PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Iivana Jalo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mikhail Van Kirkland (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Jalo might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Aino Venna - Waltz to Paris. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Jalo
vs
Van Kirkland

203 cm
28
266 lbs
21 - 16 - 0

194 cm
32
285 lbs
18 - 16 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Hellbent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Iivana Jalo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 16 - 0, fighting out of London, Mikhail Van Kirkland!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Russell Pearce and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Van Kirkland tries to close the distance and clinch but Jalo swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Jalo swinging wildly here.
Van Kirkland is looking for the big counter here.
Van Kirkland swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A head kick misses from Van Kirkland.
Jalo has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Jalo scores with a decent looking hook.
Van Kirkland tries a head kick but it misses.
Jalo is looking to counter the offense by Van Kirkland and move into the clinch.
Jalo scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
The fighters circle momentarily. Jalo darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Van Kirkland looks to land a combination. Jalo sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Good exchange - Jalo coming out on top.
Van Kirkland fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
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!
Jalo tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Van Kirkland paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Van Kirkland tries a quick counter leg kick but Jalo is wise to it.
Iivana Jalo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Van Kirkland connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Van Kirkland misses with a double jab

and Jalo counters by clinching up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short body shot lands from Jalo as the two fighters clinch.
Jalo swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Van Kirkland is looking to take this one to the mat.
Van Kirkland is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Jalo pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Iivana Jalo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mikhail Van Kirkland.
Jalo lands a nice uppercut.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Van Kirkland.
Jalo lands a body shot.
Van Kirkland looks winded!
Jalo tries to throw a body punch but Van Kirkland avoids it by throwing Jalo back against the cage.
Jalo tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Jalo throws a head punch that misses.
Jalo can't find room to land a body shot as Van Kirkland controls the action.
Jalo swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Jalo pressing his opponent against the cage.
Van Kirkland misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jalo cracks Van Kirkland with a nice body shot.
Van Kirkland lands a left hand that snaps the head of Jalo backwards.
Van Kirkland doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Jalo wants to stall.
Jalo doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Jalo controlling the action here for a moment.
Van Kirkland blocks an uppercut.
A shot in the inside from Jalo.
Van Kirkland being controlled against the cage.
Jalo can't find room to land a body shot as Van Kirkland controls the action.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jalo lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Jalo blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Jalo lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Jalo swings wildly with an uppercut but Van Kirkland uses good head movement to avoid it.
Jalo tries a body shot but Van Kirkland blocks it.
Van Kirkland throws a head punch that misses.
Jalo throws a punch but it's blocked by Van Kirkland.
Van Kirkland tries a body shot but Jalo blocks it.
Van Kirkland misses with a hook to the ribs.
Van Kirkland tries a body shot but Jalo blocks it.
Jalo lands a hook to the side of the head.
Jalo lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Van Kirkland backwards.
Jalo throws a head punch that misses.
Jalo lands a nice uppercut.
Jalo lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jalo lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Van Kirkland creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Van Kirkland misses with a punch on the inside.
Van Kirkland misses with a punch to the body.
Jalo swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Jalo swings wildly with an uppercut but Van Kirkland uses good head movement to avoid it.
Still in the clinch, Jalo scores with a nice short uppercut.
Jalo is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Van Kirkland creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Van Kirkland has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Jalo is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
A head punch on the inside from Jalo fails to land.
Jalo lands a hook that snaps the head of Van Kirkland backwards.

It looks like Mikhail Van Kirkland has been cut.
Jalo struggles to land a body shot inside as Van Kirkland controls his hands.
Van Kirkland blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Iivana Jalo dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Mikhail Van Kirkland's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Van Kirkland will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
The fighters circling - Jalo throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Nice shot lands for Jalo.
Jalo swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Jalo jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Van Kirkland slips under a jab from Jalo.
Van Kirkland throws a right hand that misses

and Jalo counters by moving into the clinch.
Jalo prevents Van Kirkland from breaking the clinch.
Jalo goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Jalo pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Jalo throws a sloppy body shot
and Van Kirkland connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jalo throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Good shot there by Jalo.
Van Kirkland uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Jalo.
Jalo blocks the body kick.
Van Kirkland uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Jalo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Kirkland looks for the body kick but Jalo saw that one coming.
Jalo is looking to counter the offense by Van Kirkland and move into the clinch.
Iivana Jalo is winning the standup battle so far.
Van Kirkland swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Jalo misses with a straight right.
Van Kirkland changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Van Kirkland defending well as Jalo loads up on a big left hand.
Van Kirkland uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Jalo.
A thudding body kick lands there by Van Kirkland!
Jalo scores with a jab to the jaw.
A big right from Jalo misses.
Van Kirkland swings for the body but Jalo moves out of range.
A jab lands there for Jalo.
Jalo connects with a looping right hand.

Van Kirkland feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Van Kirkland scoring with some ground and pound.
Jalo working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Van Kirkland.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van Kirkland trying to control but Jalo is working from the bottom.
Jalo utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Van Kirkland trying to control but Jalo is working from the bottom.
Van Kirkland tries to free his leg and advance position but Jalo is retaining full guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Jalo looking to control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Van Kirkland on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Jalo lunges at Van Kirkland with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Van Kirkland's hand.
Van Kirkland takes a shot to the body in his stride.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Van Kirkland.
Jalo tries to clinch there but Van Kirkland circles away.
Van Kirkland fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Jalo lands a slapping body shot.
Jalo lands with a good body shot.
Van Kirkland is breathing heavily.
Van Kirkland does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Jalo misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Van Kirkland.
Van Kirkland tries a quick counter leg kick but Jalo is wise to it.
Jalo misses the shot to the body.
Jalo rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Van Kirkland moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Jalo lands with a nice combination. Van Kirkland backs away looking to recover.
Jalo is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Van Kirkland can do to turn this around?
Jalo ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Van Kirkland moves away.
Van Kirkland is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Jalo ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Van Kirkland slips under a jab from Jalo.
Van Kirkland replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Jalo blocks it well.
Jalo takes a swing at Van Kirkland's ribcage but misses.
Jalo tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Van Kirkland paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jalo throws a hook but Van Kirkland avoids it easily.
Iivana Jalo is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Jalo tries to clinch up.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Jalo cracks Van Kirkland with a right hand to the side of the head.
Jalo on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Van Kirkland takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Jalo throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Van Kirkland slips under a jab.
Jalo tries to clinch up but Van Kirkland circles away and keeps his distance.
Jalo looks to score with a jab to the body but Van Kirkland is just out of range.
Jalo punishes Van Kirkland's body with a nice straight punch.
Jalo misses with a straight left.
A jab from Jalo misses.
Jalo throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Van Kirkland sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Jalo catches Van Kirkland with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Iivana Jalo dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Mikhail Van Kirkland's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Jalo stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Van Kirkland throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Jalo.
Jalo tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Van Kirkland looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Jalo is trying to maintain the position but Van Kirkland is very close to passing his half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jalo has hold of Van Kirkland's hands but Van Kirkland slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Van Kirkland lands with a punch from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Kirkland with the ground and pound but Jalo uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Van Kirkland throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Van Kirkland works over Jalo with some ground and pound from guard.
Van Kirkland with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Van Kirkland accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Jalo wants to sweep here but Van Kirkland controlling him for the moment.
Jalo controls Van Kirkland momentarily but Van Kirkland frees himself.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Van Kirkland wants to control from the top but Jalo keeps moving.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Van Kirkland looks for a takedown but Jalo sprawls well.
Jalo lands with a shot to the body.
Van Kirkland misses with a takedown attempt

and Jalo counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Jalo.
Jalo scores with a shoulder strike.
A short uppercut from Jalo.
Van Kirkland wants a takedown.
Iivana Jalo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mikhail Van Kirkland.
Van Kirkland takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Jalo pressing his opponent against the cage.
Van Kirkland throws a punch but it's blocked by Jalo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jalo misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Jalo on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Van Kirkland lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Van Kirkland wants a takedown but no success here.
A head punch on the inside from Jalo fails to land.
Van Kirkland doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Jalo lands a body punch.
Jalo is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Jalo is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Van Kirkland lands a hook that snaps the head of Jalo backwards.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Van Kirkland blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Kirkland is working for takedown but Jalo is calmly controlling the position for now.
Van Kirkland lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Jalo creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Van Kirkland takes a shot to the head.
Iivana Jalo is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Van Kirkland.
Jalo swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Still in the clinch, Jalo scores with a nice short uppercut.
Mikhail Van Kirkland has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Van Kirkland blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Jalo tries a body shot but Van Kirkland blocks it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Jalo lands a left hand that snaps the head of Van Kirkland backwards.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Van Kirkland misses with a hook from the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Iivana Jalo.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Jalo, 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 John Roberts scores the fight 30:27
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 30:27
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Iivana Jalo!
An out of breath Iivana Jalo thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.