PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jari Aarnio (ranked 838 p4p, 121 weight class) and Howard Stern (ranked 2366 p4p, 293 weight class). Aarnio comes to the cage accompanied by Ice Cube - Why We Thugs. Stern has chosen The Great American Nightmare as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Jari Aarnio has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Aarnio
vs
Stern

198 cm
35
190 lbs
11 - 5 - 0

184 cm
36
199 lbs
27 - 20 - 1

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

XFighter Clothing

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 11 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Jari Aarnio!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 20 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Howard Stern!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, Daniel Bishop and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stern takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Aarnio thows a left - swing and a miss!
Aarnio throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Aarnio lands a head shot.
Stern shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Aarnio as he avoids it easily.
Stern throws a low kick but it's checked well by Aarnio.
Aarnio swings for the body but Stern moves out of range.
Stern is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Good leg kick by Aarnio there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Stern looks to land a left hand but Aarnio moved out of range nicely.
Aarnio throws a quick counter kick to the body but Stern avoids it.
Aarnio on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Stern shoots in for a takedown but Aarnio shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Aarnio swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Stern has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Aarnio looks to land a left hand but Stern moved out of range nicely.
Aarnio fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Stern manages to avoid it.
Aarnio drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
A left lands for Aarnio.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Stern tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Stern doesn't manage to clinch there - Aarnio circles away.
Stern throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Stern chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Stern throws a one two combo.
Aarnio misses the jab.
Aarnio ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Aarnio works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Stern throws a nice looking combination but Aarnio bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aarnio throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Stern jabs Aarnio right on the nose. Aarnio blinks but takes it well.
Aarnio throws a hook to the side of Stern's head but Stern sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Aarnio thows a left - swing and a miss!
Stern is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.

Stern rushes Aarnio and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Aarnio manages to break the clinch.
Aarnio tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Stern was well out of range. Poor timing from Aarnio.
Aarnio throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Stern stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Aarnio lands with a shot to the body.
Aarnio really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Stern misses with an attempted mid kick.
Stern slips under a jab.
Aarnio lands a jab to Stern's midsection.
Stern moves forwards but Aarnio connects with a nice, crisp jab.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
The fighters circling - Stern throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Stern's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Stern duly obliges.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
A good leg kick by Aarnio.
A cross from Aarnio lands.
Stern tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Aarnio was well out of range. Poor timing from Stern.
Aarnio throws a jab but it's blocked by Stern.
Stern connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Aarnio is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Stern throws out a leg kick but Aarnio moves out of range and Stern only half commits.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stern throws a jab but it's blocked by Aarnio.
Aarnio misses with a hook. Stern ducked under it nicely.
Stern gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Aarnio.
Stern throws a shot to the body.
Aarnio throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Stern sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Stern loads up on a big right hand but Aarnio slips the punch.
Stern misses with a wild combination.
Stern fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Jari Aarnio has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Howard Stern.
Aarnio with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Stern fails to land the takedown.
A counter left hand to the body from Aarnio misses its target.
Aarnio jabs at Stern's body.
Aarnio throws a body punch but Stern moves out of range.
Stern shoots in but no luck this time.
Aarnio connects with a looping right hand.
Aarnio definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
A clash of legs there as Stern blocks the low kick.
Stern wants to counter the offense by Aarnio and move into the clinch position.
Stern walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Stern scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Donk. Aarnio catches Stern right on the button with a cross.
Stern lands a nice looking body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stern misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Stern tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
A punch combination from Stern misses.
Aarnio is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Stern keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Aarnio tries a low kick but Stern avoids it.
Stern is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Aarnio throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Aarnio throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Aarnio listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Sloppy strikes from Stern. Those never looked like landing.
No luck for Stern with that takedown attempt.
Stern misses with a two punch combination.
Aarnio dodges the punch combination from Stern.
Aarnio blocks a leg kick.
Aarnio cracks Stern with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Aarnio ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
A telegraphed right hand from Stern misses the target.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Aarnio scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stern looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Stern staying out of range there.
Aarnio lands a nice hook to Stern's body. Stern takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Stern looks winded!
A jab from Stern misses.
Aarnio uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Stern has time to react.
Stern slips a straight right by Aarnio.
Aarnio lands a head shot.
A left lands for Stern.
Aarnio lands a jab to the nose.
Stern connects with a nice looking jab.
Aarnio jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Aarnio throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A swing and a miss from Aarnio.
Stern misses with a low kick.
Nice defenses there by Aarnio.
Stern throws out a leg kick but Aarnio moves out of range and Stern only half commits.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Stern fails with an attempt to clinch.
Aarnio throws a quick counter kick to the body but Stern avoids it.
Aarnio fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Stern manages to avoid it.
Aarnio misses the jab.
Stern is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
A telegraphed right hand from Aarnio misses the target.
Stern slips under a jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jari Aarnio dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Stern avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Stern feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Aarnios jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Aarnio swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Aarnio swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Stern walks into a jab.
Aarnio misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Stern.
Aarnio takes a swing at Stern's ribcage but misses.
Aarnio misses with a body shot.
Aarnio with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Stern to score with a decent uppercut.
A looping hook to the body misses from Aarnio. Stern does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nice shot by Stern.
Stern on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Aarnio throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Stern throws a head kick but Aarnio moves out of range.
Good standup being displayed there by Stern as he connects with a hook.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stern avoids the body shot from Aarnio.
A telegraphed right hand from Aarnio misses the target.
Aarnio throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Stern sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Stern throws a big counter head kick but Aarnio avoids it with no problem.
Aarnio misses with an uppercut. Stern saw that one coming.
Stern ducks right into an uppercut from Aarnio.
Stern takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Aarnio looks to score with a jab to the body but Stern is just out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Aarnio misses the target.
Stern moves forwards but Aarnio connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Stern throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Aarnio looks to score with a jab to the body but Stern is just out of range.
Aarnio connects with the punch.
Stern on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Aarnio. Aarnio obviously looking to wear him down.
Aarnio's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Stern connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Aarnio scrambles back to his feet.
Aarnio throws a leg kick that misses.
Aarnio throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Stern feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Aarnio's calf.
Aarnio lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Aarnio throws a hook to the side of Stern's head but Stern sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Stern shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Stern looks to land a right hand but Aarnio moved out of range.
Stern avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Stern scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Aarnio doesn't seem bothered though.
Jari Aarnio seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Stern clinches.
A bit of stalling here from Aarnio.
Aarnio takes an elbow to the forehead.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aarnio lands a body punch.
Aarnio can't find room to land a body shot as Stern controls the action.
Stern fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Aarnio working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Nice body punch from Aarnio.
Aarnio throws a punch but it's blocked by Stern.
Stern lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Aarnio doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Aarnio pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Aarnio throws a body punch but Stern moves out of range.
Stern throws a nice inside leg kick.
Aarnio swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Aarnio tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Stern was well out of range. Poor timing from Aarnio.
Aarnio misses with an uppercut. Stern saw that one coming.
Stern throws a head kick but Aarnio moves out of range.
Aarnio is looking to counter punch.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Stern.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aarnio scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Aarnio misses the shot to the body.
The fighters circling - Aarnio throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Aarnio misses with an uppercut.
Stern has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Aarnio throws a hook but Stern blocks it.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Stern!
Aarnio cracks Stern with an open hand slap.
Stern misses the shot to the body.
Stern walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Aarnio throws a body shot but no joy.
Stern stuns Aarnio with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Jari Aarnio is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Stern shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Aarnio as he avoids it easily.
Jari Aarnio has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Howard Stern.
Aarnio connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Aarnio ducks under a wild hook from Stern.
Stern lands a head kick!
Aarnio moves away from the strike by Stern.
Aarnio throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Aarnio misses the shot to the body.
Aarnio throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Stern throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Aarnio.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aarnio tests Stern's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Stern on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
The fighters circling - Aarnio throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Stern moves forwards but Aarnio connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Aarnio scores with the left hand. Stern knows he should have avoided that one.

Stern clinches with his opponent.
Stern misses with a short punch on the inside.
Nice body punch from Aarnio - that landed with a thud.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Aarnio.
Aarnio lands a left hand.
Aarnio swings wildly with an uppercut but Stern uses good head movement to avoid it.
Aarnio lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Jari Aarnio has scored more points in the clinch so far.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Aarnio content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Aarnio misses with a short punch on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jari Aarnio dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Aarnio throws a leg kick which misses Stern's front leg but catches the back leg as Stern tries to avoid it.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Aarnio lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Stern has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Stern and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Stern only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Stern moves out of range of the strikes.
Stern throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Aarnio's head.
Stern connects with a body shot.
Aarnio moves into range and connects with a jab.
A telegraphed right hand from Aarnio misses the target.
Stern throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Aarnio lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Aarnio misses with a wild body shot.
A little jabbing left from Stern on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Stern is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Aarnio lands a jab to the nose.
Aarnio just misses with a punch to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Aarnio stuffs the takedown.
Aarnio avoids a punch combination nicely.
Stern has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Stern there as he acknowledges the shot.
Stern throws a nice outside leg kick.
Stern tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Stern is defended easily by Aarnio.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stern shoots in for a takedown but Aarnio shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Jari Aarnio has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Howard Stern.
Stern takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Stern pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Aarnio was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Stern throws a right hand that Aarnio ducks under and follows up with a left that Aarnio also avoids with ease.
Aarnio fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Stern.
Nice uppercut there from Aarnio.
Stern uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Aarnio.
Stern throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Aarnio is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Stern can do to turn this around?
A decent looking cross lands there for Aarnio.
Stern displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Aarnio throws out the jab.
Stern walks into a stiff left hand from Aarnio.
Stern throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Aarnio throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Stern slips under a jab from Aarnio.
Aarnio scores with a nice strike.
Aarnio throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Aarnio uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Stern.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stern walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
A nice leg kick lands there from Aarnio.
Howard Stern has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aarnio misses with a body shot.
Aarnio scores with a shot to the body.
Stern tries a head kick but it misses.
An attempted straight right counter from Aarnio misses the target.
Stern is trying desperately to land a takedown but Aarnio is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Stern.
Aarnio misses with a low kick as Stern jumps back.
Aarnio slips a jab and a cross from Stern.
Aarnio scores with a nice right hand.
Stern ducks right into an uppercut from Aarnio.
Stern avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Horrible takedown attempt by Stern or perhaps it was just good defense by Aarnio, which made it look bad.
Aarnio takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
A swing and a miss from Stern.
Aarnio misses with a looping left.
Aarnio jabs Stern to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Stern connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Stern uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Aarnio.
A jab from Aarnio misses.
Stern misses with an uppercut. Aarnio saw that one coming.
Aarnio lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stern takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Aarnio misses with a wild body shot.
Stern takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
A nice leg kick lands there from Aarnio.
A big right from Aarnio misses.
Aarnio moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Stern lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Stern throws a body shot but no joy.
Aarnio avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Aarnio fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Stern manages to avoid it.
Aarnio moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Aarnio lands a right hook to the body.
Aarnio showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Stern.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A slow jab from Stern misses its intended target.
Aarnio thinks about countering with a body kick.
Aarnio tries to land a front kick but Stern steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Aarnio motions for Stern to come forward. Aarnio throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Aarnio throws out a loose jab but Stern uses good head movement to avoid it.
Stern swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Stern.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aarnio is not content to let Stern control the position.
Aarnio manages to get back to half guard.
Aarnio moves into full guard.
Stern looking to pass the guard.
Aarnio bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Stern's guard.

Aarnio is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Aarnio's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Aarnio slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Stern tries to improve position but can't.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jari Aarnio showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Aarnio, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jari Aarnio!
A pretty intense looking Jari Aarnio took the opportunity post-fight to ask for a shot at the title.
Howard Stern spoke after the fight, saying 'I blame Robin and those big G's.'.