PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Valeri Sobotkin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nicholas Smirnov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sobotkin kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Metallica - Enter Sandman. Valeri Sobotkin has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Sobotkin
vs
Smirnov

189 cm
20
250 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

202 cm
23
268 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Valeri Sobotkin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nicholas Smirnov!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Sergei Dronov and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sobotkin keeps the fight on the outside.
Smirnov fails in his attempt to clinch.

Sobotkin shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Smirnov is trying to defend but Sobotkin finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Sobotkin not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Smirnov is trying to maintain the position but Sobotkin is very close to passing his half guard.
Sobotkin tries to stand and escape but Smirnov is controlling the position.
Sobotkin takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Smirnov tries to get to full guard but Sobotkin has control of the leg.
Sobotkin thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Smirnov's head.
Sobotkin is nestled in close to Smirnov, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Sobotkin throwing shots but Smirnov is blocking nicely.
Sobotkin is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Sobotkin wants to stand but Smirnov has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smirnov regains full guard. Nicely done.
Sobotkin lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Sobotkin lands a couple of digs.
Sobotkin working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Smirnov looking to hit a scissor sweep but Sobotkin is one step ahead there.
Sobotkin pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Smirnov is keeping the position for now.
Smirnov is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Smirnov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sobotkin.
Sobotkin scoring with punches to the head and body.
Sobotkin might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Smirnov escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Sobotkin gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Smirnov wants to sweep here but Sobotkin controlling him for the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smirnov looks gassed!
Sobotkin postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Smirnov has momentary wrist control but Sobotkin slips an elbow through the middle.
Sobotkin stands up over Smirnov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Sobotkin connects with a couple of short punches.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sobotkin stands up over Smirnov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Smirnov has momentary wrist control but Sobotkin slips an elbow through the middle.
Sobotkin preventing the sweep.
Smirnov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sobotkin with a nice head shot there.
Smirnov has momentary wrist control but Sobotkin slips an elbow through the middle.
Sobotkin landing some decent shots from guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sobotkin distracts Smirnov with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Sobotkin with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Smirnov is rocked!
Sobotkin knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Smirnov on the ground.
Smirnov looking for a sweep. Not yet Smirnov, not yet.
Sobotkin lands a couple of elbows.
Sobotkin lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Smirnov is still in real trouble! Can Sobotkin finish him?
Sobotkin lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Sobotkin scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Sobotkin scoring with punches to the head and body.
Smirnov seems to have recovered his senses.

Sobotkin is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Sobotkin keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Smirnov's head.
Sobotkin scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sobotkin working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Smirnov's head.
Sobotkin with a nice head shot there.
Smirnov is trying to keep Sobotkin in close.
Sobotkin content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Smirnov keeping moving, preventing Sobotkin from controlling successfully.
Sobotkin is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Sobotkin makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Sobotkin keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Smirnov's head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sobotkin lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Sobotkin's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Sobotkin postures up.
Sobotkin lands a couple of elbows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Valeri Sobotkin dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Smirnov wants to clinch.
Smirnov gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Sobotkin counters by clinching up.

Sobotkin has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Smirnov regains guard immediately.
Sobotkin passes Smirnov's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Smirnov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Sobotkin scores with a couple of nice shots.
Smirnov wants to control but Sobotkin is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Smirnov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Sobotkin scores with a couple of nice shots.
Sobotkin drops an elbow to the side of Smirnov's head.
Valeri Sobotkin overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sobotkin takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Sobotkin working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Smirnov is breathing heavily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sobotkin is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Sobotkin is nestled in close to Smirnov, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smirnov trying to control here.
Sobotkin working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

Sobotkin is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Smirnov is just riding it out for now. Sobotkin eventually gives up the hold.
Smirnov is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Sobotkin is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Smirnov can do to turn this around?
Smirnov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Sobotkin scores with a couple of nice shots.
Sobotkin is thwarting Smirnov's attempts to control the position.
Smirnov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Sobotkin scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sobotkin working Smirnov over with strikes.
Smirnov on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Sobotkin scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Sobotkin working the head and body with strikes.
Sobotkin wants to free his trapped foot but Smirnov is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Sobotkin working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Sobotkin winds up and cracks Smirnov with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Sobotkin scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Sobotkin is thwarting Smirnov's attempts to control the position.
Sobotkin drops an elbow to the side of Smirnov's head.
Smirnov taking some punishment here, with Sobotkin in his half guard.
Sobotkin working over Smirnov with some ground and pound. Smirnov looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sobotkin is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Nice strikes from Sobotkin there.
Sobotkin is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Sobotkin seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Smirnov taking some punishment here, with Sobotkin in his half guard.
Smirnov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Sobotkin scores with a couple of nice shots.
Sobotkin slips a nice elbow through Smirnov's hands, connecting with Smirnov's forehead.
Smirnov tries to roll over but Sobotkin keeps him under control.
Ground and pound from Sobotkin.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Sobotkin there.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Sobotkin lands a nice short elbow.
Sobotkin looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Smirnov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Sobotkin drops an elbow to the side of Smirnov's head.

Sobotkin seems to be working for a kimura but Smirnov defends the submission attempt.
Smirnov wants to improve his position but Sobotkin is controlling well.
Sobotkin working Smirnov over with strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Smirnov moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Sobotkin here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Sobotkin trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Valeri Sobotkin dominated that second round.
That's time! Sobotkin's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Sobotkin shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Nice strikes from Sobotkin there.
Sobotkin landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Sobotkin is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Smirnov looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Smirnov will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Sobotkin throws a big right hand that misses.
Sobotkin lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Sobotkin's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Smirnov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Sobotkin connects with a couple of short punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sobotkin lands a couple of digs.
Sobotkin postures up.
Sobotkin distracts Smirnov with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Sobotkin lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Smirnov has momentary wrist control but Sobotkin slips an elbow through the middle.
Sobotkin trying to control the position from guard on top but Smirnov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sobotkin lands a couple of digs.
Sobotkin lands a couple of digs.
Sobotkin landing some decent shots from guard.
Sobotkin scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sobotkin is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Sobotkin lands a couple of elbows.
Smirnov utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Sobotkin connects with a couple of short punches.
Sobotkin chips away with some ground and pound.
Sobotkin scoring with punches to the head and body.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Sobotkin's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Sobotkin distracts Smirnov with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Smirnov keeping full guard, as Sobotkin tries to pass.
Sobotkin working some strikes from top position.
Smirnov is pulling down on Sobotkin's head. It's preventing any offense from Sobotkin, at least for the moment.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Sobotkin's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sobotkin with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Sobotkin has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Sobotkin lands a couple of elbows.
Sobotkin throws and elbow that misses. Smirnov uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Sobotkin's guard. Nice move by Smirnov!
Smirnov trying to control but Sobotkin is working from the bottom.

Smirnov drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Smirnov jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Smirnov prevents Sobotkin from getting back to his feet.

That's four 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.
Sobotkin seems keen to control Smirnov's posture.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Sobotkin trying to control the position.
Valeri Sobotkin is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Valeri Sobotkin just wasn't active enough.
Smirnov closes the distance looking to clinch

and Sobotkin counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Smirnov!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sobotkin looking to finish with strikes here!
Nicholas Smirnov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Smirnov gets back to half guard.
Sobotkin is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Valeri Sobotkin showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sobotkin 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:25
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:25
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Valeri Sobotkin!