PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Gabriel Kiptanui (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Antti Rannanjarvi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kiptanui comes to the cage accompanied by SMC - Liukuhihna (feat.Rohtori,Paula Latzo) . Rannanjarvi has chosen Stonehenge by Spinal Tap as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Antti Rannanjarvi will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Kiptanui
vs
Rannanjarvi

173 cm
23
166 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

195 cm
26
154 lbs
16 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Gabriel Kiptanui!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Antti Rannanjarvi!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kiptanui shoots and misses
and Rannanjarvi counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Kiptanui looks for a takedown but Rannanjarvi sprawls well.
A low kick from Kiptanui misses
and Rannanjarvi counters with a nice leg kick.
Rannanjarvi is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Kiptanui tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Rannanjarvi counters with a head kick. That will keep Kiptanui thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Kiptanui throws a leg kick
and Rannanjarvi counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Kiptanui is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Kiptanui doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Rannanjarvi counters with a low kick, right behind Kiptanui 's knee.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gabriel Kiptanui. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kiptanui throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Rannanjarvi counters with a head kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rannanjarvi swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kiptanui throws a head kick that misses
and Rannanjarvi counters with a nice low kick that buckles Kiptanui's knee momentarily.
Kiptanui throws a leg kick
and Rannanjarvi counters with a right hand to the body.
Kiptanui throws a head kick that misses
and Rannanjarvi counters with a nice body kick.
Rannanjarvi misses with a body shot.
A low kick from Kiptanui misses
and Rannanjarvi counters with a body kick that stops Kiptanui in his tracks momentarily.
Antti Rannanjarvi is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kiptanui throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Rannanjarvi counters with a leg kick.
Kiptanui is breathing heavily.
Kiptanui shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Rannanjarvi counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

Rannanjarvi fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Kiptanui, pushing him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A right handed body shot lands from Rannanjarvi.
Kiptanui misses with an elbow strike.
Rannanjarvi lands an elbow that stopped Kiptanui in his tracks for a moment.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kiptanui stalling in the clinch but Rannanjarvi improves position.
Kiptanui blocks an uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Rannanjarvi fails to land.
Kiptanui has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Rannanjarvi is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Rannanjarvi scores with a shoulder strike.
Rannanjarvi lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Rannanjarvi.
Rannanjarvi throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Rannanjarvi lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Rannanjarvi lands an elbow inside that Kiptanui shrugs off.
Rannanjarvi misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Kiptanui.
Rannanjarvi throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Kiptanuis head.
Rannanjarvi lands a nice elbow.
Rannanjarvi lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Rannanjarvi blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Rannanjarvi breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Kiptanui. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.

Kiptanui manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Rannanjarvi on his heels. He'll look to pass Rannanjarvi's guard now, I'm sure.
Rannanjarvi has control of Kiptanui's left arm, preventing Kiptanui from doing any damage.
Rannanjarvi is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Rannanjarvi keeping full guard, as Kiptanui tries to pass.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rannanjarvi uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Rannanjarvi lets loose with a powerful body kick. Kiptanui will feel that in the morning.
Rannanjarvi lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Kiptanui throws a poor cross that misses
letting Rannanjarvi counter with a right hand.
A low kick from Kiptanui is predictable there
and Rannanjarvi counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Kiptanui throws a lazy body kick
letting Rannanjarvi counter with a right hand.

Kiptanui is rocked!
Rannanjarvi cracks Kiptanui with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Oh Kiptanui is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rannanjarvi feints and then cracks Kiptanui's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Kiptanui down.
Kiptanui seems to have got his legs back now.
Kiptanui fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Rannanjarvi is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Kiptanui misses with the body kick
and Rannanjarvi counters with an inside leg kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rannanjarvi sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Rannanjarvi lands with a thumping leg kick.
Kiptanui fails with the takedown
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Rannanjarvi closes the distance and clinches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antti Rannanjarvi dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Rannanjarvi attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Rannanjarvi thuds a left hand into Kiptanui's body.
Kiptanui rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Rannanjarvi counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Rannanjarvi has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Some bone on bone action there as Kiptanui checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Rannanjarvi scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Kiptanui takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Gabriel Kiptanui seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rannanjarvi with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
A slapping body kick lands there for Kiptanui.
Gabriel Kiptanui is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kiptanui throws a head kick that misses
and Rannanjarvi counters with a good low kick that Kiptanui was not able to check.
Rannanjarvi is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rannanjarvi defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Kiptanui.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rannanjarvi lands a two punch combo.
Kiptanui thows a leg kick but Rannanjarvi checks it
and Rannanjarvi counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Rannanjarvi throws a half hearted mid kick.
Kiptanui throws a lazy body kick
and Rannanjarvi cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Kiptanui takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Kiptanui is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Kiptanui checks the leg kick.
Kiptanui shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Rannanjarvi counters with a nice leg kick.
Rannanjarvi feints and then cracks Kiptanui's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Kiptanui down.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rannanjarvi fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Kiptanui.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rannanjarvi throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Rannanjarvi lands a nice looking body kick.
Crunch! Rannanjarvi slams his shin into Kiptanui's torso.
Rannanjarvi lands a nice leg kick that just misses Kiptanui's sensitive parts.

Rannanjarvi rushes Kiptanui and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Rannanjarvi softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
A left hand lands to the body for Rannanjarvi.
Kiptanui misses with a hook from the clinch.
Kiptanui is trying to stall.
A short left from Rannanjarvi.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Rannanjarvi gets through Kiptanui's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Rannanjarvi just misses with a elbow thrown towards Kiptanui's brow.
Rannanjarvi lands a nice uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A short left from Rannanjarvi.
Rannanjarvi has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Kiptanui tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Rannanjarvi avoids it.
A body shot lands from Rannanjarvi.
Rannanjarvi lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Rannanjarvi tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Kiptanui avoids it.
Kiptanui is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
A nice right hand lands inside from Rannanjarvi.
Rannanjarvi lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Rannanjarvi lands a right hand that snaps the head of Kiptanui backwards.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Rannanjarvi.
Rannanjarvi dips a shoulder and cracks Kiptanui with a mighty uppercut! Kiptanui falls back against the cage and Rannanjarvi unloads with a barrage of strikes! Kiptanui is completely out with his eyes open, only supported by the cage! Save him ref! Eventually the ref decides to do his job and jumps in - Rannanjarvi screams abuse at the incompetent official before going over to celebrate with his corner. Brutal stuff!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:30 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Antti Rannanjarvi!