PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vlad Gusev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Romanovitj Raskolnikov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gusev comes to the cage accompanied by Bad to the Bone. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Gusev
vs
Raskolnikov

192 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
22
204 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Big heart

Good wrestler
Counter striker
Experienced

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Vlad Gusev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Romanovitj Raskolnikov!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Illya Tyunina and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gusev swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Raskolnikov tries for a takedown but Gusev sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Raskolnikov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Gusev misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Raskolnikov misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Gusev.
Gusev tries to close the distance and clinch but Raskolnikov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Raskolnikov is trying hard to land a takedown here. Gusev sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Raskolnikov has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Gusev finds it's way round the side to connect with Raskolnikov's head.
Gusev looks to land a combination but Raskolnikov avoids it well.
The fighters circle momentarily. Gusev darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.

Raskolnikov shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Raskolnikov was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Gusev squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Raskolnikov raining down shots from the mount!
Gusev tries to buck Raskolnikov off but he can't manage it.
Raskolnikov looking to finish Gusev with some ground and pound. This is bad for Gusev!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gusev in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Raskolnikov dominating with strikes here.
Gusev's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Raskolnikov working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Gusev tries to buck Raskolnikov off but he can't manage it.
Raskolnikov lands a big elbow.
Gusev's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Gusev is breathing heavily.
Raskolnikov pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Gusev on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Gusev tries to get out of the position.
Gusev takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Gusev knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Raskolnikov on the ground.
BOOM! Raskolnikov connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Gusev is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Raskolnikov lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Raskolnikov tries to control but Gusev wriggling away.
Gusev wants to try and get back to his feet.

That's two 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.
Raskolnikov dominating with strikes here.
Raskolnikov lands a nice shot to the head.
Raskolnikov raining down shots from the mount!
Gusev is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Gusev is in a horrible position here. Raskolnikov smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
BOOM! Raskolnikov connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Raskolnikov landing punches.
Raskolnikov putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Raskolnikov has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Gusev's face.
Raskolnikov connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Raskolnikov landing strikes from the mount and Gusev is in trouble!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gusev in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Raskolnikov lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Gusev hang on?
Raskolnikov with a couple of short strikes.
Raskolnikov with shots to the head and body - Gusev looks very uncomfortable down there.
A nice elbow there by Raskolnikov.
Raskolnikov in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Raskolnikov landing strikes from the mount and Gusev is in trouble!
Raskolnikov working Gusev over with strikes here.
Raskolnikov won't let Gusev get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Raskolnikov lands a heavy elbow.
Gusev is trying to stand.
Raskolnikov is landing with some decent strikes but Gusev is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Gusev wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
A nice elbow there by Raskolnikov.
Raskolnikov punishing his opponent with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Gusev wants to get back to his feet.
Raskolnikov looking to control but Gusev is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
A nice elbow there by Raskolnikov.
Raskolnikov landing strikes, looking to finish!
Raskolnikov putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Raskolnikov punishing his opponent with strikes.
Raskolnikov scoring with strikes but Gusev is staying in there.
Gusev in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Raskolnikov is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Gusev trying desperately to get to his feet.
Raskolnikov can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Gusev is looking to escape.
Gusev is bucking up trying to escape but Raskolnikov cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Vlad Gusev will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Gusev tries to clinch up.
Raskolnikov tries to score a power double leg takedown but Gusev sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Raskolnikov somewhat.

Raskolnikov decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Raskolnikov takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Raskolnikov slips a nice elbow through Gusev's hands, connecting with Gusev's forehead.
Gusev wants to get back to his feet.
Gusev is trying to escape back to his feet but Raskolnikov uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Raskolnikov lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Gusev down.
Raskolnikov is putting a hurting on Gusev here, landing some big shots from side control.
Gusev takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Raskolnikov scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Gusev to see if he's OK.

That's one minute gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Gusev scores with a one two! Raskolnikov had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Gusev lands a two punch combo.

Raskolnikov closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Gusev to the mat! Gusev manages to get full guard.
Raskolnikov is working Gusev over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Raskolnikov won't allow Gusev to get back to his feet.
Gusev has momentary wrist control but Raskolnikov slips an elbow through the middle.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Raskolnikov's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Gusev is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Raskolnikov dives into side control.
Gusev wants to get back to his feet.
Raskolnikov works to advance to full mount. Gusev defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Raskolnikov with a couple of short strikes.
Raskolnikov working the ground and pound effectively.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gusev is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Raskolnikov looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Raskolnikov lands a big shot there that rocks Gusev but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Raskolnikov lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Gusev is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Gusev taking shots to the head.
Raskolnikov scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Raskolnikov scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Gusev?
Gusev is bucking up trying to escape but Raskolnikov cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Raskolnikov pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Raskolnikov with the ground and pound from mount.
Raskolnikov with shots to the head and body - Gusev looks very uncomfortable down there.
Raskolnikov punching from mount but Gusev doing a good job of avoiding damage.
You get the feeling that Gusev really doesn't like being in this position too much.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raskolnikov unloading with bombs!
Raskolnikov lands a big shot there that rocks Gusev but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Gusev is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Raskolnikov lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Raskolnikov postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Gusev looks a forlorn figure.
Raskolnikov with good strikes from the mount here!
Gusev takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Raskolnikov trying to control but Gusev is having none of it.

That's four 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.
Gusev is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Raskolnikov looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Raskolnikov breaks from Gusev's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Raskolnikov scoring with strikes but Gusev is staying in there.
Gusev wants to get back to his feet.
Raskolnikov lands a nice shot to the head.
Raskolnikov is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Raskolnikov with the ground and pound from mount.
Raskolnikov tries to control but Gusev wriggling away.
Gusev is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Romanovitj Raskolnikov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Gusev doesn't manage to clinch there - Raskolnikov circles away.
Gusev misses with a jab, cross combination.
Raskolnikov moves out of range of the strikes.
Raskolnikov changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Gusev tries to avoid it but Raskolnikov manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Gusev to the ground. Gusev escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Gusev tries to close the distance and clinch up but Raskolnikov swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Raskolnikov takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Gusev throws a right hand that Raskolnikov ducks under and follows up with a left that Raskolnikov also avoids with ease.
Raskolnikov on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Gusev waving his hands out infront of him, looking to distract Raskolnikov.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Raskolnikov.
Gusev misses with a looping left.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gusev tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Raskolnikov decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Raskolnikov moves into full mount! Gusev won't be happy about that!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gusev wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Raskolnikov wants to control the pace but Gusev is squirming around nicely.
Gusev is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
A nice elbow there by Raskolnikov.
A nice elbow there by Raskolnikov.
A nice elbow there by Raskolnikov.
Raskolnikov has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Gusev's face.
Gusev trying desperately to get to his feet.
Raskolnikov lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Gusev taking shots to the head.
Gusev wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Raskolnikov lands with some strikes.
Gusev's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Raskolnikov connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Raskolnikov lands a big shot there that rocks Gusev but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Raskolnikov landing punches.
Raskolnikov lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Raskolnikov won't let Gusev get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Raskolnikov trying to control but Gusev is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raskolnikov landing punches.
Raskolnikov lands a nice shot to the head.
Raskolnikov lands with some strikes.
Raskolnikov lands a big shot there that rocks Gusev but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Raskolnikov throws some wild stikes that Gusev manages to avoid easily.
Raskolnikov dominating with strikes here.
Raskolnikov throwing strikes here but Gusev is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Raskolnikov tries to control but Gusev wriggling away.
Gusev wants to try and get back to his feet.
Raskolnikov punishing his opponent with strikes.
Raskolnikov has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Raskolnikov working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Gusev's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.

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.
Raskolnikov dominating with strikes here.
Raskolnikov landing strikes from the mount.
Raskolnikov raining down shots from the mount!
Raskolnikov won't let Gusev get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Raskolnikov looking to finish Gusev with some ground and pound. This is bad for Gusev!
Raskolnikov lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Gusev hang on?
Gusev wants to get back to his feet.
Raskolnikov in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Raskolnikov landing shots from mount.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Raskolnikov postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Gusev looks a forlorn figure.
Raskolnikov landing strikes from the mount.
Raskolnikov is in the full mount, landing strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Romanovitj Raskolnikov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Raskolnikov 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Romanovitj Raskolnikov!