PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between James Harbor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pera Pulkkinen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Pulkkinen is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by TURISAS - Stand Up And Fight. Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Harbor
vs
Pulkkinen

184 cm
38
203 lbs
38 - 30 - 2

150 cm
31
194 lbs
21 - 10 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Hellbent
Voodoo Nutrition

Perkele!

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 38 - 30 - 2, fighting out of Las Vegas, James Harbor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Pera Pulkkinen!
The judges for this bout are , Jack Bonds and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Harbor takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Harbor connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Pulkkinen's hands.

Harbor looking to score a takedown here. Pulkkinen is defending well but Harbor drives through and ends up in Pulkkinen's guard.
Harbor trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Pulkkinen seems keen to control Harbor's posture.
Pulkkinen's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Harbor wants to control from the top but Pulkkinen keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pulkkinen seems keen to control Harbor's posture.
More stalling from Pulkkinen.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pulkkinen looking to hit a scissor sweep but Harbor is one step ahead there.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Pulkkinen throws a hook but Harbor avoids it easily.

Harbor feints and as Pulkkinen raises his hands in defense, Harbor changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Harbor wants to control from the top but Pulkkinen keeps moving.
Harbor throws a strike but Pulkkinen rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Pulkkinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Harbor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Harbor is trying to keep Pulkkinen in close.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harbor tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Pulkkinen working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Harbor trying to control the position.
Pulkkinen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Pulkkinen wants to control from the top but Harbor keeps moving.
Pulkkinen controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Harbor has his foot on Pulkkinen's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Pulkkinen works his way back into a safe position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harbor trying to control the position.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Pulkkinen postures up in Harbor's guard and throws a big left but Harbor blocks it.
Pulkkinen postures up and lands a big shot to Harbor's brow.
Pulkkinen preventing the sweep.
Pulkkinen must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Harbor looking for a guillotine here but Pulkkinen defends easily.

Harbor has his foot on Pulkkinen's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Pulkkinen works his way back into a safe position though.
Harbor wants to hit a switch here but Pulkkinen passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Harbor there!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harbor sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Pulkkinen lands with a punch from half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Pulkkinen not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Harbor tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Pulkkinen has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Pulkkinen connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Harbor slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Pera Pulkkinen will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Pulkkinen fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Harbor.
Pulkkinen moves out of range as Harbor strikes.
Harbor lands a glancing blow to the side of Pulkkinen's head.
Pulkkinen is trying hard to land a takedown here. Harbor sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
A low kick from Pulkkinen misses
and Harbor counters with a left and a right that stings Pulkkinen.
Pulkkinen has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.
Harbor closes this distance looking for a takedown but Pulkkinen circles away.
Pulkkinen misses with a low kick.
Harbor changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Pulkkinen misses with a looping left.
Harbor was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Pulkkinen throws a leg kick that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pulkkinen misses with a looping left.
Harbor wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
A lazy left from Pulkkinen finds it's target.
Harbor cracks a nice hook into Pulkkinen's ribs.
Harbor scores with a nice head shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pulkkinen throws a big shot that misses.
Pulkkinen ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.

Pulkkinen shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Pulkkinen stalling.
Harbor controlling the position for now.
Pulkkinen throws a strike but Harbor avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Harbor had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Pulkkinen defends it easily.

Harbor working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Pulkkinen doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Pulkkinen manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Harbor being controlled here, momentarily.

Harbor looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Harbor pulls Pulkkinen in close to prevent any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Harbor is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Pulkkinen is aware though and is defending well.
Pulkkinen tries to free his leg and advance position but Harbor is retaining full guard.
Pera Pulkkinen has got the better of the ground game so far.
Pulkkinen keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Harbor's head.
Pulkkinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Harbor is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Harbor is controlling Pulkkinen's posture.

Harbor had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Pulkkinen defends it easily.

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.
Pulkkinen distracts Harbor with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Harbor will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Pulkkinen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Harbor keeping moving, preventing Pulkkinen from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
A looping hook to the body misses from Harbor. Pulkkinen does a little dance to reset his feet.
Pulkkinen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Harbor moves away.
Pulkkinen comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Harbor works the jab nicely.
Harbor misses with a combination
and Pulkkinen counters with a lovely shot to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Pera Pulkkinen will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Harbor misses with an uppercut.
Pulkkinen tries to counter by closing the distance.
Pulkkinen drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Harbor shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Harbor misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Harbor swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Pulkkinen counters with a stiff right hand.
Harbor ducks under a wild hook from Pulkkinen.
Pulkkinen throws a lazy right hand but Harbor sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Pulkkinen gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Harbor makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Harbor misses the shot to the body.
Pulkkinen has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Pulkkinen there as he acknowledges the shot.
A telegraphed right hand from Pulkkinen misses the target.
A slow jab from Pulkkinen misses its intended target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harbor punishes Pulkkinen's body with a nice straight punch.
Harbor throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Pulkkinen counters with a nice kick to the body.

Pulkkinen shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Pulkkinen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Harbor controls Pulkkinen momentarily but Pulkkinen frees himself.

Harbor had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Pulkkinen defends it easily.
Pulkkinen throwing strikes but missing.
Harbor is adopting a defensive guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pulkkinen connects with a couple of short punches.
Harbor tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Harbor is trying to control the position but Pulkkinen postures up.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Harbor shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Pulkkinen as he jumps to the side.
Harbor throws a jab but it's blocked by Pulkkinen.
Pulkkinen is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harbor stuffs the takedown attempt from Pulkkinen. Pulkkinen gets slowly back to his feet.
Pulkkinen ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Pulkkinen throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Pulkkinen throws a low kick but Harbor avoids it.
A looping hook to the body misses from Harbor. Pulkkinen does a little dance to reset his feet.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Pulkkinen! But no joy.
Nice takedown defense from Pulkkinen. No joy for Harbor on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for James Harbor. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pulkkinen lands with an uppercut that bounces Harbor off the cage and back into range.
Some wild striking there from Harbor.
Pulkkinen counters with a body kick.
Pulkkinen misses with a right hand

and Harbor counters with a shoot takedown. Pulkkinen fights it but they end up in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harbor trying to control but Pulkkinen is working from the bottom.
Pulkkinen is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Let's hope that Pulkkinen has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Pulkkinen wants to sweep but no luck.
Harbor postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Pulkkinen avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Pulkkinen is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
James Harbor has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Pera Pulkkinen is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Pulkkinen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Pera Pulkkinen.
Well Pulkkinen 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 Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 28:29
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 28:29
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 27:30

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