PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alexandr Vatin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicholas Smirnov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nicholas Smirnov has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Alexandr Vatin's chin.

Vatin
vs
Smirnov

187 cm
24
220 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

202 cm
22
268 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alexandr Vatin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nicholas Smirnov!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Dmitry Maklakov and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vatin shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Smirnov tries to close the distance and clinch up but Vatin swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Smirnov moves out of range of the body kick from Vatin.
Vatin shoots for a takedown but Smirnov saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
A punch lands to the side of Vatin 's head but he takes it in his stride.

Vatin shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Smirnov manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Smirnov keeping moving, preventing Vatin from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Smirnov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Vatin is stalling in the full guard.
Smirnov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Smirnov keeping moving, preventing Vatin from controlling successfully.
Vatin might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Smirnov punching from the bottom - just letting Vatin know he's still in a fight.
Vatin postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Smirnov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Smirnov tries to clinch but Vatin moves out of range.
Smirnov shoots in but no luck this time.
Vatin lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Vatin fails with the takedown.
Vatin circles away from the clinch attempt.
Smirnov tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Vatin paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Smirnov doesn't manage to clinch there - Vatin circles away.
Smirnov tries to clinch there but Vatin circles away.
A chopping leg kick lands by Vatin.

Vatin feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Vatin accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Smirnov wants to stand but Vatin is controlling the position.
Smirnov looks gassed!
Smirnov working a defensive guard here.
Vatin is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Vatin accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vatin chips away with some ground and pound.
Vatin working some strikes from top position.
Vatin cracks Smirnov with a solid left hand.
Vatin throws a strike but Smirnov rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Vatin looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Smirnov tries to free his leg and advance position but Vatin is retaining full guard.
Smirnov stopping the sweep attempt from Vatin.
Vatin is controlling Smirnov's posture.
Vatin has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Vatin looking for a sweep. Not yet Vatin, not yet.
Vatin looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Smirnov wants to control from the top but Vatin keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Vatin is controlling Smirnov's posture.
Vatin has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Alexandr Vatin.
Vatin closes the distance and clinches up with Smirnov, looking for a takedown. Vatin pushes Smirnov against the cage but Smirnov circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alexandr Vatin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Smirnov takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Vatin scores with a leg kick.
Smirnov has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Vatin looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

Vatin seems to be looking for submissions.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexandr Vatin dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Vatin ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Smirnov moves away.
Vatin fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Vatin lands a nice shot to the body.

Vatin shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Smirnov's guard.
Vatin works over Smirnov with some ground and pound from guard.
Vatin preventing the sweep.
Vatin cracks Smirnov with a solid left hand.
Smirnov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Vatin.
Vatin missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Vatin with a nice head shot there.
Vatin throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Vatin here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Vatin loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Vatin throws a big right hand that misses.
Smirnov is breathing heavily.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Smirnov tries to clinch but Vatin is having none of it.

Vatin looking for a takedown here - he's got it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vatin controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Vatin postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Vatin trying to control the position from guard on top but Smirnov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Vatin scoring with punches to the head and body.
Vatin is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Vatin chips away with some ground and pound.
Vatin is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Vatin's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Vatin postures up in Smirnov's guard and throws a big left but Smirnov blocks it.
Vatin won't allow Smirnov to sweep him here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vatin trying to control but Smirnov is working from the bottom.
Vatin makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Vatin with a nice head shot there.
Vatin makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Vatin wants to control from the top but Smirnov keeps moving.
Vatin is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Alexandr Vatin overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vatin scoring with some ground and pound.
Vatin throwing strikes from guard but Smirnov blocks nicely.
Vatin makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Vatin working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Smirnov's head.
Smirnov looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Smirnov keeping moving, preventing Vatin from controlling successfully.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Alexandr Vatin.
Vatin throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

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.
Smirnov avoids a punch combination nicely.
Vatin moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Vatin throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Smirnov.
Vatin lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Smirnov circles away quickly and effectively.
Vatin connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Smirnov stuffs the takedown.
Vatin scoring well with a low kick there.
Vatin fails to land with a series of punches.
Vatin lands a jab-cross combination.

Vatin gets a takedown into half guard.
Vatin looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Smirnov has hold of Vatin's hands but Vatin slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexandr Vatin dominated that second round.
That's time! Vatin's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. And we move into the final round!

Vatin has his takedown stuffed
and Smirnov connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Vatin fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Smirnov avoids it really well and circles away.
A combination from Vatin does no damage.
Vatin lands a nice shot that snaps Smirnov's head back.
Vatin keeps the fight on the outside.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Vatin lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Vatin swats away the attempt to clinch by Smirnov.
Jab, jab by Vatin - just one landing.
Vatin shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Smirnov sprawls well. Smirnov wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Vatin gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alexandr Vatin. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Smirnov is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Vatin's half guard.

Vatin kicks off Smirnov and gets to his feet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vatin keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

Vatin decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

Vatin is looking for a kimura but Smirnov is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Vatin to get the leverage.
Smirnov is trying to stand back up but Vatin is controlling him
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Vatin lands a nice short elbow.
Smirnov is trying to get back to full guard.
Smirnov has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Vatin is working away from the top position though.
Vatin seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Nice strikes from Vatin there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vatin scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Smirnov avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Vatin.

Vatin is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Smirnov defends it well.
Alexandr Vatin is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Vatin prevents Smirnov from standing back up.
Smirnov slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Vatin's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Vatin 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vatin scoring with some ground and pound.
Vatin is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Vatin controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Vatin wants to control from the top but Smirnov keeps moving.
Vatin throwing strikes from guard but Smirnov blocks nicely.
Smirnov keeping moving, preventing Vatin from controlling successfully.
Smirnov looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

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.
Smirnov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Vatin.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Vatin throws a right hand that Smirnov ducks under and follows up with a left that Smirnov also avoids with ease.
Vatin is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Smirnov can do to turn this around?
Vatin ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

Vatin throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Smirnov was covering up waiting for the punch and Vatin finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Vatin postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Vatin postures up and lands a big shot to Smirnov's brow.
Vatin with a flurry of punches that miss.
Vatin lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Nicholas Smirnov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Vatin lands a couple of elbows.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Vatin's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Vatin is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Vatin controlling from the top position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexandr Vatin showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Vatin 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:26
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:26
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexandr Vatin!