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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Will Hardman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Stephan Kruger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.
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| 175 cm
22
160 lbs
0 - 0 - 0 |
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178 cm
22
164 lbs
1 - 1 - 0 |
BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily |
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BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined |
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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
0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Will Hardman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Stephan Kruger!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Tarja Halkonen and Matti Vanhoillinen.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hardman looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Kruger is fending him off so far but Hardman persists. Nope, Kruger circles away and we're back to standing.
Hardman fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Hardman takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Hardman throws a head kick that misses.
Stephan Kruger seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kruger. Hardman does a little dance to reset his feet.
Kruger lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hardman circles away quickly and effectively.
Hardman darts in and clinches Kruger up against the cage.
Kruger pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Kruger tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Hardman misses with a takedown attempt - Kruger sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Will Hardman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hardman shoots in for a takedown but Kruger shows good takedown defense.
Kruger thows a left - swing and a miss!
Kruger fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hardman manages to avoid it.
Hardman closes the distance and clinches.
Kruger manages to break the clinch.
Hardman feints and as Kruger raises his hands in defense, Hardman changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Hardman trying to control but Kruger is working from the bottom.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kruger looking for a sweep. Not yet Kruger, not yet.
Hardman won't allow Kruger to get back to his feet.
Kruger pulls Hardman in close to his closed guard and prevents Hardman from doing any damage or advancing position.
We're going to have a standup here because Will Hardman wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Kruger keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Hardman avoids the head kick by Kruger.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
A nice combination there by Kruger.
Kruger throws a sloppy head kick and Hardman moves out of range easily.
Kruger tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hardman paws at him with a jab and circles away.
A combination from Kruger does no damage.
Hardman is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Kruger's half guard.
Kruger looks gassed!
Hardman is thwarting Kruger's attempts to control the position.
Hardman is working for a submission of some sort.
Hardman stalling.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kruger gets full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Kruger 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.
Kruger is wriggling around but Hardman manages to pass to half guard.
Kruger tries to roll over but Hardman keeps him under control.
Kruger pushes Hardman off looking to stand but Hardman dives back in and keeps control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hardman perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close round but I would say that Will Hardman will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.
Kruger misses with a hook.
Kruger digs a good hook to Hardman's body.
Kruger lands a high kick!
It looks like Will Hardman has been cut.
Kruger misses with a head kick.
Hardman throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Kruger's waist but Kruger gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Hardman off to one side.
Kruger throws a sloppy head kick and Hardman moves out of range easily.
Hardman fails with a takedown attempt.
Kruger looks to land a combination but Hardman avoids it well.
Kruger throws a sloppy head kick and Hardman moves out of range easily.
Hardman misses with a kick to the body.
An inside leg kick lands from Kruger.
Hardman blocks a head kick by Kruger.
Kruger is breathing heavily.
Kruger fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Hardman gets a takedown into half guard.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kruger is in trouble now - Hardman has advanced to mount!
Hardman lands a heavy elbow.
Hardman trying to control but Kruger is having none of it.
Hardman takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardman working the ground and pound effectively.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hardman looking to control and managing it successfully.
Kruger really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hardman. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kruger is trying desperately to improve position.
Hardman controlling the pace for now.
Hardman looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Hardman controlling his opponent.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardman landing shots from mount.
Hardman raining down hammerfists from mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kruger is wriggling around trying to escape.
Hardman sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Will Hardman dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Will Hardman's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!
Hardman avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Hardman shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Will Hardman overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hardman pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Kruger really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Hardman content just to control the position here.
Hardman raining down hammerfists from mount.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardman controlling the position easily from mount.
Kruger regains half guard.
Kruger tries to roll over but Hardman keeps him under control.
Kruger is trying to control but can't.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardman is keen to just control but Kruger is a slippery customer.
Hardman perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
The ref stands the fighters back up. Will Hardman wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Hardman closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Kruger's guard.
Hardman won't allow Kruger to sweep him here.
Kruger takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hardman trying to control but Kruger is working from the bottom.
Hardman controls from within his opponent's guard.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Hardman lands a couple of decent looking shots.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kruger avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Hardman working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Hardman showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Will Hardman.
Hardman closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Kruger is trying to escape back to his feet but Hardman uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Hardman is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Kruger is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardman is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Hardman trying to control the action but Kruger is working from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hardman tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
And that's the end of the fight!
Will Hardman showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hardman, 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Will Hardman!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
42% |
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