PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Matt Harmon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Trent Tarkin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Trent Tarkin is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Harmon
vs
Tarkin

207 cm
20
151 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

175 cm
18
149 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Matt Harmon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Trent Tarkin!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Ryoma Takatsuka and Paul Gruel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tarkin tries to clinch there but Harmon circles away.
Trent Tarkin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tarkin dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Harmon. That did some damage!
Harmon uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Tarkin tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Harmon paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Tarkin shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Harmon's guard.
Harmon can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Tarkin controls the pace.
Tarkin throws a big right hand that misses.
Tarkin scoring with punches to the head and body.
Harmon working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Tarkin.
Tarkin stops Harmon from standing up.
Tarkin preventing the sweep.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Harmon looking for a guillotine here but Tarkin defends easily.
Harmon is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tarkin with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Harmon is trying to control the position but Tarkin postures up.
Tarkin cracks Harmon with a solid left hand.
Harmon not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Tarkin missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Tarkin throws a big right hand that misses.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tarkin won't allow Harmon to sweep him here.
Tarkin prevents Harmon from getting back to his feet.
Harmon preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Harmon preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Harmon shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Tarkin is looking to control Harmon's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Tarkin avoid being mounted?
Tarkin looks winded!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tarkin is controlling Harmon's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Harmon in particular looking to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tarkin wants to control but Harmon is keeping busy and won't allow it.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Tarkin throws a left and a right that both miss
and Harmon counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Tarkin misses with a few strikes there.
Harmon really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Harmon shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Harmon showed some decent athleticism there.
Harmon looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Harmon has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Tarkin tries to roll over but Harmon keeps him under control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Matt Harmon will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Tarkin scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Harmon keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Tarkin missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Tarkin not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
The fighters are battling for position here. Harmon manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Harmon manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Tarkin manages to get himself to full guard.

Tarkin is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Harmon's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Tarkin is breathing heavily.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Harmon's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harmon seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

Harmon stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Harmon shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Tarkin but Tarkin pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Tarkin throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Harmon was covering up waiting for the punch and Tarkin finishes the takedown easily into guard.

Tarkin got a little sloppy there for a moment and Harmon has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Tarkin has managed to get both his arms back between Harmon's legs - danger averted.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tarkin won't allow Harmon to sweep him here.
Tarkin tries to free his leg and advance position but Harmon is retaining full guard.
Harmon wants to stand and escape but Tarkin is having none of it.
Harmon will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Harmon looking for a sweep. Not yet Harmon, not yet.
Harmon trying to control the position here.
Harmon is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Tarkin trying to control but Harmon is working from the bottom.
Harmon wants to stand up but Tarkin is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harmon looking for a sweep. Not yet Harmon, not yet.
Tarkin working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Tarkin stopping the sweep attempt from Harmon.
Tarkin throws a strike but Harmon rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Tarkin is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Matt Harmon overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Harmon sitting in guard here, content to control.
Tarkin working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tarkin wants to stand and escape but Harmon is having none of it.
Harmon content to stall in guard here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Tarkin enables Harmon to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Tarkin manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Tarkin is looking to stand back up but Harmon counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Tarkin.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Harmon dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Harmon looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Tarkin looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Harmon is in close to Tarkin's body, working some short punches and elbows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tarkin being controlled here, momentarily.
Tarkin is pulling down on Harmon's head. It's preventing any offense from Harmon, at least for the moment.
Tarkin takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harmon trying to stand up but can't free himself from Tarkin's guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Harmon is looking to work some ground and pound but Tarkin has wrist control.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Tarkin throws a poor cross that misses
and Harmon counters with a nice uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Tarkin looks to land a combination but Harmon avoids it well.
Harmon is trying hard to land a takedown here. Tarkin sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Harmon dives in and scores a takedown into Tarkin's guard.
Harmon's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Harmon seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Tarkin for as long as he can get away with.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Trent Tarkin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Harmon wants to stand but Tarkin has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Tarkin wants to sweep but no luck.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Harmon showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Harmon.
Harmon staying calm.
Matt Harmon is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Harmon stands up and we're back to a striking position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Matt Harmon showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Harmon 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 Jeff Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paul Gruel scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matt Harmon!