PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Maksim Nikifor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ossi Jokinen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jokinen comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Prodigy - Omen kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both these fighters are unbeaten, so somebody's 0 has got to go!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.

Nikifor
vs
Jokinen

195 cm
23
205 lbs
7 - 0 - 0

190 cm
23
215 lbs
7 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Decent wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Tesla Apparel

Combat Pro Design
Combat Pro Design

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Maksim Nikifor!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ossi Jokinen!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Ivan Kurochkin and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nikifor lands a right hook to the body.
Nikifor lands a right hook to the body.
Nikifor scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Jokinen avoids a punch combination nicely.
Jokinen misses with an uppercut. Nikifor saw that one coming.
Jokinen misses with a straight right.
Nikifor avoids the head kick by Jokinen.
Nikifor blocks a jab.
Nikifor scores with a hook to the body. Jokinen takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Jokinen looks gassed!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nikifor digs a good hook to Jokinen's body.
Jokinen throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Nikifor sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Jokinen showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Nikifor.
Nikifor is looking to wear down Jokinen with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Nikifor misses with a jab, cross combination.
Jokinen takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.

It looks like Ossi Jokinen has been cut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nikifor fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Jokinen with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Nikifor to score with a decent uppercut.
Nikifor misses with a wild body shot.
Nikifor lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Jokinen backs up against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nikifor throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Jokinen stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Nikifor cracks Jokinen with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Nikifor lands a glancing blow to the side of Jokinen's head.
A lazy left from Nikifor finds it's target.
Nikifor scores with a nice head shot.
Jokinen slips a straight right by Nikifor.
Jokinen takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Nikifor connects with a body shot.
Nikifor misses the jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nikifor ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Nikifor wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Nikifor punishes Jokinen's body with a nice straight punch.
Nikifor looks to land a combination. Jokinen sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

That has opened up Ossi Jokinen's cut even more.
Left hook, right uppercut from Nikifor.
Jokinen pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Jokinen jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nikifor lands a jab to the head.
Jokinen on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Jokinen misses with a body shot
letting Nikifor counter with a right hand.
Jokinen wants to slow Nikifor down by chopping away at his legs.
An inside leg kick from Jokinen misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Jokinen misses with a low kick.
Jokinen fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Jokinen lands with a straight right. Nikifor didn't see that one coming.

Jokinen clinches up against the cage.
Jokinen lands a hook to the side of the head.
Jokinen prevents Nikifor from breaking the clinch.

Jokinen breaks the clinch.
Jokinen misses with a hook.
Jokinen throws a jab but it's blocked by Nikifor.
Nikifor scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Nikifor ducks under a wild hook from Jokinen.
Jokinen tries to work over Nikifor's front leg with a kick but Nikifor checks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen missing with a left hand there. Nikifor was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Nikifor ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Jokinen moves away.
Jokinen misses with a straight right.
Jokinen throws a sloppy head kick and Nikifor moves out of range easily.
A head kick from Jokinen lands but Nikifor takes it in his stride.
Nikifor lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Nikifor.
Jokinen thows a body shot but no joy.
Nikifor lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Jokinen looks to land a left hand but Nikifor moved out of range nicely.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nikifor ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Nikifor takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Jokinen takes one on the chin but seems OK.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Maksim Nikifor dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ossi Jokinen's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Jokinen slips a jab from Nikifor.
A telegraphed right hand from Jokinen misses the target.
Nikifor checks the leg kick nicely there.
Jokinen pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Nikifor lands a with a good body shot.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Jokinen in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Jokinen takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Jokinen jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Nikifor uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Jokinen has time to react.
Nikifor throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Jokinen sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Nikifor scores with a nice strike.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Jokinen misses with an uppercut.
Jokinen scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Jokinen looks to land a right hand but Nikifor moved out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nikifor waving his hands out infront of him, looking to distract Jokinen.
Nikifor falls off balance throwing a combination
and Jokinen counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Nikifor thinking.
A left lands for Jokinen.
Jokinen scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Nikifor doesn't seem bothered though.
Jokinen tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Jokinen scores with a decent looking hook.
Nikifor drops his hands momentarily and Jokinen takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Maksim Nikifor is winning the standup battle so far.
Nikifor moves forwards but Jokinen connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Nikifor blocks a head kick by Jokinen.
Nikifor avoids the head kick by Jokinen.
Jokinen throws an overhand right that lands on Nikifor's shoulder, as Nikifor tries to avoid the shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen throws a shot from downtown. Nikifor moves away and avoids it.
Jokinen swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Nikifor counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Nikifor loads up on a big right hand but Jokinen slips the punch.
Nikifor takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Jokinen scores with a decent looking hook.
Nice defenses there by Nikifor.
Nikifor is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Jokinen can do to turn this around?
Nikifor cracks Jokinen with a right hand to the side of the head.
Jokinen tries a head kick but it misses.
Jokinen lands with an overhand left.
Jokinen throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Nikifor blocks a jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen misses with a head kick.
Jokinen throws out a loose jab but Nikifor uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nikifor is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Nikifor works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Nikifor walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Ossi Jokinen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Jokinen misses with an uppercut.
A slow jab from Jokinen misses its intended target.
Nikifor fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Jokinen tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Jokinen throws a left and a right that both miss
and Nikifor cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Nikifor takes one to the chin there.
Jokinen throws a hook to the side of Nikifor's head but Nikifor sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

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.
Nikifor lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Nikifor takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Nikifor throws a shot from downtown. Jokinen moves away and avoids it.
Jokinen connects with the punch.
Jokinen's corner calls for a 1-2. Jokinen obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Jokinen cracks the inside of Nikifor's front leg.
Nikifor takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Jokinen throws a hook but Nikifor blocks it.
Jokinen misses with a hook.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Jokinen misses with a head kick.
Nikifor on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Jokinen takes one on the button.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ossi Jokinen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Ossi Jokinen's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Nikifor takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Jokinen throws an overhand right that lands on Nikifor's shoulder, as Nikifor tries to avoid the shot.
The crowd cheers as Jokinen lands an impressive looking overhand right. Nikifor doesn't seem phased though.
Nikifor wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Jokinen blocks a jab.
Nikifor slips under a jab.
Nikifor gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Jokinen jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nikifor keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Nikifor displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Jokinen throws out the jab.
Nikifor lands a slapping body shot.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Jokinen misses with an uppercut. Nikifor saw that one coming.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nikifor listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Danga de danga de dang - Jokinen scores with a four punch combination!
Jokinen misses with a body shot.
Jokinen lunges at Nikifor with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Nikifor's hand.
Jokinen connects with a single shot there.
Jokinen connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Nikifor lands with a hook. Jokinen tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Jokinen bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Jokinen waving his hands out infront of him, looking to distract Nikifor.
Nikifor loads up on a big right hand but Jokinen slips the punch.
Jokinen 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.
Nikifor slips a straight right by Jokinen.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen lands with a nice combination. Nikifor backs away looking to recover.
Jokinen takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Jokinen 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.
Nikifor misses with a combination
and Jokinen counters with a stiff right hand.
A left lands for Jokinen.
Jokinen falls off balance throwing a combination
letting Nikifor counter with a right hand.
Jokinen connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Nikifor's hands.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Jokinen.
Nikifor ducks under a wild hook from Jokinen.
A combination from Jokinen does no damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Jokinen misses with a few strikes there.
Jokinen fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Jokinen keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Nikifor.
Nikifor blocks a leg kick.
Nice body punch from Nikifor.
Nikifor uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Jokinen.
Nikifor moves out of range as Jokinen strikes.
Nikifor lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Jokinen backs up against the cage.
Jokinen throws a head kick that misses.
Jokinen loads up on a big right hand but Nikifor slips the punch.
Nikifor throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Jokinen scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Nice defenses there by Nikifor.
Jokinen misses with a looping right.
Jokinen listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
A head kick misses from Jokinen.
Jokinen dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Nikifor. That did some damage!

Jokinen pushes Nikifor up against the cage in a clinch.
Jokinen digs a right hand into Nikifor's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Nikifor's gas tank.
Jokinen keeps control of Nikifor as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Jokinen is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Jokinen keeps control of Nikifor as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
A right hook to the body lands for Jokinen.
Jokinen lands a shot to the body.

Jokinen escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ossi Jokinen really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ossi Jokinen's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Nikifor looks to land a right hand but Jokinen moved out of range.
Jokinen throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Jokinen misses with a straight left.
Jokinen bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Nikifor throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Jokinen tries a head kick but it misses.
Jokinen misses with an uppercut.
Jokinen moves out of range as Nikifor strikes.
A big left from Jokinen misses.
Jokinen jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nikifor avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Nikifor avoids the head kick by Jokinen.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jokinen wants to clinch up but Nikifor keeps it at a distance.
Jokinen ducks right into an uppercut from Nikifor.
Jokinen dodges the punch combination from Nikifor.
Nikifor slips a jab and a cross from Jokinen.
Jokinen has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Jokinen falls off balance throwing a combination
letting Nikifor counter with a right hand.
Nikifor uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Jokinen.
Some wild striking there from Nikifor.
Nikifor loads up on a big right hand but Jokinen slips the punch.
Nikifor misses with the combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Jokinen moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Jokinen scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Jokinen looks to throw the jab but Nikifor is out of range.
Nikifor checks a leg kick nicely.
Jokinen looks to land a combination. Nikifor sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Nikifor bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Nikifor lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Jokinen throws a leg kick but Nikifor sees it coming and moves out of range.
Jokinen throws the left hand but Nikifor avoids the punch easily.
Jokinen misses with a straight left.
Jokinen misses with a hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
A telegraphed right hand from Nikifor misses the target.
Nikifor swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Jokinen tries to bum rush Nikifor with a series of wild strikes but Nikifor uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nikifor looks to land a left hand but Jokinen moved out of range nicely.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Jokinen lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Nikifor has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Nikifor and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Nikifor swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Nikifor throws a body punch but Jokinen moves out of range.
Jokinen misses with a hook.
Jokinen uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Nikifor.
Jokinen misses the jab.
A jab lands there for Jokinen.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Nikifor throws a predictable looking body shot
and Jokinen counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Jokinen pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Jokinen throws a hook to the side of Nikifor's head but Nikifor sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Jokinen paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Jokinen will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Jokinen scores with the left hand. Nikifor knows he should have avoided that one.
Jokinen looks to land a left hand but Nikifor moved out of range nicely.
Jokinen misses with a low kick as Nikifor jumps back.
Jokinen lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Nikifor backs up against the cage.
Nikifor moves out of range of the strikes.
Jokinen throws a sloppy head kick and Nikifor moves out of range easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ossi Jokinen dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Ossi Jokinen's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Jokinen looks to land a right hand but Nikifor moved out of range.
Nikifor checks a low kick from Jokinen.
Nikifor lands with an uppercut that bounces Jokinen off the cage and back into rage.
Nikifor ducks under a wild hook from Jokinen.
Jokinen showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Nikifor.
Jokinen lands a jab to the nose.
Jokinen takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Nikifor listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - an gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
Nikifor fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Jokinen manages to avoid it.
Nikifor moves out of range as Jokinen strikes.
Nikifor fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Jokinen manages to avoid it.
A head kick misses from Jokinen.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nikifor throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Nice uppercut there from Nikifor.
Nikifor defending well as Jokinen loads up on a big left hand.
Nikifor misses with an uppercut.
Nikifor looks to score with a jab to the body but Jokinen is just out of range.
Jokinen paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Jokinen throws the left hand but Nikifor avoids the punch easily.
Jokinen throws a head kick but Nikifor moves out of range.
Jokinen tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Jokinen throws a series of punches but Nikifor avoids them all with ease.
Nikifor moves away from the strike by Jokinen.
Jokinen is looking to score with low kicks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Jokinen misses with a low kick.
Jokinen will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Jokinen throws a left and a right that both miss
and Nikifor counters with a right hand to the body.
Nikifor misses with a body shot.
Nikifor lands with a nice combination. Jokinen backs away looking to recover.
Nikifor blocks a jab.
Nikifor scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Jokinen doesn't seem bothered though.
Jokinen moves forwards but Nikifor connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Jokinen throws a chopping leg kick but Nikifor manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Jokinen throws a low kick but it's checked well by Nikifor.
Nikifor circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ossi Jokinen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Jokinen throws a lazy right hand but Nikifor sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Nikifor swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Jokinen lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Jokinen throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Jokinen uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Nikifor.
A big right from Jokinen misses.
A telegraphed right hand from Jokinen misses the target.
Jokinen throws a head kick but Nikifor moves out of range.
A solid leg kick lands there for Jokinen.
Jokinen scores with a crisp jab that stopped Nikifor in his tracks.
Jokinen scores with a jab to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen tries a head kick but it misses.
Nikifor throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Jokinen sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Nikifor keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Jokinen.
Jokinen swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Nikifor ducks under a wild hook from Jokinen.
Jokinen throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Nikifor.
Jab, jab by Jokinen - just one landing.
Nikifor takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Nikifor lands the left hand.
Nikifor misses the shot to the body.
Nikifor slips under a jab.
Maksim Nikifor has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Jokinen throws a leg kick which misses Nikifor's front leg but catches the back leg as Nikifor tries to avoid it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Maksim Nikifor showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Jokinen has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 47:47
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 47:47
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 47:47

The fight is ruled a draw!
Maksim Nikifor retains his title. It's always disappointing when a championship fight ends as a draw but that's what happens when you leave the fight in the judges hands!