PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Manny Perez (ranked 1785 p4p, 191 weight class) and Harri Haaparanta (ranked 2665 p4p, 262 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Perez
vs
Haaparanta

175 cm
22
150 lbs
5 - 6 - 0

181 cm
22
157 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Decent wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

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 5 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Manny Perez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Harri Haaparanta!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Wesley Smith and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Haaparanta misses with a double jab.
Perez misses with a wild body shot.
Haaparanta tries to counter with a clinch but Perez shakes him off and moves away.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Perez is defended easily by Haaparanta.
Haaparanta listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Perez has been working on his boxing with his coaches at 3Band MMA ($800/week) in the buildup to the fight.
Haaparanta misses with a two punch combination.
Haaparanta moves out of range as Perez strikes.
Perez lands with a straight right. Haaparanta didn't see that one coming.
Perez lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
No joy there for Haaparanta, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Perez is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Perez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Haaparanta.
Manny Perez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Haaparanta ducks right into an uppercut from Perez.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Haaparanta moves forwards but Perez connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Perez misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Haaparanta.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Perez tests Haaparanta's chin there with a solid looking shot.
A left lands for Perez.
Perez swings for the body but Haaparanta moves out of range.

Haaparanta has Perez up against the ropes in a clinch.
Haaparanta lands a hook that snaps the head of Perez backwards.
Perez blocks the elbow strike.
Perez tries to break free but Haaparanta pushes him back against the ropes.
Haaparanta is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Perez is defending well for now.
Haaparanta tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Perez is trying to break the clinch but Haaparanta is controlling him.
Perez is looking to break free of the clinch but Haaparanta has double underhooks.

Perez breaks the clinch.
Perez misses with the combination.
Perez jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Haaparanta has tried to improve his agility in the runup to this fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Perez tries to keep at a distance but Haaparanta has taken the fight into the clinch.
Haaparanta prevents Perez from breaking the clinch.
Perez takes an elbow to the forehead.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Haaparanta keeps control of Perez as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
A frustrated look appears on Perez's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Haaparanta lands with a light punch inside.
Perez takes an elbow to the forehead.
Haaparanta using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Perez has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Perez avoids a wild elbow strike from Haaparanta.
Perez wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Haaparanta pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.
Haaparanta lands an elbow that stopped Perez in his tracks for a moment.

Perez breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Haaparanta tries a body shot but Perez blocks it.

Perez works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Perez looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Haaparanta preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Perez controlling from the top position.
Haaparanta really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Perez. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Perez looking to pass the guard.
Perez working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Haaparanta's head.
Perez stands and throws Haaparanta's legs to the side, diving into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Perez tries to score with some ground and pound. Haaparanta controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Sloppy strikes there by Perez.
Perez wants to lay and pray for a moment but Haaparanta keeps working.
Perez 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.
Perez throws a strike aimed at the side of Haaparanta's head but Haaparanta avoids it well.
Perez wants to control but Haaparanta is keeping him busy.
Perez prevents Haaparanta from escaping the position.
Haaparanta is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Perez lands a nice forearm strike.
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 Manny Perez 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.

Perez throws a body punch but Haaparanta moves out of range.
Horrible takedown attempt by Perez or perhaps it was just good defense by Haaparanta, which made it look bad.
Haaparanta throws a body punch but Perez moves out of range.
Perez throws a big shot that misses.
Haaparanta takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
A punch combination from Perez misses.
Haaparanta wants to counter the offense by Perez and move into the clinch position.
Haaparanta is looking to land body kicks.
Perez lands with an overhand left.
Nice takedown defense from Haaparanta. No joy for Perez on that attempt.
Haaparanta jabs at Perez's body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Perez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Perez lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Perez throws a predictable looking body shot
and Haaparanta counters with a good low kick that Perez was not able to check.
Manny Perez is winning the standup battle so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Perez avoids the head kick by Haaparanta.
Some wild striking there from Perez.
Haaparanta slips under a jab.
A countering left hand to the body from Haaparanta misses.
Haaparanta takes one on the button.
Haaparanta swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Perez appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Perez connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Perez goes for a double leg but Haaparanta avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the ropes as Haaparanta continues to drive forward.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Manny Perez. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Perez misses with a body shot.
Haaparanta misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Haaparanta dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Nice defenses there by Haaparanta.
Haaparanta scores with a spinning back kick!
Perez shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Haaparanta pinned against the ropes. Haaparanta gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Haaparanta steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Perez.
Haaparanta is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Perez rather than just go for the knockout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Perez swinging wildly here.
Harri Haaparanta is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Haaparanta scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Perez fails to land with a series of punches.
Haaparanta walks into a straight right hand from Perez.
Perez closes the distance and clinches up with Haaparanta, looking for a takedown. Perez pushes Haaparanta against the ropes but Haaparanta circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Haaparanta tries to counter by closing the distance.
Perez misses with a looping left.
Haaparanta scores with a three punch combo!
Perez throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Haaparanta takes a swing at Perez's ribcage but misses.
Perez was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.

Perez closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Haaparanta quickly recovers to half guard.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Perez connects with a nice short shot to Haaparanta's temple.
Perez throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Haaparanta moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Haaparanta manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Haaparanta lands a nice looking body kick.
Haaparanta keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Perez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Haaparanta slips a straight right by Perez.
Haaparanta throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Perez jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Haaparanta tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Haaparanta tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Perez was well out of range. Poor timing from Haaparanta.
Perez blocks the body kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Perez. Haaparanta does a little dance to reset his feet.
Perez slips a straight right by Haaparanta.
A big right from Perez misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Perez throws a shot from downtown. Haaparanta moves away and avoids it.
Perez goes for a double leg but Haaparanta avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the ropes as Haaparanta continues to drive forward.
Haaparanta slaps away a takedown attempt from Perez, before circling back to the center of the mat.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Haaparanta tries to close the distance and clinch but Perez swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Perez misses with a looping left.
Perez on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

Haaparanta closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.
Perez is trying to break the clinch but Haaparanta has him pressed against the ropes.
Haaparanta pushes off an throws an elbow but Perez leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Haaparanta creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Perez wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Haaparanta creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Haaparanta is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.
Perez tries to break the clinch but Haaparanta is controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Harri Haaparanta will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Perez misses with a straight right.
Haaparanta blocks a jab.
Haaparanta throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Haaparanta throws the kick towards the body but Perez avoids it.
Perez throws a shot from downtown. Haaparanta moves away and avoids it.
Perez keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Haaparanta takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Perez misses with a wild body shot.
Haaparanta looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Haaparanta looks to score with a jab to the body but Perez is just out of range.
Perez misses with a body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Perez misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Haaparanta.
Perez looks to throw the jab but Haaparanta is out of range.
Haaparanta avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Haaparanta misses with a body shot.
A big right from Perez misses.
Haaparanta is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Perez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Perez scores with a decent looking hook.
Perez displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

Haaparanta closes the distance and clinches.
Haaparanta pushes off an throws an elbow but Perez leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.

Perez manages to break the clinch.
No joy there for Perez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Haaparanta lands a nice looking kick to the body. Perez takes a step back to recover.
Perez throws out a loose jab but Haaparanta uses good head movement to avoid it.
Haaparanta is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Haaparanta throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Perez moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Perez throws a hook but Haaparanta blocks it.
Perez looks to throw the jab but Haaparanta is out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haaparanta throws a hook but Perez blocks it.
Perez looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Haaparanta slips under a jab.
Perez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Haaparanta counters with a body kick.
Haaparanta walks into a left hand.
Perez takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Haaparanta takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Perez takes a body punch but keeps moving.
A shot to the liver by Haaparanta. Beautiful body shot.

Haaparanta closes the distance and clinches.
Perez is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
Perez wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Haaparanta has him pressed against the ropes.
Haaparanta throws an elbow that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Haaparanta tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Haaparanta comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

Haaparanta is fighting off a takedown attempt but Perez is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Haaparanta to the mat. Haaparanta regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Perez wants to control from the top but Haaparanta keeps moving.
Haaparanta is looking to stand up but Perez isn't so interested in that idea.
Haaparanta keeping full guard, as Perez tries to pass.
Perez is working hard here to advance position.
Haaparanta keeping moving, preventing Perez from controlling successfully.
Haaparanta not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Perez accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Haaparanta wants to stand but Perez is controlling the position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Perez thuds a left hand into Haaparanta's body.
Harri Haaparanta is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Haaparanta stuffs the takedown attempt from Perez. Perez gets slowly back to his feet.
Jab, jab by Perez - just one landing.
Nice uppercut there from Perez.
Perez throws the left hand but Haaparanta avoids the punch easily.
Haaparanta throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Perez stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Haaparanta misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Perez cracks Haaparanta with a good jab.

And that's the end of the fight!
Manny Perez showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Perez 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight for Manny Perez!
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight for Manny Perez!
Judge George Francis scores the fight for Manny Perez!

Manny Perez wins by unanimous decision!
A victorious Manny Perez thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.