PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Zharkov Valentinovich (ranked 3789 p4p, 4794 weight class) and Jordan King (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Valentinovich
vs
King

185 cm
25
177
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
24
175
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Cuts easily

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Zharkov Valentinovich!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jordan King!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Vladimir Khabensky and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Valentinovich forces King back against the cage and clinches.
Valentinovich taking a breather.
King looking for a takedown.
Valentinovich doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Valentinovich missing with knees to the body.
Valentinovich throws an elbow but it's blocked.
A short left from Valentinovich.

It looks like Jordan King has been cut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
King tries to break free but Valentinovich pushes him back against the cage.
Nice body punch from Valentinovich - that landed with a thud.
Still in the clinch, Valentinovich scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valentinovich slows down the pace here.
King wants to break free but Valentinovich has control.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Valentinovich.
King is trying to pull guard but Valentinovich turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
King is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Valentinovich is defending well.
Zharkov Valentinovich has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jordan King.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Valentinovich just misses with a elbow thrown towards King's brow.
Valentinovich is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
King can't get the takedown.
King blocks a body shot from Valentinovich.
Valentinovich stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
King avoids a wild elbow strike from Valentinovich.
A right handed body shot lands from Valentinovich.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
King is trying to pull guard but Valentinovich turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Valentinovich scores with a hook to the body.
Valentinovich stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Valentinovich tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and King avoids it.
Valentinovich working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Valentinovich lands a left hand.
King managing to block the knees to the body from Valentinovich.
Valentinovich is pressed up against the cage. King has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Valentinovich down to the mat. Valentinovich avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
King tries to clinch up but Valentinovich circles away and keeps his distance.
Zharkov Valentinovich is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
King tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Valentinovich defends well and King ends up having to push Valentinovich into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Valentinovich throws a half hearted mid kick.
Zharkov Valentinovich seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Valentinovich avoids a kick to the body.
Valentinovich attempts a counter takedown but King avoids it well and moves away.
Valentinovich with a hook.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
King is trying to pull guard but Valentinovich turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
King is trying to break the clinch but Valentinovich is controlling him.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Valentinovich leaning against his opponent.
King jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Valentinovich walks away with a smile on his face. King gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Zharkov Valentinovich dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Jordan King's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Valentinovich swinging wildly here.
Valentinovich looks to land a combination but King avoids it well.
Valentinovich tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
King slips a jab and a cross from Valentinovich.
King changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from King is defended easily by Valentinovich.
Zharkov Valentinovich is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Valentinovich cracks King with an open hand slap.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valentinovich throws a leg kick but King sees it coming and checks it nicely.
A jab lands there for Valentinovich.

Valentinovich moves into the clinch.
Valentinovich works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Valentinovich is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that King can do to turn this around?
A bit of stalling here from Valentinovich.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Valentinovich creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Zharkov Valentinovich has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Valentinovich just leaning against King, taking a breather.
Valentinovich lands a nice shot to the body.
Stalling in the clinch from Valentinovich.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
King jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Valentinovich walks away with a smile on his face. King gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
King goes for a double leg but Valentinovich avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Valentinovich continues to drive forward.
Valentinovich changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Zharkov Valentinovich has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jordan King.
King showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Valentinovich.
And King tries to counter it with a takedown but Valentinovich pushes his down on his head and steps out.

Valentinovich darts in and clinches King up against the cage.
Valentinovich lands a hook that snaps the head of King backwards.
Still in the clinch, Valentinovich scores with a nice short uppercut.
King tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Valentinovich just stands there and leans against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Valentinovich stalling.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stalling in the clinch from Valentinovich.
King is trying to pull guard but Valentinovich turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Valentinovich tries to land knees in the clinch but King avoids the damage to the body.
Valentinovich scores with an uppercut up the middle.
King is trying to pull guard but Valentinovich has him pressed against the cage.
King tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Valentinovich just stands there and leans against the cage.
King tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Valentinovich smiles and moves away.

Valentinovich closes the distance and clinches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
King jumps guard but Valentinovich stands there with King around his waist. King gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Valentinovich stalling against the cage.
Valentinovich misses with an elbow over the top.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Valentinovich just leaning against King, taking a breather.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Zharkov Valentinovich dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Jordan King's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

King shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Valentinovich defends it nicely.

Valentinovich takes the fight into the clinch.
Valentinovich misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from King.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Valentinovich just leaning against King, taking a breather.
Valentinovich prevents the takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valentinovich lands a left hand.
A short right from Valentinovich.
King jumps guard but Valentinovich turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Zharkov Valentinovich has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jordan King.
King is trying to pull guard but Valentinovich has him pressed against the cage.
King tries to score a body lock takedown but Valentinovich shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
King tries to pull guard but Valentinovich forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Valentinovich lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of King backwards.
Valentinovich lands on the inside with an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
King can't get the takedown.
King is trying to pull guard but Valentinovich turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Valentinovich working some nice short punches in the clinch.
King tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Valentinovich just stands there and leans against the cage.
Valentinovich lands a body punch.
King takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A left hand lands to the body for Valentinovich.
Valentinovich lands a nice shot to the body.
Valentinovich tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and King avoids it.
Valentinovich is leaning against King and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
King tries to pull guard but Valentinovich forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Valentinovich.
Valentinovich lands on the inside with an uppercut.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Valentinovich takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Valentinovich softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
King is trying to pull guard but Valentinovich turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
King tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Valentinovich just stands there and leans against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Valentinovich digs a right hand underneath King's ribcage. King let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Valentinovich trying to land knees to the body.
King tries to pull guard but Valentinovich holds him up against the cage and eventually King drops back down to his feet.
A frustrated look appears on King's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Valentinovich tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Come on Valentinovich - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
King tries to pull guard but Valentinovich won't allow it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Zharkov Valentinovich showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Valentinovich has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:24
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:24
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:24

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zharkov Valentinovich!