PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Petr Octagonov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hakeem Diaw (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Octagonov
vs
Diaw

190 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

181 cm
18
201 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Intelligent

Syndicate Drugs

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Petr Octagonov!
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, Hakeem Diaw!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Fedor Mirinova and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Octagonov is looking to clinch.
Petr Octagonov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Octagonov lands a nice shot to the body.
A left lands for Diaw.
A slow jab from Diaw misses its intended target.

Octagonov 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.
Octagonov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Octagonov stops Diaw from standing up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Octagonov thows a big elbow that misses.
Octagonov postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Octagonov sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Diaw wants to stand up but Octagonov is controlling him.
Diaw being controlled here, momentarily.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Petr Octagonov.
Octagonov blocks a jab.
Octagonov takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Diaw scores with a nice head shot.
Octagonov is looking to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaw connects with a right hand. Octagonov shakes it off.
Decent striking displayed by Diaw there.

Octagonov feints and as Diaw raises his hands in defense, Octagonov changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Octagonov 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.
Octagonov seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Diaw for as long as he can get away with.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Petr Octagonov wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Octagonov doesn't manage to clinch there - Diaw circles away.
Octagonov fails with an attempt to clinch.
Octagonov wants to clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Petr Octagonov dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Octagonov misses with a takedown attempt - Diaw sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Diaw misses with an uppercut. Octagonov saw that one coming.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Octagonov tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Diaw swivels and escapes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Horrible takedown by Octagonov or perhaps it was just good defense by Diaw which made him look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Petr Octagonov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Diaw pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Octagonov shoots in for a takedown but Diaw shows good takedown defense.
Diaw connects with a right hand. Octagonov shakes it off.

Octagonov scores with a takedown into Diaw's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaw is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Octagonov engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Diaw is on top in guard.
Octagonov trying to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Petr Octagonov wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
A big left from Diaw misses.
Octagonov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Octagonov will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Octagonov fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Octagonov tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Diaw paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Octagonov shoots in and gets a takedown into Diaw's guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Octagonov engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Petr Octagonov dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Diaw lands a glancing blow to the side of Octagonov's head.
Octagonov keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Octagonov darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Diaw manages to get to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaw wants to stand up but Octagonov is controlling him.
Octagonov preventing the sweep.
Octagonov has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Octagonov sitting in guard here, content to control.
Octagonov throws and elbow that misses. Diaw uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Octagonov's guard. Nice move by Diaw!
Diaw stopping the sweep attempt from Octagonov.
Hakeem Diaw has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two 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.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Octagonov is working hard here to advance position.
Octagonov pulls Diaw in to control the position.
Octagonov tries to land a sweep but no joy.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Octagonov pulls Diaw in close to prevent any damage.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

We're going to have a standup here because Petr Octagonov wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Octagonov shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Diaw napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Octagonov tries to move to full mount but Diaw actually manages to regain half guard.
Octagonov controlling the pace.
Petr Octagonov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Octagonov takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Octagonov sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Diaw is trying to stand back up but Octagonov is controlling him

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Octagonov is thwarting Diaw's attempts to control the position.
Octagonov sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Diaw has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Octagonov is working away from the top position though.
Octagonov drops an elbow to the side of Diaw's head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Octagonov trying to control the pace.

And that's the end of the fight!
Petr Octagonov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Octagonov, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:27
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Petr Octagonov!