Play by Play - Fighter's Fight Commentary

Event: SYN Supernova XIV
Date: Apr 27, 2024

#R1#
Burnett throws an overhand right that lands on Ilmarinen's shoulder, as Ilmarinen tries to avoid the shot.
Ilmarinen misses with a hook. Burnett ducked under it nicely.
Burnett throws the left hand but Ilmarinen avoids the punch easily.
Ilmarinen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ilmarinen drops down looking for a counter takedown but Burnett sprawls and moves away.
Burnett misses with an uppercut. Ilmarinen saw that one coming.
Ilmarinen defending well as Burnett loads up on a big left hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.#CUT2#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
Burnett swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Ilmarinen just misses with a punch to the body. #T1#
Burnett connects with a nice looking jab.
Ilmarinen cracks Burnett with a right hand to the side of the head.
Burnett swings wildly with a couple of big hooks #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ilmarinen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ilmarinen working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ilmarinen 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.
Ilmarinen loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Burnett has his hands on Ilmarinen's head, controlling the position.
Ilmarinen working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ilmarinen with a flurry of punches that miss. #T2#
Ilmarinen throwing strikes from guard but Burnett blocks nicely.
Burnett working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Burnett preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ilmarinen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Burnett utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen postures up in Burnett's guard and throws a big left but Burnett blocks it.
Ilmarinen postures up in Burnett's guard and throws a big left but Burnett blocks it.
Burnett avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes but missing.
Ilmarinen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Burnett preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ilmarinen throws a big elbow that misses. #T3#
Ilmarinen with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ilmarinen postures up in Burnett's guard and throws a big left but Burnett blocks it.
Ilmarinen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Burnett working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ilmarinen.
Burnett working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes but missing. #SUB#
Ilmarinen is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Burnett keeping full guard, as Ilmarinen tries to pass.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes from guard but Burnett blocks nicely.
Ilmarinen working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage. #T4#
Ilmarinen lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Ilmarinen throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Burnett works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ilmarinen landing some decent shots from guard.
Burnett is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ilmarinen distracts Burnett with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Ilmarinen throws a big elbow that misses.
Ilmarinen postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Burnett trying to control the position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Burnett preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ilmarinen distracts Burnett with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Anton Ilmarinen's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!#R2#
Ilmarinen scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Burnett doesn't seem bothered though.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Ilmarinen slips under a jab.
Ilmarinen stalks Burnett and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Burnett's face. Burnett staggers backwards, shaken.
A swing and a miss from Burnett.
Ilmarinen with a jab.
Ilmarinen looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Burnett misses with an uppercut. Ilmarinen saw that one coming.
Ilmarinen half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen darts in looking for a takedown but Burnett gets double underhooks and turns Ilmarinen into the cage.
Burnett tries to work over Ilmarinen's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A hook to the body from Burnett.
Ilmarinen lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Burnett misses with some punches.
A short right from Ilmarinen on the inside. #T1#
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Burnett.
Burnett tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ilmarinen's elbow.
Ilmarinen tries to pull guard but Burnett holds him up against the cage and eventually Ilmarinen drops back down to his feet.
Ilmarinen misses with a body punch.
Ilmarinen fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anton Ilmarinen. That's going to take a lot out of him.#TD#
Ilmarinen works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes from guard but Burnett blocks nicely.
Burnett keeping full guard, as Ilmarinen tries to pass.
Burnett avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen is looking to work some ground and pound but Burnett has wrist control.
Ilmarinen throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Burnett works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Anton Ilmarinen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ilmarinen working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ilmarinen scoring with some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.#T2#
Ilmarinen pushes down on Burnett's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Ilmarinen wants to pass to mount but Burnett is defending the position.
Ilmarinen not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Ilmarinen is looking to advance position but Burnett won't allow it.
Burnett trying to control from the bottom.
Ilmarinen is pressing down on Burnett's thigh, looking to free his foot. Burnett is holding on for now.
Ilmarinen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Burnett can do to turn this around?
Ilmarinen lands strikes from half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Burnett blocking the ground and pound attempt from Ilmarinen. #T3#
Ilmarinen wants to pass to mount but Burnett is defending the position. #SUB#
Ilmarinen wants to work for an arm triangle but Burnett is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Burnett keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen thows a huge punch but Burnett dodges it nicely.
Burnett has hold of Ilmarinen's hands but Ilmarinen slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Ilmarinen tries to pass the half guard into mount. Burnett knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Burnett avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen tries to pass the half guard into mount. Burnett knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Ilmarinen not throwing his punches with enough precision this time. #SUB#
Ilmarinen seems to be looking for submissions.
Burnett felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.#T4##SUB#
Ilmarinen is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Burnett has managed to free his arm - good work.
Ilmarinen thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Ilmarinen is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Ilmarinen wants to pass to mount but Burnett is defending the position.
Ilmarinen working Burnett over with strikes. #SUB#
Ilmarinen wants to work for an arm triangle but Burnett is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Burnett trying to hold on to Ilmarinen's head to control him but Ilmarinen postures up.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Anton Ilmarinen's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!#R3#
Burnett misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
A jab from Ilmarinen finds it's way through Burnett's defenses.
Burnett throws a right hand that misses #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Ilmarinen.
Burnett really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Ilmarinen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.#SUB#
Ilmarinen thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Ilmarinen throws a big elbow that misses.
Ilmarinen working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Burnett is trying to keep Ilmarinen in close.
Ilmarinen tries to free his leg and advance position but Burnett is retaining full guard.
Burnett working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes but missing. #T1#
Ilmarinen postures up in Burnett's guard and throws a big left but Burnett blocks it.
Ilmarinen throws a big right hand that misses.
Ilmarinen wants to pass the guard but Burnett is keeping the position.
Ilmarinen postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes from guard but Burnett blocks nicely.
Ilmarinen scoring with punches to the head and body. #SUB#
Ilmarinen is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Ilmarinen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Khalil Burnett has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!#T2#
Ilmarinen postures up in Burnett's guard and throws a big left but Burnett blocks it.
Ilmarinen with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ilmarinen is working Burnett over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Ilmarinen is fighting to break Burnett's control of his arms but Burnett is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Ilmarinen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Ilmarinen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Ilmarinen with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ilmarinen throws a big right hand that misses.
Burnett preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ilmarinen stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Burnett swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Ilmarinen postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Burnett preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage. #T3#
Burnett is trying to keep Ilmarinen in close.
Ilmarinen looking to pass the guard.
Ilmarinen is pushing down on Burnett's leg trying to pass to half guard. Burnett is fighting to maintain full guard but Ilmarinen has managed to sneak the leg through.
Burnett has hold of Ilmarinen's hands but Ilmarinen slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Ilmarinen takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
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. Ilmarinen connects with a nice short shot to Burnett's temple.
Ilmarinen lands strikes from half guard.
Burnett takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ilmarinen moves nicely into side control.
Ilmarinen tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Ilmarinen postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly. #T4#
Ilmarinen is trying to ground and pound but Burnett uses the momentary lack of control by Ilmarinen to regain half guard.
Burnett blocking the ground and pound attempt from Ilmarinen.
Burnett keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen throwing shots but Burnett is blocking nicely.
Ilmarinen looks to land a strike but Burnett avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Anton Ilmarinen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ilmarinen is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions. #SUB2#
Burnett looking for a guillotine here but Ilmarinen defends easily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Burnett swivels though and keeps the full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anton Ilmarinen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ilmarinen, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:26
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 30:26
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen thanked the fans post fight for their support.

Event: SYN 1064 Diggs vs McCarthy
Date: Mar 29, 2024

#R1#
Petrov looks to land a right hand but Ilmarinen moved out of range.
Ilmarinen lands a slapping body shot.
Petrov throws a lazy right hand but Ilmarinen sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Ilmarinen throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Ilmarinen throws a right and a left that Petrov avoids nicely.
Petrov swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Petrov moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Ilmarinen throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ilmarinen takes a swing at Petrov 's ribcage but misses.
A little jabbing left from Petrov on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sloppy strikes from Ilmarinen. Those never looked like landing.
A big right from Petrov misses.
Ilmarinen takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it. #CUT2#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
Ilmarinen looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Petrov throws a jab when Ilmarinen was well out of range.#T1#
Ilmarinen shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it. #TD#
Ilmarinen scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Petrov slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.#SUB2#
Petrov is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ilmarinen with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Ilmarinen distracts Petrov with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Ilmarinen forces his way into half guard.
Ilmarinen working Petrov over with strikes.
Petrov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Ilmarinen scores with a couple of nice shots.
Petrov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Ilmarinen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.#SUB2#
Petrov looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Ilmarinen is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Petrov on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound. #T2#
Ilmarinen working Petrov over with strikes.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ilmarinen lands a nice short elbow.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ilmarinen lands a nice short elbow.#ROC#Petrov is rocked!
Ilmarinen lands a big elbow - Petrov is out of it! He's waving his arms around but his eyes are closed and he's not intelligently defending himself - the ref has no choice but to jump in and stop the fight! This one is in the books! A TKO win for Ilmarinen!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:30 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!
A victorious Anton Ilmarinen thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.

Event: SYN 1061 Diggs vs Ilmarinen
Date: Mar 08, 2024

#R1#
Ilmarinen shoots in looking for a takedown but Diggs manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Ilmarinen's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
It looked like Diggs wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Ilmarinen lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Diggs at a distance.
Ilmarinen scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Ilmarinen shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Diggs with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Ilmarinen to score with a decent uppercut.
Diggs uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Ilmarinen.
A little feinted left hand from Diggs on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.#T1#
Diggs on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Diggs looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Sloppy strikes from Ilmarinen. Those never looked like landing.
Diggs appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Ilmarinen misses with a hook
and Diggs counters with a straight right hand.#CUT#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
Ilmarinen connects with a body shot.
Ilmarinen swings for the body but Diggs moves out of range.
Diggs swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Willie Diggs is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Ilmarinen just misses with a punch to the body.
Diggs quickly followed up with a counter body kick but doesn't connect.
Ilmarinen throws a lazy uppercut
and Diggs counters with a solid body kick. #T2#
Ilmarinen throws a predictable looking body shot
and Diggs makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Ilmarinen really felt that one!
Ilmarinen looks winded!
Ilmarinen throws a lazy uppercut
and Ilmarinen takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Ilmarinen misses the shot to the body.
Ilmarinen throws an off balance right hand
and Diggs counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ilmarinen throws a body shot but no joy.
Ilmarinen throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ilmarinen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Diggs was well out of range. Poor timing from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen scores with a hook.
Anton Ilmarinen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.#T3#
Horrible takedown attempt by Ilmarinen or perhaps it was just good defense by Diggs, which made it look bad.
It appears Diggs was looking to counter with a kick there.
Willie Diggs has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Anton Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Diggs slaps away a takedown attempt from Ilmarinen, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Ilmarinen throws a looping overhand right but Diggs ducks down to avoid it.
Diggs staying out of range there.
Diggs is looking to counter punch.#T4#
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Ilmarinen misses the shot to the body.
Diggs is looking for a counter combo.
Diggs walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Sloppy strikes from Ilmarinen. Those never looked like landing.
Diggs throwing a counter right hand but Ilmarinen manages to avoid it.
Ilmarinen misses with a two punch combination.
Diggs swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Diggs walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Ilmarinen misses the shot to the body.
Diggs throws a quick counter head kick but Ilmarinen was just out of range.
Ilmarinen looks to throw the jab but Diggs is out of range.
Diggs throwing a counter right hand but Ilmarinen manages to avoid it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Anton Ilmarinen's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!#R2#
A combination from Ilmarinen does no damage.
A little feinted left hand from Diggs on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
A big right from Ilmarinen misses.
Diggs throwing a counter right hand but Ilmarinen manages to avoid it.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Ilmarinen is defended easily by Diggs.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.#T1#
Ilmarinen lands a slapping body shot.
A shot to the body from Ilmarinen misses
and Diggs makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Ilmarinen really felt that one!
Ilmarinen throws a predictable looking body shot
and Diggs counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Ilmarinen is breathing heavily.
Ilmarinen swings and misses with a shot to the body#KD#
and Diggs counters with a nice right hand that sends Ilmarinen toppling to the canvas! Ilmarinen scrambles and gets back to his feet - can Diggs finish him?!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nice body punch from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Ilmarinen thuds his right hand into Diggs's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.#T2#
A shot to the body from Ilmarinen misses
and Diggs counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.#ROC#Ilmarinen is rocked!
Ilmarinen changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Ilmarinen is still on wobbly legs! Can Diggs finish him?
Ilmarinen misses with a telegraphed body shot #KD#
and Diggs counters with a nice right hand that sends Ilmarinen toppling to the canvas! Ilmarinen scrambles and gets back to his feet - can Diggs finish him?!#CUT#That has opened up Anton Ilmarinen's cut even more.
Ilmarinen throws a left and a right that both miss
and Diggs counters with a huge overhand right that connects right on the temple, sending him crumpling, face first to the floor! This one is all over! What a knockout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:36 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Willie Diggs!
Willie Diggs retains his middleweight title!
Willie Diggs bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.

Event: SYN 1059 Diggs vs Khan
Date: Mar 01, 2024

#R1#
Adamos keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ilmarinen takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it. #CUT2#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
Ilmarinen throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Adamos looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Ilmarinen throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Adamos on the side of the head. #TD#
Ilmarinen shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Adamos tries to roll over but Ilmarinen keeps him under control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen controlling the action here.
Ilmarinen trying to control from half guard but Adamos is working away. #T1#
Ilmarinen thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Ilmarinen thows a huge punch but Adamos dodges it nicely.
Ilmarinen wants to take a breather but Adamos is having none of it.
Ilmarinen 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.
Ilmarinen not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ilmarinen seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Adamos does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Ilmarinen working the head and body with strikes.
Ilmarinen missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Ilmarinen not doing much here. #SUB#
Ilmarinen is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there. #T2#
Adamos tries to get to full guard but Ilmarinen has control of the leg.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Adamos can do anything to dispel that myth.
Ilmarinen not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Ilmarinen sitting and controlling from the half guard. #SUB#
Ilmarinen is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Adamos doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas. #T3#
Ilmarinen not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Adamos is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Ilmarinen scores with a couple of nice shots.
Adamos is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Ilmarinen scores with a couple of nice shots.
Ilmarinen is trying to control the action in half guard but Adamos is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Ilmarinen looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Adamos with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Ilmarinen sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Adamos defending well though.
Ilmarinen landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent. #SUB#
Ilmarinen is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Adamos has managed to free his arm - good work.
Ilmarinen thows a huge punch but Adamos dodges it nicely. #T4#
Ilmarinen wants to control but Adamos is keeping him busy.
Ilmarinen not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Ilmarinen lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Well, if Ilmarinen is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Ilmarinen missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ilmarinen throwing shots but Adamos is blocking nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Anton Ilmarinen's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!#R2#
Ilmarinen lands with an overhand left.
Ilmarinen takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Adrian Adamos seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ilmarinen throws a series of punches but Adamos avoids them all with ease.
Ilmarinen slips under a jab from Adamos.
Ilmarinen changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Ilmarinen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Adamos.
Adamos looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Ilmarinen throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Adamos takes a body punch but keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Adamos.
Ilmarinen takes a jab right on the kisser.
Ilmarinen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Adamos was well out of range. Poor timing from Ilmarinen.
Adamos swings for the body but Ilmarinen moves out of range. #T1#
Adamos connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Ilmarinen momentarily.
A slow jab from Adamos misses its intended target.
Adamos tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Ilmarinen was well out of range. Poor timing from Adamos.
Ilmarinen scores with a decent looking hook.
Ilmarinen shoots in for a takedown but Adamos shows good takedown defense.
Adamos connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Adamos looks to land a right hand but Ilmarinen moved out of range.
Ilmarinen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Adamos.
Adamos misses with a hook. Ilmarinen ducked under it nicely. #T2#
Adamos displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Ilmarinen throws out the jab.
Ilmarinen throws a hook but Adamos avoids it easily.
Ilmarinen uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Adamos.
A big left from Adamos misses.
Adamos tries to clinch up.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Nice defenses there by Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen missing with a left hand there. Adamos was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Adamos takes a jab right on the kisser.
Adamos stuffs the takedown attempt from Ilmarinen. Ilmarinen gets slowly back to his feet.
Adamos now looks to counter with a shot at the body.#T3#
A shot to the liver by Ilmarinen. Beautiful body shot.
Ilmarinen defending well as Adamos loads up on a big left hand.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Ilmarinen throws a body punch but Adamos moves out of range.
A slow jab from Ilmarinen misses its intended target.
Ilmarinen throws a body punch but Adamos moves out of range.
Ilmarinen swings for the body but Adamos moves out of range.
It seemed like Adamos was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Adrian Adamos is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Adamos throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Ilmarinen defending well as Adamos loads up on a big left hand.
Ilmarinen attempts a counter takedown but Adamos avoids it well and moves away.#TD#
Ilmarinen changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Adamos looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.#T4#
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound but Adamos is defending the strikes.
Adamos trying to remain calm as Ilmarinen controls from the top position.
Ilmarinen tries to score with some ground and pound. Adamos controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
An elbow from Ilmarinen crashes against the mat. #SUB#
Ilmarinen tries for a kimura but Adamos is defending well. #SUB#
Ilmarinen is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Adamos has escaped the position, nice work there.
Ilmarinen advances nicely into full mount.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Anton Ilmarinen's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!#R3#
Ilmarinen throws a lazy right hand but Adamos sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Adamos misses with an uppercut #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Ilmarinen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Ilmarinen is looking to work some ground and pound but Adamos has wrist control.
Ilmarinen slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Ilmarinen working some strikes from top position.
Adamos is trying to control the position from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Adamos is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ilmarinen lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.#T1#
Ilmarinen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Adamos being controlled here, momentarily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes but missing.
Ilmarinen postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ilmarinen loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Ilmarinen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Adrian Adamos has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!#T2#
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Ilmarinen stays in close to Adamos's body and controls the position.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Adamos is working from the bottom. #REF3#
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Ilmarinen moves away from the strike by Adamos.
Adamos throws a body shot but no joy.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Ilmarinen swings for the body but Adamos moves out of range.
Adamos fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Ilmarinen manages to avoid it.#TD#
Ilmarinen shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Adamos manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Ilmarinen throws a big elbow that misses.
Ilmarinen working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Adamos's head.#T3#
Ilmarinen throwing strikes but missing.
Ilmarinen slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Ilmarinen won't allow Adamos to sweep him here.
Ilmarinen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ilmarinen passes Adamos's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Ilmarinen content to control rather than advance.
Ilmarinen wants to take a breather but Adamos is having none of it. #T4#
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Adamos is trying is best to control the position here.
Ilmarinen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Adamos's head.
Ilmarinen with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Ilmarinen wants to take a breather but Adamos is having none of it.
Anton Ilmarinen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ilmarinen controlling the action here.
Ilmarinen winds up and cracks Adamos with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!#SUB#
Ilmarinen is working for a submission of some sort.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ilmarinen slows the pace down in half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anton Ilmarinen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ilmarinen, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anton Ilmarinen!
A victorious Anton Ilmarinen thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.

Event: SYN 1056 Danger vs McGuire II
Date: Feb 16, 2024

#R1#
Sycek closes the distance but Ilmarinen moves to the side #TD#
and Ilmarinen decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Sycek's guard.
Sycek pulls Ilmarinen in close to prevent any damage.
Sycek is trying to keep Ilmarinen in close.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Sycek is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ilmarinen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ilmarinen preventing the sweep.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen postures up and lands a big shot to Sycek's brow.
Sycek trying to keep a closed guard but Ilmarinen is proving a slippery customer.
Ilmarinen working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sycek keeping moving, preventing Ilmarinen from controlling successfully. #T1#
Ilmarinen is really struggling to control Sycek but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Ilmarinen throws a big right hand that misses.
Sycek wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Ilmarinen loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Sycek is working from the bottom.
Ilmarinen controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Sycek keeps moving. #REF3#
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.#CL2#
Sycek rushes Ilmarinen and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Ilmarinen fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Sycek is stalling here. #T2#
Ilmarinen goes for a takedown in the clinch but Sycek prevents it.
Ilmarinen blocks an uppercut. #TD#
Ilmarinen has Sycek pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Ilmarinen pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Sycek tumbling to the mat - Ilmarinen dives into Sycek's guard.
Sycek wants to sweep here but Ilmarinen controlling him for the moment.
Ilmarinen 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.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Sycek is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ilmarinen stopping the sweep attempt from Sycek.
Ilmarinen with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sycek trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Sycek thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Sycek keeps moving.
Ilmarinen works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Ilmarinen is thwarting Sycek's attempts to control the position.#T3#
Ilmarinen is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Ilmarinen is trying to control the action in half guard but Sycek is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Ilmarinen lands with a punch from half guard.
Sycek is looking to improve his position.
Sycek trying to control from the bottom.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ilmarinen lands a nice short elbow.
Sycek wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Sycek desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Sycek is looking to control Ilmarinen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Sycek avoid being mounted?
Ilmarinen sitting and controlling from the half guard. #T4#
Sycek moves into full guard.
Sycek looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ilmarinen is one step ahead there.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of elbows.
Sycek looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Sycek is working from the bottom.
Ilmarinen is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Sycek is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Ilmarinen landing with the ground and pound.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Ilmarinen landing some decent shots from guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.#R2#
Sycek tries to close the distance and clinch but Ilmarinen swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Sycek walks into a straight right hand from Ilmarinen.#TD#
Ilmarinen changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Sycek looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Sycek wants to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen is looking to take a break and control but Sycek is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Sycek is looking to regain half guard here but Ilmarinen keeps moving and retains side control.
Ilmarinen working the body and head with strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Sycek to see if he's OK.
You can see the frustration on Sycek's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Ilmarinen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sycek can do to turn this around?
Ilmarinen scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Sycek to see if he's OK.
Sycek is looking for a sweep.
Sycek is not in a great position here, taking some shots. #T1#
Sycek stops Ilmarinen from passing to mount.
Sycek tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Ilmarinen presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Sycek tries to lock up and control but Ilmarinen gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Ilmarinen content just to control the position here.
Sycek is in all sorts of trouble here.
Ilmarinen with the ground and pound from mount.
Ilmarinen can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Sycek is looking to escape.
Ilmarinen landing strikes from the mount.
Ilmarinen working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Sycek tries to lock up and control but Ilmarinen gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.#T2#
Ilmarinen lands with some strikes.
Sycek holds on for dear life, controlling Ilmarinen's posture momentarily.
Ilmarinen looking to control and managing it successfully.
Sycek in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ilmarinen postures up and connects with a big shot that has rocked Sycek badly. He's trying desperately to grab hold of Ilmarinen around the waist but Ilmarinen pushes him off and unloads with more strikes, forcing the referee to jump in and save him! Ilmarinen is the winner by TKO! Ilmarinen jumps onto the cage and shouts into the camera. "We did it momma!"

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:39 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.

Event: SYN 1051 McCarthy vs Kamara
Date: Jan 28, 2024

#R1#
Exotic keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ilmarinen just misses with a punch to the body.
Ilmarinen misses with a hook. Exotic ducked under it nicely. #TD#
Ilmarinen closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Exotic's guard.#SUB2#
Exotic looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Ilmarinen tries to free his leg and advance position but Exotic is retaining full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.#SUB2#
Exotic had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Ilmarinen defends it easily.#SUB2#
Exotic is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle. #T1#
Exotic is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Exotic might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Ilmarinen haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Exotic is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Ilmarinen stays in close to Exotic's body and controls the position. #SUB2#
Exotic is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ilmarinen defends well.
Exotic looking to control. #T2#
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Ilmarinen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard. #SUB2#
Ilmarinen avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Ilmarinen trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Exotic manages to land a sweep and now he's on top! #REVB#
Exotic stopping the sweep attempt from Ilmarinen.
Exotic wants to control from the top but Ilmarinen keeps moving. #SUB2#
Exotic drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Ilmarinen dives on top into guard.#REVR##T3#
Exotic not looking particularly offensive just at the moment. #SUB2#
Exotic has his foot on Ilmarinen's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Ilmarinen works his way back into a safe position though.
Ilmarinen is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen postures up and lands a big shot to Exotic's brow.
Exotic avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Exotic keeps moving.
Ilmarinen wants to pass the guard but Exotic is keeping the position.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of digs.
Exotic preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage. #SUB2#
Exotic has his foot on Ilmarinen's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Ilmarinen works his way back into a safe position though.#T4#
Exotic looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Exotic not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Ilmarinen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound. #SUB2#
Exotic is looking for a triangle but Ilmarinen pushes his legs off easily.
Ilmarinen cracks Exotic with a solid left hand.#SUB2#
Exotic working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Ilmarinen doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Ilmarinen manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of digs.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!#SUB2#
Exotic escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Ilmarinen gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Ilmarinen slips nicely into half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.#R2#
Exotic lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Ilmarinen walks into a jab.
Ilmarinen needs to keep his hands up - Exotic had a free shot at his head there.
Ilmarinen throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Exotic sees it coming and avoids it easily.
A swing and a miss from Exotic.
Ilmarinen changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Exotic uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Exotic throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ilmarinen feinted with a counter takedown.#T1#
Nice body kick there by Exotic.
Ilmarinen rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Exotic moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Exotic takes a swing at Ilmarinen's ribcage but misses.
Ilmarinen tries to counter with a takedown but Exotic is quick to defend against it.
Joe Exotic seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Exotic takes a swing at Ilmarinen's ribcage but misses.
Ilmarinen has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Ilmarinen there as he acknowledges the shot.#CUT2#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
Nice body punch from Exotic.
Exotic misses with a body shot.
Ilmarinen takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.#T2#
Exotic swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Ilmarinen drops down looking for a counter takedown but Exotic sprawls and moves away.
Exotic slips a straight right by Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Ilmarinen half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Good exchange - Exotic coming out on top.
Exotic has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Ilmarinen is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Exotic throws a body shot but no joy.
Ilmarinen feinted with a counter takedown.
Ilmarinen looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Exotic throws a body shot but no joy.
Exotic throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Ilmarinen on the side of the head. #T3#
Ilmarinen defending well as Exotic loads up on a big left hand.
Ilmarinen half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Exotic tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Ilmarinen was well out of range. Poor timing from Exotic.
Ilmarinen is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Ilmarinen fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Exotic manages to avoid it.
Nice shot by Exotic.
A telegraphed right hand from Ilmarinen misses the target.
Good exchange - Ilmarinen coming out on top.
Joe Exotic seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Ilmarinen takes a swing at Exotic's ribcage but misses.
Exotic throws out a counter right but Ilmarinen avoids it with no problem.
Exotic misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Ilmarinen.
Joe Exotic is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.#T4#
Ilmarinen avoids the body shot from Exotic.
Ilmarinen blocks a head kick by Exotic.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Good exchange - Exotic coming out on top.
Exotic misses with a looping right.
Exotic throws a hook but Ilmarinen blocks it.
Ilmarinen attempts a counter takedown but Exotic avoids it well and moves away.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen blocks a head kick by Exotic.
Ilmarinen feinted with a counter takedown.
Exotic throws a jab when Ilmarinen was well out of range.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Exotic showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Anton Ilmarinen's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.#R3#
A kick lands to the mid section there for Exotic.
Ilmarinen throws a shot from downtown. Exotic moves away and avoids it.
Ilmarinen fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Exotic takes one on the button.
Exotic throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Ilmarinen sees it coming and avoids it easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Exotic fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Ilmarinen manages to avoid it.
Exotic tries a head kick but it misses.
Ilmarinen throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Exotic looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.#T1#
Exotic is looking to slow Ilmarinen down with leg kicks.
Ilmarinen misses the shot to the body.
Exotic has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ilmarinen displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Exotic throws out the jab.
Exotic lands the left hand.
A swing and a miss from Exotic.
Ilmarinen half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Exotic swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Ilmarinen swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Exotic defending well as Ilmarinen loads up on a big left hand.
Exotic swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.#T2#
Ilmarinen slips under a jab from Exotic.
Exotic throws a wild body kick that Ilmarinen sees coming a mile off.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Ilmarinen moves forwards but Exotic connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Exotic jabs Ilmarinen to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Exotic connects with a single shot there.
Exotic swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Exotic connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Good standup being displayed there by Exotic as he connects with a hook.#ROC2#Ilmarinen is rocked!#T3#
Ilmarinen ducks under a wild hook from Exotic.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Ilmarinen moves out of range as Exotic strikes.
Exotic is looking to land body kicks.
Ilmarinen attempts a counter takedown but Exotic avoids it well and moves away.
Exotic ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Ilmarinen moves away.
Ilmarinen tries to counter with a takedown but Exotic is quick to defend against it.
Ilmarinen catches Exotic with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Exotic misses with the body kick#TD#
and Ilmarinen decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Exotic's guard.
Exotic is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move. #REVB##T4##SUB2#
Exotic wants to work for an arm triangle but Ilmarinen is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Ilmarinen gets back to full guard.
Ilmarinen doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Ilmarinen looking to hit a scissor sweep but Exotic is one step ahead there.
Exotic in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Exotic trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Ilmarinen keeping moving, preventing Exotic from controlling successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joe Exotic comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Exotic 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 28:29
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 28:29
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joe Exotic!
A relieved looking Joe Exotic thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.

Event: SYN 1047 Diggs vs Todd II
Date: Jan 07, 2024

#R1#
Ilmarinen leaves Sycek with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Ilmarinen tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Sycek was well out of range. Poor timing from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Sycek shoots in for a double leg but Ilmarinen sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Sycek closes this distance looking for a takedown but Ilmarinen circles away.
Anton Ilmarinen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Samuel Sycek.#CL2#
The fight moves into the clinch position.
Sycek fails to pull guard.
Ilmarinen swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A short right from Ilmarinen on the inside.
Ilmarinen prevents a takedown attempt there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen has a couple of punches blocked by Sycek.
Sycek is trying to drag Ilmarinen to the mat but Ilmarinen just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Sycek tries to pull guard but Ilmarinen won't allow it. #T1#
Ilmarinen prevents a body shot from Sycek.
A shot in the inside from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Sycek backwards.
Sycek fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Ilmarinen is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Ilmarinen lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.#TD2#
Sycek pulls guard successfully.
Sycek 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.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Sycek keeps moving.
Ilmarinen 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.
Ilmarinen content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Ilmarinen postures up and lands a big shot to Sycek's brow.
Ilmarinen won't allow Sycek to sweep him here.
Sycek is still trying to improve position.
Ilmarinen content to stall in guard here. #T2#
Ilmarinen distracts Sycek with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Sycek is working from the bottom.
Sycek trying to keep a closed guard but Ilmarinen is proving a slippery customer.
Ilmarinen looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Ilmarinen cracks Sycek with a solid left hand.
Sycek throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Ilmarinen working some strikes from top position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ilmarinen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Ilmarinen working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Sycek is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ilmarinen is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.#T3#
Ilmarinen chips away with some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Sycek not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Sycek keeping moving, preventing Ilmarinen from controlling successfully.
Ilmarinen working some strikes from top position.
Ilmarinen looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Ilmarinen looking to pass the guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Sycek keeps moving. #T4#
Sycek is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ilmarinen is pushing down on Sycek's leg trying to pass to half guard. Sycek is fighting to maintain full guard but Ilmarinen has managed to sneak the leg through.
Ilmarinen slips a nice elbow through Sycek's hands, connecting with Sycek's forehead.
Ilmarinen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sycek keeps working. #SUB#
Ilmarinen is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Ilmarinen seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Sycek does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Sycek tries to get to full guard but Ilmarinen has control of the leg.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Ilmarinen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!#R2#
Sycek tries to score a power double leg takedown but Ilmarinen sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Sycek somewhat.
Ilmarinen feinted with a counter takedown.
Ilmarinen misses with a straight right.
Ilmarinen swings for the body but Sycek moves out of range.
Ilmarinen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Sycek shoots in but Ilmarinen avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Ilmarinen lands with an overhand left.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sycek looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Anton Ilmarinen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Samuel Sycek.
Sycek fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Ilmarinen avoids it really well and circles away.
Ilmarinen drops down looking for a counter takedown but Sycek sprawls and moves away.#T1#
Ilmarinen scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.#TD2#
Sycek shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Ilmarinen napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Ilmarinen gets back to half guard.
Ilmarinen avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Sycek.
Ilmarinen makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen is trying to keep Sycek in close.
Ilmarinen looking to sweep here. No luck so far. #SUB#
Sycek stands over his opponent and dives in with a flying punch! Ilmarinen throws up his legs and catches Sycek in a triangle! Oh this looks tight! Sycek tries to escape but he's forced to tap! Wow, fantastic work there by Ilmarinen! That came out of nowhere!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:56 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Anton Ilmarinen!
After winning the bout, Anton Ilmarinen thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.

Event: HFC 110: Ilmarinen vs Godwin
Date: Nov 18, 2023

#R1#
Ilmarinen showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Godwin.
Ilmarinen tries to counter with a takedown but Godwin is quick to defend against it.
Godwin swinging wildly here.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Ilmarinen looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Godwin misses with a wild body shot.
Ilmarinen walks into a left hand. #CUT2#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Godwin throws a jab but it's blocked by Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Godwin throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Godwin throws out a loose jab but Ilmarinen uses good head movement to avoid it. #T1##CL2#
Godwin darts in and clinches Ilmarinen up against the cage.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Godwin misses with a punch to the body.
Ilmarinen blocking some punches.
Godwin presses Ilmarinen against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Ilmarinen goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Ilmarinen has a couple of punches blocked by Godwin.
Godwin scores with a hook to the body.
Godwin has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Ilmarinen is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Godwin working aggressively here.
A short right from Ilmarinen.
A short left from Godwin.
Godwin lands an uppercut.
Ilmarinen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Godwin lands a body shot in the clinch.
Godwin tries to throw a body punch but Ilmarinen avoids it by throwing Godwin back against the cage.
A head punch on the inside from Ilmarinen fails to land.
Ilmarinen misses with a hook to the ribs. #T2#
Godwin swings wildly with an uppercut but Ilmarinen uses good head movement to avoid it.
A nice right hand lands inside from Godwin.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!#TD2#
Ilmarinen is fighting off a takedown attempt but Godwin is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Ilmarinen to the mat. Ilmarinen regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Godwin postures up in Ilmarinen's guard and throws a big left but Ilmarinen blocks it.
Godwin won't allow Ilmarinen to sweep him here.
Godwin throws a big right hand that misses.
Godwin working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ilmarinen wants to sweep here but Godwin controlling him for the moment.
Ilmarinen working a defensive guard here.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Godwin accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand. #T3#
Ilmarinen looking to hit a scissor sweep but Godwin is one step ahead there.
Ilmarinen is working hard here to advance position.
Godwin postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Godwin must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Ilmarinen is trying to control the position but Godwin postures up. #REF3#
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Godwin is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Godwin misses with an uppercut. Ilmarinen saw that one coming.
Ilmarinen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ilmarinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Godwin.
Ilmarinen attempts a counter takedown but Godwin avoids it well and moves away.#T4#
Godwin is looking to clinch.
Ilmarinen attempts a counter takedown but Godwin avoids it well and moves away.#CL2#
Godwin gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Godwin looking for a takedown.
A nice left hand lands by Godwin.
Ilmarinen doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ilmarinen is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Godwin pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Godwin tries to work over Ilmarinen's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Ilmarinen wants a takedown.
Ilmarinen working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Godwin scores with a shoulder strike.
Godwin doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ilmarinen blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Godwin tries a body shot but Ilmarinen blocks it.
Ilmarinen misses with a hook from the clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Janko Godwin dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Anton Ilmarinen's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.#R2#
Godwin jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Ilmarinen half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Ilmarinen's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Godwin connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Ilmarinen scrambles back to his feet.
Godwin throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Ilmarinen misses with a hook.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Godwin! But no joy.
Ilmarinen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
As Ilmarinen backs off Godwin throws a huge counter combo but Ilmarinen manages to avoid it all.
Ilmarinen swings for the body but Godwin moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Godwin, as that shot connected. #ROC2#Ilmarinen is rocked!
Godwin lands a nice hook to Ilmarinen's body. Ilmarinen takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes. #T1#
Ilmarinen blocks a jab.
Godwin pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Godwin might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Godwin closes this distance looking for a takedown but Ilmarinen circles away.
Ilmarinen throws a jab when Godwin was well out of range.
Ilmarinen ducks under a wild hook from Godwin.
Godwin fails to land with a series of punches.
Janko Godwin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ilmarinen on the wrong end of a nice hook.#CUT2#Anton Ilmarinen's cut is getting worse.
Godwin has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ilmarinen tries for a takedown but Godwin sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.#T2#
Godwin tries to bum rush Ilmarinen with a series of wild strikes but Ilmarinen uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Godwin rushes in with a sloppy looking punch #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a single leg into guard. Godwin didn't expect that.
Ilmarinen landing some decent shots from guard.
Godwin is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Godwin is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Godwin has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Ilmarinen has passed into side control.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Godwin is trying to buck Ilmarinen off.#T3#
Ilmarinen creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Godwin is looking to reverse the position.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position but Godwin is working away.
Ilmarinen looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Godwin is avoiding damage well.
Ilmarinen is working Godwin over with some ground and pound from side control.
Godwin is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Ilmarinen is controlling him well.
Godwin takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Ilmarinen fails to land a wild elbow strike. #T4#
Godwin manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Godwin working over Ilmarinen with some ground and pound. Ilmarinen looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Ilmarinen tries to get to full guard but Godwin has control of the leg.
Ilmarinen has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Godwin is working away from the top position though.
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. Godwin connects with a nice short shot to Ilmarinen's temple.
Oh Ilmarinen is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Ilmarinen wants to get back to full guard.
Ilmarinen seems to have got his legs back now.
Godwin lands strikes from half guard.#CUT2#Jeez, Anton Ilmarinen's cut is really nasty now. The referee must be thinking about getting that checked.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Anton Ilmarinen's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:58 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Janko Godwin!
Janko Godwin is the new middleweight champion!
During a confident post fight interview, Janko Godwin thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.

Event: HFC 105: Ilmarinen vs Holy
Date: Oct 28, 2023

#R1#
Holy wants to clinch.
Holy moves in looking to clinch but Ilmarinen pushes him off.
Holy darts in trying to clinch
and Ilmarinen cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Holy fails in his attempt to clinch.
It looked like Ilmarinen wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Holy fails with an attempt to clinch.
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch but Ilmarinen swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ilmarinen looks to land a left hand but Holy moved out of range nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holy is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Holy wants to clinch.
Ilmarinen jabbing away but nothing is landing. #T1#
Ilmarinen misses with a straight right.
Olly Holy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.#CL2#
Holy has taken the fight to the clinch.
Holy jumps guard but Ilmarinen turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing. #TD#
Ilmarinen works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Our spies down at at BLK ELITE MASTERS inform us that Holy has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
Ilmarinen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Holy is keeping the position for now.
Holy can't keep his opponent in guard - Ilmarinen advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Holy wants to improve his position but Ilmarinen is controlling well.
Nice strikes from Ilmarinen there.
Holy gets full guard.
Ilmarinen sitting in guard, not really doing much. #T2##SUB2#
Holy is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ilmarinen is aware though and is defending well.#SUB2#
Holy looking for subs off his back but Ilmarinen has passed one foot through into half guard.
Ilmarinen is thwarting Holy's attempts to control the position.#SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.
Ilmarinen keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.#T3#
Holy wants to improve his position but Ilmarinen is controlling well.
Holy is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Ilmarinen tries to pass to full mount but Holy defends it.
Holy tries to roll over but Ilmarinen keeps him under control.
Ilmarinen lands with a punch from half guard.
Ilmarinen will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Holy is trying to maintain the position but Ilmarinen is very close to passing his half guard.
Holy is staying active underneath Ilmarinen, who seems content to just control the action from this position. #T4#
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Holy is looking to control Ilmarinen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Holy avoid being mounted?
Holy is looking for a sweep. Ilmarinen is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ilmarinen landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Holy wants to improve his position but Ilmarinen is controlling well.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ilmarinen trying to control from half guard but Holy is working away. #REF3#
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
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.#R2#
Ilmarinen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Ilmarinen throws a hook but Holy blocks it.#CL2#
Holy pushes Ilmarinen up against the cage in a clinch.
Holy prevents a body shot from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Holy takes a shot to the head.
Holy fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Holy tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Ilmarinen misses with the head strike.
Ilmarinen tries to work over Holy's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Ilmarinen throws a head punch that misses.
Ilmarinen pushes Holy back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Ilmarinen.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holy jumps guard but Ilmarinen turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Anton Ilmarinen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Olly Holy.
Holy fails to pull guard.
A right handed body shot lands from Ilmarinen.
Holy takes a shot to the head.
Holy tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Ilmarinen just stands there and leans against the cage.
Holy tries to pull guard but Ilmarinen holds him up against the cage and eventually Holy drops back down to his feet.
Holy tries to pull guard but Ilmarinen won't allow it. #T1#
Holy tries to pull guard but Ilmarinen won't allow it.
Ilmarinen presses Holy against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Ilmarinen makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Ilmarinen gets through Holy's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Ilmarinen misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ilmarinen tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked. #BC#
Ilmarinen pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.#CL2#
Holy moves into range and clinches up with Ilmarinen.
Holy tries to pull guard but Ilmarinen forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Holy blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ilmarinen lands a left hand that snaps the head of Holy backwards.
Ilmarinen misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ilmarinen lands a left hand that snaps the head of Holy backwards.
Holy is trying to pull guard but Ilmarinen has him pressed against the cage.
Holy jumps guard but Ilmarinen turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Holy fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Holy is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ilmarinen to keep the fight standing.
Holy tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Ilmarinen smiles and moves away.
Ilmarinen jabs at Holy's body.
Ilmarinen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Holy can do to turn this around?#T2#
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ilmarinen misses with a body shot.
Holy tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ilmarinen manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Olly Holy is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Holy is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Ilmarinen looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
A nice combination there by Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen with a jab.
Holy uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Holy.
Holy tries to clinch but fails miserably
letting Ilmarinen counter with a right hand.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ilmarinen changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.#CL2#
Holy clinches up with Ilmarinen and pushes him back against the cage.#T3#
Holy is trying to pull guard but Ilmarinen has him pressed against the cage.
Holy jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Ilmarinen walks away with a smile on his face. Holy gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen moves out of range.
Ilmarinen throws an overhand right that lands on Holy's shoulder, as Holy tries to avoid the shot.
Ilmarinen misses with a straight right.
Ilmarinen looks to land a right hand but Holy moved out of range.
Ilmarinen dips to his left and cracks Holy with an uppercut!
Holy wants to clinch up but Ilmarinen keeps it at a distance.
Holy ducks under a wild hook from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Holy tries to clinch there but Ilmarinen circles away.
Holy showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Ilmarinen.
Nice defenses there by Holy.#T4##CL2#
Holy closes the distance and clinches.
Holy tries to pull guard but Ilmarinen holds him up against the cage and eventually Holy drops back down to his feet.
Holy tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Ilmarinen just stands there and leans against the cage.
Anton Ilmarinen has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Ilmarinen lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Holy tries to pull guard but Ilmarinen forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Holy jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Ilmarinen walks away with a smile on his face. Holy gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Holy closes the distance but Ilmarinen moves to the side
and Holy takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ilmarinen looks to land a left hand but Holy moved out of range nicely.
Holy moves forwards but Ilmarinen connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch but Ilmarinen swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ilmarinen fails to land with a series of punches.
Holy tries to clinch up but Ilmarinen circles away and keeps his distance.
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ilmarinen swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.#TD#
Ilmarinen manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Holy on his heels. He'll look to pass Holy's guard now, I'm sure.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!#R3#
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen moves away
and Ilmarinen counters with a stiff right hand.
Holy is looking to clinch but Ilmarinen is avoiding it.
Holy is looking to clinch.
Holy ducks under a wild hook from Ilmarinen.
Holy steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Ilmarinen.
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen moves out of range.
Ilmarinen changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Holy closes the distance looking to clinch
and Ilmarinen counters with a left to the body.
Ilmarinen throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Holy tries to counter by closing the distance.
Ilmarinen is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Holy steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Ilmarinen.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A looping hook to the body misses from Ilmarinen. Holy does a little dance to reset his feet.
Holy wants to counter the offense by Ilmarinen and move into the clinch position.
Holy tries to clinch up.
It looked like Ilmarinen was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Holy.
Ilmarinen keeps the fight on the outside.
Anton Ilmarinen is winning the standup battle so far.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.#T1#
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ilmarinen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ilmarinen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Holy fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Holy is looking to clinch.
A little feinted left hand from Ilmarinen on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Holy is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Nice shot by Ilmarinen.
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ilmarinen swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Holy tries to clinch
and Ilmarinen counters with a left and a right that stings Holy.
Ilmarinen throws a nice looking combination but Holy bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Ilmarinen throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Holy is looking to clinch.
Nice jab there from Ilmarinen. #T2#
Ilmarinen lands a nice shot to the body.
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ilmarinen paws at him with a jab and circles away.#CL2#
Holy pushes Ilmarinen up against the cage in a clinch.
Ilmarinen lands a shoulder strike.
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!
Holy fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Ilmarinen is trying to push Holy away but Holy has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Ilmarinen misses with a punch to the body.
Holy blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Holy is trying to pull guard but Ilmarinen turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Holy tries to pull guard but Ilmarinen won't allow it.
Anton Ilmarinen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Olly Holy.
A short right from Ilmarinen on the inside.
A nice left hand lands by Ilmarinen.
Holy jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Ilmarinen walks away with a smile on his face. Holy gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Holy tries to clinch up.
Holy tries to clinch up.
Ilmarinen throws a hook but Holy blocks it.
Ilmarinen throws a shot from downtown. Holy moves away and avoids it.#T3#
Ilmarinen misses with a body shot.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
It looked like Ilmarinen wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Holy tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Ilmarinen connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Holy tries to clinch
and Ilmarinen counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Holy takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Holy is looking to clinch but Ilmarinen is avoiding it.
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch but Ilmarinen swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ilmarinen swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Holy.
Ilmarinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Holy.#T4#
Holy is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Ilmarinen was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Ilmarinen shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Holy defends it nicely.#CL2#
Holy instigates a clinch.
Ilmarinen fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ilmarinen misses with a short punch on the inside. #TD2#
Holy pulls guard effortlessly.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ilmarinen passes Holy's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Still in half guard, Ilmarinen seems content to control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen clearly takes that round.
That's time! Ilmarinen's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.#R4#
Holy wants to clinch.
Ilmarinen swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Holy takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Ilmarinen feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Holys jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Ilmarinen misses with a looping right.
Holy tries to clinch up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holy tries to clinch up.
Nice uppercut there from Ilmarinen.
Holy fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ilmarinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Holy.#T1#
Holy tries to clinch
and Ilmarinen counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Holy avoids the body shot from Ilmarinen.
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen moves out of range.
Holy moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Holy tries to clinch up but Ilmarinen circles away and keeps his distance.
Holy doesn't manage to clinch there - Ilmarinen circles away.
Holy's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Ilmarinen connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Holy scrambles back to his feet.
Holy doesn't manage to clinch there - Ilmarinen circles away.
Ilmarinen looks to land a left hand but Holy moved out of range nicely.
Holy tries to counter by closing the distance.
Holy tries to clinch
and Holy takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Holy takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Holy blocks a jab.#CL2#
Holy closes the distance and clinches.
Holy tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Ilmarinen smiles and moves away. #T2#
Ilmarinen throws an overhand right that lands on Holy's shoulder, as Holy tries to avoid the shot.
Holy bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Holy is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Holy wants to clinch up but Ilmarinen keeps it at a distance.
Holy tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ilmarinen manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
A counter left hand to the body from Ilmarinen misses its target.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Holy wants to clinch up but Ilmarinen keeps it at a distance.
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen is having none of it.
Holy darts in trying to clinch
and Ilmarinen counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt
enabling Ilmarinen to counter with a crisp jab.
Ilmarinen looks to land a right hand but Holy moved out of range.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Olly Holy is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.#T3#
Ilmarinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Holy.
Holy tries to clinch up.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Holy tries to clinch up.
Ilmarinen swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Holy wants to clinch up but Ilmarinen keeps it at a distance.
Holy moves away from the strike by Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Holy as he avoids it easily.
Holy tries to clinch but fails miserably
enabling Ilmarinen to counter with a crisp jab.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt
and Ilmarinen counters with a stiff right hand. #T4#
Ilmarinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Holy.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Holy tries to clinch up.
Ilmarinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Holy.
Holy keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Holy takes one to the chin there.
Holy is looking to clinch but Ilmarinen is avoiding it.
An attempted straight right counter from Ilmarinen misses the target.
Ilmarinen lands with a nice body punch.
Holy defending well as Ilmarinen loads up on a big left hand.
Holy wants to clinch up but Ilmarinen keeps it at a distance.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Holy wants to clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen had his way with Olly Holy in that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!#R5#
Ilmarinen lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Holy darts in trying to clinch#TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a shoot takedown. Holy fights it but they end up in guard.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Holy is working from the bottom.
Ilmarinen trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Ilmarinen looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard. #T1#
Ilmarinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Holy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Holy looking to control.
Ilmarinen content to stall in guard here.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.#REF3#
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Holy has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
A big right from Ilmarinen misses.
Ilmarinen swings for the body but Holy moves out of range.
Ilmarinen keeps the fight on the outside.
Holy steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Ilmarinen.
Holy tries to counter with a clinch but Ilmarinen shakes him off and moves away.
Ilmarinen fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.#T2#
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Holy tries to clinch up.
Holy tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Ilmarinen counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Holy tries to clinch up but Ilmarinen circles away and keeps his distance.
Ilmarinen looks to land a left hand but Holy moved out of range nicely.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ilmarinen works Holy's body with a nice hook.
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ilmarinen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ilmarinen throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Holy on the side of the head.
Holy darts in trying to clinch
and Ilmarinen counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work. #T3#
Holy moves in looking to clinch but Ilmarinen pushes him off.
Holy uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Ilmarinen.
Holy tries to counter by closing the distance.#TD#
Ilmarinen shoots in and gets a takedown into Holy's guard.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Holy is working from the bottom. #SUB2#
Holy working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Ilmarinen doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Ilmarinen manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Holy is working from the bottom.
Holy is trying to control the position from the bottom. #T4##SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Ilmarinen passes into half guard.
Holy wants to get back to full guard.
Holy is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Anton Ilmarinen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Holy won't allow Ilmarinen to pass to mount.
Ilmarinen seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Ilmarinen is thwarting Holy's attempts to control the position.
Olly Holy has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anton Ilmarinen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Ilmarinen 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 50:43
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 50:42
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 50:42

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen retains his middleweight title!
An out of breath Anton Ilmarinen thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.

Event: HFC 102: Ilmarinen vs Shako
Date: Oct 07, 2023

#R1#
Ilmarinen lands a glancing blow to the side of Shakaromanov's head.
Shakaromanov pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Ilmarinen slips under a jab.
Ilmarinen blocks a jab.
Shakaromanov throws a solid leg kick but Ilmarinen takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Shakaromanov.
Shakaromanov on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Ilmarinen thuds a left hand into Shakaromanov's body.
Shakaromanov throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Shakaromanov plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!#CUT2#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
Shakaromanov is looking to chop away at Ilmarinen's legs.
Ilmarinen half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Shakaromanov is looking to land body kicks.#TD#
Ilmarinen bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ilmarinen trying to control the action but Shakaromanov is working from the bottom. #T1#
Shakaromanov tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Ilmarinen easily slips into full mount!
Ilmarinen lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Shakaromanov is having none of it.
Shakaromanov holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Ilmarinen tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Ilmarinen postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Shakaromanov looks a forlorn figure. #T2#
Ilmarinen tries to control but Shakaromanov wriggling away.
Ilmarinen landing strikes, looking to finish!
Ilmarinen landing strikes from the mount and Shakaromanov is in trouble!
Ilmarinen raining down hammerfists from mount.
Shakaromanov felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Shakaromanov is squirming around, avoiding Ilmarinen's attempts to control the action.
Ilmarinen is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Shakaromanov is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Shakaromanov can do anything to dispel that myth.
Ilmarinen lands a nice shot to the head.
Ilmarinen is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Ilmarinen looking to control but Shakaromanov is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Ilmarinen thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch! #T3#
Shakaromanov really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Shakaromanov wants to hold on but Ilmarinen pushes him away.
Shakaromanov working to try and regain half guard.
Shakaromanov takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Shakaromanov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Ilmarinen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Shakaromanov tries to reverse the position but Ilmarinen maintains control.
Ilmarinen lands a big elbow.
Ilmarinen trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Ilmarinen throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Ilmarinen landing strikes, looking to finish! #T4#
Ilmarinen lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.#ROC#Shakaromanov is rocked!
Ilmarinen is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Shakaromanov can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Shakaromanov is still in real trouble! Can Ilmarinen finish him?
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ilmarinen throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Ilmarinen raining down hammerfists from mount.
Shakaromanov wants to hold on but Ilmarinen pushes him away.
Ilmarinen raining down hammerfists from mount.
Ilmarinen postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Shakaromanov looks a forlorn figure.
Ilmarinen is in full mount looking to finish with strikes. He lands a big shot, followed by another and Shakaromanov goes limp! The ref jumps in to end the fight - a big win for Ilmarinen!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:50 of round 1, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen retains his middleweight title!
After winning the bout, Anton Ilmarinen thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.

Event: HFC 94: Ilmarinen vs Davito
Date: Aug 12, 2023

#R1#
Nice defenses there by Davito.
Davito looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Davito just misses with a punch to the body.
Davito connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.#CUT2#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
Nice defenses there by Davito.#CL#
Ilmarinen moves into the clinch.
Ilmarinen swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Davito is trying to break free.
Davito looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.#TD#
Ilmarinen gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Davito regains guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes from guard but Davito blocks nicely.
Ilmarinen passes Davito's left leg - he's now in half guard. #T1#
Davito won't allow Ilmarinen to pass to mount.
Ilmarinen 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.
Ilmarinen content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Davito regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Ilmarinen.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ilmarinen is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Davito keeps moving.
Davito controls Ilmarinen momentarily but Ilmarinen frees himself.
Ilmarinen throws a big elbow that misses. #T2#
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Ilmarinen with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Ilmarinen postures up and lands a big shot to Davito's brow.
Ilmarinen with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ilmarinen scoring with some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Davito is working from the bottom.
Ilmarinen throws a big elbow that misses.
Ilmarinen stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Davito swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Ilmarinen connects with a couple of short punches.
Ilmarinen 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.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ilmarinen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Davito can do anything to dispel that myth.#T3#
Ilmarinen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Ilmarinen scoring with some ground and pound.
Davito is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ilmarinen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Ilmarinen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Ilmarinen forces his way into half guard.
Davito is not content to let Ilmarinen control the position.
Davito is trying to maintain the position but Ilmarinen is very close to passing his half guard.#T4#
Ilmarinen not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ilmarinen is looking to take a break and control but Davito is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Davito tries to get to full guard but Ilmarinen has control of the leg.
Ilmarinen takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Ilmarinen working the head and body with strikes.
Ilmarinen trying to control the action but Davito is working from the bottom.
Davito is trying to stand.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Anton Ilmarinen's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!#R2#
Ilmarinen misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Davito.
Davito let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Ilmarinen throws a looping overhand right but Davito ducks down to avoid it.
A jab from Ilmarinen finds it's way through Davito's defenses.
Ilmarinen chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Davito can pounce on him.
Anton Ilmarinen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Davito uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Ilmarinen.
Davito misses with a series of wild punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Ilmarinen is defended easily by Davito.
Davito looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.#T1#
Davito throws a series of punches but Ilmarinen avoids them all with ease.
Davito throws a hook but Ilmarinen blocks it.
Ilmarinen tries to clinch but Davito is having none of it.
Ilmarinen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Davito can do to turn this around?
Ilmarinen has a takedown stuffed.
Davito throws out a counter right but Ilmarinen avoids it with no problem.
Ilmarinen darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Davito throws an overhand right that lands on Ilmarinen's shoulder, as Ilmarinen tries to avoid the shot.
Davito throws a jab but it's blocked by Ilmarinen.
Pelosi Davito is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.#T2##CL#
The fight moves into the clinch position.
Ilmarinen lands on the inside with an uppercut. #TD#
Ilmarinen has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Davito clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ilmarinen controls the action.
Ilmarinen is hanging on to Davito's back as he tries to escape.
Davito prevents Ilmarinen from getting a body triangle.
Davito covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.
Ilmarinen struggling to keep hold of the position.
Ilmarinen gets his hooks in and is throwing strikes. #ROC#Davito is rocked!
Ilmarinen missing with punches from the back. #T3#
Ilmarinen lands shots to the head and Davito turtles up! The ref has seen enough and stops the fight! This one is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:22 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen retains his middleweight title!
During a confident post fight interview, Anton Ilmarinen thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.

Event: HFC 89: Ilmarinen vs Sidorov
Date: Jul 01, 2023

#R1#
Sidorov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Sidorov goes for a double leg but Ilmarinen avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Ilmarinen continues to drive forward.
Sidorov closes this distance looking for a takedown but Ilmarinen circles away.
Anton Ilmarinen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ivan Sidorov.#CL#
Ilmarinen gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Sidorov drops down looking for an ankle pick but Ilmarinen pulls his leg out and moves away. #TD2#
Sidorov scores with a takedown into Ilmarinen's guard.
Sidorov lands a couple of digs.
Sidorov throwing strikes but missing.
Sidorov advances position into side control!
Sloppy strikes there by Sidorov.
Ilmarinen tries to bench press Sidorov off him but Sidorov keeps the position.
Ilmarinen is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Sidorov off and has taken his back!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes from the back - he gets a warning from the referee for striking the back of the head but all these shots are hurting Sidorov! #CUT#It looks like Ivan Sidorov has been cut.#T1#
Sidorov is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Sidorov keeps trying to improve his position.
Ilmarinen is throwing strikes from the back here. Oh that last one was to the back of the head. Ilmarinen gets a warning from the referee. He throws another strike to the back of the head straight away though and the referee has seen enough. He breaks up the two fighters and stands them back up. Ilmarinen gets a real talking to here and is lucky not to get a point deducted. Ilmarinen apologises and we restart here on the feet.
Sidorov misses with a takedown #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Ilmarinen won't allow Sidorov to sweep him here.
Ilmarinen works over Sidorov with some ground and pound from guard.
Ilmarinen landing some decent shots from guard.
Sidorov throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Ilmarinen content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Sidorov is working from the bottom.
Ilmarinen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ilmarinen is working Sidorov over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Sidorov keeps moving.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Ilmarinen is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound. #T2#
Ilmarinen passes into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sidorov tries to roll over but Ilmarinen keeps him under control.
Sidorov is still trying to improve position.
Ilmarinen tries to pass to full mount but Sidorov defends it.
Ilmarinen working the head and body with strikes.
Sidorov has hold of Ilmarinen's hands but Ilmarinen slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Well, if Ilmarinen is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sidorov is not content to let Ilmarinen control the position.
Sidorov tries to roll over but Ilmarinen keeps him under control.#T3#
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sidorov regains full guard. Nicely done.
Sidorov bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Ilmarinen's guard. #REVB#
Sidorov looking to pass the guard.
Ilmarinen looking for a sweep. Not yet Ilmarinen, not yet.
We've been informed that Sidorov has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Ilmarinen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ilmarinen trying to keep a closed guard but Sidorov is proving a slippery customer.
Sidorov sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Ilmarinen's guard.
Ilmarinen is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Sidorov's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Sidorov's back!#T4#
Sidorov breaks Ilmarinen's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Sidorov throws a big elbow that misses.
Sidorov throwing strikes from guard but Ilmarinen blocks nicely.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position here.
Ilmarinen trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Ilmarinen managing to control the position.
Ilmarinen keeping full guard, as Sidorov tries to pass.
Sidorov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sidorov postures up.
Sidorov landing with the ground and pound.
Sidorov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Ilmarinen works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ivan Sidorov's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!#R2#
Ilmarinen feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Sidorovs jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Ilmarinen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sidorov can do to turn this around?#TD2#
Sidorov closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Ilmarinen quickly recovers to half guard.
Ilmarinen gets back to full guard.
Sidorov throws a big elbow that misses.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sidorov accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Sidorov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ilmarinen swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Ilmarinen is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move. #REVR#
Ilmarinen working Sidorov over with strikes.
Anton Ilmarinen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sidorov on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Sidorov is looking for a sweep. Ilmarinen is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
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. Ilmarinen connects with a nice short shot to Sidorov's temple.
Ilmarinen seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sidorov is trying to get back to full guard.
Ilmarinen lands with a punch from half guard. #T1#
Ilmarinen content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Sidorov is pressing down on Ilmarinen's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Ilmarinen with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Ilmarinen stays in close to Sidorov's body and controls the position.
Ilmarinen stopping the sweep attempt from Sidorov.
Ilmarinen is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Sidorov 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.
Ilmarinen sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Ilmarinen is working Sidorov over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Ilmarinen chips away with some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen preventing the sweep.
Sidorov is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.#T2#
Ilmarinen makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Sidorov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ilmarinen 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.
Ilmarinen preventing the sweep.
Sidorov lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.#REVB#
Sidorov throws a strike but Ilmarinen rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top. #REVR#
Ilmarinen landing with the ground and pound.
Sidorov wants to sweep but no luck.
Ilmarinen pushes down on Sidorov's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Sidorov is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Ilmarinen looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sidorov is trying to get back to full guard.#T3#
Sidorov moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Ilmarinen working some strikes from top position.#CUT#That has opened up Ivan Sidorov's cut even more.
Ilmarinen is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ilmarinen preventing the sweep.
Sidorov keeping moving, preventing Ilmarinen from controlling successfully.
Ilmarinen landing with the ground and pound.
Sidorov looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ilmarinen is one step ahead there.
Ilmarinen with a nice head shot there.#CUT#Ivan Sidorov's cut is absolute horrible now. This looks like something out of a horror film with blood covering both fighters.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Ivan Sidorov's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen retains his middleweight title!
Our winner, Anton Ilmarinen, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.

Event: HFC 88: Ilmarinen vs Holly
Date: Jun 24, 2023

#R1#
Holy stuffs the takedown.
Holy tries to counter with a clinch but Ilmarinen shakes him off and moves away.
Holy moves to clinch but Ilmarinen breaks away #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Ilmarinen trying to control the pace.
Holy is trying to maintain the position but Ilmarinen is very close to passing his half guard.
Holy wants to get back to full guard.#SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Ilmarinen will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Holy trying to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen performing his best blanket impression for a moment. #SUB2#
Holy is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ilmarinen pulls his head out easily. #T1#
Ilmarinen seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Holy wants to get back to full guard but Ilmarinen has mounted him!
Holy is hanging on here. He's in a desperate position.
Ilmarinen avoids the attempt from Holy to control.#T2#
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Holy is squirming around, avoiding Ilmarinen's attempts to control the action.
Ilmarinen tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Holy tries to lock up and control but Ilmarinen gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Holy is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Ilmarinen is staying active.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ilmarinen sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Holy is trying desperately to improve position.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is having none of it.
Holy keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard. #T3#
Ilmarinen fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Ilmarinen tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Holy is having none of it.
Holy tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Holy gets back to half guard.
Holy desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Ilmarinen perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there. #T4#
Holy is not content to let Ilmarinen control the position.
Ilmarinen with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Ilmarinen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Holy keeps working.
Holy controlling the position well.
Ilmarinen passes the guard and advances to mount!
Ilmarinen controlling from mount.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Holy is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!#R2#
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen is having none of it.
Holy fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ilmarinen scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ilmarinen keeps the fight on the outside.
Ilmarinen tries to counter with a takedown but Holy is quick to defend against it.
Holy moves in looking to clinch but Ilmarinen pushes him off.
Holy takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Ilmarinen is defended easily by Holy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen is having none of it.
Ilmarinen changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Holy doesn't manage to clinch there - Ilmarinen circles away.
Ilmarinen throwing a counter right hand but Holy manages to avoid it.
Holy looks to clinch #TD#
so Ilmarinen counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility. #T1##SUB2#
Holy is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ilmarinen defends well.
Ilmarinen engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Anton Ilmarinen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Holy holds on and takes a little breather. #SUB2#
Holy working for submissions but it's allowed Ilmarinen to get to half guard.
Holy is looking to control Ilmarinen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Holy avoid being mounted?
The referee calls for the fighters to work. #T2#
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.
Holy is controlling Ilmarinen's trapped leg to prevent Ilmarinen from advancing to side control.
Ilmarinen lands with a punch from half guard.
Holy felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Holy is trying to maintain the position but Ilmarinen is very close to passing his half guard.
Ilmarinen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Holy can do to turn this around?
Ilmarinen perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Holy is trying to control but can't. #SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.
Holy manages to get to full guard.
Ilmarinen throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Holy works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ilmarinen is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long. #T3#
Holy is trying to control the position but Ilmarinen postures up. #SUB2#
Holy is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Holy keeps moving. #SUB2#
Holy is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen controls the pace of the fight for a moment.#REF3#
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Olly Holy is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Holy doesn't manage to clinch there - Ilmarinen circles away.
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen moves out of range.
Ilmarinen with a hook.#T4##TD#
Ilmarinen shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Holy pulls Ilmarinen in to control the position.
Ilmarinen content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Holy keeps moving.
Holy looking to control but Ilmarinen passes into half guard. #SUB2#
Holy looking for a kimura from the bottom but Ilmarinen passes into side control!
Holy is looking to regain half guard here but Ilmarinen keeps moving and retains side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Holy on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Holy sneaks back into half guard.
Ilmarinen missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.#R3#
Holy is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Holy doesn't manage to clinch there - Ilmarinen circles away.
Ilmarinen thuds his right hand into Holy's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen is having none of it.
Holy takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Holy tries to grapple but his opponent circles #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Ilmarinen wants to pass the guard but Holy is keeping the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.#SUB2#
Holy has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Ilmarinen can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Holy is controlling Ilmarinen's posture.#T1##SUB2#
Holy is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ilmarinen defends well.
Holy is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Holy is pulling down on Ilmarinen's head to control his posture.
Ilmarinen engaging in some classic timewasting tactics. #SUB2#
Holy escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Ilmarinen gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Holy working a defensive guard here. #T2#
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Ilmarinen engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Holy keeping moving, preventing Ilmarinen from controlling successfully.
Holy working a defensive guard here.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Holy is trying to hold Ilmarinen in close to prevent damage but Ilmarinen has managed to pass into half guard.
Holy is trying to control but can't.
Holy is looking for a sweep. Ilmarinen is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Ground and pound from Ilmarinen. #T3#
Holy trying to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Ilmarinen moves into full mount! Holy won't be happy about that!
Holy wants to hold on but Ilmarinen pushes him away.
Holy is desperately trying to get back to half guard. #T4#
Holy looks out of his depth in this position - he's holding on tight.
Ilmarinen sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Holy sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.
Holy moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Ilmarinen controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Holy trying to keep a closed guard but Ilmarinen is proving a slippery customer.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ilmarinen controlling from the top position.
Ilmarinen has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen clearly takes that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!#R4#
Ilmarinen throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Ilmarinen avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Ilmarinen fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Holy is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Ilmarinen tries to counter with a takedown but Holy is quick to defend against it.
Holy is looking to clinch.
Ilmarinen avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Ilmarinen drops down looking for a counter takedown but Holy sprawls and moves away.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ilmarinen swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen is having none of it.
Holy closes the distance but Ilmarinen moves to the side
and Holy takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles. #T1#
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ilmarinen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ilmarinen appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Holy tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ilmarinen manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Anton Ilmarinen is winning the standup battle so far.
Holy fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ilmarinen attempts a counter takedown but Holy avoids it well and moves away.
Holy tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ilmarinen manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Holy moves to clinch but Ilmarinen breaks away #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a single leg into guard. Holy didn't expect that.
Holy working a defensive guard here.
Ilmarinen passes Holy's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Ilmarinen perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Ilmarinen is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Holy!
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound effectively.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Holy is having none of it. #T2#
Ilmarinen content just to control the position here.
Holy holds of for dear life.
Holy in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head. #T3#
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound effectively.
The referee warns Holy that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Holy is looking to improve his position but Ilmarinen isn't that keen on the idea.
Ilmarinen looking to control and managing it successfully.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is having none of it.
Holy is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Ilmarinen wants to control the pace but Holy is squirming around nicely.
Ilmarinen controlling from mount. #T4#
Holy is squirming around, avoiding Ilmarinen's attempts to control the action.
Holy tries to hold on but Ilmarinen pushes him away.
Ilmarinen sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Holy is looking to get to half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen wants to control the pace but Holy is squirming around nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen had his way with Olly Holy in that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!#R5#
Holy tries to clinch up.
Ilmarinen attempts a counter takedown but Holy avoids it well and moves away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ilmarinen tries to counter with a takedown but Holy is quick to defend against it.
Ilmarinen throws a right and a left that both miss.
Ilmarinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Holy.
Holy tries to clinch there but Ilmarinen circles away.
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen is having none of it.
A counter left hand to the body from Ilmarinen misses its target.
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ilmarinen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Ilmarinen changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
A jab lands there for Ilmarinen.
Holy ducks under a wild hook from Ilmarinen.
Olly Holy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen moves out of range.
Ilmarinen changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Holy is looking to take this fight into the clinch.#T1#
Holy looks to clinch #TD#
so Ilmarinen counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Ilmarinen 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.
Ilmarinen trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet. #SUB2#
Ilmarinen got a little sloppy there for a moment and Holy has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ilmarinen has managed to get both his arms back between Holy's legs - danger averted.
Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Holy avoiding any damage from the ground and pound. #T2#
Holy trying to keep a closed guard but Ilmarinen is proving a slippery customer.
Ilmarinen is in close to Holy's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Holy controls Ilmarinen momentarily but Ilmarinen frees himself. #SUB2#
Holy is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ilmarinen defends well.
Ilmarinen looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Ilmarinen wants to pass the guard but Holy is keeping the position.#T3#
Holy seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Ilmarinen has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Ilmarinen is stalling in the full guard. #REF3#
The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Ilmarinen is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Olly Holy is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Holy fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ilmarinen throws a good cross that connects.
Holy darts in trying to clinch#TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a shoot takedown. Holy fights it but they end up in guard. #SUB2#
Holy throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Ilmarinen connects with a couple of short punches.#T4#
Holy trying to keep a closed guard but Ilmarinen is proving a slippery customer.
Ilmarinen content to stall in guard here.
Holy trying to keep a closed guard but Ilmarinen is proving a slippery customer.
Anton Ilmarinen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ilmarinen sitting in guard here, content to control. #SUB2#
Ilmarinen got a little sloppy there for a moment and Holy has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ilmarinen has managed to get both his arms back between Holy's legs - danger averted.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Holy trying to control the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anton Ilmarinen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Ilmarinen 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge William Peck scores the fight 50:44
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 50:43
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 50:43

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen retains his middleweight title!
After winning the bout, Anton Ilmarinen thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.

Event: HFC 84: Holly vs Ilmarinen
Date: May 27, 2023

#R1#
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Ilmarinen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Ilmarinen lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Ilmarinen has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Holy looks to clinch #TD2#
and Ilmarinen counters with a nice double leg into side control. Holy won't be happy with that.
Ilmarinen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Holy keeps working.
Holy is trying to control Ilmarinen's posture but Ilmarinen avoids it.
Ilmarinen trying to control the action but Holy is working from the bottom.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holy is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Holy is trying to control but Ilmarinen passes into side control!
Holy can't do much from the bottom here. #T1#
Holy is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.
Holy's coaches at BLK ELITE MASTERS have been working on his defensive grappling in preparation for this fight so let's see if he can get out of this tricky position.
Ilmarinen is looking to take a break and control but Holy is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Ilmarinen in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Holy is trying to get back to half guard.
Holy is letting Ilmarinen control him for a moment. #T2#
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Let's hope that Ilmarinen has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Ilmarinen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Holy keeps working.
Holy is looking for a sweep.
Holy trying to control but Ilmarinen flips him over like a cheap hooker and has his back!
Holy just trying to survive but Ilmarinen is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
Ilmarinen is hanging on to Holy's back as he tries to escape.
Ilmarinen is working the ground and pound. Can Holy escape?
Holy trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight. #T3#
Holy trying to control the position but Ilmarinen manages to sink in the hooks.
Holy is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Ilmarinen is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Ilmarinen scores with punches from the back.
Ilmarinen slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
Ilmarinen tries to get the hooks in deep but Holy pushed the leg off.
Ilmarinen scores with punches from the back. #T4#
Holy trying to control the hands but Ilmarinen breaks the grip.
Holy rolls, trying to escape but Ilmarinen keeps control of the position.
Good control from Ilmarinen.
Holy trying to control the action but Ilmarinen just sinks the hooks in.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen connects with a series of strikes and the referee is calling for Holy to escape the position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!#R2#
Holy tries to clinch up.
Ilmarinen with the counter takedown but Holy avoids it easily.
Holy tries to close the distance and clinch but Ilmarinen swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ilmarinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Holy.
Holy looks to clinch #TD2#
and Ilmarinen counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Holy trying to hold on to Ilmarinen's head to control him but Ilmarinen postures up. #SUB#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holy is trying to maintain the position but Ilmarinen is very close to passing his half guard.
Holy might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.#SUB#
Holy looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Ilmarinen is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.#T1#
Holy trying to control from the bottom. #SUB#
Holy is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ilmarinen pulls his head out easily. #SUB#
Holy looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Ilmarinen scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Ilmarinen trying to control the pace.
Holy is looking to control Ilmarinen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Holy avoid being mounted?#T2#
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Ilmarinen seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Ilmarinen not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ilmarinen seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Holy does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back. #REF3#
The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ilmarinen unleashes a big counter combination but Holy bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Holy fails in his attempt to clinch.
Holy uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Holy fails in his attempt to clinch. #T3#
Holy tries to clinch up but Ilmarinen circles away and keeps his distance.
Ilmarinen fails with a takedown attempt.
Holy blocks a jab.
Ilmarinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Holy.
Ilmarinen misses with a straight right.
Holy is looking to counter the offense by Ilmarinen and move into the clinch.
Holy wants to clinch up but Ilmarinen keeps it at a distance.
Holy looks to clinch #TD2#
and Ilmarinen counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Holy keeps moving.
Holy being controlled here, momentarily. #SUB#
Holy working for submissions but it's allowed Ilmarinen to get to half guard. #T4#
Holy is trying to control but Ilmarinen passes into side control!
Ilmarinen wants to control but Holy is keeping him busy.
Ilmarinen is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Holy will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Holy can't do much from the bottom here.
Holy tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Ilmarinen easily slips into full mount!
Ilmarinen wants to control the pace but Holy is squirming around nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!#R3#
Holy moves out of range as Ilmarinen strikes.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ilmarinen cracks Holy with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Holy ducks under a wild hook from Ilmarinen.
Holy steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Ilmarinen.#CL#
Holy clinches up with Ilmarinen and pushes him back against the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Holy as Ilmarinen tries to tie him up.
Holy fails to pull guard.
Ilmarinen softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Ilmarinen can't find room to land a body shot as Holy controls the action.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holy tries to pull guard but Ilmarinen holds him up against the cage and eventually Holy drops back down to his feet.
Holy jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Ilmarinen walks away with a smile on his face. Holy gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Olly Holy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A looping hook to the body misses from Ilmarinen. Holy does a little dance to reset his feet.#CL#
Holy closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage. #T1#
Holy jumps guard but Ilmarinen turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Holy blocks an uppercut.
Holy tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Holy jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Ilmarinen walks away with a smile on his face. Holy gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Ilmarinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Holy.
A big right from Ilmarinen misses.
Ilmarinen misses with a hook.
Holy displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Ilmarinen throws out the jab.
Holy looks to clinch
and Ilmarinen counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Ilmarinen, as that shot connected. #TD2#
Ilmarinen closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Ilmarinen lands in his opponent's guard.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Holy is working from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.#T2#
Ilmarinen is pushing down on Holy's leg trying to pass to half guard. Holy is fighting to maintain full guard but Ilmarinen has managed to sneak the leg through.
Ilmarinen trying to control from half guard but Holy is working away.
Ilmarinen is controlling the pace. #SUB#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.
Ilmarinen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Holy keeps working.
Ilmarinen controlling the action here.
Ilmarinen has been the more effective fighter overall so far.#T3#
Holy has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Ilmarinen is working away from the top position though.
Ilmarinen seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Holy does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Ilmarinen not doing much here.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Holy moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Holy is trying to hold Ilmarinen in close to prevent damage but Ilmarinen has managed to pass into half guard. #SUB#
Holy is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ilmarinen pulls his head out easily. #T4#
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Holy is staying active underneath Ilmarinen, who seems content to just control the action from this position. #SUB#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Ilmarinen working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Ilmarinen performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Holy is trying to control but can't.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Holy works his way to full guard. Good work.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of decent looking shots.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen really dominated that round.
That's time! Holy's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.#R4#
Holy is looking to clinch.
Holy slips a straight right by Ilmarinen.
Holy tries to clinch there but Ilmarinen circles away.
Ilmarinen misses the shot to the body.
Holy is looking to counter the offense by Ilmarinen and move into the clinch.
A looping hook to the body misses from Ilmarinen. Holy does a little dance to reset his feet.
Olly Holy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ilmarinen fails to land the takedown.
Holy tries to clinch there but Ilmarinen circles away.
Holy tries to clinch but fails miserably #TD2#
and Ilmarinen counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Ilmarinen is keen to just control but Holy is a slippery customer.
Anton Ilmarinen has got the better of the ground game so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen content to sit in half guard and control for a moment. #SUB#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.#T1##SUB#
Holy actively working from the bottom here.#SUB#
Holy looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Ilmarinen controlling the pace.
Ilmarinen working the head and body with strikes.
Ilmarinen is thwarting Holy's attempts to control the position.
Holy has hold of Ilmarinen's hands but Ilmarinen slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Ilmarinen controlling the action here.
Ilmarinen missing with some ground and pound from the half guard. #T2#
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.
Holy trying to control from the bottom. #SUB#
Holy looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Holy trying to control but Ilmarinen postures up. #SUB#
Holy looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen passes into side.
Ilmarinen controls the position.
Holy can't do much from the bottom here. #T3#
Ilmarinen has control of an arm but Holy manages to advance to Ilmarinen's back!#SUB#
Holy is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
Ilmarinen tries to break free. #SUB#
Ilmarinen is staying cool under pressure, defending well against the rear naked choke attempt from his opponent.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy.
Holy controlling well, preventing Ilmarinen from escaping the position. #T4##SUB#
Ilmarinen showing good submission defense here.
Ilmarinen prevents Holy from getting a body triangle.#SUB#
Ilmarinen preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Holy. #SUB#
Holy is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Ilmarinen has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Ilmarinen is keeping busy.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ilmarinen is in bad spot here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close fourth round but Anton Ilmarinen will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!#R5#
A swing and a miss from Ilmarinen.
Holy is looking to clinch. #TD2#
Ilmarinen gets a takedown into half guard.
Holy trying to hold on to Ilmarinen's head to control him but Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Ilmarinen wants to pass the guard but Holy is defending well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holy preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Holy is trying to control but can't. #T1#
Ilmarinen passes into side control, despite Holy's attempt to control the position.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position but Holy is working away.
Holy struggling a bit here.
Holy is not content to let Ilmarinen control the position. #T2#
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Holy gets back to half guard.#SUB#
Holy is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ilmarinen pulls his head out easily.
Holy trying to control from the bottom.
Ilmarinen passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Holy! #T3#
Ilmarinen sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Holy is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Ilmarinen wants to control the pace but Holy is squirming around nicely.
Ilmarinen tries to push Holy's head away but Holy is holding on tight.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is having none of it.#T4#
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Ilmarinen working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Holy taking shots to the head.
Holy is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound effectively.
Holy wants to hold on but Ilmarinen pushes him away.
Anton Ilmarinen is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Holy is squirming around, avoiding Ilmarinen's attempts to control the action.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is having none of it.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Olly Holy has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ilmarinen content just to control the position here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anton Ilmarinen comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Ilmarinen winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Elvis Blanc scores the fight 44:50
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 42:50
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 45:50

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen is the new middleweight champion!
A relieved looking Anton Ilmarinen thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.

Event: HFC 79: Holly vs Tintley
Date: Apr 22, 2023

#R1#
Ilmarinen throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Davito's waist but Davito gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ilmarinen off to one side.
Davito pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Ilmarinen back to the cage. Davito follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.#CUT2#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
We've been hearing reports that Ilmarinen has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Davito tries a head kick but it misses.
Ilmarinen half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.#TD#
Ilmarinen closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Davito did well to prevent Ilmarinen getting side control.
Davito missing with punches from the bottom.
Ilmarinen scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Ilmarinen is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Davito can do anything to dispel that myth.
Davito taking some punishment here, with Ilmarinen in his half guard.
Davito throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Ilmarinen 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.
Ilmarinen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Davito taking some punishment here, with Ilmarinen in his half guard.
Davito is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Still in half guard, Ilmarinen seems content to control.#T1#
Ilmarinen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears. #ROC#Davito is rocked!
Ilmarinen working over Davito with some ground and pound. Davito looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Davito is still in real trouble! Can Ilmarinen finish him?
Davito is trying to stand.
Ilmarinen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ilmarinen drops an elbow to the side of Davito's head.
Davito really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Ilmarinen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Ilmarinen is sitting in half guard. He's postured up and lands a nice elbow. Oh, Davito is hurt! He's hurt bad - Ilmarinen fires away with more strikes and the referee jumps in to save Davito from any more punishment! Congratulations to Ilmarinen! Great finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:39 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.

Event: HFC 74 - Fermi vs Hunt
Date: Mar 18, 2023

#R1#
Ilmarinen throws a body shot but no joy.
Tintley misses with a looping left.
Tintley comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Ilmarinen misses the shot to the body.
And Tintley tries to counter it with a takedown but Ilmarinen pushes his down on his head and steps out.#TD#
Ilmarinen feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Ilmarinen is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Tintley lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.#REVB#
Ilmarinen bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Tintley's guard. #REVR##SUB2#
Tintley looking for a guillotine here but Ilmarinen defends easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.#SUB2#
Tintley has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Ilmarinen can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself. #T1#
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Tintley keeps moving.
Ilmarinen lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Ilmarinen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tintley is keeping the position for now. #SUB2#
Tintley throwing his legs up looking for a triangle. #SUB2#
Tintley is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Ilmarinen definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Ilmarinen wants to pass the guard but Tintley is keeping the position.#SUB2#
Tintley working for a triangle but Ilmarinen defends it easily. #T2##SUB2#
Tintley looking for a triangle here. Ilmarinen is fighting it but it looks tight! Tintley pulls the arm across and this one won't last much longer! Nope, Ilmarinen is tapping out - this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:24 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Vinyl Tintley!
Vinyl Tintley took some time post fight to say the following; 'Anton Ilmarinen! We will see each other for a 4th time in the future! Anyways, give me a shot at the title next!!'.

Event: HFC 70 - De Rossi vs Ilmarinen
Date: Feb 19, 2023

#R1#
A swing and a miss from De Rossi.
Ilmarinen is looking to counter punch.
Ilmarinen pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Ilmarinen swings for the body but De Rossi moves out of range. #TD#
Ilmarinen closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. De Rossi did well to prevent Ilmarinen getting side control.
De Rossi is controlling Ilmarinen's position as best he can from this difficult position.
De Rossi trying to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Rossi might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Ilmarinen haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Ilmarinen slips a nice elbow through De Rossi's hands, connecting with De Rossi's forehead.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Ilmarinen in particular looking to stall.#T1#
Ilmarinen thows a huge punch but De Rossi dodges it nicely.
Ilmarinen content to control rather than advance.
Ilmarinen is thwarting De Rossi's attempts to control the position.
De Rossi has hold of Ilmarinen's hands but Ilmarinen slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Ilmarinen is figuring out what he wants to do next.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
De Rossi is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Ilmarinen scores with a couple of nice shots.#T2#
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Ilmarinen controlling the action here.
De Rossi controlling the position well.
Ilmarinen thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed De Rossi's head.
Ilmarinen slows the pace down in half guard. #REF3#
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
A big right from De Rossi misses.
Ilmarinen tries to counter with a takedown but De Rossi is quick to defend against it.#T3#
A big left from De Rossi misses.
Anton Ilmarinen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
De Rossi takes a swing at Ilmarinen's ribcage but misses.
Ilmarinen misses with a wild body shot.
De Rossi looks like he wants to counter punch here.
De Rossi scores with a jab.
A swing and a miss from De Rossi.#TD#
Ilmarinen closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Ilmarinen lands in his opponent's guard.
Ilmarinen is stalling in the full guard.
De Rossi pulls Ilmarinen in to control the position. #T4#
Ilmarinen content to stall in guard here.
Ilmarinen postures up in De Rossi's guard and throws a big left but De Rossi blocks it. #SUB2#
De Rossi looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ilmarinen's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Ilmarinen seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down De Rossi for as long as he can get away with.#REF3#
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!#R2#
De Rossi takes a jab right on the kisser.
De Rossi stuffs the takedown attempt from Ilmarinen. Ilmarinen gets slowly back to his feet.
De Rossi tries to counter with a clinch but Ilmarinen shakes him off and moves away.
Ilmarinen showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from De Rossi.
Ilmarinen swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
De Rossi doesn't manage to clinch there - Ilmarinen circles away.
Ilmarinen looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Rossi thows a left - swing and a miss!
Ilmarinen waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract De Rossi.
De Rossi is looking to clinch but Ilmarinen is avoiding it.
Ilmarinen throws out a token jab with nothing on it.#T1#
De Rossi throws the left hand but Ilmarinen avoids the punch easily.
Ilmarinen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that De Rossi can do to turn this around?
Ilmarinen misses the body punch #CL2#
and De Rossi moves into the clinch.
De Rossi is trying to pull guard but Ilmarinen has him pressed against the cage.
De Rossi is trying to pull guard but Ilmarinen has him pressed against the cage.
Ilmarinen lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of De Rossi backwards. #TD2#
De Rossi gets control of Ilmarinen's arms and successfully pulls guard. De Rossi will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Ilmarinen looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ilmarinen has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.#T2#
De Rossi preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage. #SUB2#
De Rossi is working for submissions here. He's thrown up his legs looking for a triangle but Ilmarinen frees his head nicely. Oh but De Rossi has switched to an armbar! Ilmarinen is tapping furiously! Lovely submission there!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:48 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Armbar). Giovanni De Rossi!
Giovanni De Rossi looked relieved post fight as he said the following; 'Somehow I did it again and I'm still with the 0, thanks Anton for a good fight and keep your head up high, you are a hell of a fighter'.

Event: HFC 67: Fermi vs Hunt
Date: Jan 28, 2023

#R1#
A looping hook to the body misses from Ilmarinen. Kruczek does a little dance to reset his feet.
Ilmarinen just misses with a punch to the body. #CL2#
Kruczek gets a clinch.
Kruczek has a couple of punches blocked by Ilmarinen.
Kruczek working aggressively here.
Kruczek has a couple of punches blocked by Ilmarinen.
The referee calls for Ilmarinen to work.
Ilmarinen is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Kruczek pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Ilmarinen swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Kruczek fails to land.
Ilmarinen blocking some punches.
Kruczek misses with a punch on the inside.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen stalls.
Kruczek lands a body shot.
Kruczek prevents a takedown attempt there.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ilmarinen. #T1#
Kruczek lands with a left to the head.
Ilmarinen is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anton Ilmarinen. That's going to take a lot out of him.#TD#
Ilmarinen gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Ilmarinen seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Kruczek does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Ilmarinen looks to land a strike but Kruczek avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Kruczek wants to stand up but Ilmarinen is controlling him.
Ilmarinen throws a strike but Kruczek rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top. #REVB#
Kruczek is looking to stand up but Ilmarinen won't let him.
Ilmarinen tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Ilmarinen lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.#REVR##T2#
Ilmarinen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Kruczek is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ilmarinen working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Kruczek is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Ilmarinen is controlling him.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ilmarinen working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Kruczek is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ilmarinen stands up over Kruczek, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head. #T3#
Kruczek can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Ilmarinen controls the pace.#SUB2#
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Kruczek working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Ilmarinen doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Ilmarinen manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Kruczek holds on and takes a little breather.
Ilmarinen prevents Kruczek from getting back to his feet.
Ilmarinen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ilmarinen prevents Kruczek from getting back to his feet.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.#REF3#
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.#CL2#
Kruczek takes the fight into the clinch. #T4#
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Kruczek trying to control the position but instead, Ilmarinen has worked for underhooks and has pushed Kruczek into the cage.
Kruczek wants a takedown.
Kruczek lands an uppercut.
Ilmarinen blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Kruczek letting Ilmarinen take a breather here.
Kruczek throws a punch but it's blocked by Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen can't find room to land a body shot as Kruczek controls the action.
Kruczek swings wildly with an uppercut but Ilmarinen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Kruczek blocking some punches.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen blocks an uppercut.
Kruczek doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Kruczek lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Ilmarinen backwards.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Dionizy Kruczek dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!#R2#
Kruczek looks to score with a jab to the body but Ilmarinen is just out of range.
Kruczek has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ilmarinen fails with a takedown attempt.
Kruczek tries to clinch up.
Kruczek moves to clinch but Ilmarinen breaks away #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a takedown into side control.
Ilmarinen scores with punches from side control.
Ilmarinen cracks Kruczek with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Ilmarinen scores with a couple of short elbows.
Ilmarinen definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Kruczek parries the strikes from Ilmarinen easily there. Ilmarinen is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Kruczek to escape.
Kruczek takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position but Kruczek is working away.
Ilmarinen working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards. #T1#
Kruczek is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound.
Anton Ilmarinen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ilmarinen cracks Kruczek with a big right hand but Kruczek just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Ilmarinen lands a decent elbow from side control.
Ilmarinen throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Kruczek taking punishment in the form of punches.
Ilmarinen landing a few strikes.
Kruczek is pushing Ilmarinen's head away, looking to escape. Ilmarinen manages to hold on to the position though.
You can see the frustration on Kruczek's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Kruczek is trying to escape the position but Ilmarinen is controlling the position. #T2#
Kruczek is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Ilmarinen in side control lands a decent elbow.
Kruczek is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ilmarinen cracks Kruczek with a big elbow. #T3#
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen cracks Kruczek with a big elbow.
You can see the frustration on Kruczek's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Kruczek takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Ilmarinen moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Kruczek wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!#T4#
Ilmarinen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kruczek keeps working.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kruczek is working to avoid the ground and pound but Ilmarinen connects with a decent elbow.
Sloppy strikes there by Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen slows the pace down.
Ilmarinen working the body and head with strikes.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen cracks Kruczek with a big elbow.
A lull in the action here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!#R3#
Kruczek is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Ilmarinen throws a body shot but no joy.
Kruczek's coach down at Gold Samurai's Gym was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Kruczek's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Ilmarinen keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kruczek tries to clinch up#TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Ilmarinen. #SUB2#
Kruczek is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ilmarinen is aware though and is defending well.
Ilmarinen chips away with some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen landing with the ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kruczek is looking to stand up but Ilmarinen isn't so interested in that idea. #T1##SUB2#
Kruczek working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Ilmarinen doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Ilmarinen manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Ilmarinen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Ilmarinen is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Ilmarinen stops Kruczek from standing up.
Ilmarinen with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Ilmarinen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Ilmarinen makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.#T2##SUB2#
Kruczek working for submissions but it's allowed Ilmarinen to get to half guard.
Ilmarinen is looking to take a break and control but Kruczek is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Kruczek on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ilmarinen slips a nice elbow through Kruczek's hands, connecting with Kruczek's forehead.
Ilmarinen 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.
Kruczek is trying to stand.
Ilmarinen sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Ilmarinen is nestled in close to Kruczek, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.#T3#
Kruczek taking some punishment here, with Ilmarinen in his half guard.
Kruczek is trying to stand up here but Ilmarinen is controlling him well.
Ilmarinen not doing much here.
Ilmarinen is looking to take a break and control but Kruczek is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Ilmarinen working over Kruczek with some ground and pound. Kruczek looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Ilmarinen content to control rather than advance.
Kruczek wants to get back to his feet. #T4#
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Ilmarinen wants to control but Kruczek is keeping him busy.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.#ES2#
Kruczek manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Ilmarinen looks to score with a jab to the body but Kruczek is just out of range.#CL2#
Ilmarinen gets tackled into the cage by Kruczek. Kruczek maintains the clinch.
Anton Ilmarinen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ilmarinen throws a head punch that misses.
Kruczek trying to stall but Ilmarinen improves his position.
Kruczek has Ilmarinen pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Ilmarinen manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kruczek misses with some punches. #TD2#
Kruczek jumps guard and drags Ilmarinen to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Kruczek wants to stand up but Ilmarinen is controlling him.
Dionizy Kruczek has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ilmarinen sitting in guard, not really doing much.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anton Ilmarinen showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Ilmarinen 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 Steve Smith scores the fight for Anton Ilmarinen!
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight for Anton Ilmarinen!
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight for Anton Ilmarinen!

Anton Ilmarinen wins by unanimous decision!
After winning the bout, Anton Ilmarinen thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.

Event: HFC 57: Ilmarinen vs Lake
Date: Dec 17, 2022

#R1##CL#
Ilmarinen gets a clinch.
Ilmarinen swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ilmarinen definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Ilmarinen lands a right hand that snaps the head of Lake backwards.
Ilmarinen pushes Lake back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.#TD#
Ilmarinen tightens his grip and picks Lake up, before dumping him to the ground. Lake manages to land in guard.
Ilmarinen stops Lake from standing up.
Ilmarinen working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Lake's head.
Ilmarinen stops Lake from standing up.
Lake is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Ilmarinen throws a big elbow that misses.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Lake is working from the bottom.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes but missing. #T1#
Ilmarinen scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Ilmarinen postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Lake working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ilmarinen.
Lake really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Ilmarinen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Ilmarinen stops Lake from standing up.
Ilmarinen working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Lake's head.
Lake wants to stand up but Ilmarinen is controlling him.
Ilmarinen sitting in guard, not really doing much.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Lake can do anything to dispel that myth.
Lake preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ilmarinen with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Lake wants to stand up but Ilmarinen is controlling him. #T2#
Ilmarinen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ilmarinen trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Ilmarinen content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Lake preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes but missing.
Ilmarinen throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Lake works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ilmarinen 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.
Ilmarinen throwing strikes from guard but Lake blocks nicely.
Ilmarinen postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Lake avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time. #T3#
Ilmarinen slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Ilmarinen throws a big right hand that misses.
Ilmarinen looking to sit in guard and control but Lake gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top. #REVB#
Ilmarinen trying to keep a closed guard but Lake is proving a slippery customer.
Lake must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Ilmarinen tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position.
Lake wants to stand but Ilmarinen is controlling his posture from full guard.
Ilmarinen looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it. #T4#
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ilmarinen trying to strike off his back.
Ilmarinen not looking particularly offensive just at the moment. #REF3#
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Lake misses with a hook.
Lake looks to land a combination. Ilmarinen sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.#CUT2#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
Lake jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Lake scores with a jab. Ilmarinen acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Lake misses the shot to the body.
Ilmarinen takes a swing at Lake's ribcage but misses.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Anton Ilmarinen's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!#R2#
Lake scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Ilmarinen doesn't seem bothered though.
Ilmarinen misses with a jab to the body
letting Lake counter with a right hand.
Ilmarinen throws a right hand that misses
letting Lake counter with a right hand. #ROC2#Ilmarinen is rocked!
Ilmarinen slips under a jab.
Ilmarinen uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Decent striking displayed by Lake there.
Oh Ilmarinen is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Lake slaps away a takedown attempt from Ilmarinen, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Ilmarinen seems to have got his legs back now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen throws a right hand that Lake ducks under and follows up with a left that Lake also avoids with ease.
Lake looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Lake is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Ilmarinen. #TD#
Ilmarinen scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground. #T1#
Lake tries to kick Ilmarinen off but Ilmarinen keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Lake on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ilmarinen not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ilmarinen sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Lake defending well though.
Still in half guard, Ilmarinen seems content to control.
Lake felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Ilmarinen trying to control from half guard but Lake is working away.
Lake keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Ilmarinen trying to control from Lake's half guard. Lake has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Lake keeps moving. #T2#
Ilmarinen is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Ilmarinen working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen throws a big right hand that misses.
Ilmarinen distracts Lake with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Lake working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Ilmarinen.
Lake is looking to stand back up but Ilmarinen counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Lake.
Ilmarinen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Lake can do to turn this around?
Lake is refusing to be controlled, as Ilmarinen sits in half guard.
Ilmarinen thows a huge punch but Lake dodges it nicely. #T3#
Ilmarinen working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Ilmarinen wants to take a breather but Lake is having none of it.
Lake wants to get back to his feet.
Ilmarinen throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Ilmarinen takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Ilmarinen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Ilmarinen sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Ilmarinen works his way into side control.
Ilmarinen working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards. #T4#
Ilmarinen prevents Lake from escaping the position.
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound from side control.
Ilmarinen misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Ilmarinen is chipping away with strikes.
Lake wants to get back to his feet.
Ilmarinen landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Ilmarinen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Lake keeps working.
Lake wants to get back to his feet.
Ilmarinen controlling the position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Anton Ilmarinen's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!#R3#
Ilmarinen throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Ilmarinen misses the jab.
Lake looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Lake swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Ilmarinen keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Lake.
Lake cracks Ilmarinen with an open hand slap.
Jab from Lake.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Lake.
Lake misses with a lunging right hand #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a nice double leg into side control. Lake won't be happy with that.
Lake is not content to let Ilmarinen control the position. #T1#
Check out the look on Ilmarinen's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Lake tries to escape but Ilmarinen is in control.
Ilmarinen moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Lake takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain. #ES2#
Lake throws Ilmarinen to one side and escapes!
Lake works the jab nicely.#T2#
Lake lands a glancing blow to the side of Ilmarinen's head.
Lake keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ilmarinen throws a body shot but no joy.
Lake looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Ilmarinen moves away from the strike by Lake.
Ilmarinen looks to land a right hand but Lake moved out of range.
Ilmarinen has a takedown stuffed.
Lake might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Lake misses with an uppercut #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ilmarinen throws a big elbow that misses.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ilmarinen scores with a decent looking elbow strike.#ES2#
Lake has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Ilmarinen has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.#T3##BC2#
Lake escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
The fighters circling - Lake throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Ilmarinen cracks Lake with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Ilmarinen lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Lake circles away quickly and effectively.
Lake rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Ilmarinen counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Lake keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Lake! But no joy.
Lake loads up on a big right hand but Ilmarinen slips the punch.
Lake stuffs the takedown.
Cody Lake seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A punch lands to the side of Ilmarinen 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Lake takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.#T4#
Lake swings wildly with a couple of big hooks #TD#
so Ilmarinen counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Lake wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Ilmarinen manages to pass to side control.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.#REVB#
Ilmarinen is trying to control. Lake wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Ilmarinen working the head and body with strikes.
Anton Ilmarinen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Lake on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ilmarinen landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Ilmarinen performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Anton Ilmarinen.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ilmarinen, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Trevor Gratis scores the fight for Anton Ilmarinen!
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight for Anton Ilmarinen!
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight for Anton Ilmarinen!

Anton Ilmarinen wins by unanimous decision!
Anton Ilmarinen seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.
The defeated Cody Lake had this to say: 'Sometimes I have a bad night. It happens. I’m always here to impress and i’ll be back very soon.'.

Event: HFC 50: Ilmarinen vs Holly
Date: Nov 19, 2022

#R1#
Ilmarinen fails with a takedown attempt.
Holy tries to counter by closing the distance.#TD#
Ilmarinen bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Ilmarinen definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Ilmarinen moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Holy struggling a bit here.
Holy felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position but Holy is working away.
Holy isn't going anywhere.
You can see the frustration on Holy's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Holy struggling a bit here.#T1#
Ilmarinen slows the pace down.
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen working away.
Ilmarinen misses with the ground and pound.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
You can see the frustration on Holy's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Holy tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Holy struggling a bit here.
A lull in the action here.
Holy struggling a bit here.#T2#
Holy holding on.
Ilmarinen working away.
Holy tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Ilmarinen wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Ilmarinen taking a breather here.
Ilmarinen scoring with punches from side control.
Ilmarinen lands an elbow.
Ilmarinen working away.
Check out the look on Ilmarinen's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter! #T3#
A bit of a lull in the action here.
Holy sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Holy is staying active underneath Ilmarinen, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Ilmarinen landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Ilmarinen is looking to take a break and control but Holy is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Holy trying to control from the bottom.
Ilmarinen trying to control the action but Holy is working from the bottom.
Ilmarinen working the head and body with strikes.
Ilmarinen controlling the action here.
Holy is trying to control but can't. #T4#
Holy is refusing to be controlled, as Ilmarinen sits in half guard.
Holy trying to control from the bottom.
Holy moves into full guard.
Ilmarinen stays in close to Holy's body and controls the position. #SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Ilmarinen passes into half guard.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy.
Ilmarinen trying to control the action but Holy is working from the bottom. #SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.#SUB2#
Holy is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ilmarinen pulls his head out easily. #T5#
Ilmarinen is pressing down on Holy's thigh, looking to free his foot. Holy is holding on for now.
Holy is looking to control Ilmarinen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Holy avoid being mounted?#SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Holy trying to control here.
Ilmarinen looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy. #T6#
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ilmarinen lands a nice short elbow.
Holy is not content to let Ilmarinen control the position.#SUB2#
Holy looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Ilmarinen is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Holy!
Ilmarinen content just to control the position here.
Holy gets back to half guard.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy.
Ilmarinen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Holy is trying to control but can't.
Ilmarinen will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Ilmarinen is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.#T7#
Holy preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Ilmarinen slows the pace down in half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ilmarinen is looking to take a break and control but Holy is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom. #SUB2#
Holy looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Holy is positioning himself well to prevent Ilmarinen advancing to mount. #T8#
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Ilmarinen wants to control but Holy is keeping him busy.
Ilmarinen takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Holy trying to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.#REF3#
The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Holy fails with an attempt to clinch.
Olly Holy is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Ilmarinen darts in looking for a takedown but Holy gets double underhooks and turns Ilmarinen into the cage.
Holy wants to counter the offense by Ilmarinen and move into the clinch position.
Holy jumps guard but Ilmarinen stands there with Holy around his waist. Holy gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Holy is trying to pull guard but Ilmarinen turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Ilmarinen can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anton Ilmarinen. That's going to take a lot out of him.#TD2#
Holy jumps guard.
Ilmarinen is pushing down on Holy's leg trying to pass to half guard. Holy is fighting to maintain full guard but Ilmarinen has managed to sneak the leg through.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy and won't allow it. #SUB2#
Holy actively working from the bottom here.#T9#
Well, if Ilmarinen is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Holy is controlling Ilmarinen's trapped leg to prevent Ilmarinen from advancing to side control.#SUB2#
Holy actively working from the bottom here.
Holy is trying to control but can't.
Well, if Ilmarinen is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!#SUB2#
Holy with the active half guard here but Ilmarinen passes nicely into side control.
Ilmarinen is staying tight to Holy's torso, preventing him from escaping.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.#R2#
Ilmarinen fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.#TD#
Ilmarinen gets the takedown into side control.
Ilmarinen wants to control but Holy is keeping him busy.
Ilmarinen working away.
Holy is looking for a sweep.
Holy struggling a bit here.
Ilmarinen creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen landing strikes.
Holy tries to improve position but can't.
You can see the frustration on Holy's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.#T1#
Holy manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Ilmarinen is trying is best to control the position here.
Anton Ilmarinen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.#SUB2#
Ilmarinen is defending against the submission attempts here by Holy. #SUB2#
Holy is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there. #T2#
Ilmarinen regains full guard. Nicely done.
Holy trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Ilmarinen wants to sweep here but Holy controlling him for the moment. #SUB2#
Holy postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Ilmarinen is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Holy, into his guard. #REVR##T3#
Ilmarinen lands a couple of elbows.#SUB2#
Holy is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling. #SUB2#
Holy is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle. #SUB2#
Holy is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ilmarinen defends well.
Ilmarinen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Holy can do to turn this around?#T4#
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Ilmarinen controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Ilmarinen makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.#SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Ilmarinen passes into side control.
You can see the frustration on Holy's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Ilmarinen is working Holy over with some ground and pound from side control.
Holy tries to improve position but can't.
Ilmarinen is looking to take a break and control but Holy is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom. #T5#
Ilmarinen scores with punches from side control.
Ilmarinen working the body and head with strikes.
Holy isn't going anywhere.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen looks up at the clock and then as Holy takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Ilmarinen smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Ilmarinen working away.
Ilmarinen wants to stand but Holy is controlling his arm.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
Holy tries to improve position but can't.
Ilmarinen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Holy keeps working. #T6#
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen controlling the position.
Holy is trying to control Ilmarinen's posture but Ilmarinen avoids it.
Ilmarinen is staying tight to Holy's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Ilmarinen wants to control but Holy is keeping him busy.
Ilmarinen in side control lands a decent elbow.
Holy struggling a bit here.
Ilmarinen lands an elbow. #T7#
Ilmarinen moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Ilmarinen lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Holy can't do much from the bottom here.
Holy is not content to let Ilmarinen control the position.
Holy can't do much from the bottom here.
Holy tries to get back to half guard but can't.#T8#
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Holy manages to get back to half guard.
Ilmarinen seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Holy trying to control from the bottom.
Ilmarinen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen passes into side.
Ilmarinen wants to control but Holy is keeping him busy.
Holy can't do much from the bottom here. #T9#
Ilmarinen moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position but Holy is working away.
Ilmarinen working away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.#R3#
Holy wants to clinch.
Ilmarinen darts in looking for a takedown but Holy gets double underhooks and turns Ilmarinen into the cage.
Ilmarinen drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Holy gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Ilmarinen looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anton Ilmarinen. That's going to take a lot out of him.#TD2#
Holy pulls guard effortlessly. #SUB2#
Holy is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Holy is trying to keep Ilmarinen in close.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.#SUB2#
Ilmarinen got a little sloppy there for a moment and Holy has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ilmarinen has managed to get both his arms back between Holy's legs - danger averted.
Ilmarinen working some strikes from top position.#T1##SUB2#
Holy is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ilmarinen defends well.
Ilmarinen is working Holy over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Holy is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.#SUB2#
Holy has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Ilmarinen is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Holy.
Ilmarinen working away.
Holy is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Ilmarinen is staying active.
Holy is trying to escape the position but Ilmarinen is controlling the position.
You can see the frustration on Holy's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.#T2#
Ilmarinen wants to stand but Holy has his arm trapped.
Holy is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Holy is trying to escape the position but Ilmarinen is controlling the position.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen postures up.#T3#
Ilmarinen scoring with punches from side control.
Ilmarinen working away.
Holy is not content to let Ilmarinen control the position. #REF3#
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Holy slaps away a takedown attempt from Ilmarinen, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ilmarinen gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily #CL2#
and Holy counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Holy is trying to pull guard but Ilmarinen turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Holy tries to pull guard but Ilmarinen forces him back to his feet, against the cage.#TD2#
Holy drags the fight down to the ground.
Holy is trying to keep Ilmarinen in close.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of decent looking shots.#T4#
Ilmarinen showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Ilmarinen trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Holy seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Holy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Holy controls Ilmarinen momentarily but Ilmarinen frees himself.
Holy is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Holy keeping full guard, as Ilmarinen tries to pass.
Ilmarinen stays in close to Holy's body and controls the position. #REF3#
The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.#T5#
Holy wants to clinch.
Ilmarinen shoots in for a takedown but Holy shows good takedown defense.
Ilmarinen sets himself, and Holy steps forward looking for the clinch! Ilmarinen avoids it this time.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holy looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Ilmarinen shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Holy pinned against the cage. Holy gets the underhooks and manages to circle away. #TD#
Ilmarinen drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Holy tries to buck Ilmarinen off but Ilmarinen is having none of it.
Ilmarinen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Holy keeps working.
Holy tries to bench press Ilmarinen off him but Ilmarinen keeps the position. #T6#
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
Holy sneaks back into half guard.
Holy trying to control from the bottom. #SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.
Holy trying to hold on to Ilmarinen's head to control him but Ilmarinen postures up.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Ilmarinen in particular looking to stall.
Holy wants to improve his position but Ilmarinen is controlling well. #T7#
Holy trying to control from the bottom.
Ilmarinen is trying to control. Holy wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Ilmarinen controlling the action here. #REF3#
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Ilmarinen tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Holy swivels and escapes.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Olly Holy is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ilmarinen goes for a double leg but Holy avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Holy continues to drive forward.
Holy steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Ilmarinen.#TD2#
Holy successfully pulls guard.
Holy keeping moving, preventing Ilmarinen from controlling successfully.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ilmarinen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand. #SUB2#
Holy had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Ilmarinen defends it easily.#SUB2#
Holy has his foot on Ilmarinen's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Ilmarinen works his way back into a safe position though.#T8#
Holy is trying to keep Ilmarinen in close.
Holy is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Holy keeping moving, preventing Ilmarinen from controlling successfully.
Holy wants to control the position but Ilmarinen says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Ilmarinen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy.
Holy is looking for a sweep. Ilmarinen is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.#SUB2#
Holy is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ilmarinen pulls his head out easily.
Ilmarinen sitting and controlling from the half guard. #T9#
Ilmarinen tries to pass the half guard into mount. Holy knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Holy is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Ilmarinen scores with a couple of nice shots.
Ilmarinen looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Holy wants to get back to full guard but Ilmarinen has passed into side control.
Holy is letting Ilmarinen control him for a moment.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ilmarinen trying to control the position but Holy is working away.
Holy is holding Ilmarinen down, trying to stall.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen clearly takes that round.
That's time! Ilmarinen's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.#R4#
Ilmarinen changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Holy tries to avoid it but Ilmarinen manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Holy to the ground. Holy escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Holy is looking to clinch but Ilmarinen is avoiding it.
Ilmarinen changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Holy tries to avoid it but Ilmarinen manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Holy to the ground. Holy escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ilmarinen has a takedown stuffed.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anton Ilmarinen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Holy doesn't manage to clinch there - Ilmarinen circles away.
Holy wants to clinch up but Ilmarinen keeps it at a distance.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt.
Ilmarinen shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Holy defends it nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holy is looking to clinch but Ilmarinen is avoiding it.
Holy tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ilmarinen manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Horrible takedown attempt by Ilmarinen or perhaps it was just good defense by Holy, which made it look bad.
Holy tries to counter with a clinch but Ilmarinen shakes him off and moves away.
Holy tries to clinch up.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Holy fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ilmarinen swats away the attempt to clinch by Holy.#T1#
Holy tries to clinch but Ilmarinen is having none of it.
Ilmarinen changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Holy tries to avoid it but Ilmarinen manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Holy to the ground. Holy escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet. #TD#
Ilmarinen looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Holy is looking to control Ilmarinen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Holy avoid being mounted?
Ilmarinen prevents Holy from improving his position.
Holy trying to control but Ilmarinen postures up. #SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.#T2#
Ilmarinen is trying to control. Holy wants to improve his position but can't escape this time. #SUB2#
Holy is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ilmarinen pulls his head out easily. #SUB2#
Holy actively working from the bottom here.
Holy trying to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ilmarinen lands a nice short elbow.
Ilmarinen scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Still in half guard, Ilmarinen seems content to control.#SUB2#
Holy looking for subs from the bottom but Ilmarinen mounts him!#T3#
Holy tries to hold on but Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen landing strikes, looking to finish!
Holy is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Ilmarinen sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Holy is trying desperately to improve position.
Ilmarinen takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.#T4#
Ilmarinen prevents Holy from getting the reversal.
Holy is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Holy is squirming around, avoiding Ilmarinen's attempts to control the action.
Holy can't escape the position.
Ilmarinen tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Holy tries to hold on but Ilmarinen postures up.
Holy is wriggling around trying to escape.
Ilmarinen tries to control but Holy wriggling away. #T5#
Ilmarinen working Holy over with strikes here.
Holy is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Holy is in all sorts of trouble here.
Holy is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Holy is having none of it.
Holy is looking to get to half guard.
Ilmarinen controlling the pace for now.
Ilmarinen avoids the attempt from Holy to control.#T6#
Ilmarinen pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Ilmarinen connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Holy tries to lock up and control but Ilmarinen gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Holy is bucking up trying to escape but Ilmarinen cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Ilmarinen landing strikes, looking to finish!
Ilmarinen dominating with strikes here.
Holy wants to hold on but Ilmarinen pushes him away.
Holy takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.#T7#
Holy slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Ilmarinen scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Ilmarinen controlling the pace.
Holy trying to hold on to Ilmarinen's head to control him but Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen slows the pace down in half guard. #SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy.
Ilmarinen takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.#T8#
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.#SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.
Well, if Ilmarinen is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Holy is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Ilmarinen jumps into side control!
Holy manages to work his way to half guard, despite Ilmarinen's best efforts.
Holy trying to control here.
Nice strikes from Ilmarinen there.
Ilmarinen content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Holy works his way to full guard. Good work.#T9#
Holy is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.#SUB2#
Holy working for a triangle but Ilmarinen defends it easily. #SUB2#
Ilmarinen avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Ilmarinen controlling from the top position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Holy holds on and takes a little breather.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen had his way with Olly Holy in that 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!#R5#
Holy stuffs the takedown attempt from Ilmarinen. Ilmarinen gets slowly back to his feet.
Holy wants to counter the offense by Ilmarinen and move into the clinch position.
Holy tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ilmarinen manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Ilmarinen looks for a takedown but Holy sprawls well.
Holy tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nice sprawl there from Holy as Ilmarinen shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anton Ilmarinen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Holy is looking to clinch but Ilmarinen is avoiding it. #CL2#
Holy darts in and clinches Ilmarinen up against the cage.
Holy fails to pull guard. #TD2#
Holy pulls guard.
Holy keeping moving, preventing Ilmarinen from controlling successfully.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Ilmarinen with a flurry of punches that miss. #SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening. #T1##SUB2#
Ilmarinen avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Holy working a defensive guard but Ilmarinen passes into half guard.
Holy keeping hold of Ilmarinen's head, controlling as best he can. #SUB2#
Holy is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ilmarinen pulls his head out easily.
Holy taking some punishment here, with Ilmarinen in his half guard.
Ilmarinen with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Holy wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy.
Ilmarinen not doing much here. #T2##SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions off his back.
Ilmarinen seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Ilmarinen looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Holy with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Holy is trying to control but can't.
Nice strikes from Ilmarinen there.
Holy controlling the position for now.
Ilmarinen is trying to control the action in half guard but Holy is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard. #T3##SUB2#
Holy looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Ilmarinen controlling the action here. #SUB2#
Holy has hold of a guillotine but he's not going to be able to crank on it really with only half guard, so it's no trouble for Ilmarinen. Oh but Holy has got full guard now! Oh boy! This one could be over very soon! Ilmarinen goes limp - he's gone! Holy jumps up and celebrates with the crowd - fantastic submission finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:37 of round 5, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Olly Holy!
Olly Holy is the new middleweight champion!
Olly Holy thanked the fans post fight for their support.

Event: HFC 43: Ilmarinen vs Babula
Date: Oct 23, 2022

#R1#
Babula scores with a hook.
Babula throws an overhand right that lands on Ilmarinen's shoulder, as Ilmarinen tries to avoid the shot.
Ilmarinen looks to score with a jab to the body but Babula is just out of range.
Babula misses with a hook. Ilmarinen ducked under it nicely.
Ilmarinen is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Babula.
A cross from Babula lands.#CUT2#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
Babula throws a shot from downtown. Ilmarinen moves away and avoids it.
Babula doesn't manage to clinch there - Ilmarinen circles away.
Ilmarinen looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.#TD#
Ilmarinen shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Babula's guard.
Ilmarinen makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Ilmarinen throws a big right hand that misses.
Ilmarinen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ilmarinen stands up over Babula, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Babula wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Babula avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.#T1#
Ilmarinen lands an elbow.
Ilmarinen taking a breather here.
Babula wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Ilmarinen is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Babula will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Ilmarinen prevents Babula from escaping the position.
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Babula wants to get back to his feet but Ilmarinen drags him back down.
Ilmarinen is staying tight to Babula's torso, preventing him from escaping. #T2#
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position but Babula is working away.
Ilmarinen grinds an elbow into Babula's temple.
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound from side control.
Babula is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Ilmarinen has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Babula takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Ilmarinen is putting a hurting on Babula here, landing some big shots from side control.
Babula is not content to let Ilmarinen control the position.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Ilmarinen landing a few strikes.
Babula is trying to buck Ilmarinen off.#T3#
Ilmarinen working the head with strikes.
Ilmarinen 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.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position but Babula is working away.
Babula is pushing Ilmarinen's head away, looking to escape. Ilmarinen manages to hold on to the position though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Babula is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Babula takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well. #ROC#Babula is rocked!
Babula is trying to get back to his feet.
Babula is still in real trouble! Can Ilmarinen finish him?
Ilmarinen taking a breather here.
Babula seems to have recovered his senses.
Ilmarinen working the body and head with strikes.
Ilmarinen scoring with punches from side control. #T4#
Ilmarinen slows the pace down.
Babula is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Ilmarinen asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Ilmarinen working the head with strikes.
Ilmarinen grinds an elbow into Babula's temple.
Babula is trying to buck Ilmarinen off.
Ilmarinen lands a few punches from side control.
Ilmarinen scores with a big shot from side control... and another... and another! Oh Babula is done here - save him referee! More strikes land and eventually the ref does step in and Ilmarinen can finally stop beating on his defenseless opponent!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5:58 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen retains his middleweight title!
A victorious Anton Ilmarinen thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.

Event: HFC 36: Ilmarinen vs Tintley 2
Date: Sep 25, 2022

#R1##TD#
Ilmarinen shoots in and gets a takedown into Tintley's guard.
Ilmarinen's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Ilmarinen stands up over Tintley, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Tintley keeps moving.
Tintley seems keen to control Ilmarinen's posture.
Ilmarinen working some strikes from top position.
Ilmarinen is stalling in the full guard.
Ilmarinen keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Tintley's head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tintley controls Ilmarinen momentarily but Ilmarinen frees himself.
Ilmarinen with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Ilmarinen wants to pass the guard but Tintley is keeping the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.#T1##SUB2#
Tintley is active off his back here, looking for submissions. #SUB2#
Tintley has his foot on Ilmarinen's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Ilmarinen works his way back into a safe position though.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Tintley not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ilmarinen is pushing down on Tintley's leg trying to pass to half guard. Tintley is fighting to maintain full guard but Ilmarinen has managed to sneak the leg through.
Tintley is looking to control Ilmarinen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Tintley avoid being mounted?
Ilmarinen looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Ilmarinen seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime. #T2#
Well, if Ilmarinen is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Ilmarinen is thwarting Tintley's attempts to control the position.
Ilmarinen landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Ilmarinen is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Ilmarinen's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.#T3#
Tintley keeping hold of Ilmarinen's head, controlling as best he can.
Ilmarinen seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Ilmarinen is pressing down on Tintley's thigh, looking to free his foot. Tintley is holding on for now.
Tintley tries to roll over but Ilmarinen keeps him under control.
Tintley has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Tintley wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Ilmarinen seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Tintley does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Ilmarinen definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.#SUB2#
Tintley is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ilmarinen pulls his head out easily.
Tintley is trying to control but can't.
Ilmarinen trying to control the action but Tintley is working from the bottom.
Tintley trying to control but Ilmarinen postures up. #T4#
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Ilmarinen trying to pass the guard but Tintley defending well.
Ilmarinen looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Tintley is looking to control Ilmarinen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Tintley avoid being mounted?#REF3#
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Ilmarinen moves away from the strike by Tintley. #TD#
Ilmarinen closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Tintley quickly recovers to half guard.
Ilmarinen lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Ilmarinen controlling the pace.
Ilmarinen lands with a punch from half guard.
Tintley trying to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen tries to pass to full mount but Tintley defends it. #T5#
Ilmarinen is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Further stalling from Ilmarinen.
Tintley is looking for a sweep. Ilmarinen is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Tintley trying to control from the bottom.
Ilmarinen working the head and body with strikes.
Ilmarinen working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Tintley trying to hold on to Ilmarinen's head to control him but Ilmarinen postures up.
Tintley is refusing to be controlled, as Ilmarinen sits in half guard.
Tintley wants to control the action here but instead Ilmarinen manages to pass to full mount! #T6#
Ilmarinen punishing his opponent with strikes.
Tintley wants to hold on but Ilmarinen pushes him away.
Ilmarinen breaks from Tintley's wrist control and lands an elbow. #ROC#Tintley is rocked!
Ilmarinen sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Ilmarinen scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Tintley is still in real trouble! Can Ilmarinen finish him?
Ilmarinen controlling from the full mount.
Tintley manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Tintley seems to have recovered his senses.
Ilmarinen is trying to control the action in half guard but Tintley is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ilmarinen stalling.
Ilmarinen drops an elbow to the side of Tintley's head. #T7#
Tintley keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Ilmarinen lands with a punch from half guard.
Tintley trying to control but Ilmarinen postures up.
Ilmarinen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Tintley wants to improve his position but Ilmarinen is controlling well.
Ilmarinen lands strikes from half guard.
Ilmarinen scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Ilmarinen scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Nice strikes from Ilmarinen there. #T8#
Ilmarinen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen lands a massive shot from half guard that has rocked Tintley! More strikes land and this one is all over! Ilmarinen jumps to his feet and is applauded loudly by the crowd!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 8:25 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen retains his middleweight title!
Anton Ilmarinen decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.

Event: HFC 29: Ilmarinen vs Jackson
Date: Aug 27, 2022

#R1##TD#
Jackson gets caught napping as Ilmarinen dives in and scores a takedown. Jackson manages to retain guard.
Ilmarinen 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. #SUB2#
Jackson looking for a guillotine here but Ilmarinen defends easily. #SUB2#
Jackson throwing his legs up looking for a triangle. #SUB2#
Ilmarinen avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Our spies down at at Next Level MMA inform us that Jackson has really been working on his submissions in the buildup to this fight. Will it pay off?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.#SUB2#
Ilmarinen got a little sloppy there for a moment and Jackson has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ilmarinen has managed to get both his arms back between Jackson's legs - danger averted.
Jackson wants to sweep here but Ilmarinen controlling him for the moment.
Ilmarinen trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Jackson manages to land a sweep and now he's on top! #REVB##T1#
Jackson wants to control from the top but Ilmarinen keeps moving.
Ilmarinen definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Ilmarinen might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Ilmarinen 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.
Jackson is stalling in the full guard.
Jackson wants to control from the top but Ilmarinen keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ilmarinen 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.#T2#
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Jackson is stalling in the full guard.
Jackson trying to control but Ilmarinen is working from the bottom.
Jackson 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.
Ilmarinen has Jackson pulled in close to control his posture.
Jackson wants to control from the top but Ilmarinen keeps moving. #REF3#
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.#T3#
Ilmarinen shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Jackson but Jackson pushes him off and we're back to square one.#TD#
Ilmarinen gets a takedown into half guard.#SUB2#
Jackson is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ilmarinen pulls his head out easily.
Ilmarinen landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Ilmarinen stalling.
Jackson works his way to full guard. Good work.
Jackson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ilmarinen is one step ahead there. #SUB2#
Jackson is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Jackson is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.#T4##SUB2#
Jackson is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ilmarinen defends well.
Ilmarinen chips away with some ground and pound.#SUB2#
Jackson looking for subs off his back but Ilmarinen has passed one foot through into half guard. #SUB2#
Jackson looking for submissions off his back.
Jackson works his way to full guard. Good work.#SUB2#
Jackson has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Ilmarinen can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself. #T5#
Ilmarinen stays in close to Jackson's body and controls the position.
Ilmarinen is pushing down on Jackson's leg trying to pass to half guard. Jackson is fighting to maintain full guard but Ilmarinen has managed to sneak the leg through.#SUB2#
Jackson looking for subs from the bottom but Ilmarinen mounts him!
Ilmarinen scoring with strikes but Jackson is staying in there.
Ilmarinen landing shots from mount. #ROC#Jackson is rocked!
Ilmarinen postures up and connects with a big shot that has rocked Jackson badly. He's trying desperately to grab hold of Ilmarinen around the waist but Ilmarinen pushes him off and unloads with more strikes, forcing the referee to jump in and save him! Ilmarinen is the winner by TKO! Ilmarinen jumps onto the cage and shouts into the camera. "We did it momma!"

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5:56 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen retains his middleweight title!
After winning the bout, Anton Ilmarinen thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.

Event: HFC 18: Justice vs Armando
Date: Jul 21, 2022

#R1##TD2#
Chimaev shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Chimaev working over Ilmarinen with some ground and pound. Ilmarinen looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Ilmarinen keeping hold of Chimaev's head, controlling as best he can.
Chimaev wants to control but Ilmarinen is keeping him busy.
Chimaev thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Ilmarinen's head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen is looking to control Chimaev's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Ilmarinen avoid being mounted?
Ilmarinen tries to roll over but Chimaev keeps him under control.
Ground and pound from Chimaev. #T1#
Ilmarinen trying to control from the bottom.
Chimaev thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Ilmarinen's head.
Ilmarinen is trying to maintain the position but Chimaev is very close to passing his half guard.
Ilmarinen on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Ilmarinen tries to get out of the position.
Chimaev thows a huge punch but Ilmarinen dodges it nicely.
Ilmarinen is looking to improve his position.
Ilmarinen is pressing down on Chimaev's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ilmarinen looking to control.
Chimaev trying to control but Ilmarinen is working from the bottom.
Ilmarinen avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen 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 must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.#T2#
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ilmarinen trying to keep a closed guard but Chimaev is proving a slippery customer. #REF3#
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Ilmarinen circles away from the clinch attempt#TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Chimaev lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.#REVB#
Ilmarinen manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Chimaev manages to get himself to full guard. #REVR#
Ilmarinen trying to control but Chimaev is working from the bottom.
Ilmarinen working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage. #T3#
Ilmarinen trying to control but Chimaev is working from the bottom.
Chimaev looking for a sweep. Not yet Chimaev, not yet.
Ilmarinen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ilmarinen looking to sit in guard and control but Chimaev gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top. #REVB#
Ilmarinen wants to sweep here but Chimaev controlling him for the moment.
Ilmarinen lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.#REVR#
Ilmarinen definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Ilmarinen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Chimaev utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound. #T4#
Chimaev utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Chimaev keeps moving.
Ilmarinen landing with the ground and pound.
Chimaev preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Chimaev is working from the bottom.
Ilmarinen is in close to Chimaev's body, working some short punches and elbows.#T5#
Ilmarinen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Chimaev controls Ilmarinen momentarily but Ilmarinen frees himself.
Ilmarinen is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Ilmarinen with a flurry of punches that miss.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ilmarinen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Chimaev is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage. #REF3#
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Ilmarinen looks to land a left hand but Chimaev moved out of range nicely.
Chimaev tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.#T6#
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
A jab from Ilmarinen finds it's way through Chimaev's defenses.
Ilmarinen throws a lazy right hand but Chimaev sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Chimaev fails with the takedown.
Ilmarinen throws a hook but Chimaev avoids it easily.
Nice defenses there by Chimaev.
Ilmarinen misses with a wild body shot.
Chimaev circles away from the clinch attempt
letting Chimaev counter with a right hand.
Chimaev moves in looking to clinch but Ilmarinen pushes him off.
Ilmarinen goes for a double leg but Chimaev avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Chimaev continues to drive forward.
Ilmarinen tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Chimaev's elbow.
Chimaev goes for a takedown in the clinch but Ilmarinen prevents it. #T7#
Ilmarinen can't get the takedown.
Ilmarinen is struggling to control the position.
Ilmarinen manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Chimaev gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Ilmarinen.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anton Ilmarinen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ilmarinen leaning his opponent against the cage.#T8#
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Ilmarinen is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Chimaev tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Ilmarinen smiles and moves away.
Chimaev looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Ilmarinen is fending him off so far but Chimaev persists. Nope, Ilmarinen circles away and we're back to standing.
Nice takedown defense from Ilmarinen. No joy for Chimaev on that attempt.
Chimaev slips under a jab from Ilmarinen.#TD#
Ilmarinen gets a double leg takedown into Chimaev's guard.
Chimaev utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Chimaev wants to sweep here but Ilmarinen controlling him for the moment.
Ilmarinen controlling from the top position.
Ilmarinen throws an elbow that misses. Chimaev uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ilmarinen's guard. Nice move by Chimaev!#REVB##T9#
Ilmarinen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Chimaev throwing strikes but missing.
Chimaev must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Ilmarinen tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Ilmarinen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen looking to hit a scissor sweep but Chimaev is one step ahead there.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Chimaev trying to control but Ilmarinen is working from the bottom.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.#R2#
Ilmarinen shoots for a takedown but Chimaev saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Chimaev fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Chimaev keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Ilmarinen.
Anton Ilmarinen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ilmarinen misses with a body shot.
A big right from Ilmarinen misses.
Chimaev shoots in but Ilmarinen avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Chimaev darts in looking for a takedown but Ilmarinen gets double underhooks and turns Chimaev into the cage.
Ilmarinen tries to counter with a takedown but Chimaev is quick to defend against it.
Anton Ilmarinen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Khamzat Chimaev.
Ilmarinen throws a hook but Chimaev blocks it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Chimaev fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ilmarinen misses with an uppercut
and Chimaev counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Ilmarinen goes for a double leg but Chimaev avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Chimaev continues to drive forward.
Ilmarinen tries to throw a body punch but Chimaev avoids it by throwing Ilmarinen back against the cage. #T1#
Ilmarinen stalling against the cage.
Chimaev is trying to pull guard but Ilmarinen has him pressed against the cage.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Ilmarinen tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ilmarinen stops a takedown attempt from Chimaev. #BC2#
Chimaev breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A big right from Chimaev misses.
Ilmarinen fails with the takedown.#T2##CL#
Ilmarinen gets a clinch.
Ilmarinen will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Chimaev up against the cage.
Ilmarinen will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Chimaev up against the cage.#BC2#
Chimaev breaks the clinch.
Chimaev tries to clinch up.
Ilmarinen tries to counter with a takedown but Chimaev is quick to defend against it.
Chimaev moves out of range of the strikes.
Ilmarinen throws a body shot but no joy. #T3#
Ilmarinen throws a body shot but no joy.
Ilmarinen is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Ilmarinen throws a jab but it's blocked by Chimaev.
Ilmarinen lands a jab to the nose.
Ilmarinen is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Chimaev can do to turn this around?
Chimaev avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Ilmarinen throws a jab but it's blocked by Chimaev.
Chimaev changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Chimaev throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Ilmarinen's waist but Ilmarinen gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Chimaev off to one side.
Chimaev tries to clinch but fails miserably #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Chimaev is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ilmarinen is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Chimaev looking to sweep here. No luck so far. #T4#
Chimaev has his hands on Ilmarinen's head, controlling the position.
Chimaev is trying to keep Ilmarinen in close.
Ilmarinen throws a big elbow that misses.
Anton Ilmarinen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Chimaev has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Chimaev wants to sweep but no luck. #REF3#
The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.#T5#
Chimaev looks for a takedown but Ilmarinen sprawls well.
Ilmarinen throws a body punch but Chimaev moves out of range.
Chimaev tries to close the distance and clinch but Ilmarinen swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Chimaev dives in for a single leg takedown but Ilmarinen sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Chimaev jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Ilmarinen connects with a nice looking jab.
Chimaev slips a jab from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen takes a swing at Chimaev's ribcage but misses.
Ilmarinen is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Chimaev.
Nice uppercut lands for Chimaev. That snapped Ilmarinen's head back.
Chimaev displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Ilmarinen throws out the jab.
Chimaev fails with an attempt to clinch.
Ilmarinen drops down looking for a counter takedown but Chimaev sprawls and moves away.
Chimaev defending well as Ilmarinen loads up on a big left hand. #T6#
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Chimaev.
Ilmarinen throws a looping overhand right but Chimaev ducks down to avoid it.
Ilmarinen throws a jab but it's blocked by Chimaev.
Ilmarinen throws a body punch but Chimaev moves out of range.
Chimaev throws out a loose jab but Ilmarinen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ilmarinen throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Chimaev sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Chimaev throws a right and a left that both miss.
Ilmarinen takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
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!
Chimaev moves out of range of the strikes.
Ilmarinen looks to land a left hand but Chimaev moved out of range nicely.
Chimaev feints the counter takedown.
Ilmarinen loads up on a big right hand but Chimaev slips the punch.
Chimaev with the counter takedown but Ilmarinen avoids it easily.#TD#
Ilmarinen dives in and scores a takedown into Chimaev's guard.
Ilmarinen chips away with some ground and pound.#T7#
Ilmarinen postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ilmarinen sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Ilmarinen postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Chimaev keeps moving.
Ilmarinen trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Ilmarinen throws a big right hand that misses.
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Chimaev keeps moving. #T8#
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of digs.
Ilmarinen tries to free his leg and advance position but Chimaev is retaining full guard.
Ilmarinen throws a big right hand that misses.
Chimaev looking for a sweep. Not yet Chimaev, not yet.
Ilmarinen postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Ilmarinen looking to sit in guard and control but Chimaev gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top. #REVB#
Ilmarinen wants to sweep but no luck.
Chimaev trying to control the position from guard on top but Ilmarinen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ilmarinen has Chimaev pulled in close to control his posture.
Ilmarinen 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.#T9#
Chimaev preventing the sweep.
Chimaev is looking to work some ground and pound but Ilmarinen has wrist control.
Ilmarinen lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.#REVR#
Ilmarinen showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Chimaev is working from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!#R3#
Chimaev avoids the body shot from Ilmarinen.
Chimaev uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot. #TD#
Ilmarinen is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Chimaev's half guard.
Ilmarinen content to control rather than advance.
Ilmarinen lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen working Chimaev over with strikes. #T1#
Chimaev on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ilmarinen content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Ilmarinen wants to take a breather but Chimaev is having none of it.
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. Ilmarinen connects with a nice short shot to Chimaev's temple.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Ilmarinen in particular looking to stall.
Ilmarinen working the head and body with strikes.
Ilmarinen content to sit in half guard and control for a moment. #T2#
Ilmarinen scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Ilmarinen wants to control but Chimaev is keeping him busy.
Ilmarinen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Chimaev blocking the ground and pound attempt from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Chimaev keeps working.
Ilmarinen throwing shots but Chimaev is blocking nicely. #T3#
Ilmarinen looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Ilmarinen thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Chimaev's head. #REF3#
The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Ilmarinen moves into range and connects with a jab.
A shot to the body from Ilmarinen misses
and Chimaev counters with a straight punch to the midsection.#TD#
Ilmarinen closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Chimaev did well to prevent Ilmarinen getting side control.
Ilmarinen missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Chimaev blocking the ground and pound attempt from Ilmarinen.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ilmarinen lands a nice short elbow.
Ilmarinen working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Ilmarinen working the head and body with strikes. #T4#
Chimaev gets full guard.
Chimaev takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ilmarinen is working Chimaev over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Ilmarinen chips away with some ground and pound.
Chimaev keeping moving, preventing Ilmarinen from controlling successfully.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Chimaev has momentary wrist control but Ilmarinen slips an elbow through the middle.
Ilmarinen works over Chimaev with some ground and pound from guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ilmarinen with a nice head shot there.
Ilmarinen with a flurry of punches that miss. #T5#
Ilmarinen works over Chimaev with some ground and pound from guard.
Ilmarinen preventing the sweep.
Ilmarinen slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Ilmarinen passes Chimaev's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Chimaev is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Ilmarinen scores with a couple of nice shots.
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. Ilmarinen connects with a nice short shot to Chimaev's temple.
Chimaev on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ilmarinen is looking to take a break and control but Chimaev is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom. #T6#
Ilmarinen missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Ilmarinen is keen to just control but Chimaev is a slippery customer.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Ilmarinen throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Ilmarinen in particular looking to stall.#REF3#
The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Ilmarinen throws a big shot that misses.
Chimaev attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Chimaev shoots in but doesn't get the takedown #TD#
and Ilmarinen counters with a shoot takedown into half guard. #T7#
Ilmarinen lands with a punch from half guard.
Ilmarinen sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Ilmarinen is trying to control the action in half guard but Chimaev is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Ilmarinen lands strikes from half guard.
Ilmarinen content to control rather than advance.
Chimaev is looking to control Ilmarinen's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Chimaev avoid being mounted?#T8#
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Ilmarinen drops an elbow to the side of Chimaev's head.
Chimaev blocking the ground and pound attempt from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen is trying to control. Chimaev wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Ilmarinen takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.#ROC#Chimaev is rocked!
Chimaev is trying to get back to full guard.
Chimaev is still in real trouble! Can Ilmarinen finish him?
Ilmarinen is sitting in half guard. He's postured up and lands a nice elbow. Oh, Chimaev is hurt! He's hurt bad - Ilmarinen fires away with more strikes and the referee jumps in to save Chimaev from any more punishment! Congratulations to Ilmarinen! Great finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 8:54 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen is the new middleweight champion!
Our winner, Anton Ilmarinen, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.

Event: HFC 10: Ilmarinen vs Tintley
Date: Jun 22, 2022

#R1#
Ilmarinen throws a body shot but no joy.
Ilmarinen takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing. #CUT2#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.#TD#
Tintley gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Ilmarinen looking to pass the guard.
Ilmarinen controlling from the top position.
Tintley is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Ilmarinen trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Tintley controls Ilmarinen momentarily but Ilmarinen frees himself. #T1#
Ilmarinen lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Tintley throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Ilmarinen sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Ilmarinen scoring with some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ilmarinen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Ilmarinen cracks Tintley with a solid left hand.
Ilmarinen slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Tintley tries to buck Ilmarinen off but Ilmarinen is having none of it.#T2#
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound.
Ilmarinen landing a few strikes.
Check out the look on Ilmarinen's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Ilmarinen is chipping away with strikes. #ROC#Tintley is rocked!
Ilmarinen is chipping away with strikes.
Tintley is still in real trouble! Can Ilmarinen finish him?
Ilmarinen lands a strong strike to the head of Tintley. That's dazed him! Ilmarinen looking to finish here. Tintley is waving his arms around trying to block but he's hurt badly - Ilmarinen lands more strikes and the referee steps in to end the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:41 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!
Anton Ilmarinen took some time post fight to say the following; 'Khamzat, let's see if you can back up all that talk! May the best man win.'.

Event: HFC 6: Francisco vs Ilmarinen
Date: Jun 08, 2022

#R1#
Ilmarinen throws out a loose jab but Fransisco uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ilmarinen looks to land a left hand but Fransisco moved out of range nicely.
Fransisco seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Fransisco misses with a leg kick #TD2#
and Ilmarinen counters with a nice double leg into side control. Fransisco won't be happy with that.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ilmarinen scores with a couple of short elbows.
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound from side control.
Ilmarinen lands some shots froms side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ilmarinen working the body and head with strikes.
Fransisco is pushing Ilmarinen's head away, looking to escape. Ilmarinen manages to hold on to the position though.
Ilmarinen slows the pace down.
Ilmarinen landing with strikes to the head and body from side control. #T1#
Fransisco is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Ilmarinen asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Ilmarinen working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Fransisco seems a little lost for a moment, as Ilmarinen dominates the positioning.
Ilmarinen in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Fransisco is trying to get back to his feet.
Ilmarinen lands an elbow.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Ilmarinen looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Fransisco taking punishment in the form of punches.
Fransisco pushes Ilmarinen away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Ilmarinen gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Ilmarinen scores with a couple of short elbows.
Ilmarinen cracks Fransisco with a big elbow. #T2#
Ilmarinen controlling the position.
Fransisco is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Ilmarinen controls the position.
Fransisco is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Ilmarinen asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Ilmarinen cracks Fransisco with a big elbow.
Ilmarinen cracks Fransisco with a big right hand but Fransisco just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Fransisco is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Ilmarinen has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Ilmarinen controls the position from side control.
Fransisco looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Ilmarinen is working Fransisco over with some ground and pound from side control. #T3#
Fransisco prevents Ilmarinen from moving into mount.
Ilmarinen controls the position from side control.
Fransisco is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Ilmarinen asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Fransisco being controlled for a moment.
Fransisco takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.#T4#
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.
Ilmarinen lands a nice forearm strike.
Fransisco is working to avoid the ground and pound but Ilmarinen connects with a decent elbow.
Fransisco takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Ilmarinen working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Ilmarinen prevents Fransisco from escaping the position.
Ilmarinen scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Fransisco to see if he's OK.
Fransisco is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Ilmarinen has just dragged him back down to the mat.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen slows the pace down.
Ilmarinen lands a few punches from side control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!#R2#
Fransisco thuds a left hand into Ilmarinen's body.
Fransisco scores with a sloppy right hand. Ilmarinen should have avoided that one. #CUT#It looks like Anton Ilmarinen has been cut.
Ilmarinen throws out a loose jab but Fransisco uses good head movement to avoid it.
Fransisco seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Ilmarinen throws a low kick but it's checked well by Fransisco .
Fransisco fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Fransisco avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Ilmarinen thows a leg kick but Fransisco checks it
and Fransisco counters with a three punch combo that has Ilmarinen backing up. Ilmarinen nods at Fransisco to acknowledge the strikes.
Fransisco jabs at Ilmarinen's body.
Ilmarinen ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Fransisco moves away.
Ilmarinen throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Fransisco misses with a leg kick #TD2#
and Ilmarinen decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Fransisco 's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ilmarinen connects with a couple of short punches.
Ilmarinen postures up and lands a big shot to Fransisco 's brow.
Ilmarinen passes Fransisco 's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Ilmarinen not doing much here. #T1#
Ilmarinen is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ilmarinen stops Fransisco from getting back to his feet.
Ilmarinen has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ilmarinen stalling.
Anton Ilmarinen has got the better of the ground game so far.#T2#
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Fransisco looks like he's trying to stand up.
Ilmarinen perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Ilmarinen working Fransisco over with strikes.
Fransisco on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Fransisco has hold of Ilmarinen's hands but Ilmarinen slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Ilmarinen is controlling the pace.
Ilmarinen is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position. #T3#
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Ilmarinen lands a nice short elbow.
Ilmarinen slows the pace down in half guard.
Nice strikes from Ilmarinen there.
Ilmarinen seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Fransisco is looking to escape.
Ilmarinen lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Fransisco looks like he's trying to stand up. #T4#
Ilmarinen controlling the action here.
Ilmarinen working Fransisco over with strikes.
Fransisco looks like he's trying to stand up.
Ilmarinen looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nice strikes from Ilmarinen there.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Anton Ilmarinen's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!#R3#
Ilmarinen looks to land a right hand but Fransisco moved out of range.
Ilmarinen avoids a punch combination nicely.
A low kick from Fransisco is predictable there #TD2#
and Ilmarinen counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Fransisco !
Ilmarinen lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Fransisco down.
Fransisco wants to get back to his feet but Ilmarinen drags him back down.
Ilmarinen moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Fransisco is working to avoid the ground and pound but Ilmarinen connects with a decent elbow.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Fransisco will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Fransisco wants to get back to his feet but Ilmarinen drags him back down.#T1#
Ilmarinen controls the position.
Ilmarinen lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Ilmarinen landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Ilmarinen in side control lands a decent elbow.
Ilmarinen controls the position from side control.#T2#
Ilmarinen advances to mount.
Ilmarinen lands with some strikes.
Ilmarinen lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Fransisco hang on?
Ilmarinen raining down shots from the mount!
Ilmarinen landing strikes from the mount.#ROC2#Fransisco is rocked!
Ilmarinen unloading with bombs!
Oh Fransisco is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Ilmarinen landing strikes, looking to finish!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Whack. That's a big, big shot from Ilmarinen! Fransisco is out cold! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!

Event: HFC 2: Ramsay vs Keown
Date: May 14, 2022

#R1#
No luck with that takedown attempt from Ilmarinen.
Zajac appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Ilmarinen tries to clinch but Zajac is having none of it.
Zajac swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Ilmarinen pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Ilmarinen tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Zajac is able to avoid easily.#CL2#
Ilmarinen darts in and clinches Zajac up against the cage.
Ilmarinen tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ilmarinen misses with the head strike.
Zajac tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Ilmarinen smiles and moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.#CL2#
The fight moves into the clinch position.
Ilmarinen tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Zajac's elbow. #T1#
Ilmarinen misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ilmarinen throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Zajac blocks it with crossed arms.
Zajac avoiding damage as Ilmarinen throws knees to the body.
Zajac tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Zajac is trying to pull guard but Ilmarinen has him pressed against the cage.
I was talking to Zajac's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aace Zajac. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Zajac fails to pull guard. #TD2#
Ilmarinen has hold of one of Zajac's legs. Zajac is fighting the takedown attempt but Ilmarinen gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Zajac trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Ilmarinen working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Zajac's head.
Ilmarinen won't allow Zajac to sweep him here.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Ilmarinen stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Zajac swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Zajac seems keen to control Ilmarinen's posture.#T2#
Ilmarinen wants to control from the top but Zajac keeps moving.
Ilmarinen with a flurry of punches that miss.
Zajac wants to sweep but no luck.
Ilmarinen working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ilmarinen trying to control but Zajac is working from the bottom.
Zajac on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Zajac tries to get out of the position.
Ilmarinen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Zajac looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Zajac is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move. #REVR#
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ilmarinen trying to hold on to Zajac's head to control him but Zajac postures up. #T3#
Zajac throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Ilmarinen to regain full guard.
Zajac slips nicely into half guard, despite the strikes coming from Ilmarinen.
Ilmarinen trying to hold on to Zajac's head to control him but Zajac postures up.
Zajac prevents Ilmarinen from improving his position.
Ground and pound from Zajac.
Zajac thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Ilmarinen's head.
Zajac missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Ilmarinen trying to hold on to Zajac's head to control him but Zajac postures up.
Ilmarinen is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though. #T4#
Zajac not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Ilmarinen moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Zajac postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Ilmarinen trying to control the position.
Zajac 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.
Ilmarinen keeping moving, preventing Zajac from controlling successfully.
Zajac working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Ilmarinen looking to hit a scissor sweep but Zajac is one step ahead there.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ilmarinen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Ilmarinen dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.#R2#
A big left from Ilmarinen misses.
Ilmarinen cracks Zajac with an open hand slap.
Ilmarinen jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Ilmarinen pushing out the jab but it's not landing. #TD2#
Ilmarinen closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Ilmarinen winds up and cracks Zajac with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Zajac is looking for a sweep. Ilmarinen is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Zajac gets full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ilmarinen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Ilmarinen stands up over Zajac, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Ilmarinen postures up in Zajac's guard and throws a big left but Zajac blocks it.
Ilmarinen with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Ilmarinen lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.#T1#
Ilmarinen postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Zajac keeping moving, preventing Ilmarinen from controlling successfully.
Zajac striking from the bottom here.
Ilmarinen lands a couple of elbows.
Zajac 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.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Ilmarinen's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Zajac might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Ilmarinen is in close to Zajac's body, working some short punches and elbows.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Zajac trying to strike off his back.
Ilmarinen keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Zajac's head.
Ilmarinen is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact. #ROC2#Zajac is rocked!
Ilmarinen loads up on a big left hand. Zajac felt that one! He's just covering up now, not defending himself intelligently - Ilmarinen looks towards the ref and unloads with 3 more big shots and the ref has no choice but to stop the fight! Zajac can't hide his disappointment, as Ilmarinen celebrates the victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Anton Ilmarinen!
The defeated Aace Zajac had this to say: 'I am white belt minded, you can always get better. Once you think you’re good, you’re in for a rude awakening.'.

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