PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Justin Magnum (ranked 3021 p4p, 148 weight class) and Pekka Pikkarainen (ranked 3731 p4p, 174 weight class). Pekka Pikkarainen has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Magnum
vs
Pikkarainen

169 cm
19
136 lbs
3 - 0 - 1

162 cm
19
147 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Justin Magnum!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Pekka Pikkarainen!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Hirohito Nitta and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Magnum keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Pikkarainen.
Magnum uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Pikkarainen.
Pikkarainen looks to score with a jab to the body but Magnum is just out of range.
We've been told by Magnum's head coaches at Fit-Out that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
Nice cross by Pikkarainen.
Pikkarainen tries for a takedown but Magnum circles away easily
and Magnum counters with a straight right hand.
Pikkarainen throws a body shot but no joy.
A shot to the body from Pikkarainen misses
and Magnum counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
The fighters circle momentarily. Magnum darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Magnum lands a jab.
Pikkarainen throws out a loose jab but Magnum uses good head movement to avoid it.
A slow jab from Pikkarainen misses its intended target.
Magnum slips a straight right by Pikkarainen.

Pikkarainen drives through with a takedown into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
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!
Pikkarainen throws a strike but Magnum rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Pikkarainen bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Magnum's guard.

Pikkarainen throws a big elbow that misses.
Pikkarainen pushes down on Magnum's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pikkarainen scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
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. Pikkarainen connects with a nice short shot to Magnum's temple.
Pikkarainen is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Pikkarainen lands with a punch from half guard.
Well, if Pikkarainen is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Pikkarainen winds up and cracks Magnum with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Magnum on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Magnum tries to get out of the position.
Pikkarainen works his way into full mount!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pikkarainen controlling his opponent.
Pikkarainen lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Pikkarainen trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Pikkarainen landing punches.
Pikkarainen controlling from the full mount.
Pikkarainen fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Pikkarainen is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Magnum can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Magnum is bucking up trying to escape but Pikkarainen cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

Magnum is rocked!
My spies in Hardpunch (13 Elite / 1000$ inform me that Pikkarainen has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pikkarainen with a couple of short strikes.
Oh Magnum is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Pikkarainen lands a couple of good shots and Magnum has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Magnum is trying to remain composed but Pikkarainen is hammering down strikes to the side of his head.
Pikkarainen controls the position.
Magnum seems to have got his legs back now.
Magnum covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.
Oooh a big shot gets through from Pikkarainen. Many more shots like that and the referee will have to think about stepping in!
Pikkarainen is punishing Magnum with some ground and pound.
Even with his hooks in, Pikkarainen manages to miss with strikes from the back.
Pikkarainen controlling well, preventing Magnum from escaping the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pikkarainen connects with a series of strikes and the referee is calling for Magnum to escape the position.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.
Can Magnum hold on?! Pikkarainen is landing more strikes to his hapless foe.
Pikkarainen lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Magnum.
Pikkarainen is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Pikkarainen tries to keep control of the position but Magnum is staying busy.
Magnum is covering up but some of the strikes from Pikkarainen are getting through and doing damage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A bit of a pause in the action here. Pikkarainen controlling the positon.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pekka Pikkarainen dominated that round.
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.

Pikkarainen just misses with a punch to the body.
Pikkarainen doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Magnum cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Pikkarainen shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Pikkarainen passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Magnum!
Pikkarainen postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Magnum looks a forlorn figure.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pikkarainen scoring with strikes but Magnum is staying in there.
Magnum is squirming around, avoiding Pikkarainen's attempts to control the action.
Magnum taking shots to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pikkarainen in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Pikkarainen is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Pikkarainen looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Magnum knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Pikkarainen on the ground.
Pikkarainen in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Pikkarainen loads up on a couple of big shots to the head that have Magnum scrambling to escape. He can't get free though and several more unanswered shots from Pikkarainen land to the head. The referee has no choice but to stop the fight. Pikkarainen stands and salutes the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:46 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Pekka Pikkarainen!
A relieved looking Pekka Pikkarainen thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.