PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Ragnar Irish (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jimmy Pop (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Irish
vs
Pop

168 cm
23
155 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

171 cm
22
153 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Big right hand

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Determined

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 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ragnar Irish !
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, Jimmy Pop!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Fedor Mirinova and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Irish shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pop pinned against the cage. Pop gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Pop shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Irish napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Irish pushes Pop away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Pop gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.

Pop is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Irish is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Irish is letting Pop control him for a moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Irish can't do much from the bottom here.
Irish manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Pop content to control rather than advance.
Irish tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Pop has advanced to mount. Uh oh.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pop controlling from mount.

Pop gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!
Irish misses with a takedown attempt

and Pop counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Pop.

Pop gets to his feet - Irish follows without any prompting.

Pop closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Irish is fighting off a takedown attempt but Pop is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Irish to the mat. Irish regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Irish looking to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Irish keeping full guard, as Pop tries to pass.
Pop looks gassed!
Irish controls Pop momentarily but Pop frees himself.
Irish wants to stand and escape but Pop is having none of it.
Pop is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Pop throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Irish stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.

Pop fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Irish sprawls well initially but Pop persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Irish avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Pop.

Irish kicks Pop off and gets back to his feet.
Irish shoots and misses

The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
and Pop counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Pop.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ragnar Irish . That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pop pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Pop moves into range and clinches up with Irish .

Pop pulls guard successfully.
Pop is adopting a defensive guard.
Irish pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Pop is keeping the position for now.
Pop is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Irish stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Pop swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Pop pulls Irish in close to prevent any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Irish shoots and misses

and Pop counters by clinching up.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.

Pop drags the fight down to the ground.

Pop is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Irish is aware though and is defending well.
Irish wants to control from the top but Pop keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pop looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Irish trying to stand up but can't free himself from Pop's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jimmy Pop dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Irish with a poor takedown

and Pop counters by moving into the clinch.

Pop gets control of Irish 's arms and successfully pulls guard. Pop will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Irish is looking to stand up but Pop won't let him.
Pop is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Pop looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Pop wants to pass the guard but Irish is defending well.
Pop lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Irish is trying to maintain the position but Pop is very close to passing his half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Pop in particular looking to stall.
Pop really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Irish . If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Pop tries to pass the half guard into mount. Irish knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Irish trying to control here.
Well, if Pop is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Pop.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Irish is trying to buck Pop off.
Pop slows the pace down.
You can see the frustration on Irish 's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Pop controls the position.
Irish wants to control but Pop postures up.
Irish wants to get back to his feet but Pop drags him back down.

Pop decides to stand back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pop closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Irish did well to prevent Pop getting side control.
Pop wants to pass the guard but Irish is defending well.
Irish is trying to stand.
Irish is looking to control Pop's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Irish avoid being mounted?
Pop passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Irish !
Pop controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pop trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Pop pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Pop looking to finish with strikes here!
Pop lands a big elbow.
Pop wants to get back to his feet but Irish is holding on tight.
Pop unloads with some shots from mount but Irish bucks and avoids them well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jimmy Pop showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Irish gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Pop counters by moving into the clinch.

Pop decides to pull guard.

Pop escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Irish gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Pop controls Irish momentarily but Irish frees himself.
Pop wants to stand but Irish is controlling the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Pop throws his legs up looking for a submission but Irish uses it to pass to side control.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Irish cracks Pop with a big right hand but Pop just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Irish thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

Irish decides to stand up, so the ref orders Pop to his feet.
Irish shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Pop defends it nicely.
Irish gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Pop counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Irish !
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ragnar Irish . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Pop with a couple of short strikes.
Pop is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Irish can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Jimmy Pop has got the better of the ground game so far.
Irish wants to hold on but Pop pushes him away.
Pop content just to control the position here.
Ragnar Irish has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pop throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Irish is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pop lands a big shot there that rocks Irish but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Irish is trying desperately to improve position.
Pop pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Irish manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Irish is looking to escape.

Pop is working for a submission of some sort.
Irish looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's four 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.
Pop has decided to stand back up but his arm is trapped. Whilst he's worrying about his arm, Irish works to full guard.

Pop has gone for a leg lock! Irish slips out almost immediately though and dives into Pop's guard.
Pop wants to sweep here but Irish controlling him for the moment.
Jimmy Pop is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Pop is trying to stand and escape. In the scramble, Irish has locked hold of an arm and he's managed to lock on an armbar - Pop taps out instantly and this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Ragnar Irish !