PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tero Karhula (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jefferson Thompson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Karhula
vs
Thompson

176 cm
24
162 lbs
1 - 0 - 1

178 cm
20
154 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Prefers standup

CEC Nutrition Q160

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 1 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Tero Karhula!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jefferson Thompson!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Ben Zyskovitsi and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Karhula fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Thompson closes the distance but Karhula moves to the side

and Karhula counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Karhula tries to free his leg and advance position but Thompson is retaining full guard.
Karhula missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Karhula postures up in Thompson's guard and throws a big left but Thompson blocks it.
Karhula throws an elbow that misses. Thompson uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Karhula's guard. Nice move by Thompson!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Karhula is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Karhula working a defensive guard but Thompson manages to pass into side control anyway.
Karhula manages to get back to half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Thompson in particular looking to stall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karhula throws a strike from the bottom but Thompson passes into side control!
Karhula tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Thompson presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Karhula throwing hammer fists to the chest of Thompson. What's that going to do exactly?
Karhula is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Thompson unloads with some shots from mount but Karhula bucks and avoids them well.
Karhula is wriggling around trying to escape.
Thompson controlling his opponent.
Thompson trying to control but Karhula is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karhula flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
Karhula is looking to get to half guard.
Karhula is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
Karhula is desperately trying to improve his position but Thompson has a good base and remains in mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thompson takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Karhula is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Thompson working for a submission but Karhula is keeping him at bay.
Karhula really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Thompson sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karhula tries to lock up and control but Thompson gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Karhula on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Karhula tries to get out of the position.
Karhula is in all sorts of trouble here.
Karhula is working hard here to advance position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tero Karhula dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

A slow jab from Karhula misses its intended target.
A swing and a miss from Karhula.

Thompson rushes Karhula and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Thompson in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.

Thompson breaks the clinch.
Karhula with a nice cross.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Thompson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Karhula paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Karhula checks the leg kick nicely there.
Karhula bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Thompson's head.
Karhula scores with a nice head shot.
Karhula lands the left hand.
Thompson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Karhula swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Karhula avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Jefferson Thompson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Karhula on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Karhula pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Thompson gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Karhula lands a hook that snaps the head of Thompson backwards.
Karhula misses with a punch to the body.

Thompson escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Thompson slips a jab from Karhula.
Karhula tries to clinch up.
Thompson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karhula circles away from the clinch attempt.
Karhula jabs Thompson right on the nose. Thompson blinks but takes it well.
Thompson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Thompson wants to clinch.
Karhula fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Karhula digs a good hook to Thompson's body.
Thompson doesn't manage to clinch there - Karhula circles away.
Karhula tries a head kick but it misses.
Karhula swats away the attempt to clinch by Thompson.
Karhula avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Thompson misses with a double jab
and Karhula counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Thompson throws a nice looking combination but Karhula bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Thompson pushes Karhula up against the cage in a clinch.
Nice body punch from Karhula.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karhula taking a breather.
Thompson wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Good body shot from Karhula.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Karhula digs a right hand into Thompson's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Thompson's gas tank.
Karhula is trying to break the clinch but Thompson has him pressed against the cage.
Karhula taking a breather.

Thompson pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A telegraphed right hand from Karhula misses the target.
Tero Karhula is winning the standup battle so far.
Thompson doesn't manage to clinch there - Karhula circles away.
Karhula scores with a jab to the head.
Karhula fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Thompson is out of range.
Karhula looks to score with a jab to the body but Thompson is just out of range.
Thompson takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Karhula throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Karhula swats away the attempt to clinch by Thompson.
Thompson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Karhula misses the shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karhula throws the left hand but Thompson avoids the punch easily.
Karhula throws a lazy right hand but Thompson sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

Thompson moves into the clinch.
Karhula tries to throw a body punch but Thompson avoids it by throwing Karhula back against the cage.

Thompson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Karhula darts in and clinches Thompson up against the cage.
Thompson blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Thompson breaks the clinch.
Thompson slips under a jab from Karhula.
Thompson wants to clinch.
Karhula fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Thompson tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Karhula manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Thompson tries to clinch but Karhula moves out of range.
Thompson tries to clinch but Karhula is having none of it.
A punch combination from Thompson misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thompson wants to clinch.
Karhula wants to clinch up but Thompson keeps it at a distance.
Thompson moves in looking to clinch but Karhula pushes him off.
Karhula moves out of range of the strikes.
Thompson takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Karhula dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Karhula pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Karhula lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Thompson tries to bum rush Karhula with a series of wild strikes but Karhula uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Thompson scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Thompson misses with some punches.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Thompson looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Thompson pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Karhula takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Karhula fails to land with a series of punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tero Karhula dominated that second round.
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. And we move into the final round!

Thompson has closed the distance and engaged Karhula in a clinch.
Karhula lands with a short shot to the head.
Thompson is trying to push Karhula away but Karhula has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Thompson is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Thompson breaks the clinch.

Karhula clinches with his opponent.
Thompson trying to control the position but instead, Karhula has worked for underhooks and has pushed Thompson into the cage.

Thompson manages to break the clinch.
Thompson throws a right hand that Karhula ducks under and follows up with a left that Karhula also avoids with ease.
Karhula keeps the fight on the outside.
Karhula shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Thompson eats them both and turns towards Karhula to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Thompson is looking to clinch but Karhula is avoiding it.
Karhula fails to land the takedown.
Karhula scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Thompson tries to clinch there but Karhula circles away.
Karhula tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Thompson manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karhula keeps the fight on the outside.
Karhula throws a right and a left that both miss.
Thompson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Karhula throws out the jab.
Karhula scores with a shot to the body.
Karhula thows a left - swing and a miss!
Thompson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Karhula.
A looping hook to the body misses from Thompson. Karhula does a little dance to reset his feet.
Karhula shoots in but Thompson avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Thompson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Karhula keeps the fight on the outside.
Thompson tries to clinch but Karhula is having none of it.
Thompson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Thompson wants to clinch.
Thompson avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Karhula shoots in looking for a takedown. Thompson tries to sprawl out of it but Karhula keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Thompson manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Jefferson Thompson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tero Karhula. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thompson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Thompson tries to bum rush Karhula with a series of wild strikes but Karhula uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Thompson tries to clinch up but Karhula circles away and keeps his distance.
Thompson has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Karhula finds it's way round the side to connect with Thompson's head.
Karhula throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Karhula throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Thompson scores with a jab to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thompson wants to clinch up but Karhula keeps it at a distance.

Thompson forces Karhula back against the cage and clinches.
Karhula lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

Thompson breaks from the clinch.
Thompson tries to close the distance and clinch but Karhula swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Thompson wants to clinch up but Karhula keeps it at a distance.
Karhula is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Thompson is looking to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karhula tries to close the distance and clinch up but Thompson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Thompson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Karhula avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A combination from Karhula does no damage.
Karhula dips to his left and cracks Thompson with an uppercut!
Karhula circles away from the clinch attempt.
Thompson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Thompson throws a head kick that misses.
Thompson is looking to clinch.
Karhula avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Thompson wants to clinch.
Thompson tries to clinch up.
Thompson tries to clinch but Karhula is having none of it.
Thompson moves in looking to clinch but Karhula pushes him off.
Karhula lands a nice shot that snaps Thompson's head back.
Thompson wants to clinch up but Karhula keeps it at a distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karhula defending well as Thompson loads up on a big left hand.

Karhula darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Thompson is holding on to half guard well.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Thompson is trying to maintain the position but Karhula is very close to passing his half guard.
Thompson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Karhula.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Karhula not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Thompson wants to control but Karhula is keeping busy.
Tero Karhula is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Karhula trying to control from half guard but Thompson is working away.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Jefferson Thompson.
Well Karhula has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 29:28
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:28
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tero Karhula!
Tero Karhula spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.