|
|
PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ari Koivunen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dario Brkic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Brkic has chosen Dubioza kolektiv - Kažu as his entrance music. Ari Koivunen looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.
 |
|
 |
| 191 cm
18
178 lbs
0 - 1 - 0 |
|
183 cm
19
190 lbs
3 - 4 - 0 |
BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Big heart |
|
BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut |
|
| |
|
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
0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ari Koivunen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Dario Brkic!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Roosa Järviläinen and Marco Blurström.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Brkic shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Koivunen pinned against the cage. Koivunen gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Nice sprawl there from Koivunen as Brkic shoots in.
Brkic looks winded!
No luck with that takedown attempt from Brkic.
Ari Koivunen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dario Brkic.
Brkic closes the distance and pushes Koivunen back into the cage.
Koivunen definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Koivunen is working for takedown but Brkic is calmly controlling the position for now.
Brkic escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Brkic keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Koivunen goes for a double leg but Brkic avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Brkic continues to drive forward.
Koivunen wants to take the fight to the mat but Brkic manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Brkic tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Koivunen smiles and moves away.
Brkic shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Koivunen as he avoids it easily.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Koivunen shoots for a takedown but Brkic saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Koivunen closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Koivunen lands in his opponent's guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Koivunen stays in close to Brkic's body and controls the position.
Brkic wants to stand but Koivunen is controlling the position.
Koivunen not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Brkic wants to sweep but no luck.
Brkic can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Koivunen controls the pace.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ari Koivunen.
Koivunen shoots in looking for a takedown. Brkic tries to sprawl out of it but Koivunen keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Brkic manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Brkic pushes Koivunen up against the cage in a clinch.
Brkic has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Koivunen uses from the top position.
Brkic has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Koivunen can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Koivunen controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Koivunen trying to control but Brkic is working from the bottom.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brkic has his foot on Koivunen's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Koivunen works his way back into a safe position though.
Brkic has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Koivunen can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Koivunen controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Brkic isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Koivunen stacks Brkic on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Koivunen!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Brkic throws a couple of punches but he's in a bad position and they don't land.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Brkic is not content to let Koivunen control the position.
Koivunen moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Koivunen trying to control the action but Brkic is working from the bottom.
Brkic tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Koivunen wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
You can see the frustration on Brkic's face as Koivunen controls the position.
We're going to have a standup here because Ari Koivunen wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Koivunen closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Brkic did well to prevent Koivunen getting side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
Ari Koivunen dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.
Brkic moves into the clinch.
Brkic connects with a knee to the head.
Koivunen is trying to drag Brkic to the mat but Brkic just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Brkic is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Koivunen here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Brkic tries to pull guard but Koivunen forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Brkic throws an elbow that misses.
Brkic prevents a takedown attempt there.
Brkic wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Brkic gets control of Koivunen's arms and successfully pulls guard. Brkic will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Koivunen showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Brkic looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Koivunen passes into half guard.
Koivunen perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Brkic wants to improve his position but Koivunen is controlling well.
Brkic looking for submissions off his back.
Brkic looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Brkic looking for submissions off his back.
Koivunen seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Brkic wants to improve his position but Koivunen is controlling well.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Brkic with the active half guard here but Koivunen passes nicely into side control.
Brkic is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Brkic trying to remain calm as Koivunen controls from the top position.
Brkic bucks up and tries to throw Koivunen off but instead Koivunen has got his back!
Koivunen biding his time, controlling Brkic.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Brkic can't escape the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ari Koivunen has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Brkic keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ari Koivunen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Koivunen tries to keep at a distance but Brkic has taken the fight into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close second round but I would say that Ari Koivunen 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. This is the final round!
Koivunen fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Koivunen tries to keep at a distance but Brkic has taken the fight into the clinch.
Brkic pulls guard successfully.
Brkic is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Brkic escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Koivunen gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Brkic escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Koivunen gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Brkic wants to hit a switch here but Koivunen passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Brkic there!
That's one minute gone in the round.
Brkic is trying to stand up.
Brkic is desperately trying to improve his position but Koivunen has a good base and remains in mount.
Koivunen can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Brkic is looking to escape.
Koivunen sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Brkic is trying to stand but he's not in a good position to be doing that! Koivunen has taken his back!
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Koivunen controlling well, preventing Brkic from escaping the position.
Koivunen is riding his opponent, not letting Brkic buck him off.
Koivunen has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Koivunen's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Brkic is in bad spot here.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Good control from Koivunen.
The ref stands the fighters back up because Ari Koivunen just wasn't active enough.
Brkic stuffs the takedown attempt from Koivunen. Koivunen gets slowly back to his feet.
Brkic closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Brkic lands in his opponent's guard.
Koivunen is trying to control the position but Brkic postures up.
Brkic lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Brkic tries to stand but Koivunen is controlling from the bottom.
Koivunen not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Ari Koivunen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Brkic working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Koivunen's head.
Brkic throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Koivunen works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Brkic wants to stand but Koivunen has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Brkic throwing strikes from guard but Koivunen blocks nicely.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Koivunen trying to keep a closed guard but Brkic is proving a slippery customer.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that's the end of the fight!
Dario Brkic comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Koivunen has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 29:29
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 29:29
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28
The fight is ruled a majority draw!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
|
S |
C |
G |
|
energy
A | B |
|
hype
A | B |
|
pop
A | B |
|
mgr
A | B |
|
FIGHT
RATING
52% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
