PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Nathanial Vang (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Espo Jaksinen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Vang
vs
Jaksinen

157 cm
18
177 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

182 cm
18
177 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Brawler
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Nathanial Vang!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Espo Jaksinen!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Tarja Halkonen and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jaksinen looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

Jaksinen gets a clinch.
Vang dodges an elbow strike from Jaksinen.
Vang looking to slow down the pace here.
Jaksinen connects with a nasty looking knee right to Vang's face.

It looks like Nathanial Vang has been cut.
Vang could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Vang is trying to force a seperation but Jaksinen has the dominant position.
With the fighters up against the cage, Jaksinen throws an elbow but misses.
The referee calls for Jaksinen to work.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Jaksinen just misses with a elbow thrown towards Vang's brow.
Jaksinen tries to land a knee to the head but Vang blocks with his arms.
Jaksinen lands with a right to the head.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Jaksinen misses with a knee to the head.
Vang is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Jaksinen to keep the fight standing.
Jaksinen throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Jaksinen tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vang taking a breather.
Jaksinen has Vang pressed against the cage.
Vang tries to pull guard but Jaksinen holds him up against the cage and eventually Vang drops back down to his feet.
Vang trying to control the position but instead, Jaksinen has worked for underhooks and has pushed Vang into the cage.
Vang avoids a wild elbow strike from Jaksinen.
Vang is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Jaksinen looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Jaksinen looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Vang tries to pull guard but Jaksinen won't allow it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nathanial Vang. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jaksinen softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Jaksinen with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Vang jumps guard but Jaksinen stands there with Vang around his waist. Vang gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Jaksinen as Vang tries to tie him up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Maybe Vang would be better served going for some more strikes rather than trying to control so much.
Vang is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Jaksinen to keep the fight standing.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Jaksinen takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Vang trying to control the position but instead, Jaksinen has worked for underhooks and has pushed Vang into the cage.
Jaksinen throws an elbow that misses.
Jaksinen misses with a hook from the clinch.
Vang dodges an elbow strike from Jaksinen.
Jaksinen looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Vang tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Jaksinen just stands there and leans against the cage.
Jaksinen misses with an elbow over the top.
Jaksinen dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vang fails to pull guard.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Vang takes a shot to the head.
Jaksinen swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Jaksinen lands a nice elbow.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Vang tries to pull guard but Jaksinen won't allow it.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Vang avoids the elbow strike from Jaksinen, against the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Jaksinen as Vang tries to tie him up.
Jaksinen throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Jaksinen misses with a knee strike.
Vang dodges an elbow strike from Jaksinen.
Jaksinen misses with a knee strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jaksinen tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Jaksinen prevents Vang from breaking the clinch.
Vang is trying to maintain a safe position but Jaksinen gets an underhook and turns Vang into the cage.
Vang can't seem to implement his control oriented gameplan at the moment. That's no bad thing of course, for those of us who want to see a good fight.
Vang is breathing heavily.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Nathanial Vang.

Jaksinen clinches.
Jaksinen misses with an elbow over the top.
Jaksinen stalling the fight.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Vang wants to stall.
Vang avoids the elbow strike from Jaksinen, against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Jaksinen throws a punch but it's blocked by Vang.
Jaksinen scores with a shot to the side of Vang's head.
Jaksinen lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Vang backwards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Espo Jaksinen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Nathanial Vang's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Vang is trying hard to land a takedown here. Jaksinen sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Jaksinen avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Jaksinen is defended easily by Vang.
Vang stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Vang wants it to stay on the feet.

Jaksinen rushes Vang and presses him up against the cage.
Stalling in the clinch from Jaksinen.
Vang fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Vang pushes off an throws an elbow but Jaksinen leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Vang looking to slow down the pace here.
Jaksinen throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Jaksinen just misses with a elbow thrown towards Vang's brow.

Vang drags the fight down to the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jaksinen looking to sit in guard and control but Vang gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Jaksinen looking to control.
Vang has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Jaksinen is proving hard to escape from.
Vang is fighting to break Jaksinen's control of his arms but Jaksinen is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Jaksinen is striking but Vang is not phased and passes to half guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Jaksinen wants to control but Vang is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jaksinen is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Jaksinen really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Vang. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Jaksinen has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Vang is working away from the top position though.
Jaksinen wants to improve his position but Vang is controlling well.
Jaksinen is positioning himself well to prevent Vang advancing to mount.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Jaksinen can do anything to dispel that myth.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Espo Jaksinen.
Jaksinen closes this distance looking for a takedown but Vang circles away.
Nathanial Vang has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Espo Jaksinen.

Jaksinen rushes Vang and presses him up against the cage.
Vang tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
With the fighters up against the cage, Jaksinen throws an elbow but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jaksinen is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Jaksinen tries to land a knee to the head but Vang blocks with his arms.
Vang taking a breather.
Vang blocks an uppercut.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Jaksinen just misses with a elbow thrown towards Vang's brow.
Jaksinen pushes off an throws an elbow but Vang leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Jaksinen throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Jaksinen throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Vang blocks the elbow strike.
Jaksinen gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Vang jumps guard but Jaksinen turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Vang is trying to stall.
Jaksinen throws an elbow but it misses.
Jaksinen throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Jaksinen tries to land a knee to the head but Vang blocks with his arms.
Vang stalling in the clinch but Jaksinen improves position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vang takes an elbow to the temple.
Espo Jaksinen seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Jaksinen's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Jaksinen lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Jaksinen looking to throw knees to the head but Vang is blocking nicely.
Vang blocks an elbow strike from Jaksinen.
Vang blocks an elbow strike.
Vang avoids the elbow strike from Jaksinen, against the cage.
Vang tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Jaksinen smiles and moves away.
Vang darts in looking for a takedown but Jaksinen gets double underhooks and turns Vang into the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Jaksinen lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Jaksinen is pushing Vang up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Espo Jaksinen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Nathanial Vang's cut.
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. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Jaksinen looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Vang is fending him off so far but Jaksinen persists. Nope, Vang circles away and we're back to standing.

Jaksinen gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Jaksinen misses with a knee to the head.
Jaksinen misses with a punch on the inside.
Jaksinen throws a knee to the head but misses.
Vang looking to slow down the pace here.
Jaksinen swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Vang is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Jaksinen to keep the fight standing.
A bit of stalling here from Jaksinen.
Jaksinen throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Vang looking to slow down the pace here.
Jaksinen controlling the action here for a moment.
A battle for position here, against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vang jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Jaksinen walks away with a smile on his face. Vang gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Vang is defended easily by Jaksinen.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nathanial Vang. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Jaksinen drives through and clinches with Vang against the cage.
Jaksinen tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Jaksinen comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Jaksinen dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Vang is trying to pull guard but Jaksinen turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Jaksinen.

Nathanial Vang's cut is getting worse.
Vang takes a shot to the head.

Vang is rocked!
Jaksinen tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Oh Vang is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Jaksinen throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Vang blocks it with crossed arms.
Vang takes an elbow to the temple.
Jaksinen misses with a knee strike.
Jaksinen tries a knee to the head but Vang blocks it.
Jaksinen working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Jaksinen has Vang pressed up against the cage in a tight Thai clinch. Vang is arching his back, trying to avoid the knees but a big one sneaks through from Jaksinen - that's hurt Vang badly! Oh, another knee lands and Vang is covering up! The referee steps in to save him - possibly a bit early but Vang doesn't seem to be complaining.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:23 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Knees). Espo Jaksinen!