PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Danny Harper (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Daniel Laven (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Danny Harper had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Harper
vs
Laven

189 cm
21
196 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

187 cm
20
195 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Big right hand

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Danny Harper!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Daniel Laven!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Ben Zyskovitsi and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Harper takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.

It looks like Danny Harper has been cut.
Laven throws a right hand that misses

and Harper counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Laven is trying to stand back up but Harper is controlling him
Laven is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Harper jumps into side control!
Laven tries to control but end up mounted... ooooh, that's bad.
Laven is looking to get to half guard.
Harper manages to capitalize on a mistake by Laven to take his back!
Laven is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Harper off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Laven is trying to break free.
Laven is trying to get back to his feet but Harper has full control of the position and if anything, Laven has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Harper controlling well, preventing Laven from escaping the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Laven trying to control the action but Harper just sinks the hooks in.
Harper is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Laven looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
Harper avoiding Laven 's attempts to control his hands.
Harper looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Harper trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Laven doesn't escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Laven is really stuck here.
Laven keeps trying to improve his position.
Laven trying to get back to his feet but Harper is in full control for now.
Harper is not going to allow Laven to sit and survive in this position.
Laven trying to get back to his feet but Harper is in full control for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laven can't escape the position.

Harper gets to his feet and calls for his opponent to stand and trade! Heeeere we go!
Laven throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Laven looks to land a combination but Harper avoids it well.
Laven throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Harper counters with a single leg into guard. Laven didn't expect that.
Laven wants to stand up but Harper is controlling him.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Laven is looking to stand back up but Harper counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Laven.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laven wants to control but Harper is keeping busy.
Laven wants to stand back up but Harper manages to pass into side control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Laven is trying to improve his position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Harper decides to stand up, so the ref orders Laven to his feet.
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 Danny Harper will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Danny Harper'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.

Laven misses with a body shot

and Harper counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Laven wants to get back to his feet.
Laven tries to kick Harper off in order to stand up. Harper Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Laven tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Harper easily slips into full mount!
Laven really wants to buck Harper off and get back to his feet.
Laven is trying desperately to improve position.
Laven is trying to reverse the position but instead Harper has taken his back - oops!
Laven rolls, trying to escape but Harper keeps control of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Laven wants to get back to his feet.
Laven trying to control the hands but Harper won't let him.
Laven is trying to get back to his feet but Harper has full control of the position and if anything, Laven has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Harper just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Laven is trying to break free.
Laven has the hand control, trying to stop the rear naked choke.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Harper decides to get back to his feet. A strange decision but one that the crowd certainly appreciate.
Laven misses with a combination

so Harper counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laven trying to control the position.
Laven is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Harper is controlling him.

Harper gets to his feet. Laven looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Laven ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Harper moves away.
Laven swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A punch combination from Laven misses.
Laven throws a poor cross that misses

and Harper counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Laven's guard now.

Harper gets to his feet. Laven looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Laven scores with a shot to the body.
Laven swings for the body but Harper moves out of range.
Daniel Laven is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Laven scores with the left hand. Harper knows he should have avoided that one.
Laven throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Laven jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Laven misses with a jab, cross combination.
Laven is breathing heavily.
Harper moves away from the strike by Laven.
Laven swings for the body but Harper moves out of range.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Laven throws a lazy uppercut

and Harper counters with a takedown into side control.
Laven wants to get back to his feet but Harper is dominant here and he's now got Laven's back!
Harper keeps control of the position as Laven tries to break free.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Danny Harper dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Danny Harper's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Laven loads up on a big right hand but Harper slips the punch.
Laven fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Harper looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Laven throws a left and a right that both miss

and Harper counters with a shoot takedown. Laven fights it but they end up in guard.
Laven is wriggling around but Harper manages to pass to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Laven wants to get back to his feet.

Harper decides to stand and escape the position.
Laven takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A punch combination from Laven misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harper drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Laven fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Laven missing with a left hand there. Harper was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Harper slips under a jab from Laven.
Laven misses the body punch

and Harper counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Laven preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Laven is looking to improve his position.
Daniel Laven has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Laven tries to kick Harper off in order to stand up. Harper Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.

Harper stands up and beckons Laven to his feet.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Laven throws an overhand right that lands on Harper's shoulder, as Harper tries to avoid the shot.
Laven takes a swing at Harper's ribcage but misses.
Laven lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Laven fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Harper manages to avoid it.
Daniel Laven seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Laven misses with an uppercut. Harper saw that one coming.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Laven misses with a hook

and Harper counters with a takedown into side control.
Laven tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Harper presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Laven wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.
Harper is hanging on to Laven's back as he tries to escape.
Laven just trying to survive but Harper is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
I really don't envy Laven right now.
Laven looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Harper controlling the positon.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Despite having Laven's back, Harper says stuff this ground business - let's go for a knockout! Laven seems baffled but is happy to be out of the difficult position!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Laven throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Harper counters with a takedown into side control.
Laven wants to get back to his feet but Harper is dominant here and he's now got Laven's back!

Harper decides to stand up.
Laven fails to land with a series of punches.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Harper uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Laven.
Laven misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

And that's the end of the fight!
Danny Harper showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Harper, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:28
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Danny Harper!
During a confident post fight interview, Danny Harper thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.