PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Drax Bautista (ranked 465 p4p, 1042 weight class) and Ruslan Karelin (ranked 72 p4p, 148 weight class). Ruslan Karelin has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Bautista
vs
Karelin

190 cm
30
209
16 - 10 - 0

190 cm
35
206
19 - 13 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Brooklyn Threads
Brooklyn Apothecary

HELLBENT
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Drax Bautista!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ruslan Karelin!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, Daniel Bishop and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Karelin drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Karelin is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Bautista will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Bautista is looking for a sweep.
Bautista is being controlled here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Karelin tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Bautista is looking for a sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bautista is not content to let Karelin control the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
A lull in the action here.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Let's hope that Karelin 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.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Bautista misses with a straight left.
Karelin throws a counter combo.
Both fighters circling a little - Bautista finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Bautista swinging wildly here.
Bautista thows a left - swing and a miss!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karelin uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Bautista.
Bautista bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Bautista tries to land a front kick but Karelin steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Karelin fails with a takedown attempt.
A little feinted left hand from Bautista on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Karelin moves out of range of the body kick.
Karelin now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Karelin takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Bautista tries to land a body kick
and Karelin counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Bautista loads up on a big right hand but Karelin slips the punch.
Drax Bautista is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Bautista throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Karelin looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Bautista throws a leg kick but Karelin sees it coming and checks it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karelin bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Karelin shapes to counter with a head kick.
Jab by Bautista.
Bautista scores with a hook.

It looks like Ruslan Karelin has been cut.
A head kick misses from Karelin.
Bautista lands a jab to Karelin's midsection.
Bautista throws the left hand but Karelin avoids the punch easily.
Bautista throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Karelin counters with a straight right hand.
Bautista throws a body shot but no joy.
As Bautista backs off Karelin throws a huge counter combo but Bautista manages to avoid it all.
Karelin uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Bautista.
Bautista scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Karelin has his takedown stuffed
and Bautista counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice body kick there by Bautista.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bautista lunges at Karelin with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Karelin's hand.
Bautista misses with a double jab.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Bautista - that will leave a mark!
A shot to the body from Bautista misses
and Karelin counters with a series of strikes. Bautista will be more careful next time no doubt.
A solid body kick from Bautista.
Bautista scoring well with a low kick there.
Bautista looks to land a body kick but Karelin moved away.
Bautista misses with a left hand
and Karelin counters with a two punch combo.
A lazy body kick from Bautista
and Karelin counters with a straight right hand.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Bautista misses with a kick to the body.
A jab from Bautista does it's job there.
Bautista is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Karelin can do to turn this around?
Karelin doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Bautista counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Bautista tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Karelin was well out of range. Poor timing from Bautista.
Karelin lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Bautista works Karelin's body with a nice hook.
Bautista works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Karelin has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Bautista.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bautista looks for the body kick but Karelin saw that one coming.
Karelin doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Bautista throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Bautista misses with a kick to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bautista throws a poor cross that misses
and Karelin counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Karelin has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Bautista.
Bautista scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Bautista missing with a left hand there. Karelin was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Drax Bautista seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bautista throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Karelin counters with a two punch combo.
Bautista thumps Karelin with a low kick.
Bautista throws a half hearted mid kick.
Bautista connects with a good right hand that stumbles Karelin. Karelin circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Karelin shoots in looking for a takedown but Bautista manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Karelin's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
A solid leg kick lands there for Bautista.
Bautista stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Bautista throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Karelin unleashes a big counter combination but Bautista bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Ruslan Karelin is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A solid leg kick lands there for Bautista.
Karelin takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Bautista listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Bautista cracks Karelin with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Karelin walks into a left hand.
Bautista misses with a right hand
and Karelin counters with a nice body shot.
A jab from Bautista does it's job there.
Bautista throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A thudding body kick lands there by Bautista!
Bautista throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Karelin on the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bautista lands with an overhand left.
Bautista throws a body kick that misses
and Karelin cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Karelin shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Bautista as he avoids it easily.
Drax Bautista has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ruslan Karelin.
Bautista throws out a loose jab but Karelin uses good head movement to avoid it.
Karelin appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Bautista misses with a wild body shot.
Karelin now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Bautista swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Bautista throws a hook but Karelin blocks it.
Nice defenses there by Karelin.

Bautista gets caught flat footed, as Karelin shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Karelin is fighting to break Bautista's control of his arms but Bautista is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Karelin's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Bautista keeping moving, preventing Karelin from controlling successfully.
Bautista trying to keep a closed guard but Karelin is proving a slippery customer.
Karelin sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Bautista's guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Drax Bautista dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Ruslan Karelin's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Bautista dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Bautista throws a lazy body kick
enabling Karelin to counter with a crisp jab.
Bautista misses with an uppercut
letting Karelin counter with a right hand.
The fighters circling - Bautista throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Karelin is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Bautista.
Karelin is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Bautista with a body shot.
Karelin walks forward, straight into a front kick from Bautista.
Bautista scores with a kick to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bautista misses the shot to the body.
Bautista moves out of the way of the counter high kick fromKarelin.
Bautista is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Karelin.

Karelin closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Bautista quickly recovers to half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bautista preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin stalling.
Karelin wants to take a breather but Bautista is having none of it.
Karelin takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's two 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.
Bautista wants to control but Karelin is keeping busy.
Karelin wants to take a breather but Bautista is having none of it.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Karelin ducks under a wild hook from Bautista.
Karelin is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Karelin has his takedown stuffed
letting Bautista counter with a right hand.
Bautista misses with a body kick.
Bautista throws a right hand that misses
and Karelin counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Karelin shoots in and gets a takedown into Bautista's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karelin wants to control from the top but Bautista keeps moving.
Bautista working a defensive guard here.
Karelin trying to control the position from guard on top but Bautista is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Bautista is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Karelin missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Bautista looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Bautista working a defensive guard here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Bautista thuds his shin into the meat of Karelin's side.
Ruslan Karelin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bautista leaves Karelin with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The fighters circling - Bautista throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Karelin doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ruslan Karelin comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Bautista has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Drax Bautista!
Drax Bautista bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.