PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Lev Meyer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jarkko Hakulinen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Meyer
vs
Hakulinen

186 cm
19
195 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
20
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Lev Meyer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Jarkko Hakulinen!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Shigeki Sano and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hakulinen shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Meyer as he jumps to the side.
Meyer thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Hakulinen if he has to take too many more of those.
Hakulinen looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Meyer is fending him off so far but Hakulinen persists. Nope, Meyer circles away and we're back to standing.
Meyer shoots in but no luck this time.
Meyer with a poor takedown

and Hakulinen counters with a nice double leg into side control. Meyer won't be happy with that.
Hakulinen misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Meyer regains half guard, as Hakulinen was trying to land strikes.
Meyer is trying to get back to full guard.
Hakulinen controlling the action here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hakulinen not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hakulinen takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Hakulinen throwing shots but Meyer is blocking nicely.
Hakulinen slows the pace down in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Despite being in the dominant position, Jarkko Hakulinen just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hakulinen throws a lazy right hand but Meyer sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Hakulinen throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Hakulinen gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Meyer counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Hakulinen is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Lev Meyer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jarkko Hakulinen.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Meyer misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Meyer throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Meyer tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Meyer looks to clinch

and Hakulinen counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Hakulinen slows the pace down in half guard.
Hakulinen wants to pass the guard but Meyer is defending well.
Hakulinen is taking a breather. Meyer says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Hakulinen throwing shots but Meyer is blocking nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hakulinen stalling away here and it's allowed Meyer to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Hakulinen controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Meyer is trying to keep Hakulinen in close.
Meyer is breathing heavily.
Hakulinen is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Hakulinen passes Meyer's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Hakulinen throwing shots but Meyer is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jarkko Hakulinen dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Hakulinen misses with a body punch
and Meyer counters with a flying knee. Nice.
The fighters circling - Hakulinen throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Meyer pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Meyer closes this distance looking for a takedown but Hakulinen circles away.

Hakulinen looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Hakulinen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Hakulinen throwing strikes but missing.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hakulinen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Meyer keeping moving, preventing Hakulinen from controlling successfully.
Hakulinen is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hakulinen tries to stand but Meyer is controlling from the bottom.
Meyer keeping moving, preventing Hakulinen from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

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.

Despite being in the dominant position, Jarkko Hakulinen just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Meyer throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
No joy there for Meyer, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Meyer has his takedown stuffed

and Hakulinen counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Hakulinen wants to free his trapped foot but Meyer is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Meyer is looking to sinch up a gullotine here but Hakulinen pulls his head out easily.
Hakulinen is thwarting Meyer's attempts to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Meyer moves into full guard.
Hakulinen is looking to advance position but Meyer has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Meyer avoids the attempt from Hakulinen to control.
Meyer knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Hakulinen on the ground.
Hakulinen is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Meyer sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Hakulinen tries to control Meyer's body but Meyer pushes him off. Hakulinen squirms to his side and now Meyer has his back!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Hakulinen rolls, trying to escape but Meyer keeps control of the position.
Hakulinen turns into Meyer and is now in his guard.
Hakulinen trying to control the position from guard on top but Meyer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hakulinen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Meyer is keeping the position for now.
Hakulinen stopping the sweep attempt from Meyer.

Hakulinen drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Meyer manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Hakulinen has Meyer in his guard.
Meyer is looking to stand up but Hakulinen won't let him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jarkko Hakulinen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

Meyer misses with a takedown

and Hakulinen counters with a takedown into side control.

Hakulinen is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Meyer has escaped the position, nice work there.
Meyer is looking to regain half guard here but Hakulinen keeps moving and retains side control.
Meyer takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
A lull in the action here.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Hakulinen tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hakulinen tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Hakulinen has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Meyer is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Hakulinen in side control lands a decent elbow.
Meyer tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Hakulinen easily slips into full mount!

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.
Hakulinen with shots to the head and body - Meyer looks very uncomfortable down there.
Meyer is wriggling around trying to escape.
Hakulinen tries to control but Meyer wriggling away.
Hakulinen content just to control the position here.
Meyer wants to control but Hakulinen is having none of it.
Hakulinen is stalling here but it's allowed Meyer to get half guard.
Hakulinen looks to land a strike but Meyer avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Meyer looking to hit a scissor sweep but Hakulinen is one step ahead there.
Meyer has Hakulinen pulled in close to control his posture.
Meyer keeping moving, preventing Hakulinen from controlling successfully.
Hakulinen throws a strike but Meyer rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Meyer throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Meyer postures up.
Meyer preventing the sweep.

That's four 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.
Meyer tries to free his leg and advance position but Hakulinen is retaining full guard.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.

Hakulinen fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Meyer sprawls well initially but Hakulinen persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Hakulinen is looking to pass Meyer's guard but actually Meyer recovers to full guard.
Hakulinen controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Hakulinen throws a strike but Meyer rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Hakulinen looking to hit a scissor sweep but Meyer is one step ahead there.

Hakulinen throws his legs up looking for a submission but Meyer uses it to pass to side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jarkko Hakulinen comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Hakulinen 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 27:30
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 27:30
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jarkko Hakulinen!