PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vicente Johnston (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Helmeri Haapasaari (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Helmeri Haapasaari will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Johnston
vs
Haapasaari

174 cm
24
279 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

185 cm
25
254 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Vicente Johnston!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Helmeri Haapasaari!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Matti Vanhoillinen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Haapasaari thows a left - swing and a miss!
Johnston quickly followed up with a counter body kick but doesn't connect.

Johnston gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Haapasaari to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Johnston has control of Haapasaari's left arm, preventing Haapasaari from doing any damage.
Haapasaari would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Haapasaari postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnston is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Haapasaari sitting in guard here, content to control.
Johnston wants to sweep here but Haapasaari controlling him for the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Haapasaari pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Johnston is keeping the position for now.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Johnston looking to hit a scissor sweep but Haapasaari is one step ahead there.
Johnston keeping moving, preventing Haapasaari from controlling successfully.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Helmeri Haapasaari seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Haapasaari has managed to clinch.

Johnston wants the takedown. Haapasaari is fighting it off but Johnston persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Haapasaari's guard against the cage.
Haapasaari is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haapasaari striking from the bottom.
Haapasaari trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Johnston wants to control from the top but Haapasaari keeps moving.
Johnston trying to stand up but can't free himself from Haapasaari's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Johnston accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Johnston postures up in Haapasaari's guard and throws a big left but Haapasaari blocks it.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Johnston tries to stand but Haapasaari is controlling from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Haapasaari manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Johnston on his heels. He'll look to pass Johnston's guard now, I'm sure.
Haapasaari throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Johnston is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnston might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Haapasaari controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Johnston controls Haapasaari momentarily but Haapasaari frees himself.
Haapasaari content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Haapasaari wants to stand but Johnston is controlling his posture from full guard.
Haapasaari must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Johnston controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Johnston is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Johnston could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Haapasaari pushes Johnston up against the cage in a clinch.

Haapasaari breaks the clinch.
Johnston shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Haapasaari but Haapasaari pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Johnston closes the distance and clinches up with Haapasaari, looking for a takedown. Johnston pushes Haapasaari against the cage but Haapasaari circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A little jabbing left from Haapasaari on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Haapasaari scores with a body shot.
Haapasaari throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Helmeri Haapasaari dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Haapasaari scores with a jab to the body.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Haapasaari. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.

Haapasaari shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Haapasaari was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Haapasaari lands a decent elbow from side control.
Haapasaari wants to control but Johnston is keeping him busy.
Johnston is trying to control Haapasaari's posture but Haapasaari avoids it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A bit of a lull in the action here.
You can see the frustration on Johnston's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Check out the look on Haapasaari's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Johnston is trying to control Haapasaari's posture but Haapasaari avoids it.
Haapasaari tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Johnston trying to remain calm as Haapasaari controls from the top position.
Haapasaari tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Johnston tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Haapasaari paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Haapasaari closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Haapasaari lands in his opponent's guard.
Johnston is controlling Haapasaari's posture.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haapasaari postures up.
Haapasaari is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Johnston controlling Haapasaari's posture.
Haapasaari stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Johnston swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnston looking for a sweep. Not yet Johnston, not yet.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Haapasaari pushes Johnston up against the cage in a clinch.
Johnston tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Haapasaari is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Haapasaari misses with an elbow strike.

Haapasaari has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Johnston clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Haapasaari is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Johnston up.
Haapasaari has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Will Haapasaari go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
Haapasaari lands with a hammerfist to the side of Johnston's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Johnston is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
Haapasaari really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Johnston.
Johnston trying to control but not successfully.
Haapasaari controlling from the back.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Johnston prevents Haapasaari from getting a body triangle.

Haapasaari is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Helmeri Haapasaari showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Johnston's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Haapasaari has a takedown stuffed.

Haapasaari drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Johnston gets back to half guard.
Johnston is trying to maintain the position but Haapasaari is very close to passing his half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnston controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
Johnston is trying to maintain the position but Haapasaari is very close to passing his half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Haapasaari missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Haapasaari content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Johnston works his way to full guard. Good work.
Haapasaari content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Haapasaari has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Johnston is proving hard to escape from.
Johnston trying to keep a closed guard but Haapasaari is proving a slippery customer.
Haapasaari controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Johnston throws some sloppy strikes off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Johnston wants to sweep but no luck.
Haapasaari is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Haapasaari dives in and scores a takedown into Johnston's guard.
Haapasaari throwing strikes from guard but Johnston blocks nicely.
Johnston controls Haapasaari momentarily but Haapasaari frees himself.
Haapasaari slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Haapasaari trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnston is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnston has Haapasaari pulled in close to control his posture.
Johnston is trying to control the position but Haapasaari postures up.
Johnston wants to sweep but no luck.
Haapasaari works a leg free and moves into half guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
The fight stays on the outside here - Johnston looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Haapasaari gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Haapasaari decides to pull guard.
Haapasaari not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Johnston is looking to stand up but Haapasaari won't let him.
Haapasaari wants to control but Johnston passes easily into half guard.
Haapasaari trying to control but Johnston postures up.
It looks like Johnston is going to stand back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Johnston wants to take a breather but Haapasaari is having none of it.
Vicente Johnston has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Helmeri Haapasaari is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Johnston not landing any meaningful shots this time.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

And that's the end of the fight!
Helmeri Haapasaari comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Haapasaari has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 26:30
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 26:30
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Helmeri Haapasaari!