PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Arvydas Sabonis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Keijo Harkimo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sabonis comes to the cage accompanied by James Brown - Superbad. Harkimo comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Sandstorm kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Keijo Harkimo was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Sabonis
vs
Harkimo

210 cm
35
289 lbs
34 - 16 - 0

214 cm
32
265 lbs
26 - 14 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Reaper Combatwear
Fury Nutrition Inc.

Arcticus
Big Bear Nutrition 160Q

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 34 - 16 - 0, fighting out of London, Arvydas Sabonis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Keijo Harkimo!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Jack Bonds and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Harkimo shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Harkimo takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Sabonis throws the kick towards the body but Harkimo avoids it.
A nice inside leg kick there by Sabonis. That's going to slow Harkimo down.
Sabonis walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Harkimo checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Sabonis has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Le Prieuré de Sion in the buildup to the fight.
Harkimo misses with a looping right.

Sabonis takes the fight into the clinch.
Harkimo has Sabonis pushed against the cage.
A hook to the body from Harkimo.
Harkimo can't find room to land a body shot as Sabonis controls the action.

Sabonis breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Harkimo fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Sabonis punishes Harkimo's body with a nice straight punch.
Harkimo misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Sabonis.
Sabonis seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Sabonis works the jab nicely.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Harkimo has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Harkimo there as he acknowledges the shot.
Harkimo avoids the body shot from Sabonis.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sabonis looks for the body kick but Harkimo saw that one coming.
Harkimo looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A cross from Harkimo lands.
Harkimo with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Sabonis scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
A jab from Sabonis misses.
Harkimo explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Sabonis swings for the body but Harkimo moves out of range.
Harkimo chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Sabonis can pounce on him.

Sabonis clinches.
Harkimo looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

Sabonis pulls guard effortlessly.

Harkimo avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Harkimo is standing up over Sabonis. Sabonis looks to escape but Harkimo dives into side control.
Sabonis is not content to let Harkimo control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Harkimo wants to stand but Sabonis has his arm trapped.
Harkimo wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sabonis keeps working.
Sabonis is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Sabonis is trying to control Harkimo's posture but Harkimo avoids it.
Sabonis is looking to regain half guard here but Harkimo keeps moving and retains side control.
Harkimo wants to stand but Sabonis has his arm trapped.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sabonis tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Harkimo slows the pace down.
Sabonis is trying to get back to half guard.
Sabonis struggling a bit here.
Sabonis tries to buck Harkimo off but Harkimo is having none of it.
Sabonis is working hard here to advance position.
Harkimo is staying tight to Sabonis's torso, preventing him from escaping.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Harkimo wants to control but Sabonis is keeping him busy.
Harkimo tries to stand but Sabonis is controlling his head.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Keijo Harkimo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Harkimo misses with a jab, cross combination.
Sabonis uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Harkimo.
Sabonis lands an overhand right.
Harkimo swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Nice jab there from Sabonis.
Harkimo moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Harkimo circles away from the clinch attempt.
Harkimo slips under a jab.
Sabonis takes one on the button.
Sabonis throws a leg kick but Harkimo sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Harkimo punishes Sabonis's body with a nice straight punch.
Harkimo lands with an uppercut that bounces Sabonis off the cage and back into range.
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 Arvydas Sabonis will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Sabonis avoids a kick to the body.
Sabonis avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Harkimo pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sabonis throws a quick inside leg kick.
Sabonis moves out of range as Harkimo strikes.
Harkimo throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Harkimo scores a nice knee to the body.
Harkimo with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Harkimo working Sabonis over with knees to the body.
Harkimo tries to work over Sabonis's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Harkimo tries to throw a body punch but Sabonis avoids it by throwing Harkimo back against the cage.
Sabonis managing to block the knees to the body from Harkimo.
Harkimo looking to slow down the pace here.
Harkimo misses with a short punch on the inside.

Sabonis gets control of Harkimo's arms and successfully pulls guard. Sabonis will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harkimo trying to stand up but can't free himself from Sabonis's guard.
Sabonis tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Sabonis looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Harkimo is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Harkimo's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Harkimo slips nicely into half guard.

Sabonis actively working from the bottom here.
Sabonis is refusing to be controlled, as Harkimo sits in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Sabonis is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Harkimo pulls his head out easily.
Harkimo is trying to control. Sabonis wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Sabonis trying to control from the bottom.

Sabonis looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Harkimo is trying to control. Sabonis wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Harkimo wants to stand but Sabonis has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Harkimo seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Sabonis does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A swing and a miss from Harkimo.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Harkimo in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Harkimo fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Harkimo lands a nice hook to Sabonis's body. Sabonis takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harkimo blocks a jab.
Harkimo avoids the head kick by Sabonis.
Harkimo connects with a high kick.

Sabonis forces Harkimo back against the cage and clinches.
Harkimo blocks a body shot from Sabonis.
Harkimo tries to throw a body punch but Sabonis avoids it by throwing Harkimo back against the cage.
Harkimo lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

Sabonis pulls guard effortlessly.
Harkimo controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Harkimo slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Harkimo controlling from side mount.

Harkimo stands up and beckons Sabonis to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harkimo takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Keijo Harkimo seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Sabonis moves out of range as Harkimo strikes.
Sabonis checks a leg kick nicely.
Sabonis tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Harkimo manages to circle out of the way.
Jab, jab by Sabonis - just one landing.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Harkimo lands with an overhand left.
Sabonis thows a left - swing and a miss!
Harkimo tries to counter by closing the distance.
Harkimo circles away from the clinch attempt.
Sabonis misses with a body shot.
Sabonis scores with a leg kick.
Sabonis with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Harkimo to score with a decent uppercut.
Sabonis throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Harkimo missing with a left hand there. Sabonis was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sabonis is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Harkimo.
Sabonis fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Harkimo manages to avoid it.
Harkimo cracks a nice hook into Sabonis's ribs.
Harkimo checks the leg kick nicely there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Keijo Harkimo showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Sabonis's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Harkimo works Sabonis's body with a nice hook.
Harkimo swinging wildly here.
Harkimo connects with a good right hand that stumbles Sabonis. Sabonis circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Sabonis connects with a leg kick. Harkimo looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Harkimo uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Sabonis.
Harkimo lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Sabonis fails in his attempt to clinch.
Harkimo pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sabonis on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Harkimo misses with a looping left.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Harkimo looks to land a combination but Sabonis avoids it well.
Harkimo lets loose with a powerful body kick. Sabonis will feel that in the morning.
Harkimo throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Sabonis blocks a jab.
Sabonis misses with a lunging right hand

and Harkimo counters with a crisp one two that drops Sabonis! Harkimo thinks about following him to the mat for a moment but instead steps back and waves Sabonis to his feet! Sabonis is in big trouble!

Sabonis is rocked!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sabonis throws a chopping leg kick but Harkimo manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Oh Sabonis is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Harkimo throws an uppercut from hell that sends Sabonis clean off his feet! He's out cold! Harkimo stands back and admires his work as he thinks about that KO of the night award that is surely being wrapped up for him back stage.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:11 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Keijo Harkimo!