PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Martin Huuhkaja (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ruslan Smirnov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be fireworks!

Huuhkaja
vs
Smirnov

165 cm
23
141 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

167 cm
28
142 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

Good wrestler
Counter striker
Powerful

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 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Martin Huuhkaja!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ruslan Smirnov!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Tarja Halkonen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Huuhkaja staying out of range there.
Smirnov slips a jab from Huuhkaja.
Smirnov misses with a looping right.
Huuhkaja throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Smirnov stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Smirnov misses with an uppercut. Huuhkaja saw that one coming.
Smirnov misses with a low kick.
Huuhkaja misses with a straight left.
Huuhkaja steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Smirnov.
Smirnov on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Smirnov tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Huuhkaja swivels and escapes.
Huuhkaja looks to land a right hand but Smirnov moved out of range.
Huuhkaja lands with a nice body punch.
Huuhkaja fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Huuhkaja scores with a nice head shot.
A telegraphed right hand from Smirnov misses the target.
Huuhkaja ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Huuhkaja throws an overhand right that lands on Smirnov's shoulder, as Smirnov tries to avoid the shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Huuhkaja lands with a straight right. Smirnov didn't see that one coming.
Huuhkaja is looking to clinch.
Smirnov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Huuhkaja misses with an uppercut. Smirnov saw that one coming.
Smirnov shoots for a takedown but Huuhkaja saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Martin Huuhkaja seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A jab from Huuhkaja does it's job there.
Smirnov steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Huuhkaja.
Smirnov slips a straight right by Huuhkaja.
Huuhkaja jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Smirnov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Huuhkaja.
Smirnov closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Smirnov thows a body shot but no joy.
Smirnov ducks under a wild hook from Huuhkaja.
Smirnov fails with the takedown.
Martin Huuhkaja has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ruslan Smirnov.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Huuhkaja.
Smirnov looks to throw the jab but Huuhkaja is out of range.
Martin Huuhkaja is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Huuhkaja throws a jab when Smirnov was well out of range.
Smirnov takes a shot right to the bread basket.
A telegraphed right hand from Huuhkaja misses the target.
Huuhkaja tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Smirnov was well out of range. Poor timing from Huuhkaja.
Huuhkaja throws a looping overhand right but Smirnov ducks down to avoid it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Huuhkaja misses with an uppercut. Smirnov saw that one coming.
Huuhkaja throws a hook but Smirnov blocks it.
Huuhkaja misses with a looping right.
Smirnov takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Huuhkaja is looking to clinch but Smirnov is avoiding it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Huuhkaja slips under a jab.
Smirnov slips a jab and a cross from Huuhkaja.
Smirnov loads up on a big right hand but Huuhkaja slips the punch.
Huuhkaja throws a right and a left that Smirnov avoids nicely.
Huuhkaja looks to land a combination but Smirnov avoids it well.

Smirnov closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Huuhkaja is trying to stand back up but Smirnov is controlling him
Smirnov wants to pass the guard but Huuhkaja is defending well.
Huuhkaja is not content to let Smirnov control the position.
Smirnov seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Huuhkaja desperately trying to maintain half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Smirnov is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Huuhkaja doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Smirnov.
Huuhkaja pushes Smirnov off looking to stand but Smirnov dives back in and keeps control.
Huuhkaja knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Smirnov on the ground.
Huuhkaja trying to control from the bottom.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Huuhkaja is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Huuhkaja is defending against the submission attempts here by Smirnov.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Smirnov trying to mount his opponent but Huuhkaja defends it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Martin Huuhkaja dominated that 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.

Nice shot lands for Huuhkaja.
Smirnov throws a lazy right hand but Huuhkaja sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Huuhkaja ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Smirnov moves away.

Smirnov looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Smirnov passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Huuhkaja is trying to buck Smirnov off.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Smirnov is trying to get an arm triangle but Huuhkaja is defending well.
Smirnov tries to advance to mount but can't.
Huuhkaja is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

Smirnov tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smirnov landing strikes.
Huuhkaja tries to improve position but can't.
Smirnov tries to advance to mount but Huuhkaja denies him.
You can see the frustration on Huuhkaja's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Huuhkaja wants to get back to his feet.
Smirnov trying to control the action but Huuhkaja is working from the bottom.
Sloppy strikes there by Smirnov.
Huuhkaja is trying to escape and get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Huuhkaja is looking to regain half guard here but Smirnov keeps moving and retains side control.
Huuhkaja is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Smirnov has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Huuhkaja struggling a bit here.
Huuhkaja tries to escape but Smirnov is in control.
Huuhkaja taking punishment in the form of punches.
Smirnov scoring with punches and elbows.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Smirnov scores with a couple of short elbows.
Smirnov tries to move into full mount but can't pass Huuhkaja's legs.
Smirnov has control of an arm but Huuhkaja manages to advance to Smirnov's back!
Smirnov turns into Huuhkaja and is now in his guard.
Smirnov pushing down on Huuhkaja's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smirnov takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Huuhkaja is looking to escape.
Smirnov working Huuhkaja over with strikes.
Smirnov has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Smirnov takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Smirnov avoids the attempt from Huuhkaja to control.
Smirnov lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Smirnov is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Huuhkaja can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Smirnov pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

Huuhkaja is rocked!
Smirnov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Oh Huuhkaja is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Smirnov postures up and lands a whopping elbow - oh that's hurt Huuhkaja bigstyle! Two more strikes land for Smirnov and the fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Ruslan Smirnov!
Ruslan Smirnov decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.