PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Krisko Kurtev (ranked 519 p4p, 871 weight class) and Orla Wanker (ranked 78 p4p, 129 weight class). Orla Wanker has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Kurtev
vs
Wanker

189 cm
30
193
15 - 16 - 0

190 cm
30
191
19 - 16 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Excellent MT
Fast

Vegan Gains
Altitude Clothing

Altitude Clothing

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 15 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Krisko Kurtev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Orla Wanker!
The judges for this bout are Shirou Masuda, Yukihiro Shimada and Yuuki Gou.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kurtev fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Wanker works over Kurtev's head and body with a nice combination.
Kurtev cracks Wanker with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Wanker.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Wanker working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Kurtev is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Kurtev misses with an elbow from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wanker controlling from side mount.
Kurtev throws an elbow to the body but it doesn't land.
Wanker remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Kurtev is looking for a sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wanker trying to control the position but Kurtev is working away.
Wanker in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Wanker has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Wanker takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Wanker blocks Kurtev's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
Kurtev tries to lock up and control but Wanker gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Wanker controlling his opponent.
Kurtev flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
Wanker controlling from the full mount.
Wanker looking to control but Kurtev is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kurtev tries to hold on but Wanker pushes him away.
Kurtev is trying to escape the mount.
Wanker is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Wanker tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Kurtev swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Kurtev bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Wanker looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Wanker trying to control the position.
Kurtev working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Wanker wants to sweep but no luck.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kurtev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Wanker trying to control the position here.
Wanker looking for a sweep. Not yet Wanker, not yet.
Kurtev connects with a couple of short punches.
Kurtev cracks Wanker with a solid left hand.
Wanker working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kurtev.
Wanker pulls Kurtev in to control the position.
Kurtev missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kurtev accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Wanker is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Wanker is pulling down on Kurtev's head. It's preventing any offense from Kurtev, at least for the moment.
Let's hope that Wanker 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kurtev accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Kurtev's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Wanker wants to get back to his feet but Kurtev is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Wanker looking for a sweep. Not yet Wanker, not yet.
Kurtev throwing strikes but missing.
Kurtev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Wanker controls Kurtev momentarily but Kurtev frees himself.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Kurtev throwing strikes from guard but Wanker blocks nicely.
Kurtev throwing strikes from guard but Wanker blocks nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Orla Wanker dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Kurtev doesn't manage to clinch there - Wanker circles away.
Kurtev takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

Kurtev rushes Wanker and presses him up against the cage.

Kurtev wants the takedown. Wanker is fighting it off but Kurtev persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Wanker's guard against the cage.
Kurtev postures up.
Kurtev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Orla Wanker has got the better of the ground game so far.
Wanker utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Kurtev chips away with some ground and pound.
Wanker manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Kurtev manages to get himself to full guard.

Kurtev looking for a guillotine here but Wanker defends easily.
Wanker pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kurtev is keeping the position for now.
Kurtev not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Wanker tries to free his leg and advance position but Kurtev is retaining full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurtev controls Wanker momentarily but Wanker frees himself.
Kurtev looking to hit a scissor sweep but Wanker is one step ahead there.
Wanker tries to free his leg and advance position but Kurtev is retaining full guard.
Kurtev is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Wanker wants to pass the guard but Kurtev is keeping the position.

Kurtev working for a triangle but Wanker defends it easily.
Kurtev throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Kurtev wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Wanker is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Kurtev controls Wanker momentarily but Wanker frees himself.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Kurtev has his foot on Wanker's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Wanker works his way back into a safe position though.
Wanker sitting in guard here, content to control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Decent striking displayed by Wanker there.

Kurtev shoots in and bounces Wanker off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Kurtev is working Wanker over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Kurtev postures up.
Wanker is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Wanker pulls Kurtev in close to prevent any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wanker preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Wanker looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kurtev is one step ahead there.
Kurtev keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Wanker's head.
Kurtev has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Wanker looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kurtev content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

It looks like Orla Wanker has been cut.
Kurtev wants to control from the top but Wanker keeps moving.
Kurtev missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Kurtev working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Wanker is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kurtev working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Wanker's head.
Kurtev stopping the sweep attempt from Wanker.
Kurtev with a flurry of punches that miss.
Wanker avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Kurtev postures up.
Kurtev works over Wanker with some ground and pound from guard.
Wanker is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Wanker wants to sweep here but Kurtev controlling him for the moment.

Kurtev avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Kurtev's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Krisko Kurtev dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Orla Wanker's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Kurtev takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Wanker scores with a jab to the jaw.

Wanker gets caught flat footed, as Kurtev shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Kurtev throws a big elbow that misses.
Kurtev content to stall in guard here.
Kurtev won't allow Wanker to sweep him here.
Kurtev scoring with some ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kurtev accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kurtev wanted to stand there but Wanker had control of the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kurtev throws a big elbow that misses.
Kurtev missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Wanker wants to stand up but Kurtev is controlling him.
Kurtev preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wanker is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Kurtev stopping the sweep attempt from Wanker.
Kurtev postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Kurtev throws a big right hand that misses.
Kurtev is fighting to break Wanker's control of his arms but Wanker is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Kurtev with a flurry of punches that miss.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kurtev accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kurtev with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Wanker controls Kurtev momentarily but Kurtev frees himself.
Wanker has his hands on Kurtev's head, controlling the position.

That's two 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.
Wanker controls Kurtev momentarily but Kurtev frees himself.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Kurtev blocks a jab.

Kurtev gets caught flat footed, as Wanker shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Kurtev throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Kurtev is trying to control the position but Wanker postures up.
Kurtev is looking to stand up but Wanker isn't so interested in that idea.
Wanker sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Kurtev throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wanker being controlled here momentarily.
Wanker wants to control from the top but Kurtev keeps moving.
Wanker trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Wanker trying to control but Kurtev is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Kurtev doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Wanker throws a head kick that misses.

Kurtev closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Wanker sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Kurtev trying to control from half guard but Wanker is working away.
Wanker has hold of Kurtev's hands but Kurtev slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Wanker is not content to let Kurtev control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wanker trying to control here.
Wanker is pressing down on Kurtev's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Wanker working a defensive guard here.
Kurtev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kurtev throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Wanker works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Kurtev throwing strikes from guard but Wanker blocks nicely.
Kurtev stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Wanker swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Wanker looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kurtev is one step ahead there.
Wanker wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Orla Wanker.
I think Wanker 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 Shirou Masuda scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Orla Wanker!
Orla Wanker made sure to mention his sponsor, Altitude Clothing in his post fight interview.