PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Lasi Kukko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mikal Helio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Helio has chosen Brazil National Anthem as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Kukko
vs
Helio

185 cm
36
194 lbs
31 - 16 - 2

190 cm
33
195 lbs
25 - 8 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

TWGC Champion
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

The Big Kabosh
Merciless Gladiators

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 31 - 16 - 2, fighting out of London, Lasi Kukko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 8 - 0, fighting out of London, Mikal Helio!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, Daniel Bishop and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kukko closes the distance and clinches up with Helio, looking for a takedown. Kukko pushes Helio against the cage but Helio circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A slow jab from Kukko misses its intended target.
Kukko fakes the leg kick and cracks Helio in the body.
Helio takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Kukko throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Helio.

Kukko closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Helio's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Kukko trying to control the position from guard on top but Helio is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Helio can't keep his opponent in guard - Kukko advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Kukko takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Helio has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Kukko thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Helio's head.
Helio tries to roll over but Kukko keeps him under control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kukko is pressing down on Helio's thigh, looking to free his foot. Helio is holding on for now.
Helio wants to get back to full guard.
Kukko looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Kukko throwing shots but Helio is blocking nicely.
Kukko has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Kukko working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Helio's thigh. Helio counters though and makes it back to full guard.
Helio keeping full guard, as Kukko tries to pass.
Helio can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Kukko controls the pace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Helio controls Kukko momentarily but Kukko frees himself.
Helio wants to control but Kukko passes easily into half guard.
Kukko looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Helio with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
We've been hearing that Kukko has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Kukko is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Helio tries to get to full guard but Kukko has control of the leg.
Kukko takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kukko seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Helio does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Helio won't allow Kukko to pass to mount.
Kukko trying to control the action but Helio is working from the bottom.

Lasi Kukko has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Kukko will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Some wild striking there from Kukko.
Kukko misses with a straight right.
Kukko misses with a looping left.
Kukko darts in looking for a takedown but Helio gets double underhooks and turns Kukko into the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lasi Kukko. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Kukko drags the fight down to the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Helio slips nicely into half guard.
Helio drops an elbow to the side of Kukko's head.
Kukko wants to improve his position but Helio is controlling well.
Kukko trying to control but Helio postures up.
Kukko slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Helio preventing the sweep.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Helio working some strikes from top position.
Kukko keeping moving, preventing Helio from controlling successfully.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Helio is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Kukko is trying to control the position but Helio postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lasi Kukko dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Kukko looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Kukko works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Kukko goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Crunch! Kukko slams his shin into Helio's torso.
Kukko misses with an uppercut. Helio saw that one coming.
Kukko throws a sloppy head kick and Helio moves out of range easily.
Kukko connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Kukko fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Helio checks it well.
Kukko throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Kukko misses with a straight right.
Kukko sizes up Helio with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Kukko connects with a jab.
Lasi Kukko is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kukko shoots in but no luck this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kukko misses with a jab, cross combination.
Kukko throws a leg kick which misses Helio's front leg but catches the back leg as Helio tries to avoid it.
Kukko just misses with a punch to the body.
Kukko throws a big shot that misses.
Kukko swings for the body but Helio moves out of range.
Kukko looks to land a right hand but Helio moved out of range.
Kukko looks to score with a jab to the body but Helio is just out of range.
Kukko swinging wildly here.
Kukko paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Kukko jabs at Helio's body.
Some wild striking there from Kukko.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No joy there for Kukko, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Kukko connects with a looping right hand.
Kukko misses with a jab, cross combination.
Kukko throws a head kick that misses.
Kukko closes this distance looking for a takedown but Helio circles away.

Kukko bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Lasi Kukko overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Helio wants to control but Kukko postures up.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Helio is working to avoid the ground and pound but Kukko connects with a decent elbow.
Helio can't do much from the bottom here.
Helio regains half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kukko is working for a submission of some sort.
Kukko throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Kukko missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Helio is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Kukko trying to control from half guard but Helio is working away.
Kukko trying to mount his opponent but Helio defends it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Helio wants to get back to full guard.
Kukko missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Helio is staying active underneath Kukko, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Helio is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Kukko scores with a couple of nice shots.
Helio is trying to control but can't.

Kukko is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kukko is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Kukko wants to pass the guard but Helio is defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lasi Kukko dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Kukko fails with a takedown attempt.
Kukko misses with an uppercut
and Helio counters with a nice low kick that buckles Kukko's knee momentarily.
Kukko misses with a hook.
Nice body kick there by Kukko.
Helio slips a jab and a cross from Kukko.
Kukko fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Helio avoids it really well and circles away.
Kukko jabs at Helio's body.
Kukko looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
A slow jab from Kukko misses its intended target.
Nice shot by Kukko.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Helio takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Lasi Kukko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Helio displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Kukko throws out the jab.
Kukko throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Kukko looks to land a combination but Helio avoids it well.
Kukko attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Helio avoids the head kick by Kukko.
Helio bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Kukko swings for the body but Helio moves out of range.
Kukko misses with the combination.
Kukko moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Kukko misses with a body punch
and Helio counters with a thumping low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Helio slips a jab from Kukko.
Kukko throws a poor cross that misses
and Helio counters with a thumping low kick.
Lasi Kukko is winning the standup battle so far.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kukko tries to bum rush Helio with a series of wild strikes but Helio uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Kukko looks for the body kick but Helio saw that one coming.
Kukko tries a head kick but it misses.
Kukko tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Helio is able to avoid easily.
Kukko throws a low kick, looking for Helio's leg but Helio calmly moves out of range.
Kukko tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Helio swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lasi Kukko. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kukko lands with a right hand.
Sloppy strikes from Kukko. Those never looked like landing.
Kukko throws a looping overhand right but Helio ducks down to avoid it.
Kukko thows a body shot but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kukko throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Kukko misses with a wild body shot.
Kukko cracks Helio with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
A slow jab from Kukko misses its intended target.
Kukko paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
A big right from Kukko misses.
Helio takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Kukko throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Kukko is defended easily by Helio.
Kukko ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Helio moves away.
Lasi Kukko is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kukko tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Helio defends well and Kukko ends up having to push Helio into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Helio scores with a shoulder strike.
Kukko jumps guard but Helio stands there with Kukko around his waist. Kukko gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Kukko is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Helio is keeping busy.
Mikal Helio has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Helio blocks an elbow strike from Kukko.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kukko stops a takedown attempt from Helio.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lasi Kukko showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Kukko 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lasi Kukko!