PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kaarlo Vihtala (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Keijo Richards (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vihtala's entrance music is Pohjois-Karjala. A fine choice. Richards has chosen Rolling Stones - Paint It Black as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Vihtala
vs
Richards

202 cm
34
286 lbs
31 - 16 - 0

210 cm
35
280 lbs
18 - 14 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 31 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Kaarlo Vihtala!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Keijo Richards!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Tarja Halkonen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Richards loads up on a big right hand but Vihtala slips the punch.
Richards takes one to the chin there.
Richards uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Vihtala fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Richards checks it well.
We've been informed that Richards has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Vihtala throws a body kick that misses.
Vihtala throws a series of punches but Richards moves out of range.
Vihtala takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

It looks like Kaarlo Vihtala has been cut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Vihtala ducks right into an uppercut from Richards.
A big right from Richards misses.
Vihtala blocks a head kick by Richards.
Richards explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Richards lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Donk. Richards catches Vihtala right on the button with a cross.
Vihtala lands a head shot.
Richards ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Vihtala tries a head kick but it misses.
Crunch! Richards slams his shin into Vihtala's torso.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vihtala chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Richards can pounce on him.
Vihtala checks a low kick from Richards.
Vihtala throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Richards misses with a body shot.
Vihtala misses with a low kick as Richards jumps back.
Vihtala scores with a spinning back kick!
Richards uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Vihtala.
Richards connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Vihtala misses with a low kick as Richards jumps back.
Vihtala throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Vihtala pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Richards jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Richards cracks Vihtala with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Vihtala is looking to land body kicks.
Vihtala misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Richards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A low kick from Richards is predictable there
and Vihtala counters with a solid body kick.
Kaarlo Vihtala is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Richards fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Vihtala, pushing him back against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Richards creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Vihtala scores with a shoulder strike.

Richards breaks the clinch.
A jab lands there for Vihtala.
Richards lands a jab-cross combination.
Richards scores with a leg kick.
Richards misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Richards throws a hook to the side of Vihtala's head but Vihtala sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nice defenses there by Vihtala.
and Vihtala counters with a massive uppercut that badly hurts Richards! He's just covering up as Vihtala starts to tee off till the referee steps in and stops the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:52 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Kaarlo Vihtala!
Kaarlo Vihtala really struggled to get his t-shirt on before his hand was raised. Making sure that Merciless Gladiators logo gets some air time is pretty tricky when you're all sweaty.