg. Columbar is trying to keep his angry face on.
Harjakainen misses the shot to the body.
Harjakainen bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Columbar's head backwards.
Columbar attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Harjakainen connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Harjakainen scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Columbar tries a head kick but it misses.
A bone on bone clash there as Columbar blocks the leg kick.
Columbar swings and misses with a hook to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Columbar throws a lazy body kick
and Harjakainen counters with a slapping leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harjakainen scores with a sloppy right hand. Columbar should have avoided that one.
Columbar throws a chopping leg kick but Harjakainen manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Columbar ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Harjakainen moves away.
Columbar throws a lazy head kick
and Harjakainen counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Columbar keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Harjakainen looks to land a right hand but Columbar moved out of range.
A thudding body kick lands there by Columbar!
Columbar swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Columbar misses with a body shot.
Harjakainen misses with a low kick as Columbar jumps back.
Harjakainen moves out of range of the leg kick from Columbar.
Columbar moves out of range as Harjakainen throws a body kick.
Harjakainen is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Harjakainen slips under a jab from Columbar.
Columbar is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Harjakainen's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Harjakainen misses with an uppercut.
Columbar takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Columbar throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Columbar throws a leg kick that misses.
Columbar fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jan Columbar. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Columbar lands with a thumping leg kick.
A telegraphed right hand from Columbar misses the target.
Harjakainen scores with a three punch combo!
Columbar wants to clinch up but Harjakainen keeps it at a distance.
Columbar misses the shot to the body.
Columbar swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Good standup being displayed there by Harjakainen as he connects with a hook.
Columbar fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Harjakainen checks it well.
Harjakainen staying out of range there.
Harjakainen displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Columbar throws out the jab.
Harjakainen with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Columbar. Harjakainen shrugs it off though.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Columbar.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The fighters circling - Harjakainen throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Harjakainen attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Harjakainen lunges at Columbar with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Columbar's hand.
Columbar looking to land some kicks to the body here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harjakainen checks the leg kick.
Harjakainen throws a low kick, looking for Columbar's leg but Columbar calmly moves out of range.
Columbar throws a head kick that misses.
Harjakainen ducks under a wild hook from Columbar.
Columbar thuds a left hand into Harjakainen's body.
Columbar throws a low kick but Harjakainen moves out of range easily.
Columbar takes one to the side of the head.
Harjakainen thumps Columbar with a low kick.
Harjakainen takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Harjakainen uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Columbar.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Columbar.
Columbar misses with a lunging right hand
letting Harjakainen counter with a right hand.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Harjakainen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Columbar takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Harjakainen keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Columbar throws a half hearted mid kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Timo Harjakainen will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Jab by Columbar.
Columbar walks into a straight right hand from Harjakainen.
Harjakainen lands a lovely overhand right.
Harjakainen blocks a leg kick.
Harjakainen scores with a leg kick.
Columbar misses with an attempted mid kick.
Harjakainen avoids the body shot from Columbar.
Harjakainen displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Columbar.
Harjakainen moves out of range as Columbar throws a body kick.
Columbar lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Harjakainen has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Columbar.
Harjakainen throws a push kick but Columbar slaps the foot to one side.
Columbar fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Columbar tries a head kick but it misses.
Columbar checks the leg kick nicely there.
Columbar dives in and grabs Harjakainen's left leg, looking for a takedown. Harjakainen pushes down on Columbar's head and hops out.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Columbar avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Harjakainen has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Harjakainen throws out a loose jab but Columbar uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Columbar tries to land a leg kick but Harjakainen saw it coming and moves away.
Columbar tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Harjakainen was well out of range. Poor timing from Columbar.
The fighters circle momentarily. Harjakainen darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Columbar lands a nice looking body kick.
Harjakainen throws a head kick but Columbar moves out of range.
Harjakainen moves out of range of the body kick.
Harjakainen lands a nice hook to Columbar's body. Columbar takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

Columbar takes the fight into the clinch.
A body shot lands from Harjakainen.
Harjakainen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Harjakainen lands with a left to the head.
Harjakainen lands with a light punch inside.
Harjakainen lands with a light punch inside.
Harjakainen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Harjakainen has a couple of punches blocked by Columbar.
Harjakainen gets through Columbar's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Harjakainen lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Columbar misses with some punches.

Harjakainen breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Columbar throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Harjakainen pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Columbar avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A jab from Harjakainen finds it's way through Columbar's defenses.
Harjakainen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Harjakainen cracks Columbar with a good jab.
Harjakainen uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Columbar.
A leg kick checked by Columbar.
Columbar looks to land a body kick but Harjakainen moved away.
Harjakainen is looking to chop away at Columbar's legs.
Columbar throws a front kick that sends Harjakainen stumbling back into the cage.
Columbar throws a wild body kick that Harjakainen sees coming a mile off.
Columbar misses with a straight left.
Harjakainen wants to land a leg kick but Columbar is out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Columbar throws a sloppy body shot
and Harjakainen counters with a left to the body.
Harjakainen tries to land a leg kick but Columbar saw it coming and moves away.
Columbar throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Harjakainen counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Columbar connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Harjakainen dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Columbar. That did some damage!
Harjakainen throws a body punch but Columbar moves out of range.
A punch combination from Harjakainen misses.
A telegraphed right hand from Columbar misses the target.
Columbar with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Harjakainen cracks a nice hook into Columbar's ribs.
Harjakainen uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Columbar.
Harjakainen listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Harjakainen lands with a right hand.
Timo Harjakainen seems to be getting the better of the standup.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Harjakainen ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Harjakainen scores with a decent looking hook.
Columbar misses with a hook.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Columbar throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Columbar throws a jab when Harjakainen was well out of range.
Harjakainen moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Harjakainen fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Columbar on the side of the head.
Columbar throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
A punch combination from Columbar misses.
Harjakainen sizes up Columbar with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Columbar closes this distance looking for a takedown but Harjakainen circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jan Columbar. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Harjakainen throws a body punch but Columbar moves out of range.
Columbar takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
A bone on bone clash there as Columbar blocks the leg kick.
Columbar throws a nice outside leg kick.
Harjakainen scores with the left hand. Columbar knows he should have avoided that one.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Columbar throws a chopping leg kick but Harjakainen manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Columbar throws a hook but Harjakainen avoids it easily.
Columbar waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Harjakainen.
A slapping body kick lands there for Harjakainen.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Timo Harjakainen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Harjakainen throws a chopping leg kick but Columbar manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Columbar lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Harjakainen shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Columbar is looking to slow Harjakainen down with leg kicks.
Columbar with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Columbar has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Columbar there as he acknowledges the shot.
A cross from Harjakainen lands.
Columbar tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Harjakainen on the wrong end of a kick to the body.

Columbar feints and as Harjakainen raises his hands in defense, Columbar changes levels and drives through with a takedown into 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.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Harjakainen avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Columbar loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Harjakainen wants to stand and escape but Columbar is having none of it.
Columbar keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Harjakainen's head.
Columbar might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harjakainen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Columbar wants to pass the guard but Harjakainen is keeping the position.
Harjakainen trying to keep a closed guard but Columbar is proving a slippery customer.
Columbar trying to control but Harjakainen is working from the bottom.
Harjakainen is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Columbar with a flurry of punches that miss.
Columbar lands a couple of digs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Columbar throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Columbar postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Harjakainen keeping full guard, as Columbar tries to pass.
Columbar in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Columbar working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Columbar missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Columbar is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Columbar postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harjakainen avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Columbar with a flurry of punches that miss.
Columbar working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Columbar throws a strike but Harjakainen rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Jan Columbar has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Columbar lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Harjakainen!
Columbar lands a nice shot to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Columbar sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Columbar raining down shots from the mount!
Jan Columbar overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Columbar lands a big shot there that rocks Harjakainen but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Columbar raining down shots from the mount!
Harjakainen taking shots to the head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Harjakainen tries to hold on but Columbar postures up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jan Columbar showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Harjakainen has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 28:29
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 28:29
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 28:29

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