PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Eerik Rikkonen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vinnie Haz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Rikkonen
vs
Haz

180 cm
18
170 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

175 cm
20
170 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Eerik Rikkonen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Vinnie Haz!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, Andrew Berry and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rikkonen darts in and clinches Haz up against the cage.
Rikkonen blocks an uppercut.
Haz looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Haz dodges an elbow strike from Rikkonen.
Haz tries for a takedown but Rikkonen manages to get underhooks.
Haz has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Rikkonen after a bit of a struggle.
Haz lands a body shot.
Haz is trying to pull guard but Rikkonen has him pressed against the cage.
Eerik Rikkonen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vinnie Haz.
A bit of stalling here from Rikkonen.
Haz is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Haz taking a breather.
Haz is trying to pull guard but Rikkonen has him pressed against the cage.

Haz breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Rikkonen is looking to score with low kicks.
Vinnie Haz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rikkonen dodges the punch combination from Haz.
Haz is trying hard to land a takedown here. Rikkonen sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Haz shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Rikkonen but Rikkonen pushes him off and we're back to square one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Haz throws a right hand that Rikkonen ducks under and follows up with a left that Rikkonen also avoids with ease.
Haz stuffs the takedown attempt from Rikkonen. Rikkonen gets slowly back to his feet.
A punch combination from Haz misses.
Haz connects with a single shot there.
Rikkonen dives in and grabs Haz's left leg, looking for a takedown. Haz pushes down on Rikkonen's head and hops out.
Haz ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rikkonen moves away.
Haz wants to clinch.
Haz throws a body kick, spinning off balance
enabling Rikkonen to counter with a crisp jab.
Haz moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Rikkonen fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Haz motions for Rikkonen to come forward. Haz throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Haz fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Rikkonen checks it well.
Haz throws a series of punches but Rikkonen avoids them all with ease.
Haz looks winded!
Haz scores with a three punch combo!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A low kick from Haz is predictable there
and Rikkonen counters with a head kick. That will keep Haz thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!

Rikkonen moves into range and clinches up with Haz.
Haz trying to control the position but instead, Rikkonen has worked for underhooks and has pushed Haz into the cage.

Rikkonen works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
We've been hearing that Rikkonen has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Rikkonen pushes down on Haz's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rikkonen decides to stand up.
Haz fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Haz keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Haz swinging wildly here.
Haz throws a right and a left that Rikkonen avoids nicely.
Rikkonen shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Haz pinned against the cage. Haz gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Haz misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rikkonen.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Haz tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Rikkonen paws at him with a jab and circles away.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Rikkonen breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Haz tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Rikkonen counters by moving into the clinch.

Rikkonen breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Haz shoots in for a takedown but Rikkonen shows good takedown defense.
Rikkonen throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Haz.
Rikkonen closes the distance and clinches up with Haz, looking for a takedown. Rikkonen pushes Haz against the cage but Haz circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Rikkonen shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Haz pinned against the cage. Haz gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A nice leg kick lands there from Haz.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Vinnie Haz will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Rikkonen tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Haz takes a swing at Rikkonen's ribcage but misses.
Haz moves in looking to clinch but Rikkonen pushes him off.
Vinnie Haz seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Rikkonen checks a leg kick.
Rikkonen shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Haz connects with a right hand. Rikkonen shakes it off.
Rikkonen blocks a head kick by Haz.
Haz looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Haz throws a series of punches but Rikkonen moves out of range.
Haz tries to clinch there but Rikkonen circles away.
Haz is looking to clinch but Rikkonen is avoiding it.
Eerik Rikkonen is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Haz misses with a body punch

and Rikkonen counters by clinching up.
Haz tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Rikkonen manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rikkonen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Rikkonen is pulling down on Haz's head. It's preventing any offense from Haz, at least for the moment.
Rikkonen keeping moving, preventing Haz from controlling successfully.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Rikkonen had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Haz defends it easily.
Haz wants to get up but he can't break Rikkonen's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Rikkonen is pulling down on Haz's head to control his posture.
Haz would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Rikkonen is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Haz is aware though and is defending well.
Rikkonen manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!

Rikkonen looking for a guillotine from mount but Haz is having none of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Haz wants to hold on but Rikkonen pushes him away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rikkonen throws some wild stikes that Haz manages to avoid easily.
Rikkonen takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Haz reaches up to try and control the position but Rikkonen seems to have an arm triangle now! Uh oh! Haz rolls and tries to escape and now Rikkonen has his back!
What can Haz do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

Rikkonen is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Haz has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Rikkonen keeps control of the position easily here as Haz tries to buck him off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Haz looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Haz is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eerik Rikkonen dominated that second round.
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!

Rikkonen avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Haz lands a glancing blow to the side of Rikkonen's head.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Rikkonen breaks from the clinch.
Rikkonen shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Haz defends it nicely.
Haz lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rikkonen circles away quickly and effectively.

Rikkonen moves into the clinch.

Rikkonen pulls guard.
Haz wanted to stand there but Rikkonen had control of the position.
Rikkonen controlling the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rikkonen looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Haz throws a strike but Rikkonen rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Haz throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Rikkonen escapes and throws Haz's legs to the side, diving into side control!

Rikkonen tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Rikkonen has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Rikkonen decides to stand back up. Rikkonen steps back and let's Haz get back to his feet.
Haz throws a right and a left that both miss.
Haz swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Rikkonen counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Rikkonen dives in and grabs Haz's left leg, looking for a takedown. Haz pushes down on Rikkonen's head and hops out.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Haz lands with a slapping head kick.

Rikkonen darts in and clinches Haz up against the cage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Rikkonen manages to break the clinch.
Haz throws a head kick that misses.
Haz tries to clinch up but Rikkonen circles away and keeps his distance.
Rikkonen has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Haz finds it's way round the side to connect with Rikkonen's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rikkonen shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Haz but Haz pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Eerik Rikkonen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Haz misses with a few strikes there.
Rikkonen throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Haz's waist but Haz gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Rikkonen off to one side.
Rikkonen doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Haz punishes Rikkonen's body with a nice straight punch.
Haz throws a chopping leg kick but Rikkonen manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Haz tries to close the distance and clinch up but Rikkonen swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Haz throws a right hand that Rikkonen ducks under and follows up with a left that Rikkonen also avoids with ease.
Haz keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Haz looks to land a combination but Rikkonen avoids it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Haz misses with a few strikes there.
Rikkonen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A right-left combo lands from Haz.
Haz displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Rikkonen.
Haz swinging wildly here.
Rikkonen has a takedown stuffed.
Haz cracks Rikkonen with a good jab.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rikkonen shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Haz sprawls well. Haz wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Rikkonen gets slowly back to his feet.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Haz.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Vinnie Haz.
I think Haz 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 Chris Edwards scores the fight 28:29
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Vinnie Haz!