PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jaari Kuukonen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ryan Hall (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kuukonen comes to the cage accompanied by Armin Van Buuren - Rapture. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Kuukonen
vs
Hall

183 cm
24
204 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

185 cm
24
205 lbs
8 - 5 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jaari Kuukonen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ryan Hall!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Tiny Johnson and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hall keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Kuukonen.
The crowd cheers as Hall lands an impressive looking overhand right. Kuukonen doesn't seem phased though.
Hall moves away from the strike by Kuukonen.
Hall tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Kuukonen swivels and escapes.
Hall loads up on a big right hand but Kuukonen slips the punch.
Kuukonen checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Hall walks into a stiff left hand from Kuukonen.
Hall throws a right and a left that Kuukonen avoids nicely.
Hall lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Kuukonen connects with a good right hand that stumbles Hall. Hall circles away out of range and recomposes himself.

It looks like Ryan Hall has been cut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Kuukonen throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Hall was covering up waiting for the punch and Kuukonen finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Kuukonen trying to control the position from guard on top but Hall is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kuukonen throwing strikes but missing.
Kuukonen tries to free his leg and advance position but Hall is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hall has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Kuukonen can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Kuukonen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kuukonen trying to control the position from guard on top but Hall is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kuukonen with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Hall keeping moving, preventing Kuukonen from controlling successfully.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Kuukonen throws a combination that misses
and Hall counters with a stiff right hand.
Kuukonen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hall moves away.
The crowd cheers as Kuukonen lands an impressive looking overhand right. Hall doesn't seem phased though.
Hall does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Hall throws a left and a right that both miss
and Kuukonen counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hall swinging wilding here.

Hall gets caught flat footed, as Kuukonen shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kuukonen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hall is keeping the position for now.
Hall working a defensive guard but Kuukonen passes into half guard.
Kuukonen tries to pass the half guard into mount. Hall knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Hall tries to roll over but Kuukonen keeps him under control.
Hall looks gassed!
Kuukonen is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Kuukonen can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Hall is looking to escape.
Hall tries to control Kuukonen's body but Kuukonen pushes him off. Hall squirms to his side and now Kuukonen has his back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kuukonen is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Hall has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Kuukonen throws a big right hand but he misses and hits the mat. Ouch.
Hall is really stuck here.

Hall showing good submission defense here.
Kuukonen throwing wild punches that miss their target.
A lull in the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kuukonen looking for the choke but no joy.
Hall trying to control the hands but Kuukonen won't let him.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Kuukonen's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kuukonen lands with a nice looking elbow that stuns Hall.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jaari Kuukonen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ryan Hall's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Kuukonen lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Kuukonen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Hall.
A shot to the body from Kuukonen misses
and Hall counters with a left and a right that stings Kuukonen.
Hall throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Hall drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hall pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kuukonen is keeping the position for now.
Kuukonen 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.
Hall must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Hall preventing the sweep.
Kuukonen manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Kuukonen scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Hall?

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuukonen takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kuukonen trying to control but Hall is having none of it.
Kuukonen landing strikes from the mount and Hall is in trouble!
Kuukonen controlling the pace for now.
Hall tries to reverse the position but Kuukonen maintains control.

Kuukonen is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Hall can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Kuukonen throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Hall because Kuukonen loaded up on that one.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kuukonen looking to secure an arm triangle but Hall defends it well.
Hall is in all sorts of trouble here.
Kuukonen looking to control but Hall is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Hall tries to hold on but Kuukonen pushes him away.
Kuukonen is in the full mount, landing strikes.

Kuukonen has control of Hall's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Hall regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Hall is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hall tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hall bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Kuukonen controls Hall momentarily but Hall frees himself.

Kuukonen looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Hall passes into side control.
Jaari Kuukonen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kuukonen is looking for a sweep.
Hall wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kuukonen keeps working.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Kuukonen is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
You can see the frustration on Kuukonen's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Kuukonen tries to bench press Hall off him but Hall keeps the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hall throws a solid leg kick but Kuukonen takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Hall.
Hall swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Kuukonen cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Hall gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Kuukonen counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
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 Jaari Kuukonen will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ryan Hall's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Hall blocks a low kick nicely.
Hall on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Jab from Kuukonen.
Kuukonen lands with a kick to the ribs.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hall slips under a jab.
Hall takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Kuukonen lands with a cross.
Hall fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Kuukonen is out of range.
Crunch! Kuukonen slams his shin into Hall's torso.
Kuukonen misses with a shot to the body
letting Hall counter with a right hand.
Ryan Hall seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Kuukonen shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Kuukonen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuukonen content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Hall takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Kuukonen trying to control the action but Hall is working from the bottom.

Kuukonen is working for a kimura but Hall is defending it quite comfortably.
Kuukonen is looking to advance position but Hall won't allow it.
Kuukonen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Kuukonen lands a nice short elbow.
Jaari Kuukonen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hall is staying active underneath Kuukonen, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Kuukonen in particular looking to stall.
Kuukonen prevents Hall from improving his position.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hall wants to get back to full guard but Kuukonen has mounted him!
Hall is the more experienced fighter here and he's going to need to draw on some of that experience if he's going to pull this one out the bag.
Kuukonen controlling his opponent.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Jaari Kuukonen just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Hall takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Kuukonen smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Hall moves out of range as Kuukonen throws a body kick.
Kuukonen misses with a head kick.
Kuukonen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hall moves away.
Hall paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Kuukonen throws a series of punches but Hall avoids them all with ease.
Kuukonen scores with a jab to the body.
Hall misses with a leg kick
letting Kuukonen counter with a right hand.
Kuukonen lands with a right hand.
Kuukonen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hall can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kuukonen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hall moves away.
Jaari Kuukonen is winning the standup battle so far.
A punch combination from Hall misses.
Hall throws a leg kick but Kuukonen checks it.
Hall throws a combination that misses
and Kuukonen counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Kuukonen ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Kuukonen tries a head kick but it misses.
Good shot there by Kuukonen.
Ryan Hall has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Kuukonen shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kuukonen is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Hall!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Kuukonen lands a heavy elbow.
Kuukonen sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jaari Kuukonen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Kuukonen has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Gwen Towbar scores the fight for Jaari Kuukonen!
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight for Jaari Kuukonen!
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight for Jaari Kuukonen!

Jaari Kuukonen wins by unanimous decision!