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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Said Abdulayev (ranked 5756 p4p, 4067 weight class) and Ivan Kovalev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Abdulayev comes to the cage accompanied by Thé à la Menthe Instrumental. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!
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| 175 cm
24
155
2 - 1 - 0 |
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180 cm
18
145
2 - 0 - 0 |
Decent wrestler
Counter fighter
Granite chin |
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Good wrestler
Brawler
Determined |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Said Abdulayev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ivan Kovalev!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Stewart Dunkirk and Tiny Johnson.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Abdulayev gets a double leg takedown into Kovalev's guard.
Kovalev can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Abdulayev controls the pace.
Abdulayev slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Abdulayev 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.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Abdulayev tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
That's one minute gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Kovalev's face as Abdulayev controls the position.
Abdulayev wants to stand but Kovalev is controlling his arm.
Kovalev seems a little lost for a moment, as Abdulayev dominates the positioning.
Abdulayev tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
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.
Abdulayev takes a little break here. Kovalev wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Abdulayev wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kovalev keeps working.
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Abdulayev gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Kovalev to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Kovalev must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kovalev working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Abdulayev looking for a sweep. Not yet Abdulayev, not yet.
Kovalev got a little sloppy there for a moment and Abdulayev has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Kovalev has managed to get both his arms back between Abdulayev's legs - danger averted.
Kovalev with a flurry of punches that miss.
Abdulayev escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Kovalev gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Kovalev throwing strikes from guard but Abdulayev blocks nicely.
Kovalev is working Abdulayev over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Kovalev postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Kovalev throws a big right hand that misses.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Kovalev missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Abdulayev seems keen to control Kovalev's posture.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Abdulayev is on top in guard.
Abdulayev is breathing heavily.
Kovalev is trying to keep Abdulayev in close.
Abdulayev trying to control the position from guard on top but Kovalev is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kovalev trying to control the position here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Said Abdulayev dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.
Kovalev throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Abdulayev was covering up waiting for the punch and Kovalev finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Abdulayev is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Abdulayev looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Said Abdulayev overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Abdulayev tries to land a sweep but no joy.
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.
Kovalev working some strikes from top position.
Abdulayev avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Abdulayev is looking to stand up but Kovalev isn't so interested in that idea.
Kovalev being controlled here momentarily.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovalev throwing strikes but missing.
Kovalev missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Kovalev content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Abdulayev wants to sweep here but Kovalev controlling him for the moment.
Kovalev content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kovalev throws a strike but Abdulayev rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Abdulayev content to stall in guard here.
Abdulayev tries to free his leg and advance position but Kovalev is retaining full guard.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Abdulayev controlling from the top position.
Kovalev is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Abdulayev is pushing down on Kovalev's leg trying to pass to half guard. Kovalev is fighting to maintain full guard but Abdulayev has managed to sneak the leg through.
Abdulayev wants to pass to mount but Kovalev is defending the position.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Abdulayev in particular looking to stall.
The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Kovalev closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Abdulayev quickly recovers to half guard.
Abdulayev is positioning himself well to prevent Kovalev advancing to mount.
Kovalev thows a huge punch but Abdulayev dodges it nicely.
Abdulayev trying to control from the bottom.
Abdulayev is trying to stand back up but Kovalev is controlling him
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kovalev throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Kovalev lands with a punch from half guard.
Kovalev winds up and cracks Abdulayev with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Abdulayev desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Abdulayev has hold of Kovalev's hands but Kovalev slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Kovalev scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Kovalev scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Kovalev thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Abdulayev's head.
Kovalev lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kovalev is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Ivan Kovalev showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. And we move into the final round!
Abdulayev looks for a takedown but Kovalev sprawls well.
Kovalev closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Abdulayev wants to control but Kovalev is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Kovalev throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Abdulayev moves into full guard.
Kovalev working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kovalev content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kovalev throws an elbow that misses. Abdulayev uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Kovalev's guard. Nice move by Abdulayev!
Abdulayev is stalling in the full guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Abdulayev trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Kovalev is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
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.
Kovalev being controlled here, momentarily.
Abdulayev has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kovalev is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Abdulayev 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 referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Kovalev fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Abdulayev to the ground. Kovalev is now in Abdulayev's guard.
Abdulayev has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Kovalev is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.
Abdulayev lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Abdulayev missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Abdulayev not doing much here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kovalev has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Abdulayev is working away from the top position though.
And that's the end of the fight!
Said Abdulayev showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Abdulayev 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 29:28
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Said Abdulayev!
Said Abdulayev spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
22% |
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