PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Gustav Harakka (ranked 3373 p4p, 3915 weight class) and Rich Voss (ranked 452 p4p, 504 weight class). Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Harakka
vs
Voss

183 cm
20
177
3 - 0 - 0

181 cm
20
176
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Gustav Harakka!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rich Voss!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Paul Tew and Colin Fotheringham.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Harakka scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Harakka misses with a wild body shot.
Voss tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Voss fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Harakka avoids it really well and circles away.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Voss 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.
Voss stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Harakka.
Voss takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.

Voss shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Voss showed some decent athleticism there.
Voss sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Harakka gets back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harakka is looking to stand up but Voss isn't so interested in that idea.
Harakka trying to control the position.
Voss stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Harakka swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Voss sitting in guard here, content to control.
Harakka has Voss pulled in close to control his posture.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Voss throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Harakka looking to control.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Harakka chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Voss misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Harakka counters with a nice low kick that buckles Voss's knee momentarily.
Gustav Harakka is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Voss moves out of range as Harakka throws a body kick.
Harakka lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Voss fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Harakka on the side of the head.
Harakka fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Voss has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
We've been told by Harakka's head coaches at Helsinki Private Gym that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.

Voss shoots in and bounces Harakka off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Harakka working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Voss.
Harakka keeping moving, preventing Voss from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Voss postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Voss trying to control the position from guard on top but Harakka is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Voss has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Harakka trying to control the position.
Harakka is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Voss trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Voss passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Voss controls the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Harakka is not content to let Voss control the position.
Harakka tries to control but end up mounted... ooooh, that's bad.
Harakka tries to hold on but Voss pushes him away.
Voss punching from mount but Harakka doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Voss sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Voss working away from the top, dropping strikes.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Harakka tries to lock up and control but Voss gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Rich Voss will probably get the nod.
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.

Crunch! Harakka slams his shin into Voss's torso.
Voss shoots and misses
enabling Harakka to counter with a crisp jab.
Harakka turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Voss on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Harakka scores with a hook.
Harakka ducks under a wild hook from Voss.
Harakka connects with a looping right hand.
Crunch! Harakka slams his shin into Voss's torso.
Harakka takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Harakka lands a nice leg kick that just misses Voss's sensitive parts.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Harakka lands with a thumping leg kick.
Harakka lands a nice leg kick that just misses Voss's sensitive parts.
Harakka scores with a push kick.
Voss misses with a takedown attempt - Harakka sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harakka throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Gustav Harakka is winning the standup battle so far.
Voss tries to score a power double leg takedown but Harakka sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Voss somewhat.
Gustav Harakka has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rich Voss.
Harakka throws a head kick but Voss moves out of range.
Voss tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Voss takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Gustav Harakka seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Voss takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Harakka with a body punch. A glancing blow.

Harakka lands a big right hand that sends Voss crashing to the mat! Harakka stays standing though and waves Voss back to his feet!

Voss is rocked!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Harakka tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Voss is able to avoid easily.
A little jabbing left from Voss on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Voss is still on wobbly legs! Can Harakka finish him?

Voss shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Harakka makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Voss seems to have recovered his senses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harakka scores with a hook.
Voss swings widly with a right hand
and Harakka counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
A nice leg kick from Harakka, right into the meat of the thigh.
Voss's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.

Voss looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Harakka trying to control from the bottom.
Voss missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Harakka keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Voss is keen to just control but Harakka is a slippery customer.
Harakka wants to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Voss sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Harakka defending well though.
Harakka wants to improve his position but Voss is controlling well.
Harakka blocking the ground and pound attempt from Voss.
Voss looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Harakka keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Voss is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Harakka's half guard.
Voss wants to take a breather but Harakka is having none of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Voss seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Harakka has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Voss is working away from the top position though.
Rich Voss has got the better of the ground game so far.
Voss trying to control from half guard but Harakka is working away.
Voss not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Harakka regains full guard. Nicely done.
Voss postures up and lands a big shot to Harakka's brow.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Gustav Harakka dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! 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.

Voss fails to land the takedown.
Voss closes this distance looking for a takedown but Harakka circles away.
Harakka displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Voss.
Gustav Harakka has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rich Voss.
Voss walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Harakka misses with a kick to the body

and Voss counters with a single leg into guard. Harakka didn't expect that.
Harakka seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Voss wants to control from the top but Harakka keeps moving.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harakka working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Voss.
Voss controls from within his opponent's guard.
Voss trying to control the position from guard on top but Harakka is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Voss in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Harakka keeping moving, preventing Voss from controlling successfully.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Harakka getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Harakka uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Voss has time to react.
Voss takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Harakka lands a nice shot to the body.
Voss looks to land a left hand but Harakka moved out of range nicely.
Voss fails with the takedown.

Harakka feints and then winds up with a huge right hand that connects perfectly and sends Voss sprawling to the canvas! Voss rolls over backwards and springs off the cage and manages to regain his footing - how acrobatic! Oh, he's still wobbly - can Harakka finish him?!
Harakka with a body punch. A glancing blow.

Harakka cracks Voss with a big right hand that sends him to the floor! Voss looks wobbly but he's sprung back up to his feet straight away… can Harakka finish him?
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Voss checks a leg kick.
Voss takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Harakka fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
You can see that Voss has visibly slowed down as a result of the leg kicks
Voss throws the left hand but Harakka avoids the punch easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Harakka cracks Voss with a big right hand that sends him to the floor! Voss looks wobbly but he's sprung back up to his feet straight away… can Harakka finish him?
Voss looks to land a right hand but Harakka moved out of range.
Harakka avoids the body shot from Voss.
Voss misses with an uppercut
and Harakka counters with a powerful cross that connects right on the chin and the lights go out! A massive one punch knock out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:21 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Gustav Harakka!
Gustav Harakka thanked the fans post fight for their support.