PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between John Yossarian (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alexander Kuoppala (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kuoppala comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Children of Bodom - Warheart kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Yossarian
vs
Kuoppala

175 cm
24
171 lbs
13 - 4 - 1

181 cm
24
183 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

Fury Nutrition Inc.

Milwaukee's Best 160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 4 - 1, fighting out of New York, John Yossarian!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Alexander Kuoppala!
The judges for this bout are Franklyn Lucas, Columbo Gatti and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kuoppala misses with a body shot.
Yossarian slips a jab and a cross from Kuoppala.
Yossarian scores with a jab to the head.
Yossarian lands with a nice combination. Kuoppala backs away looking to recover.
A slow jab from Yossarian misses its intended target.
Kuoppala scores with a one two! Yossarian had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Kuoppala throws a looping overhand right but Yossarian ducks down to avoid it.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kuoppala. Yossarian does a little dance to reset his feet.
Yossarian seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Yossarian misses with a body shot.
Yossarian blocks the body kick.
Alexander Kuoppala seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kuoppala slips under a jab.
Good leg kick by Yossarian there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Kuoppala ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Kuoppala tries to close the distance and clinch up but Yossarian swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kuoppala checks a leg kick.
Kuoppala fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuoppala fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Yossarian looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Yossarian gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Kuoppala.
Kuoppala blocks a leg kick.
Kuoppala misses with a series of wild punches.
Yossarian misses with a body shot.
Yossarian has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Kuoppala finds it's way round the side to connect with Yossarian's head.
Kuoppala lands with a straight right. Yossarian didn't see that one coming.
Yossarian slips under a jab from Kuoppala.
Kuoppala looks to land a left hand but Yossarian moved out of range nicely.
Kuoppala throws a lazy right hand but Yossarian sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Kuoppala moves out of range of the leg kick from Yossarian.
A nice leg kick lands there from Yossarian.
Kuoppala is looking to slow Yossarian down with leg kicks.
An inside leg kick lands from Yossarian.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kuoppala has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Yossarian.
Kuoppala cracks a nice hook into Yossarian's ribs.
Yossarian keeps Kuoppala at a distance using the push kick.
Kuoppala lands a lovely overhand right.
Yossarian takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Kuoppala moves into range and connects with a jab.
Yossarian takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Kuoppala checks a leg kick.
Yossarian wants to land a leg kick but Kuoppala is out of range.
Yossarian checks a leg kick.
Kuoppala moves out of range of the body kick from Yossarian.
Kuoppala throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Kuoppala throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Kuoppala misses with a hook. Yossarian ducked under it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Yossarian misses.
Kuoppala lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Alexander Kuoppala is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kuoppala on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Yossarian keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Good work by Kuoppala as he checks the leg kick.
Yossarian tries to bum rush Kuoppala with a series of wild strikes but Kuoppala uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Kuoppala misses with a body shot.
Kuoppala lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.

Yossarian is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Kuoppala's half guard.

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

Yossarian is looking for a kimura here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yossarian not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Yossarian keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Alexander Kuoppala will probably get the nod.
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.

Yossarian is looking to land body kicks.
Yossarian throws a head kick that misses.
Yossarian throws a leg kick which misses Kuoppala's front leg but catches the back leg as Kuoppala tries to avoid it.
Yossarian chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Yossarian connects with a leg kick. Kuoppala looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Kuoppala misses with a hook.
Kuoppala gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Yossarian.
Yossarian tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kuoppala was well out of range. Poor timing from Yossarian.
Yossarian checks the leg kick.
Yossarian looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Yossarian throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Kuoppala stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Kuoppala blocks a low kick nicely.
Kuoppala moves away from the strike by Yossarian.
Yossarian fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.

Kuoppala moves into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuoppala stalling in the clinch but Yossarian improves position.
Yossarian pushes Kuoppala back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Kuoppala using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Yossarian has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Yossarian with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Yossarian lands a hook that snaps the head of Kuoppala backwards.

Yossarian's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Yossarian looks to land a body kick but Kuoppala moved away.
Kuoppala takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Yossarian misses with an uppercut. Kuoppala saw that one coming.
Yossarian catches Kuoppala with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Yossarian connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Kuoppala's hands.
Kuoppala throws a shot from downtown. Yossarian moves away and avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kuoppala misses with a straight left.
Yossarian scores with a jab. Kuoppala acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Yossarian moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kuoppala is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Yossarian uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kuoppala.
Yossarian's corner calls for a 1-2. Yossarian obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Kuoppala misses the jab.
John Yossarian is winning the standup battle so far.
Kuoppala walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
The crowd cheers as Kuoppala lands an impressive looking overhand right. Yossarian doesn't seem phased though.
Kuoppala lands with a thumping leg kick.
Kuoppala tries to move into range but Yossarian moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Yossarian throws a predictable looking body shot

and Kuoppala counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Kuoppala.
Yossarian misses with a punch to the body.
Yossarian blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuoppala misses with a hook to the ribs.
Yossarian pushes Kuoppala back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Yossarian tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Yossarian fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Yossarian.
Yossarian lands a hook to the side of the head.
Yossarian lands with a short shot to the head.
Yossarian drops down looking for an ankle pick but Kuoppala pulls his leg out and moves away.
No joy there for Kuoppala, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Kuoppala moves away from the strike by Yossarian.
Yossarian lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
A clash of legs there as Kuoppala blocks the low kick.
Yossarian connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yossarian misses with a wild body shot.
Kuoppala 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.
Kuoppala swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Yossarian on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Yossarian just misses with a punch to the body.
Some bone on bone action there as Yossarian checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Yossarian closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Yossarian throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
An inside leg kick lands from Kuoppala.
Yossarian avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Yossarian misses with an uppercut.
Good shot there by Kuoppala.
A slapping leg kick lands for Yossarian.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Yossarian dominated that second round.
That's time! Yossarian's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Yossarian tried to score with a low kick but Kuoppala checks it.
Kuoppala's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Kuoppala with a nice cross.
Kuoppala throws a good cross that connects.
Kuoppala thuds his shin into the meat of Yossarian's side.
A big left from Yossarian misses.
Yossarian swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Kuoppala takes a swing at Yossarian's ribcage but misses.
Kuoppala takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Kuoppala turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Nice jab there from Kuoppala.
Kuoppala clobbers Yossarian with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Yossarian looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Yossarian finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
A bone on bone clash there as Kuoppala blocks the leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yossarian uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Kuoppala.
Yossarian takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Kuoppala swings for the body but Yossarian moves out of range.
Kuoppala uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Yossarian.
A big right from Kuoppala misses.
Yossarian scores with a jab.
Kuoppala scores with a nice strike.
A slapping leg kick lands for Yossarian.
Kuoppala misses with a hook
and Yossarian counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Yossarian pivots, looking for a leg kick but Kuoppala is out of range and Yossarian settles back down.
Kuoppala feints and then cracks Yossarian's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Yossarian down.
Kuoppala throws a looping overhand right but Yossarian ducks down to avoid it.
Yossarian swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Kuoppala.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yossarian misses with a body kick.
Yossarian uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Kuoppala has time to react.
Yossarian looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kuoppala lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Yossarian thows a body shot but no joy.
Yossarian walks into a straight right hand from Kuoppala.
Yossarian blocks a low kick nicely.
Yossarian misses with an uppercut. Kuoppala saw that one coming.
Yossarian scores with a kick to the body.
Yossarian blocks a head kick by Kuoppala.
Yossarian misses with an uppercut
letting Kuoppala counter with a right hand.
Yossarian swings for the body but Kuoppala moves out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kuoppala. Yossarian does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yossarian sizes up Kuoppala with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Yossarian changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Kuoppala tries to avoid it but Yossarian manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Kuoppala to the ground. Kuoppala escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Yossarian fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
A jab from Kuoppala misses.
Kuoppala's jab looks to have found its range, popping Yossarian under the eye.
Yossarian takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Kuoppala throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Kuoppala throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Kuoppala rushes Yossarian and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Yossarian throws a punch but it's blocked by Kuoppala.
Yossarian is trying to pull guard but Kuoppala turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Yossarian misses with a punch to the body.
A hook to the body from Kuoppala.
Kuoppala scores with a shot to the side of Yossarian's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Yossarian being controlled against the cage.
Yossarian misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Kuoppala.
Kuoppala is trying to maintain a safe position but Yossarian gets an underhook and turns Kuoppala into the cage.
Yossarian is trying to break free.
Yossarian wants to break free but Kuoppala has control.
Yossarian is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Yossarian avoids a wild elbow strike from Kuoppala.
Kuoppala scores with a nice hook to the head.
A short body shot lands from Yossarian as the two fighters clinch.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Kuoppala swings wildly with an uppercut but Yossarian uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kuoppala misses with a short punch on the inside.
Yossarian blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Kuoppala really dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Yossarian misses with an uppercut. Kuoppala saw that one coming.
Kuoppala misses with a leg kick

and Yossarian counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Kuoppala!
Kuoppala tries to improve position but can't.
Yossarian advances to mount.
Kuoppala wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Yossarian.
Yossarian scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Kuoppala?
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yossarian is landing with some decent strikes but Kuoppala is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Yossarian prevents Kuoppala from getting the reversal.
Yossarian trying to control but Kuoppala is having none of it.
Yossarian landing strikes, looking to finish!
Yossarian fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
John Yossarian overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kuoppala is trying desperately to improve position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yossarian dominating with strikes here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kuoppala has worked his way to half guard, taking advantage of Yossarian's lack of action.
Yossarian prevents Kuoppala from improving his position.
Ground and pound from Yossarian.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yossarian with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Kuoppala regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Yossarian.
Kuoppala is trying to control the position but Yossarian postures up.
Kuoppala is pulling down on Yossarian's head to control his posture.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Yossarian's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yossarian throwing strikes but missing.
Yossarian cracks Kuoppala with a solid left hand.
Yossarian tries to free his leg and advance position but Kuoppala is retaining full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Yossarian is stalling in the full guard.
Yossarian working some strikes from top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Yossarian had his way with Alexander Kuoppala in that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Yossarian shoots in but no luck this time.
Kuoppala is looking to clinch but Yossarian is avoiding it.
Yossarian smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Kuoppala throws a body kick that misses.
Yossarian connects with a leg kick. Kuoppala looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Yossarian uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Kuoppala.
Kuoppala takes a swing at Yossarian's ribcage but misses.
Yossarian swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Kuoppala misses with a wild body shot.
Yossarian moves away from the strike by Kuoppala.
Nice straight punches there by Kuoppala. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Kuoppala.
Kuoppala takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Kuoppala avoids the body shot from Yossarian.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yossarian swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Yossarian throws a low kick but Kuoppala avoids it.
Yossarian throws a leg kick which misses Kuoppala's front leg but catches the back leg as Kuoppala tries to avoid it.
Kuoppala dips to his left and cracks Yossarian with an uppercut!
Kuoppala connects with a nice looking jab.
Yossarian lands a nice leg kick that just misses Kuoppala's sensitive parts.
Yossarian swats away the attempt to clinch by Kuoppala.
Yossarian looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Kuoppala thows a left - swing and a miss!
Some bone on bone action there as Kuoppala checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Kuoppala misses with a wild body shot.
Kuoppala throws a lazy uppercut

so Yossarian counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Yossarian drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Kuoppala dives on top into guard.
Yossarian working a defensive guard but Kuoppala manages to pass into side control anyway.
Yossarian struggling a bit here.
Yossarian tries to buck Kuoppala off but Kuoppala is having none of it.
Kuoppala wants to lay and pray for a moment but Yossarian keeps working.
Yossarian 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuoppala tries to advance to mount but Yossarian denies him.
Yossarian tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Kuoppala wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
My spies in Midnight MMA inform me that Kuoppala has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
You can see the frustration on Yossarian's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Yossarian is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Kuoppala is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Yossarian tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yossarian tries to lock up and control but Kuoppala gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Yossarian tries to reverse the position but Kuoppala maintains control.
Kuoppala controlling his opponent.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Yossarian is squirming around, avoiding Kuoppala's attempts to control the action.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Yossarian showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Yossarian has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 49:46
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 48:47
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Yossarian!
John Yossarian retains his welterweight title!
Post fight, John Yossarian took to the microphone: 'Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?'.