PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Abiodun Havilah (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kalani Kapena (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Havilah
vs
Kapena

185 cm
22
175 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

180 cm
25
160 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent elbows
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

The Dark Side

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Abiodun Havilah !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Kalani Kapena!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Chris Saunders and Roger Salmon.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kapena lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Havilah circles away quickly and effectively.
Kapena throws a lazy uppercut
and Havilah counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

Kapena tries to keep at a distance but Havilah has taken the fight into the clinch.
Havilah slowing the pace effectively.
Kapena wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Kapena looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Kapena has a couple of punches blocked by Havilah .
Kapena wants to break the clinch but can't.
Kapena looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Havilah working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Havilah landing knees to the head.

It looks like Kalani Kapena has been cut.
Havilah lands an elbow just above Kapena 's eye.
Havilah slows down the pace here.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Havilah for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Havilah lands an elbow inside that Kapena shrugs off.
Havilah lands an elbow that stopped Kapena in his tracks for a moment.
Kapena looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Kapena wants to break the clinch but can't.
Havilah lands a damaging elbow.

Havilah manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Havilah manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
Come on Havilah - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Kapena avoids a wild elbow strike from Havilah .
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Havilah .

Havilah pulls guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kapena is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
We've been hearing good reports from Havilah 's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Kapena tries to stand but Havilah is controlling from the bottom.
Havilah is trying to control the position but Kapena postures up.
Kapena wants to stand but Havilah is controlling his posture from full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Kapena wants to control from the top but Havilah keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Kalani Kapena was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Kapena lands with an overhand left.
Kapena scores with a jab to the body.
Kapena clobbers Havilah with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

Havilah has Kapena up against the cage in a clinch.
Havilah tries a knee to the head but Kapena blocks it.
Havilah is breathing heavily.

Havilah successfully pulls guard.
Kapena stays in close to Havilah 's body and controls the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Kapena trying to stand up but can't free himself from Havilah 's guard.
Kapena trying to control the position from guard on top but Havilah is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Kalani Kapena has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Decent striking displayed by Kapena there.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Havilah moves into the clinch successfully.
Kapena tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Havilah breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Havilah avoids the body shot from Kapena.
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 Abiodun Havilah will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Kalani Kapena's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Kapena cracks Havilah with an open hand slap.

It looks like Abiodun Havilah has been cut.
A shot to the liver by Kapena. Beautiful body shot.
Havilah avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Kapena misses with a straight right.

Havilah rushes Kapena and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Havilah has Kapena pressed against the cage, preventing Kapena from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Havilah .
Kapena being controlled against the cage.
Kapena has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Havilah keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Kapena's efforts to push away.
Havilah lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Havilah tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Kapena working hard to break the clinch.
Kapena wants to break the clinch but can't.
Kapena wants to break free but Havilah has control.
Havilah keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Kapena's efforts to push away.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Havilah .

Havilah jumps into guard, dragging Kapena to the mat.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kapena sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Kapena must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kapena wants to get up but he can't break Havilah 's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kapena works a leg free and moves into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kapena wants to stand but Havilah has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Havilah preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kapena sitting and controlling from the half guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Kalani Kapena was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Kapena throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Havilah counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
A head punch on the inside from Kapena fails to land.
Havilah throws a knee to the head but misses.
Kapena fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Havilah taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Havilah tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Havilah keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Kapena's efforts to push away.
Kapena wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Havilah has him pressed against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Havilah misses with a knee to the head.
Havilah prevents Kapena from breaking the clinch.
Kapena wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Kapena dodges an elbow strike from Havilah .

Havilah escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Kapena misses with a straight left.

Havilah moves into the clinch.
Havilah trying to control the position but instead, Kapena has worked for underhooks and has pushed Havilah into the cage.

Havilah pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Havilah tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Good exchange - Kapena coming out on top.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A slow jab from Kapena misses its intended target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kalani Kapena showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Kapena throws a right and a left that Havilah avoids nicely.
Kapena will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Kapena throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Havilah looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Havilah gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Kapena misses with an uppercut. Havilah saw that one coming.
Kapena might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Kapena misses with a jab, cross combination.
Kapena looks to score with a jab to the body but Havilah is just out of range.
Kapena throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Kapena swings widly with a right hand

and Havilah counters by clinching up.

Havilah ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Havilah no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Kapena wanted to stand there but Havilah had control of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kapena wants to control from the top but Havilah keeps moving.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kapena stays in close to Havilah 's body and controls the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Kalani Kapena.
Havilah takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Kapena misses with an uppercut. Havilah saw that one coming.
Kapena connects with a single shot there.
Kapena throws a hook but Havilah blocks it.
Kapena jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Kapena throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Havilah sees it coming and avoids it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Havilah tries to close the distance and clinch but Kapena swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Kapena tries to keep at a distance but Havilah has taken the fight into the clinch.
Havilah working aggressively here.
Havilah scores with a knee to the head.

Havilah drags the fight down to the ground.
Kapena trying to control the position from guard on top but Havilah is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Kapena gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kapena throws a jab when Havilah was well out of range.
Havilah moves out of range as Kapena strikes.
Kapena tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Havilah was well out of range. Poor timing from Kapena.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kapena misses with a looping left.
Havilah moves out of range as Kapena strikes.
Kapena misses with a right hand
and Havilah counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Kapena throws a shot from downtown. Havilah moves away and avoids it.
Kapena bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Kapena swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Havilah slips under a jab from Kapena.
Abiodun Havilah is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Havilah misses with a wild body shot.
Havilah moves out of range of the strikes.
Kalani Kapena seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kapena listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
The fighters circling - Kapena throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Havilah slips under a jab.
Kapena throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Havilah counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kapena tries to circle away but Havilah has him pinned against the cage.
Kapena looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Havilah has Kapena pressed against the cage, preventing Kapena from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Havilah tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Kapena tries to break free but Havilah pushes him back against the cage.
Havilah looking to stall.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kapena has had enough of the clinch but Havilah keeps him there for the moment.
Kapena wants to get back to striking at distance but Havilah won't allow it.
Havilah is struggling to control the position.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Abiodun Havilah has scored more points in the clinch so far.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Havilah has Kapena pressed against the cage, preventing Kapena from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kalani Kapena comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Kapena has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Jeff Smith scores the fight for Kalani Kapena!
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight for Kalani Kapena!
Judge Roger Salmon scores the fight for Kalani Kapena!

Kalani Kapena wins by unanimous decision!
During a confident post fight interview, Kalani Kapena thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.