PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Rolif Cheperov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hermanni Aarnio (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Cheperov
vs
Aarnio

197 cm
18
188 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

184 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Dangerous GnP
Excellent boxer
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rolif Cheperov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Hermanni Aarnio!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Anni Minnemäki and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cheperov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Cheperov misses with the combination.

Aarnio clinches with his opponent.
Cheperov wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Aarnio putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Cheperov in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Aarnio lands a nice shot to the body.
Aarnio lands a left hand that snaps the head of Cheperov backwards.
Aarnio putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Cheperov in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Cheperov is breathing heavily.
Aarnio scores a nice knee to the body.
Aarnio unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Aarnio lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Aarnio scores with a knee to the head.
Cheperov takes an elbow to the temple.
Aarnio with a knee to the head.
Aarnio lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Aarnio connects with a knee to the head.
Aarnio scores with a knee to the head.
Aarnio lands a body shot.
Aarnio comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Knees in the clinch landing for Aarnio.
Aarnio lands a nice knee to the body.
Aarnio with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Aarnio connects with a nasty looking knee right to Cheperov's face.
Aarnio using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Aarnio lands a knee to the body.
Aarnio stalling in the clinch.
Aarnio landing knees to the head.
Aarnio connects with a knee to the head.
Aarnio landing knees to the head.
A frustrated look appears on Cheperov's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Aarnio utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Cheperov is trying to break free.
Aarnio landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Aarnio putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Cheperov in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Aarnio is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Aarnio has Cheperov pressed against the cage, preventing Cheperov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Aarnio lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Aarnio keeps control of Cheperov as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Knees to the body from Aarnio.
Cheperov tries to break free but Aarnio pushes him back against the cage.
Aarnio gets through Cheperov's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Cheperov tries to break the clinch but Aarnio is controlling the position.
Aarnio lands a right hand.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Aarnio connects with a nasty looking knee right to Cheperov's face.
Cheperov is looking to break free of the clinch but Aarnio has double underhooks.
Cheperov is looking to break free of the clinch but Aarnio has double underhooks.
Aarnio gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Cheperov really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Aarnio obliges.
Cheperov is looking to break free of the clinch but Aarnio has double underhooks.
Cheperov wants to break the clinch but can't.
Aarnio has Cheperov pressed against the cage, preventing Cheperov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Aarnio scores with a knee to the head.
Aarnio lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Aarnio lands a nice knee to the body.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch but Aarnio keeps him there for the moment.
Cheperov tries to circle away but Aarnio has him pinned against the cage.
Aarnio scores with a knee to the head.
Aarnio connects with a nasty looking knee right to Cheperov's face.
Cheperov tries to break free but Aarnio pushes him back against the cage.
Aarnio keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Cheperov's efforts to push away.
Aarnio lands a knee to the head.
Aarnio with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Cheperov wants to break free but Aarnio has control.
The referee is keeping an eye on Aarnio - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
A frustrated look appears on Cheperov's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Aarnio prevents Cheperov from breaking the clinch.
Aarnio scores a nice knee to the body.
Cheperov takes a knee to the side of the body.
Aarnio has Cheperov pressed against the cage, preventing Cheperov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Aarnio connects with a knee to the head.
Aarnio keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Cheperov's efforts to push away.
Aarnio with a knee to the head.
Aarnio scores with a knee to the head.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch but Aarnio keeps him there for the moment.

Cheperov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Cheperov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aarnio slips a jab and a cross from Cheperov.

Aarnio moves into the clinch.
Aarnio lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

Cheperov breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Aarnio fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Aarnio fails in his attempt to clinch.
Cheperov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Cheperov throws a combination that misses

and Aarnio counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Aarnio leaning against his opponent.
A frustrated look appears on Cheperov's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Aarnio lands a shot to the body.
Cheperov wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Aarnio lands a nice knee to the body.
Aarnio looking to stall.
Cheperov working hard to break the clinch.
Aarnio with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Cheperov wants to break the clinch but can't.
Cheperov wants to break free but Aarnio has control.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Aarnio obliges.
Cheperov can't break the clinch.
Cheperov takes a knee right on the jaw!
Aarnio landing knees to the body.
Cheperov wants to get back to striking at distance but Aarnio won't allow it.
Cheperov can't break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
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.
Cheperov tries to break free but Aarnio pushes him back against the cage.
Cheperov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Cheperov tries to circle away but Aarnio has him pinned against the cage.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Aarnio lands a knee to the body.
Aarnio stalling.
Aarnio prevents Cheperov from breaking the clinch.
Aarnio is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Aarnio scores with a shoulder strike.
Cheperov on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Aarnio has Cheperov pressed against the cage, preventing Cheperov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Cheperov wants to break free but Aarnio has control.
Aarnio has Cheperov pressed against the cage.
Aarnio utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Aarnio misses with a knee to the head.
Aarnio trying to land knees to the body.
Cheperov is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Aarnio throws a knee to the head but misses.
Cheperov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Aarnio lands a good knee to the midsection. Cheperov won't want to take too many of those.
Cheperov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Aarnio landing knees to the head.
Aarnio tries to land a knee to the head but Cheperov blocks with his arms.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hermanni Aarnio 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.

Aarnio avoids a punch combination nicely.
Cheperov throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Cheperov misses with a few strikes there.

Aarnio closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Aarnio lands a nice knee to the body.
Aarnio lands an elbow that stopped Cheperov in his tracks for a moment.
Aarnio working Cheperov over with knees to the body.
Aarnio connects with a knee to the head.
Aarnio connects with a knee to the head.
Aarnio lands a nice elbow.
Aarnio scores with a knee to the head.
Cheperov is trying to break the clinch but Aarnio is controlling him.
Aarnio connects with a nasty looking knee right to Cheperov's face.
Aarnio is leaning against Cheperov and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Cheperov looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Aarnio is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cheperov wants to break free but Aarnio has control.
Cheperov wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Aarnio in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Aarnio connects with a nasty looking knee right to Cheperov's face.
Cheperov wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Cheperov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Cheperov keeps the fight on the outside.
Cheperov misses with a series of wild punches.
Aarnio tries to clinch up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Aarnio gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Aarnio is stalling here.
A frustrated look appears on Cheperov's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Aarnio using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Aarnio has Cheperov pressed against the cage, preventing Cheperov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Aarnio scores with a knee to the head.
Aarnio tries to land a knee to the head but Cheperov blocks with his arms.
Cheperov looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Aarnio.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Aarnio keeps control of Cheperov as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
A knee to the head by Aarnio.
Aarnio landing knees to the body.
Aarnio tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Cheperov is trying to break the clinch but Aarnio is controlling him.
Aarnio has Cheperov pressed against the cage, preventing Cheperov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Cheperov wants to get back to striking at distance but Aarnio won't allow it.
Cheperov wants to break the clinch but can't.
Aarnio working Cheperov over with knees to the body.
Cheperov is trying to force a seperation but Aarnio has the dominant position.
Aarnio unloads a knee to the mid-section.
A frustrated look appears on Cheperov's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Aarnio unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Aarnio is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
A frustrated look appears on Cheperov's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Cheperov is trying to break the clinch but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Aarnio stalling.
Aarnio tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Cheperov is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Aarnio landing knees to the body.
Cheperov looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Aarnio connects with a knee to the head.
Still in the clinch, Aarnio scores with a nice short uppercut.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Cheperov takes a knee right on the jaw!
Aarnio keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Cheperov's efforts to push away.
Cheperov looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Aarnio lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Aarnio prevents Cheperov from breaking the clinch.
Aarnio lands a knee to the head.
Aarnio working Cheperov over with knees to the body.
Aarnio scores with a knee to the head.
Cheperov wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Aarnio crunches a lovely knee into Cheperov's ribcage.
Cheperov working hard to break the clinch.
Cheperov wants to break the clinch but can't.
Aarnio has Cheperov pressed against the cage, preventing Cheperov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Aarnio leaning against his opponent.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aarnio prevents Cheperov from breaking the clinch.
Cheperov takes a knee right on the jaw!
Aarnio landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Aarnio connects with a nasty looking knee right to Cheperov's face.
Aarnio using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Cheperov is trying to break free.
Cheperov tries to circle away but Aarnio has him pinned against the cage.
A short left from Aarnio.
Cheperov is trying to force a seperation but Aarnio has the dominant position.
Cheperov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Aarnio landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Cheperov wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Knees in the clinch landing for Aarnio.
Aarnio with a knee to the head.
Cheperov tries to break the clinch but Aarnio is controlling the position.
Aarnio landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Cheperov tries to break the clinch but Aarnio is controlling the position.
Aarnio is trying to stall.
Cheperov takes a knee right on the jaw!
Aarnio tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Cheperov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Aarnio lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Aarnio just leaning against Cheperov, taking a breather.
Aarnio scores a nice knee to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Cheperov managing to block the knees to the body from Aarnio.
Cheperov wants to break free but Aarnio has control.
Cheperov takes a knee to the side of the body.
Cheperov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Aarnio prevents Cheperov from breaking the clinch.
Aarnio lands a left hand.
Cheperov tries to break the clinch but Aarnio is controlling the position.
Cheperov tries to break free but Aarnio pushes him back against the cage.
Aarnio lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Cheperov is looking to break free of the clinch but Aarnio has double underhooks.
Aarnio with a knee to the head.
Aarnio lands a knee to the body.
Cheperov is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Aarnio landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Aarnio with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Aarnio prevents Cheperov from breaking the clinch.
Cheperov is looking to break free of the clinch but Aarnio has double underhooks.
Aarnio displaying some good clinch control by pressing Cheperov up against the cage.
Aarnio keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Cheperov's efforts to push away.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Aarnio scores with a knee to the head.
Cheperov wants to break the clinch but can't.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Aarnio obliges.
Aarnio unloads a knee to the mid-section. Cheperov lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Hermanni Aarnio 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! This is the final round!

Aarnio is looking to clinch.
Cheperov swats away the attempt to clinch by Aarnio.
Cheperov swinging wildly here.
Aarnio showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Cheperov.
Aarnio tries to clinch but Cheperov moves out of range.
Aarnio is looking to clinch but Cheperov is avoiding it.
Rolif Cheperov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Cheperov tries to keep at a distance but Aarnio has taken the fight into the clinch.
Aarnio crunches a lovely knee into Cheperov's ribcage.
Cheperov wants to get back to striking at distance but Aarnio won't allow it.
Aarnio unloads a knee to the mid-section. Cheperov lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Aarnio with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Aarnio is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

Cheperov breaks from the clinch.
Aarnio tries to clinch there but Cheperov circles away.
Cheperov misses with a combination
and Aarnio counters with a nice body kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Cheperov looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Rolif Cheperov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Aarnio tries to clinch there but Cheperov circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cheperov throws a left and a right that both miss
and Aarnio counters with a thumping low kick.
Cheperov misses with a two punch combination.
Cheperov throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Aarnio holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Aarnio keeps control of Cheperov as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Cheperov is trying to break free.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Aarnio lands a left hand that snaps the head of Cheperov backwards.
Cheperov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch but Aarnio keeps him there for the moment.
Aarnio connects with a nasty looking knee right to Cheperov's face.
Aarnio keeps control of Cheperov as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Cheperov takes a knee to the side of the body.
Aarnio lands a nice elbow.
Cheperov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Cheperov takes a knee right on the jaw!
Aarnio unloads a knee to the mid-section. Cheperov lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Aarnio lands a good knee to the midsection. Cheperov won't want to take too many of those.
Cheperov wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Aarnio landing knees to the head.
Cheperov working hard to break the clinch.
Aarnio lands a nice knee to the body.
Cheperov wants to break the clinch but can't.
Aarnio unloads a knee to the mid-section.
A short right from Aarnio on the inside.
Aarnio gets through Cheperov's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Cheperov wants to break free but Aarnio has control.
Aarnio with a knee to the head.
Cheperov takes a shot to the head.
Aarnio unloads a knee to the mid-section. Cheperov lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Cheperov is trying to break the clinch but Aarnio is controlling him.
Cheperov wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Aarnio landing some nice looking knees to the body.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Aarnio takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Hermanni Aarnio seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A frustrated look appears on Cheperov's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Aarnio connects with a knee to the head.
Aarnio has Cheperov pressed against the cage, preventing Cheperov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Cheperov is trying to break the clinch but Aarnio is controlling him.
A right handed body shot lands from Aarnio.
Cheperov wants to get back to striking at distance but Aarnio won't allow it.
Aarnio putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Cheperov in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Aarnio putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Cheperov in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Aarnio lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Cheperov wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Aarnio lands a nice knee to the body.
Cheperov looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Cheperov can't break the clinch.
Aarnio landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch but Aarnio keeps him there for the moment.
Cheperov tries to circle away but Aarnio has him pinned against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aarnio with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Aarnio tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A frustrated look appears on Cheperov's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Aarnio landing knees to the body.
Aarnio keeps control of Cheperov as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Aarnio looking to throw knees to the head but Cheperov is blocking nicely.
Aarnio throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Cheperov blocks it with crossed arms.
Cheperov wants to break the clinch but can't.
Aarnio avoiding damage.
Cheperov is trying to break free.
Cheperov's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch but Aarnio keeps him there for the moment.
Aarnio working Cheperov over with knees to the body.
Cheperov tries to break the clinch but Aarnio is controlling the position.
Cheperov tries to break free but Aarnio pushes him back against the cage.
Stalling in the clinch from Aarnio.
Aarnio tries to land a knee to the head but Cheperov blocks with his arms.
Cheperov is trying to break the clinch but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Cheperov wants to break the clinch but can't.
Aarnio with a knee to the head.
Cheperov wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Aarnio with a knee to the head.
Cheperov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Cheperov wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Cheperov is trying to force a seperation but Aarnio has the dominant position.
Cheperov tries to circle away but Aarnio has him pinned against the cage.

That's four 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.
Aarnio connects with a nasty looking knee right to Cheperov's face.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch but Aarnio keeps him there for the moment.
Aarnio prevents Cheperov from breaking the clinch.
Aarnio keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Cheperov's efforts to push away.
Aarnio lands an uppercut.
Cheperov tries to break free but Aarnio pushes him back against the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Cheperov as Aarnio tries to tie him up.
Cheperov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Aarnio has him pressed against the cage.
Cheperov working hard to break the clinch.
Aarnio lands a knee to the body.
Aarnio has Cheperov pressed against the cage, preventing Cheperov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Aarnio lands a left hand.
Cheperov has had enough of the clinch but Aarnio keeps him there for the moment.
Aarnio connects with a nasty looking knee right to Cheperov's face.
Aarnio using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Aarnio scores with a knee to the head.
Aarnio landing knees to the head.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Cheperov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Aarnio wants to clinch up but Cheperov keeps it at a distance.
Aarnio tries to clinch there but Cheperov circles away.
Cheperov will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Rolif Cheperov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hermanni Aarnio is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Aarnio slips a jab and a cross from Cheperov.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hermanni Aarnio comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Aarnio 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 Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hermanni Aarnio!