PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Esko Tikkanen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sam Hall (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tikkanen's entrance music is Nyrkillä naamaan - Ei kannattais ees yrittää!. A fine choice. Hall has chosen Sam Hall as his entrance music. Esko Tikkanen has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Tikkanen
vs
Hall

182 cm
21
184 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

182 cm
18
185 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Experienced

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Bad Man Clothing (Nothing Over $40)

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 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Esko Tikkanen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Sam Hall!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Jeff Smith and Micheangelo Fripello.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A slapping body kick lands there for Hall.
Tikkanen takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Hall has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Hall misses with a low kick.
Tikkanen drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Hall dips to his left and cracks Tikkanen with an uppercut!
Tikkanen tries to clinch but Hall is having none of it.
Tikkanen wants to clinch
and Hall counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Tikkanen tries to clinch
and Tikkanen takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Good standup being displayed there by Hall as he connects with a hook.
Tikkanen tries to clinch there but Hall circles away.
Hall with a nice cross.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hall looks for the body kick but Tikkanen saw that one coming.
Hall throws a nice inside leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tikkanen wants to clinch
and Hall counters with a thumping low kick.
Tikkanen tries to clinch up.
Hall throws a low kick, looking for Tikkanen's leg but Tikkanen calmly moves out of range.
Sam Hall seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tikkanen wants to clinch but Hall slips to the side
and Hall counters with a nice leg kick.
Tikkanen tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hall paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Tikkanen tries to clinch
and Hall counters with a nice low kick that buckles Tikkanen's knee momentarily.
Tikkanen tries to close the distance and clinch but Hall swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Hall throws out a powerful jab.
Hall throws a combination. Tikkanen tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Hall stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

Tikkanen is rocked!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hall connects with a nice looking jab.
Oh Tikkanen is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Hall is looking to slow Tikkanen down with leg kicks.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hall connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Tikkanen momentarily.
Tikkanen has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Hall lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

Tikkanen has Hall up against the cage in a clinch.
Tikkanen can't find room to land a body shot as Hall controls the action.
Hall scores with a shot to the side of Tikkanen's head.
Tikkanen misses with a punch on the inside.
A nice left hand lands by Hall.

Hall lands a big uppercut and Tikkanen is down! He's in big trouble - Hall follows him to the mat!
Still in half guard, Hall seems content to control.
Tikkanen keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Hall thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Hall moves nicely into side control.
Hall taking a breather here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hall 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.
Tikkanen seems to have got his legs back now.
Hall controls the position from side control.
Hall throws an elbow but Tikkanen slips to the side and avoids it well.
Check out the look on Hall's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Hall in side control, just content to control the action for now.
The ground and pound from Hall seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

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.
Hall landing a few strikes.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Tikkanen takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Tikkanen can't do much from the bottom here.
The referee asks Hall politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Hall prefers to stall for the moment though.
Hall is continuing to stall.
Tikkanen can't do much from the bottom here.
Hall moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Tikkanen can't do much from the bottom here.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Hall 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.

Nice cross by Hall.
Hall avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Hall connects with the punch.
Hall thows a body kick. Tikkanen tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Hall has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Hall thuds a left hand into Tikkanen's body.
Hall jabs at Tikkanen's body.
The fighters circle momentarily. Hall darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hall misses with a body kick.
Tikkanen has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Tikkanen there as he acknowledges the shot.
Tikkanen takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Tikkanen closes the distance looking to clinch
and Hall finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tikkanen takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
A combination from Hall does no damage.
Hall punishes Tikkanen's body with a nice straight punch.
Hall connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Tikkanen's hands.
Hall throws a wild body kick that Tikkanen sees coming a mile off.
Tikkanen darts in trying to clinch
and Hall counters with a straight right hand.
Tikkanen closes the distance looking to clinch
and Hall connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hall with a hook.
A jab from Hall finds it's way through Tikkanen's defenses.
Tikkanen tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Hall cracks Tikkanen on the jaw with a powerful right hand and Tikkanen falls backwards against the cage. Hall follows up with more strikes that drop Tikkanen to his knees. Hall keeps the pressure on and the referee jumps in to save Tikkanen! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:32 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Sam Hall!
An out of breath Sam Hall thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.