PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Silver Surfer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aleksei Ivanov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Aleksei Ivanov has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Surfer
vs
Ivanov

170 cm
22
185 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

183 cm
21
184 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Silver Surfer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Aleksei Ivanov!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice sprawl there from Surfer as Ivanov shoots in.
Surfer tries to clinch up but Ivanov circles away and keeps his distance.

Ivanov takes the fight into the clinch.

Ivanov has Surfer pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Ivanov pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Surfer tumbling to the mat - Ivanov dives into Surfer's guard.
Ivanov makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Ivanov sitting in guard here, content to control.
Surfer wants to stand up but Ivanov is controlling him.
Ivanov wants to control from the top but Surfer keeps moving.
Surfer is trying to control the position but Ivanov postures up.
Ivanov wants to control from the top but Surfer keeps moving.
Ivanov preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ivanov showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Surfer throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Surfer tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Ivanov holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Ivanov lands an elbow just above Surfer 's eye.

It looks like Silver Surfer has been cut.
Ivanov scores a nice knee to the body.
Ivanov lands with a left to the head.
Surfer can't get the takedown.

Ivanov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Surfer closes the distance looking to clinch

and Ivanov counters with a takedown into side control.
Surfer dodges the ground and pound from Ivanov.
Surfer manages to get back to half guard.
Surfer is breathing heavily.
Surfer is trying to stand back up but Ivanov is controlling him

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

Ivanov is looking for submissions but instead, Surfer has regained full guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ivanov is looking to work some ground and pound but Surfer has wrist control.
Ivanov trying to control the position from guard on top but Surfer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Surfer looking to control.
Ivanov landing some decent shots from guard.
Ivanov trying to control but Surfer is working from the bottom.
Ivanov seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Surfer is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ivanov is aware though and is defending well.
Ivanov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Surfer works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ivanov sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Ivanov lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Surfer manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Surfer throws some wild stikes that Ivanov manages to avoid easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Ivanov throwing hammer fists to the chest of Surfer. What's that going to do exactly?
Ivanov sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Ivanov missing with punches from the bottom.

Surfer seems to be looking for submissions.
Ivanov is trying to maintain the position but Surfer is very close to passing his half guard.
Ivanov gets full guard.
Ivanov wants to sweep here but Surfer controlling him for the moment.
Ivanov trying to control the position.
Surfer being controlled here momentarily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aleksei Ivanov dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Silver Surfer's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Ivanov moves into range and clinches up with Surfer.
Ivanov prevents Surfer from breaking the clinch.
Surfer throws an elbow that misses.
Ivanov unloads a knee to the mid-section. Surfer lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Ivanov stalling against the cage.
Ivanov lands a right hand that snaps the head of Surfer backwards.
Surfer prevents the takedown attempt.
Surfer could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Ivanov breaks from the clinch.
Ivanov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Surfer tries to clinch but Ivanov moves away

and Ivanov holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Surfer tries to land a knee to the head but Ivanov blocks with his arms.
Surfer looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Surfer looking to stall.
Ivanov lands a knee to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ivanov is working for takedown but Surfer is calmly controlling the position for now.
Surfer is trying to break the clinch but Ivanov has him pressed against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A hook to the body from Ivanov.
Surfer tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Surfer tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Surfer tries to pull guard but Ivanov holds him up against the cage and eventually Surfer drops back down to his feet.
Ivanov lands with a light punch inside.
Ivanov tries to land knees in the clinch but Surfer avoids the damage to the body.
Surfer is working for takedown but Ivanov is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Silver Surfer. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ivanov crunches a lovely knee into Surfer's ribcage.
Surfer takes a knee to the side of the body.

Ivanov breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Left hook, right uppercut from Surfer.
Silver Surfer is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Ivanov will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Surfer tries to clinch up but Ivanov circles away and keeps his distance.

Ivanov clinches up with Surfer and pushes him back against the cage.
Surfer is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Ivanov lands a nice knee to the body.
Ivanov holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Ivanov lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Surfer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov lands a nice knee to the body.
Surfer prevents the takedown attempt.
Ivanov utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Ivanov manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Ivanov gets underhooks to prevent Surfer's takedown attempt.
Ivanov connects with a knee to the head.
Ivanov digs a right hand underneath Surfer's ribcage. Surfer let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Surfer tries for a takedown but Ivanov manages to get underhooks.
Surfer wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Ivanov scores with a knee to the head.
Ivanov comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Surfer jumps guard but Ivanov stands there with Surfer around his waist. Surfer gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Ivanov works on Surfer's body with a couple of short punches.
Ivanov is leaning against Surfer and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ivanov has picked Surfer up - he's going for a ride! Ivanov dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Surfer avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Ivanov.
Surfer tries to roll over but Ivanov keeps him under control.
Surfer is refusing to be controlled, as Ivanov sits in half guard.
Surfer tries to roll over but Ivanov keeps him under control.
Ivanov moves into full mount! Surfer won't be happy about that!
Surfer is working to get back to half guard.
Ivanov lands a big elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Surfer tries to reverse the position but Ivanov maintains control.
Ivanov looking to control and managing it successfully.
Surfer tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Ivanov controlling from the full mount.
Ivanov landing strikes, looking to finish!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aleksei Ivanov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Silver Surfer's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Ivanov clinches.
Surfer goes for a takedown attempt but Ivanov pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Surfer lands a with a good body shot.
Ivanov is looking to clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ivanov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Surfer closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Ivanov wants to improve his position but Surfer is controlling well.
Surfer thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Ivanov's head.
Ivanov manages to get to full guard.
Surfer loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ivanov bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Surfer's guard.
Ivanov trying to control the position from guard on top but Surfer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ivanov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Ivanov trying to control but Surfer is working from the bottom.
Ivanov controlling from the top position.
Ivanov wants to control from the top but Surfer keeps moving.
Ivanov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Surfer trying 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.
Surfer can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Ivanov controls the pace.
Ivanov trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Surfer misses with a two punch combination.
Surfer fails to land with a series of punches.

Ivanov closes the distance and clinches.
Ivanov lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Surfer is trying to break free.
Ivanov gets through Surfer's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Surfer drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Ivanov gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Ivanov stalling the fight.
Surfer has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A short uppercut from Ivanov.
Ivanov throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Surfer looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Silver Surfer. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A nice right hand lands inside from Ivanov.
Surfer has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Ivanov is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Ivanov has picked Surfer up - he's going for a ride! Ivanov dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Surfer avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Ivanov.
Ivanov slows the pace down in half guard.
Ivanov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Surfer keeps working.
Surfer is trying to get back to full guard.
Ivanov is looking to take a break and control but Surfer is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov controlling the action here.
Surfer is refusing to be controlled, as Ivanov sits in half guard.
Ivanov not landing any meaningful shots this time.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Ivanov tries to close the distance and clinch but Surfer swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Surfer throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Ivanov's waist but Ivanov gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Surfer off to one side.
Ivanov doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Surfer counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Aleksei Ivanov.
I've got Ivanov winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 28:30
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Aleksei Ivanov!