PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Matts Nilsson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Juha Kuivanen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Matts Nilsson has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Nilsson
vs
Kuivanen

188 cm
25
195 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

183 cm
24
195 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

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 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Matts Nilsson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Juha Kuivanen!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Arvi Lind and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kuivanen feints and as Nilsson raises his hands in defense, Kuivanen changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Kuivanen content to stall in guard here.
Let's hope that Kuivanen 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.

Nilsson looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kuivanen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Nilsson wants to sweep here but Kuivanen controlling him for the moment.
Kuivanen postures up in Nilsson's guard and throws a big left but Nilsson blocks it.
Kuivanen controls from within his opponent's guard.
Kuivanen throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nilsson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kuivanen throws a big right hand that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuivanen slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Kuivanen working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Kuivanen throwing strikes from guard but Nilsson blocks nicely.
Kuivanen controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kuivanen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kuivanen missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Kuivanen throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Kuivanen postures up in Nilsson's guard and throws a big left but Nilsson blocks it.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kuivanen accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kuivanen scoring with punches to the head and body.
Kuivanen is looking to work some ground and pound but Nilsson has wrist control.
Nilsson controls Kuivanen momentarily but Kuivanen frees himself.
Kuivanen throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Nilsson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kuivanen loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Nilsson not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Kuivanen forces his way into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kuivanen keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Nilsson wants to get back to his feet.
Nilsson slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nilsson is breathing heavily.
Kuivanen postures up in Nilsson's guard and throws a big left but Nilsson blocks it.
Kuivanen passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Kuivanen in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Kuivanen creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Nilsson sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nilsson is trying to escape the position but Kuivanen is controlling the position.
Kuivanen postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Kuivanen postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Kuivanen in side control, throwing shots but Nilsson defends.
Nilsson is trying to escape the position but Kuivanen is controlling the position.
Kuivanen working the ground and pound but Nilsson is defending the strikes.
Nilsson is not content to let Kuivanen control the position.
Kuivanen is putting a hurting on Nilsson here, landing some big shots from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kuivanen looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Nilsson is avoiding damage well.
Kuivanen is chipping away with strikes.
Nilsson is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Nilsson being controlled for a moment.
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!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
An elbow from Kuivanen crashes against the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Juha Kuivanen dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Kuivanen misses with a body kick.

Kuivanen gets caught flat footed, as Nilsson shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Nilsson trying to control but Kuivanen is working from the bottom.
Nilsson has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Kuivanen is proving hard to escape from.
Kuivanen trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Kuivanen trying to strike off his back.
Kuivanen looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kuivanen is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Nilsson preventing the sweep.

Kuivanen wriggles free and stands up.
Nilsson tries to clinch up but Kuivanen circles away and keeps his distance.
Juha Kuivanen seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kuivanen drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
The strikes coming from Kuivanen are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Kuivanen looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Nilsson is avoiding damage well.
Kuivanen creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Nilsson sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Nilsson tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
Kuivanen throwing sloppy strikes.
I would not like to be Nilsson right now.
Kuivanen missing with strikes from the back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kuivanen controlling well, preventing Nilsson from escaping the position.
Juha Kuivanen has got the better of the ground game so far.
Kuivanen has his opponent trapped and is landing shots. Not a good position for Nilsson.
I would not like to be Nilsson right now.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kuivanen punches Nilsson on the ear.
Kuivanen is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Kuivanen throwing sloppy strikes.
Kuivanen misses with punches from the back.
Kuivanen misses with an elbow to the head.
Kuivanen throws a big right hand but he misses and hits the mat. Ouch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuivanen struggling to land strikes to the head as Nilsson covers up.
Kuivanen missing with strikes.
Kuivanen scores with punches to the body.
Kuivanen is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
Nilsson looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
Kuivanen has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Nilsson's body.
Kuivanen somehow managing to miss with a strike from the back.
Kuivanen throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Nilsson is in bad spot here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kuivanen throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Kuivanen missing with strikes.
Kuivanen is hanging on to Nilsson's back as he tries to escape.
Kuivanen has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Kuivanen biding his time, looking for the opening.
Kuivanen missing with strikes.
Nilsson tries to escape but Kuivanen has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Nilsson covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kuivanen thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
Kuivanen misses with a punch to the head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nilsson covering up well and avoiding damage.
Nilsson has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Kuivanen.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Juha Kuivanen showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Kuivanen changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Nilsson looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Kuivanen throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Kuivanen lands an elbow.
Kuivanen postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Kuivanen looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Nilsson is avoiding damage well.
Kuivanen working the ground and pound but Nilsson is defending the strikes.
Kuivanen is looking to take a break and control but Nilsson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Nilsson is trying to get back to half guard.
Kuivanen is looking to take a break and control but Nilsson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Nilsson dodges the ground and pound from Kuivanen.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuivanen misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Kuivanen working the ground and pound but Nilsson is defending the strikes.
Kuivanen throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Kuivanen staying calm.
Kuivanen looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Nilsson is avoiding damage well.
Kuivanen throws an elbow but Nilsson slips to the side and avoids it well.
Nilsson is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Nilsson managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Kuivanen.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nilsson wants to control but Kuivanen postures up.
Nilsson is working to avoid the ground and pound but Kuivanen connects with a decent elbow.
Kuivanen misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Sloppy strikes there by Kuivanen.
Kuivanen throws a strike aimed at the side of Nilsson's head but Nilsson avoids it well.
Kuivanen looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Nilsson is avoiding damage well.
Kuivanen has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Kuivanen in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Nilsson defending against the ground and pound.
Sloppy strikes there by Kuivanen.
Kuivanen throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kuivanen misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Sloppy strikes there by Kuivanen.
Kuivanen is putting a hurting on Nilsson here, landing some big shots from side control.
Kuivanen in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuivanen in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Sloppy strikes there by Kuivanen.
Nilsson is looking to reverse the position.
Kuivanen misses with the ground and pound.
Nilsson defending against the ground and pound.
Kuivanen creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Nilsson sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Kuivanen creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Nilsson sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Nilsson is looking for a sweep.
Kuivanen in side control, throwing shots but Nilsson defends.
Kuivanen throws a strike aimed at the side of Nilsson's head but Nilsson avoids it well.
Kuivanen working the ground and pound but Nilsson is defending the strikes.
Kuivanen working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Nilsson takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The strikes coming from Kuivanen are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Kuivanen throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Kuivanen staying calm.
Nilsson is looking to regain half guard here but Kuivanen keeps moving and retains side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kuivanen misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Matts Nilsson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kuivanen controlling the position.
Kuivanen throwing strikes but missing, from side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Juha Kuivanen comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Kuivanen has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 27:30
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 27:30
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Juha Kuivanen!