PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Kalju Kulli (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Phil Harris (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the ring.

Kulli
vs
Harris

185 cm
25
185 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

185 cm
36
186 lbs
18 - 21 - 1

Good wrestling
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kalju Kulli!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 21 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Phil Harris!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Yukihiro Shimada and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kulli pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Harris fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Kulli, pushing him back against the ropes.
Harris has Kulli pressed up against the ropes and is working for takedown. Kulli manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Harris manages to break the clinch.
Nice body punch from Kulli.
Harris scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Harris shoots in but no luck this time.
No luck for Harris with that takedown attempt.
A little feinted left hand from Kulli on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Kalju Kulli has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Phil Harris.
Harris throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Kalju Kulli seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kulli ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Harris moves away.
Harris waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kulli.
Harris takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.

Kulli moves into the clinch successfully.
Kulli trying to land knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kulli lands a hook to the side of the head.
Harris lands a hook that snaps the head of Kulli backwards.
Kulli tries to throw a body punch but Harris avoids it by throwing Kulli back against the ropes.
I was talking to Kulli's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Kulli lands a right hand that snaps the head of Harris backwards.
The fighters are pressed against the ropes, as the pace of the fight slows.
Harris looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Harris tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Kulli is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Kulli throws an elbow that misses.
Harris fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Harris is working for takedown but Kulli is calmly controlling the position for now.
Kulli gets underhooks to prevent Harris's takedown attempt.

Kulli breaks the clinch.
Kulli throws a nice looking combination but Harris bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Kulli slips under a jab from Harris.
Harris misses with a two punch combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kulli misses the shot to the body.
Harris swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

Kulli moves into the clinch successfully.

Kulli breaks from the clinch.
Kulli thows a body kick. Harris tries to catch it but that hurt him.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kulli misses with a double jab.
Kulli misses with a head kick.
Harris avoids the body shot from Kulli.
Harris is looking for the big counter here.
Harris throws a left and a right that both miss
and Kulli counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Kulli throws a one two combo.
Kulli misses with a head kick.
Harris feints the counter takedown.
Harris avoids a kick to the body.

Kulli clinches up with Harris and pushes him back against the ropes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A nice left hand lands by Harris.
Kulli scores with a shot to the side of Harris's head.
Harris has Kulli pressed up against the ropes and is working for takedown. Kulli manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Kulli tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Harris's elbow.
Kulli digs a right hand into Harris's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Harris's gas tank.
Kulli lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Harris backwards.
Nice body punch from Kulli - that landed with a thud.
Harris takes an elbow to the forehead.
Harris tries to pull guard but Kulli holds him up against the ropes and eventually Harris drops back down to his feet.
Kulli stops a takedown attempt from Harris.
Harris looks winded!

Kulli manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Kulli preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Kulli is trying to keep Harris in close.

Kulli looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kulli is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Kulli working for a triangle but Harris defends it easily.
Harris stopping the sweep attempt from Kulli.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Kulli is on top in guard.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Kulli got a little sloppy there for a moment and Harris has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Kulli has managed to get both his arms back between Harris's legs - danger averted.
Kulli passes easily into side control. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kalju Kulli dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

A looping hook to the body misses from Kulli. Harris does a little dance to reset his feet.
Harris tests Kulli's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Kulli cracks a nice hook into Harris's ribs.
Kulli lands a lovely overhand right.
Kalju Kulli is winning the standup battle so far.
Harris moves out of range as Kulli strikes.
Kulli moves into range and connects with a jab.
Kulli tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
And Harris tries to counter it with a takedown but Kulli pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Kulli plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Kulli looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Harris looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Harris looking for submissions off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kulli is working for a kimura but Harris is defending it quite comfortably.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

Harris looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Kulli content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Harris is not content to let Kulli control the position.

Harris looking for submissions off his back.
Harris is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Harris looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Kulli tries to pass to full mount but Harris defends it.

Harris looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Kulli stalling.
Kulli wants to control but Harris is keeping him busy.
Kulli tries to pass to full mount but Harris defends it.

Harris looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Kulli takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Harris looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Harris is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Kulli pulls his head out easily.
Kulli working over Harris with some ground and pound. Harris looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Kulli is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Harris can do to turn this around?

Harris actively working from the bottom here.
Kulli is looking to take a break and control but Harris is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Kulli lands strikes from half guard.
Kulli is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Harris looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Harris looking for submissions off his back.
Harris is breathing heavily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kulli lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Kulli trying to control the action but Harris is working from the bottom.

Harris looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Kulli wants to pass to mount but Harris is defending the position.

Harris looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kulli looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kalju Kulli dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Kulli will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Kulli closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Kulli controlling the action here.
Kulli trying to control from half guard but Harris is working away.

Harris looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Harris looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Harris actively working from the bottom here.

Harris looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Harris takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kulli is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Harris actively working from the bottom here.
Kulli seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Kulli working over Harris with some ground and pound. Harris looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Kulli slips a nice elbow through Harris's hands, connecting with Harris's forehead.

Harris looking for submissions off his back.

Harris is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Kulli pulls his head out easily.
Ground and pound from Kulli.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Harris actively working from the bottom here.
Kulli looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

Harris looking for a kimura from the bottom but Kulli passes into side control!
Kulli has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Kulli takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Kulli prevents Harris from getting the reversal.
BOOM! Kulli connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Kulli wants to control the pace but Harris is squirming around nicely.
Kulli landing strikes, looking to finish!

Harris is rocked!
Harris regains half guard.
Harris regains full guard. Nicely done.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kulli controls from within his opponent's guard.
Kulli is pushing down on Harris's leg trying to pass to half guard. Harris is fighting to maintain full guard but Kulli has managed to sneak the leg through.
Harris is refusing to be controlled, as Kulli sits in half guard.
Kulli controlling the action here.

Harris looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Kulli connects with a nice short shot to Harris's temple.
Kulli drops an elbow to the side of Harris's head.
Harris is still in real trouble! Can Kulli finish him?
Kulli content to control rather than advance.

Harris is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Kulli pulls his head out easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kulli is trying to work for a kimura but Harris is defending well.
Kulli is taking a breather. Harris says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Kulli's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

Kulli is trying to work for a kimura but Harris is defending well.
Phil Harris has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kulli has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Harris is looking to improve his position.

Kulli is working for a submission here. He's got hold of the far side arm and he's looking for a kimura. He's cranking on the arm and he's got it! Harris is tapping out! Ouch, that looked like it hurt!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:41 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Kalju Kulli!