PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Evan Payton (ranked 882 p4p, 114 weight class) and Kaino Heikkinen (ranked 1163 p4p, 148 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Payton
vs
Heikkinen

180 cm
35
192 lbs
19 - 16 - 0

190 cm
36
160 lbs
26 - 13 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Urban Fighter

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 19 - 16 - 0, fighting out of New York, Evan Payton!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Kaino Heikkinen!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Tiny Johnson and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Heikkinen jabs Payton to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Heikkinen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Payton was well out of range. Poor timing from Heikkinen.
Payton appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

Payton clinches.
Heikkinen struggles to land a body shot inside as Payton controls his hands.
Payton lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Heikkinen backwards.
Heikkinen misses with a knee strike.
Heikkinen lands with a short shot to the head.
Heikkinen tries a body shot but Payton blocks it.
Heikkinen scores with a shot to the side of Payton's head.
Heikkinen throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Payton blocks it with crossed arms.
Payton working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Payton misses with a hook from the clinch.
Heikkinen tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Heikkinen tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Payton is trying to drag Heikkinen to the mat but Heikkinen just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Heikkinen lands with a short punch from the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Heikkinen misses with some punches.
Heikkinen scores with a knee to the head.
Payton tries a body shot but Heikkinen blocks it.
Payton lands on the inside with an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Payton is working for takedown but Heikkinen is calmly controlling the position for now.
Payton blocking some punches.
Payton misses with a hook from the clinch.
Payton pushes Heikkinen back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Heikkinen prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Evan Payton. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Payton goes for a takedown in the clinch but Heikkinen prevents it.
A left hand lands to the body for Payton.
Payton doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Payton takes a knee right on the jaw!

Heikkinen breaks the clinch.
That kick from Heikkinen tenderised Payton's leg. Payton is trying to keep his angry face on.
Payton doesn't manage to clinch there - Heikkinen circles away.
Heikkinen is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Heikkinen 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.
Heikkinen avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Payton tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Heikkinen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Heikkinen slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Payton checks a leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Payton takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Heikkinen displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Payton throws out the jab.
Heikkinen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Payton misses with the combination.
Heikkinen tests Payton's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Heikkinen avoids the body shot from Payton.
Payton tries to clinch up.
Despite the aggression on Heikkinen's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Heikkinen thumps Payton with a low kick.
Payton's jab looks to have found its range, popping Heikkinen under the eye.
Kaino Heikkinen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Payton shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Heikkinen connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Payton misses the shot to the body.
Heikkinen lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Heikkinen feints and then cracks Payton's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Payton down.
Heikkinen stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Heikkinen takes one to the chin there.
Heikkinen feints and then cracks Payton's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Payton down.

Payton pushes Heikkinen up against the cage in a clinch.
Heikkinen misses with a body punch.
Heikkinen tries a body shot but Payton blocks it.
Heikkinen misses with a hook from the clinch.
Heikkinen lands a right hand that snaps the head of Payton backwards.
A nice right hand lands inside from Heikkinen.
A head punch on the inside from Heikkinen fails to land.
Heikkinen misses with a hook from the clinch.
Payton misses with some punches.
Heikkinen tries to work over Payton's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Payton misses with a body punch.
Heikkinen lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Heikkinen lands a left hand.
Payton can't find room to land a body shot as Heikkinen controls the action.
Payton tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Heikkinen's elbow.
Payton misses with a body punch.
A shot in the inside from Payton.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A shot in the inside from Payton.
Heikkinen misses with a punch to the body.
Heikkinen misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Payton.
A left hand lands to the body for Heikkinen.

Heikkinen pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Payton looks to score with a jab to the body but Heikkinen is just out of range.
A jab from Heikkinen misses.
A jab from Heikkinen does it's job there.
Heikkinen lands with a shot to the body.
Payton ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Heikkinen moves away.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Heikkinen! But no joy.

Payton rushes Heikkinen and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Payton digs a right hand into Heikkinen's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Heikkinen's gas tank.
Heikkinen lands an uppercut.
Payton scores with a nice hook to the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Heikkinen's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Heikkinen avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Heikkinen! But no joy.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Payton is defended easily by Heikkinen.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kaino Heikkinen dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Heikkinen avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
It seemed like Heikkinen was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Heikkinen ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Heikkinen ducks under a wild hook from Payton.
Payton connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Heikkinen's hands.
Kaino Heikkinen seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Heikkinen chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Payton tries to score a power double leg takedown but Heikkinen sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Payton somewhat.
Payton's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Heikkinen connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Payton scrambles back to his feet.
Payton keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Payton fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Heikkinen manages to avoid it.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Payton walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Heikkinen misses with a hook.
Heikkinen chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Heikkinen cracks the inside of Payton's front leg.

Heikkinen gets tackled into the cage by Payton. Payton maintains the clinch.
Heikkinen has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Payton gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Heikkinen regains guard.
Payton wants to control from the top but Heikkinen keeps moving.
Payton is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Payton preventing the sweep.
Payton stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Heikkinen swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Payton pushing down on Heikkinen's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

Payton is looking for a kimura here.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Heikkinen. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.

Payton is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Heikkinen has managed to free his arm - good work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Payton seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Heikkinen does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Heikkinen is trying to control but Payton manages to pass to mount!
Payton fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Payton looking to control but Heikkinen is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Payton is really struggling to control Heikkinen but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Payton is trying to take his opponent's back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Payton goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Heikkinen is on top in guard.
Heikkinen trying to control but Payton is working from the bottom.

Payton looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Payton is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Payton keeping full guard, as Heikkinen tries to pass.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Payton throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Heikkinen wants to control from the top but Payton keeps moving.

Payton working for a triangle but Heikkinen defends it easily.
Heikkinen won't allow Payton to sweep him here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Evan Payton will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Payton tries to close the distance and clinch up but Heikkinen swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Payton swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Heikkinen has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Heikkinen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
The fight stays on the outside here - Payton looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Payton looks for a takedown but Heikkinen sprawls well.
Payton lands a really nice looking cross but Heikkinen seems unphased.
Heikkinen connects with a body shot that sends Payton's belly button to the back.
Payton takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Heikkinen moves out of range of the strikes.
Heikkinen looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Heikkinen waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Payton.
Payton keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Heikkinen comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Payton closes this distance looking for a takedown but Heikkinen circles away.
Payton moves in looking to clinch but Heikkinen pushes him off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Heikkinen connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Heikkinen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Payton.
Payton appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Payton takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Payton walks into a straight right hand from Heikkinen.

Heikkinen gets caught napping as Payton dives in and scores a takedown. Heikkinen manages to retain guard.

Heikkinen manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Heikkinen scores with a jab.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Payton throws a looping overhand right but Heikkinen ducks down to avoid it.
Heikkinen waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Payton.
Heikkinen moves out of range of the strikes.
Payton thows a left - swing and a miss!
A nice side step and Heikkinen releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Heikkinen scores with a jab to the jaw.
Payton misses with the combination.
Heikkinen looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Heikkinen throws a low kick but it's checked well by Payton.
It looked like Payton was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Heikkinen.

Payton bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Payton has worked his way into a potential kimura here. Heikkinen is trying to get out of the position but his squirming has just got him deeper into trouble. Payton yanks on the arm and Heikkinen is forced to tap due to a very painful looking submission! Nice work by Payton.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:21 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Evan Payton!
Evan Payton is the new middleweight champion!
A relieved looking Evan Payton thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.