PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Wladimir Pushka (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ivan Zangief (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Wladimir Pushka has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Pushka
vs
Zangief

200 cm
21
260 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

213 cm
19
287 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Very strong

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Pegasus Nutrition
Pegasus Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Wladimir Pushka!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ivan Zangief!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Konstantin Menshow and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A nice leg kick lands there from Pushka.
Zangief misses with a lunging right hand
and Pushka counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Zangief is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Pushka ducks under a wild hook from Zangief.
Zangief thows a body shot but no joy.
Zangief shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pushka pinned against the cage. Pushka gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Zangief blocks a head kick by Pushka.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zangief shoots for a double leg takedown but Pushka sprawls well. He's pushed Zangief's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Pushka throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
A nice combination there by Pushka.

It looks like Ivan Zangief has been cut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pushka displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Zangief.
Wladimir Pushka has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ivan Zangief.
Pushka misses with a double jab.
Zangief throws an off balance right hand
and Pushka counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Zangief is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Zangief misses with a lunging right hand
and Pushka counters with a flying knee. Nice.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zangief keeps the fight on the outside.
A telegraphed right hand from Zangief misses the target.

Pushka drops Zangief with a beautiful combination! Zangief stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Pushka is looking for the KO!

Zangief is rocked!
Pushka misses with a jab, cross combination.
Pushka fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pushka looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Zangief misses with a series of wild punches.
Pushka slips under a jab.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Zangief shoots in looking for a takedown. Pushka tries to sprawl out of it but Zangief keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Pushka manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wladimir Pushka dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ivan Zangief's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Good standup being displayed there by Pushka as he connects with a hook.
Pushka tries to clinch there but Zangief circles away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Pushka listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pushka fails with an attempt to clinch.
Pushka defending well as Zangief loads up on a big left hand.
Zangief missing with a left hand there. Pushka was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Zangief throws an off balance right hand

and Pushka counters with a crisp one two that drops Zangief! Pushka thinks about following him to the mat for a moment but instead steps back and waves Zangief to his feet! Zangief is in big trouble!
Zangief is still on wobbly legs! Can Pushka finish him?
Pushka closes the distance but Zangief moves to the side

and Zangief counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Pushka!
Zangief seems to have recovered his senses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Pushka slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Zangief throws a strike but Pushka avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Zangief's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Zangief throwing strikes but missing.
Zangief thows a big elbow that misses.
Zangief wants to control from the top but Pushka keeps moving.
Zangief throws and elbow that misses. Pushka uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Zangief's guard. Nice move by Pushka!
Zangief has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Zangief managing to control the position.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Ivan Zangief hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Zangief stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Pushka.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pushka moves in looking to clinch but Zangief pushes him off.
Pushka misses with a combination

and Zangief counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Zangief throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Zangief seems to be working for a kimura but Pushka defends the submission attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Wladimir Pushka will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ivan Zangief's cut.
That's time! Pushka's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Zangief throws an off balance right hand
and Pushka counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Pushka pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Zangief misses with an uppercut
and Pushka counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Pushka stuffs the takedown.
Pushka tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Zangief was well out of range. Poor timing from Pushka.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Pushka. Those never looked like landing.
Zangief shoots in looking for a takedown. Pushka tries to sprawl out of it but Zangief keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Pushka manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Zangief misses with an uppercut

and Pushka counters with a head kick that drops Zangief to the mat! Zangief scrambles across the canvas and gets back to his feet, still wobbly!

Zangief is rocked!
Wladimir Pushka is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Zangief takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Zangief slips a jab and a cross from Pushka.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pushka goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Zangief is still on wobbly legs! Can Pushka finish him?
Zangief misses with a hook. Pushka ducked under it nicely.
Zangief seems to have recovered his senses.
Wladimir Pushka is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Oooooh!!! Pushka has knocked Zangief down with a huge combo! Pushka steps away and waves a wobbly Zangief back to his feet! This one might not go much longer!

Zangief is rocked!

That has opened up Ivan Zangief's cut even more.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Pushka drops Zangief with a beautiful combination! Zangief stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Pushka is looking for the KO!
Zangief is still on wobbly legs! Can Pushka finish him?
Pushka pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Zangief seems to have recovered his senses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zangief takes a head kick and keeps coming.

Pushka drops Zangief with a beautiful combination! Zangief stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Pushka is looking for the KO!
Zangief throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Pushka counters with a nice leg kick.
Pushka is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Zangief can do to turn this around?
Zangief shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Pushka as he jumps to the side.
Wladimir Pushka has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ivan Zangief.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pushka tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Zangief paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Zangief shoots in but no luck this time.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pushka stuffs the takedown attempt from Zangief. Zangief gets slowly back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wladimir Pushka clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Ivan Zangief's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Pushka tries to clinch but Zangief moves out of range.
Zangief avoids the head kick by Pushka.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zangief shoots in and drives through. Pushka sprawls well.
Pushka throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Wladimir Pushka seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pushka misses with a combination
letting Zangief counter with a right hand.

It looks like Wladimir Pushka has been cut.
Some wild striking there from Pushka.
Pushka tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pushka throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Zangief.
Pushka is looking to clinch.
Pushka lands a high kick!
Zangief misses with a right hand
and Pushka counters with a nice leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pushka misses with a two punch combination.
Zangief throws a right hand that misses
and Pushka counters with a two punch combo.
Pushka displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Zangief throws out the jab.
Pushka closes the distance but Zangief moves to the side

and Zangief counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Zangief is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pushka trying to control from the bottom.

Zangief is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Pushka sees it coming and defends easily.
Zangief throws a strike but Pushka avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Zangief trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Zangief loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Zangief loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close fourth round but Ivan Zangief will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
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. And we move into the final round!

Zangief fails with a takedown attempt.
Pushka scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zangief misses with an uppercut
and Pushka counters with a head kick.
Pushka tries to clinch up but Zangief circles away and keeps his distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pushka is looking to slow Zangief down with leg kicks.
Zangief might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Pushka lands a nice looking body kick.
Zangief is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Pushka lands with a thumping leg kick.
Zangief misses with an uppercut
and Pushka counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pushka tries to clinch
and Pushka takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Pushka fails with an attempt to clinch.
Pushka tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
A head kick misses from Pushka.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zangief slips under a jab.
A slapping leg kick lands for Pushka.
Pushka throws a head kick but Zangief moves out of range.
Wladimir Pushka is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Pushka tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Zangief manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

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.
Pushka misses with a head kick.
Pushka swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Zangief misses with a double jab
and Pushka counters with a flying knee. Nice.

And that's the end of the fight!
Wladimir Pushka showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Pushka 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 49:44
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 49:44
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 49:44

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Wladimir Pushka!
Wladimir Pushka retains his heavyweight title!