PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Goran Iliantovjic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dana Black (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Iliantovjic's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Iggy Pop - The Passenger. Black has chosen Onward to Victory as his entrance music. The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Iliantovjic
vs
Black

175 cm
21
150 lbs
2 - 5 - 0

170 cm
19
150 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

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 2 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Goran Iliantovjic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Dana Black!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Fedor Mirinova and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Black shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Iliantovjic as he avoids it easily.

Nice combo by Black! Oh, that's hurt him - Iliantovjic falls to the canvas and Black follows him into side control.

Iliantovjic is rocked!

Iliantovjic explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Iliantovjic pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Black misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Black moves into range and clinches up with Iliantovjic.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black misses with a punch on the inside.
A short right from Black on the inside.

Black pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Black throws a nice looking combination but Iliantovjic bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Black misses with a series of wild punches.

Iliantovjic drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Iliantovjic throwing strikes but missing, from side control.

Iliantovjic stands up.

Black has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Black throws a head punch that misses.
Iliantovjic lands an elbow just above Black 's eye.

It looks like Dana Black has been cut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Iliantovjic.
Iliantovjic tries to land a knee to the head but Black blocks with his arms.
Iliantovjic connects with a knee to the head.
Black working aggressively here.
Iliantovjic blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Black takes an elbow to the forehead.
Iliantovjic blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Black misses with a short punch on the inside.
Iliantovjic scores a nice knee to the body.
Iliantovjic unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Black swings wildly with an uppercut but Iliantovjic uses good head movement to avoid it.
Black lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Iliantovjic backwards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Iliantovjic scores a nice knee to the body.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Iliantovjic obliges.
Black throws a head punch that misses.
Iliantovjic blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Iliantovjic with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Black.
Black managing to block the knees to the body from Iliantovjic.
Black throws a punch but it's blocked by Iliantovjic.

Iliantovjic breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Black closes the distance and clinches.
Iliantovjic landing knees to the head.
Iliantovjic blocking some punches.
A head punch on the inside from Black fails to land.
Black throws a punch but it's blocked by Iliantovjic.
Iliantovjic blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Black tries to pull guard but Iliantovjic holds him up against the cage and eventually Black drops back down to his feet.
Goran Iliantovjic has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dana Black.
Iliantovjic throws a knee to the head but misses.
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 Goran Iliantovjic will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Dana Black's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Black fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Iliantovjic, pushing him back against the cage.
Black throws a head punch that misses.
Black tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Iliantovjic.
Black fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Black misses with some punches.
Iliantovjic lands a nice elbow.
Black swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Black wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Iliantovjic has him pressed against the cage.
Iliantovjic lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Black is trying to drag Iliantovjic to the mat but Iliantovjic just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Black misses with some punches.
Black throws a head punch that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Black fails to land.
Black is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Iliantovjic lands an elbow inside that Black shrugs off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Iliantovjic blocks a punch to the side of the head.

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

Iliantovjic tries to keep at a distance but Black has taken the fight into the clinch.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Iliantovjic obliges.
Black is trying to drag Iliantovjic to the mat but Iliantovjic just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Black misses with the head strike.
Iliantovjic lands an elbow that stopped Black in his tracks for a moment.
Black doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Black throws a punch but it's blocked by Iliantovjic.
Black goes for a takedown attempt but Iliantovjic pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Goran Iliantovjic has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dana Black.
Black stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Black wants it to stay on the feet.

That's two 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.
Good exchange - Black coming out on top.
Goran Iliantovjic is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Iliantovjic throws a left and a right that both miss

and Black counters with a takedown into side control.
Iliantovjic is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black working the ground and pound.
Black fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Iliantovjic dodges the ground and pound from Black.
Iliantovjic defending against the ground and pound.
The strikes coming from Black are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Iliantovjic wants to get back to his feet.
Black throws an elbow but Iliantovjic slips to the side and avoids it well.
Black with the ground and pound but Iliantovjic regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Iliantovjic is trying to stand.
Black looks to land a strike but Iliantovjic avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Iliantovjic wants to stand up but Black is controlling him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

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.
Black working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Iliantovjic has his feet on Black's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Black shoots in for a double leg but Iliantovjic sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Iliantovjic throws a series of punches but Black avoids them all with ease.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dana Black showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Dana Black's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Black closes the distance and clinches.
Black fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Black changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Iliantovjic fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Black misses with a combination

and Iliantovjic moves into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Black lands with a light punch inside.
Iliantovjic lands an elbow inside that Black shrugs off.
Black misses with some punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Iliantovjic landing knees to the head.

That has opened up Dana Black's cut even more.
Iliantovjic with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Black.
Black looking to stall.
Black throws a punch but it's blocked by Iliantovjic.
Black working aggressively here.

Black jumps into guard, dragging Iliantovjic to the mat.
Iliantovjic trying to control but Black is working from the bottom.
Iliantovjic 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 two 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.

Goran Iliantovjic has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Black rushes Iliantovjic and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Iliantovjic blocking some punches.
Black throws a head punch that misses.
Black looking to stall.
Black misses with a short punch on the inside.
Black throws a head punch that misses.
Iliantovjic is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Black is defending well for now.
Black throws a head punch that misses.
Black working aggressively here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Iliantovjic.
Iliantovjic landing knees to the body.
Iliantovjic putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Black in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Black doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Black misses with a punch on the inside.
Black is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Iliantovjic lands an elbow just above Black 's eye.
Black tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Black swings wildly with an uppercut but Iliantovjic uses good head movement to avoid it.
Iliantovjic blocking some punches.
A head punch on the inside from Black fails to land.
Black misses with a short punch on the inside.
Iliantovjic landing knees to the head.

The cut above Dana Black's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Black misses with some punches.
Black jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Iliantovjic walks away with a smile on his face. Black gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Goran Iliantovjic has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dana Black.

Black clinches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Iliantovjic lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Nice elbow from Iliantovjic.
Black tries for a takedown but Iliantovjic manages to get underhooks.
Black blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Black wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Iliantovjic breaks from the clinch.
Black fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Iliantovjic avoids it really well and circles away.
Black takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Black throws a combination that misses

and Iliantovjic moves into the clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Black working aggressively here.
Black tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Black tries for a takedown. No joy.
Iliantovjic tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Iliantovjic landing some nice looking knees to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Goran Iliantovjic showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Iliantovjic has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 29:28
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 29:29
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Goran Iliantovjic!