PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tom Young (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Makke Hakala (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Tom Young has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Young
vs
Hakala

185 cm
18
192 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
25
190 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Good chin

Good wrestler
Brawler
Solid 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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Tom Young!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Makke Hakala!
The judges for this bout are Anthony Taglia, Columbo Gatti and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hakala shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Young sprawls well. Young wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Hakala gets slowly back to his feet.
Hakala dodges the punch combination from Young.
Young goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

It looks like Makke Hakala has been cut.
Hakala looks gassed!
Hakala dodges the punch combination from Young.
Hakala throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Young stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Young displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Hakala.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
A punch combination from Young misses.
Young throws a left and a right that both miss

and Hakala counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hakala throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Young keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Hakala thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Young looks like he's trying to stand up.
Young is staying active underneath Hakala, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Young wants to get back to his feet.
Young is refusing to be controlled, as Hakala sits in half guard.
Hakala wants to free his trapped foot but Young is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Hakala is looking to take a break and control but Young is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Makke Hakala.
Young misses with the combination.

Hakala looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Hakala throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hakala winds up and cracks Young with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Hakala wants to take a breather but Young is having none of it.
Hakala wants to pass the guard but Young is defending well.
Hakala looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Young wants to get back to his feet.
Young is in trouble now - Hakala has advanced to mount!
Young on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Young tries to get out of the position.
Young wants to get back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hakala lands a big elbow.
Hakala landing strikes, looking to finish!
Young is bucking up trying to escape but Hakala cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Hakala pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Hakala lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Young hang on?
Young's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Hakala scoring with strikes but Young is staying in there.
Hakala controlling from the full mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hakala with good strikes from the mount here!
Hakala breaks from Young's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Young is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hakala raining down hammerfists from mount.
Young is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Makke Hakala dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Makke Hakala's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Young throws a combination that misses
and Hakala cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Young misses with a wild combination.
Young swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Hakala counters with a shoot takedown. Young fights it but they end up in guard.
Hakala working some strikes from top position.
Hakala working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Hakala is stalling in the full guard.
Hakala thows a big elbow that misses.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hakala with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hakala lands a couple of digs.
Hakala controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hakala scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Hakala is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Hakala wants to control from the top but Young keeps moving.
Young being controlled here, momentarily.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Makke Hakala.
Young misses with the combination.
Hakala looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Young is fending him off so far but Hakala persists. Nope, Young circles away and we're back to standing.
Young throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Hakala counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Hakala has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Hakala throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Young is looking to escape.
Hakala sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Young defending well though.
Hakala is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Hakala is pressing down on Young's thigh, looking to free his foot. Young is holding on for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Young blocking the ground and pound attempt from Hakala.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Young is trying to stand back up but Hakala is controlling him
Hakala thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Young's head.
Hakala working over Young with some ground and pound. Young looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Hakala stalling.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Hakala throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Hakala thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Hakala seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Makke Hakala.
Young misses with the combination.

Hakala looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Young!
Hakala sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Makke Hakala showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Makke Hakala's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Young misses with a double jab.
Young misses with a double jab

so Hakala counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Hakala trying to control but Young is working from the bottom.
Hakala pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Young is keeping the position for now.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Hakala accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Young utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Hakala slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hakala with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hakala trying to control the position from guard on top but Young is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hakala slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Makke Hakala.
Young throws a left and a right that both miss

and Hakala counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Young's guard now.
Young is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Hakala controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Tom Young has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hakala throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Young works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Hakala is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Hakala wants to pass the guard but Young is keeping the position.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Makke Hakala wasn't active enough on the ground.
Young lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hakala circles away quickly and effectively.
Young swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Hakala counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hakala not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hakala is keen to just control but Young is a slippery customer.
Hakala controlling the pace.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Hakala throwing shots but Young is blocking nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Makke Hakala wasn't active enough on the ground.

Hakala shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Hakala was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Hakala controlling from the full mount.
Hakala landing shots from mount.
Hakala has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Hakala controlling his opponent.
Hakala sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!

And that's the end of the fight!
Makke Hakala comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Hakala 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 Anthony Taglia scores the fight 25:30
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 25:30
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Makke Hakala!