PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Erkki Heimolainen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tero Karhula (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Karhula comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Will Smith - Men In Black kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Heimolainen
vs
Karhula

180 cm
24
168 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

176 cm
33
162 lbs
17 - 8 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Namunamu Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Erkki Heimolainen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Tero Karhula!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Ben Zyskovitsi and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Karhula jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Heimolainen moves out of range as Karhula strikes.
Heimolainen keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Karhula.
Heimolainen swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Heimolainen misses the jab.
Karhula with the counter takedown but Heimolainen avoids it easily.
Heimolainen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Karhula was well out of range. Poor timing from Heimolainen.
Heimolainen throws a nice looking combination but Karhula bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Karhula doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Heimolainen on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Karhula avoids the body shot from Heimolainen.
Heimolainen tries to bum rush Karhula with a series of wild strikes but Karhula uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Karhula throws a right hand that misses
and Heimolainen counters with a nice uppercut.
Karhula ducks under a wild hook from Heimolainen.
Heimolainen lands a jab to Karhula's midsection.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Karhula slips a jab from Heimolainen.
Heimolainen changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Heimolainen misses with a shot to the body
and Karhula counters with a straight right hand.
Heimolainen misses with a lunging right hand
and Karhula counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karhula rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Heimolainen decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Karhula's guard.

Heimolainen got a little sloppy there for a moment and Karhula has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Heimolainen has managed to get both his arms back between Karhula's legs - danger averted.
Heimolainen 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.
Karhula is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

Heimolainen has gone for a leg lock! Karhula slips out almost immediately though and dives into Heimolainen's guard.

Heimolainen looking to control.
Heimolainen is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Karhula with a flurry of punches that miss.
Karhula advances to half guard.
Karhula stalling.

Heimolainen actively working from the bottom here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Karhula.
Heimolainen is trying to control but can't.
Karhula prevents Heimolainen from improving his position.
Heimolainen is trying to control but can't.
Karhula takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Heimolainen is looking to control Karhula's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Heimolainen avoid being mounted?
Karhula thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!

Heimolainen looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Karhula throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Heimolainen to regain full guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Heimolainen looking for a sweep. Not yet Heimolainen, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karhula wants to control from the top but Heimolainen keeps moving.

Heimolainen has his foot on Karhula's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Karhula works his way back into a safe position though.
Karhula loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Karhula postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Karhula loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Karhula stands and throws Heimolainen's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Karhula working away.
Karhula working the head and body with strikes.
Karhula is working Heimolainen over with some ground and pound from side control.
Karhula grinds an elbow into Heimolainen's temple.
Heimolainen is looking for a sweep.
Heimolainen is working hard here to advance position.
Karhula scores with a couple of short elbows.

Heimolainen is rocked!

Karhula wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Heimolainen, who protects the arm well.
Oh Heimolainen is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karhula works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Heimolainen tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Heimolainen is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Karhula scoring with strikes to the body and head.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Karhula working his ground and pound in the gym.
Karhula takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Heimolainen is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Karhula scores with a couple of nice shots.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Karhula is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Heimolainen is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Heimolainen is wriggling around trying to escape.
Heimolainen seems to have got his legs back now.
Heimolainen gets back to half guard.
Karhula tries to pass the half guard into mount. Heimolainen knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Karhula seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Heimolainen wants to get back to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tero Karhula dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Karhula will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Heimolainen slips a jab from Karhula.
Karhula jabs Heimolainen to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Heimolainen ducks right into an uppercut from Karhula.
A big right from Heimolainen misses.

Karhula drives through with a takedown into Heimolainen's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

Heimolainen is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Karhula lands a couple of digs.
Heimolainen keeping moving, preventing Karhula from controlling successfully.

Heimolainen has his foot on Karhula's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Karhula works his way back into a safe position though.
Heimolainen has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Heimolainen keeping full guard, as Karhula tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Heimolainen looking for a guillotine here but Karhula defends easily.
Karhula stands up over Heimolainen, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Karhula stands and throws Heimolainen's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Karhula working the head and body with strikes.
Karhula cracks Heimolainen with a big right hand but Heimolainen just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Heimolainen tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Karhula wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Karhula works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Karhula is looking to take a break and control but Heimolainen is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Heimolainen is trying to improve his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Heimolainen gets back to half guard.
Karhula working over Heimolainen with some ground and pound. Heimolainen looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Karhula wants to pass the guard but Heimolainen is defending well.
Heimolainen moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Karhula working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Karhula works over Heimolainen with some ground and pound from guard.

Heimolainen is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Karhula defends well.
Karhula pushing down on Heimolainen's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karhula working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Karhula trying to mount his opponent but Heimolainen defends it.
Ground and pound from Karhula.
Heimolainen is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Karhula's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Karhula's back!
I really don't envy Karhula right now.

Heimolainen has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Karhula has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!

Heimolainen tightening his grip on Karhula, looking for the choke.

Karhula defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Heimolainen is looking to control Karhula but Karhula is wriggling around and keeping busy.
Tero Karhula has got the better of the ground game so far.

Heimolainen is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Karhula is defending well though. Heimolainen let's go of the attempt for now.
Karhula turns into Heimolainen and is now in his guard.
Karhula keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Heimolainen's head.
Karhula is working Heimolainen over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Karhula must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Karhula won't allow Heimolainen to sweep him here.
Karhula trying to control but Heimolainen is working from the bottom.
Karhula working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Heimolainen's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tero Karhula showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Sloppy strikes from Heimolainen. Those never looked like landing.
Karhula lands a right hook to the body.
Heimolainen fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Karhula paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Erkki Heimolainen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Heimolainen connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Karhula momentarily.
Heimolainen will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Karhula 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.
Decent striking displayed by Karhula there.
Karhula uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Heimolainen.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Karhula misses with an uppercut
and Heimolainen counters with a stiff right hand.
Karhula showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Heimolainen.
Karhula lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Heimolainen on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Karhula throws out a loose jab but Heimolainen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Karhula falls off balance throwing a combination
and Heimolainen counters with a straight right hand.
Heimolainen misses with a jab, cross combination.

Karhula looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Heimolainen!
Heimolainen is trying to get back to half guard.
Heimolainen wants to control but Karhula postures up.
Karhula connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Heimolainen some visible discomfort.
Karhula in side control here. He's dropped a big elbow there and Heimolainen looks hurt! Oh, he is hurt! Karhula turns on the heat and pounds him out for a TKO victory! Good killer instinct there!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Tero Karhula!
Our winner, Tero Karhula, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.