PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Orpo Jokinen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ichiro Takahashi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Takahashi has chosen 暗殺者 as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Jokinen
vs
Takahashi

175 cm
27
180 lbs
14 - 7 - 0

180 cm
31
175 lbs
21 - 12 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Granite chin

Convicted Trap House

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 14 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Orpo Jokinen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ichiro Takahashi!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Tarja Halkonen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Takahashi swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Jokinen closes the distance and clinches.
Takahashi landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Takahashi tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Takahashi misses with a body punch.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Takahashi has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Jokinen doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
I was talking to Jokinen's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Jokinen tries a body shot but Takahashi blocks it.
Takahashi swings wildly with an uppercut but Jokinen uses good head movement to avoid it.
Jokinen misses with a short punch on the inside.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Takahashi tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Jokinen avoids it.
A short uppercut from Jokinen.
Jokinen lands a left hand.
Takahashi misses with an elbow strike.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Jokinen creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Takahashi trying to land knees to the body.
Takahashi prevents a body shot from Jokinen.
Jokinen misses with a body punch.
Takahashi trying to land knees to the body.

Jokinen decides to pull guard.
Jokinen looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Takahashi postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Takahashi is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Jokinen controls Takahashi momentarily but Takahashi frees himself.
Jokinen has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Takahashi has passed into side control.
Jokinen sneaks back into half guard.

Takahashi is looking for a kimura but Jokinen is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Takahashi to get the leverage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi is looking to advance position but Jokinen won't allow it.

Takahashi is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Takahashi looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Takahashi wants to lay and pray for a moment but Jokinen keeps working.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Jokinen wants to control but Takahashi is keeping busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi is pressing down on Jokinen's thigh, looking to free his foot. Jokinen is holding on for now.
Jokinen preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Jokinen makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Jokinen.
Jokinen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi trying to control but Jokinen is working from the bottom.
Jokinen can't keep his opponent in guard - Takahashi advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Takahashi throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Jokinen to regain full guard.
Takahashi trying to control but Jokinen is working from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Takahashi advances to half guard.

Takahashi is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Jokinen defends it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ichiro Takahashi dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Jokinen goes for a double leg but Takahashi avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Takahashi continues to drive forward.
Takahashi working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Takahashi blocking some punches.
Takahashi tries to throw a body punch but Jokinen avoids it by throwing Takahashi back against the cage.
Jokinen doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Takahashi lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Takahashi lands a body shot in the clinch.
Takahashi lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Jokinen is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Takahashi is keeping busy.
Takahashi taking a breather.
Takahashi misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ichiro Takahashi seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Takahashi lands an uppercut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Jokinen tries to work over Takahashi's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Jokinen lands a body shot in the clinch.
Jokinen dodges an elbow strike from Takahashi.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A nice right hand lands inside from Takahashi.
Takahashi tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Takahashi tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Takahashi lands a nice uppercut.
A short right from Takahashi on the inside.
Jokinen tries a body shot but Takahashi blocks it.
Jokinen blocks a punch to the side of the head.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Takahashi just misses with a elbow thrown towards Jokinen's brow.
The referee is keeping an eye on Jokinen - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Takahashi.
Takahashi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Takahashi lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Takahashi misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Jokinen.
Jokinen blocks a body shot from Takahashi.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Takahashi.
Takahashi misses with some punches.
Jokinen doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Takahashi working aggressively here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi blocks a body shot from Jokinen.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Jokinen is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Takahashi is keeping busy.
Stalling in the clinch from Jokinen.
Jokinen is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Jokinen tries to throw a body punch but Takahashi avoids it by throwing Jokinen back against the cage.
Jokinen looking to slow down the pace here.
A head punch on the inside from Takahashi fails to land.
Jokinen is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Takahashi to keep the fight standing.
Jokinen's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

Jokinen drags the fight down to the ground.

Jokinen looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Takahashi trying to control but Jokinen is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Jokinen looking to control.
Takahashi scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Takahashi trying to control the position from guard on top but Jokinen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Takahashi got a little sloppy there for a moment and Jokinen has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Takahashi has managed to get both his arms back between Jokinen's legs - danger averted.
Takahashi is pushing down on Jokinen's leg trying to pass to half guard. Jokinen is fighting to maintain full guard but Takahashi has managed to sneak the leg through.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Jokinen actively working from the bottom here.
Takahashi tries to pass the half guard into mount. Jokinen knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Jokinen has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Takahashi is working away from the top position though.
Takahashi wants to take a breather but Jokinen is having none of it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Takahashi working over Jokinen with some ground and pound. Jokinen looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Takahashi takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ichiro Takahashi showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

A slapping body kick lands there for Takahashi.
Takahashi scores with a body shot.
Jokinen takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Jokinen finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Takahashi fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Jokinen tries a head kick but it misses.
Takahashi takes a swing at Jokinen's ribcage but misses.
Takahashi fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Jokinen on the side of the head.
Takahashi throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Jokinen sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Jokinen misses with a wild body shot.
Takahashi is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Jokinen rather than just go for the knockout.
Jokinen slips under a jab from Takahashi.
Ichiro Takahashi seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Takahashi throws a good cross that connects.
Jokinen has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Takahashi.
Takahashi looks to throw the jab but Jokinen is out of range.
Takahashi lands a jab to the nose.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Takahashi tries to close the distance and clinch up but Jokinen swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Takahashi avoids the body shot from Jokinen.
Takahashi lands with a thumping leg kick.
Nice defenses there by Jokinen.
Jokinen keeps the fight on the outside.
Takahashi misses with a telegraphed body shot

and Jokinen counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Takahashi!
Takahashi manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!

Jokinen looking for a kimura from the bottom but Takahashi passes into side control!
Takahashi is putting a hurting on Jokinen here, landing some big shots from side control.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Jokinen takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Orpo Jokinen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Takahashi controlling the position from side mount.
Takahashi creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Jokinen sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Jokinen tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Takahashi wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Takahashi lands a nice forearm strike.
Takahashi tries to move to full mount but Jokinen actually manages to regain half guard.
Jokinen wants to improve his position but Takahashi is controlling well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Takahashi looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Takahashi is trying to control the action in half guard but Jokinen is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Takahashi looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Takahashi is thwarting Jokinen's attempts to control the position.
Takahashi is keen to just control but Jokinen is a slippery customer.
Jokinen wants to get back to full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Jokinen looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Jokinen looking for a kimura from the bottom but Takahashi passes into side control!

And that's the end of the fight!
Ichiro Takahashi comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Takahashi 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ichiro Takahashi!
During a confident post fight interview, Ichiro Takahashi thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.