PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Borris Khalidov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and David Luther (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Luther has chosen Superheroes by Edguy as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Khalidov
vs
Luther

190 cm
24
217 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

193 cm
25
220 lbs
8 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Borris Khalidov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, David Luther!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Ivan Kurochkin and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Luther throws a head kick but Khalidov moves out of range.
Luther tries to bum rush Khalidov with a series of wild strikes but Khalidov uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Khalidov forces Luther back against the cage and clinches.

Luther's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Khalidov gets a takedown into half guard.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Luther is refusing to be controlled, as Khalidov sits in half guard.
Khalidov winds up and cracks Luther with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Khalidov throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Luther controlling the position well.
Khalidov trying to control from Luther's half guard. Luther has other ideas though and has regained full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Khalidov postures up in Luther's guard and throws a big left but Luther blocks it.
Khalidov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Luther holds on and takes a little breather.
Khalidov with a flurry of punches that miss.
Khalidov throws an elbow that misses. Luther uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Khalidov's guard. Nice move by Luther!
Luther stops Khalidov from standing up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Luther has passed into side control.

Luther stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Luther tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Khalidov was well out of range. Poor timing from Luther.
Luther misses with a head kick.
Luther lands a lovely overhand right.
Luther swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Khalidov counters with a nice double leg into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Luther keeping moving, preventing Khalidov from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Luther working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Khalidov.
Khalidov throws an elbow that misses. Luther uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Khalidov's guard. Nice move by Luther!
Khalidov is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Khalidov trying to control the position.
Luther is standing up over Khalidov. Khalidov looks to escape but Luther dives into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov is trying to buck Luther off.

Luther decides to stand up, so the ref orders Khalidov to his feet.
Khalidov shoots in but Luther avoids the takedown attempt easily.
David Luther seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Luther slaps away a takedown attempt from Khalidov, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Luther drops Khalidov with a beautiful combination! Khalidov stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Luther is looking for the KO!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

David Luther dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Luther lands a nice hook to Khalidov's body. Khalidov takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

It looks like Borris Khalidov has been cut.
Luther throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Khalidov checks a leg kick.
Luther misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Khalidov.
Khalidov takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

Khalidov is rocked!
Luther throws a predictable looking body shot

and Khalidov counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Luther!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Luther suckers Khalidov into throwing a sloppy strike and uses the momentum to reverse the position beautifully! Luther is now in Khalidov's guard!

Luther decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Luther throws the left hand but Khalidov avoids the punch easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Luther tries to clinch but Khalidov moves away

and Khalidov counters with a nice double leg into side control. Luther won't be happy with that.
Luther avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Khalidov.
Luther gets back to half guard.
Luther slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Khalidov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Khalidov postures up in Luther's guard and throws a big left but Luther blocks it.
Khalidov lands a couple of digs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Luther is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Khalidov throws a strike but Luther rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Luther won't allow Khalidov to get back to his feet.
Luther wants to stand but Khalidov is controlling his posture from full guard.
Luther is fighting to break Khalidov's control of his arms but Khalidov is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov is trying to control the position but Luther postures up.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Borris Khalidov wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Luther misses with a head kick.
Borris Khalidov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A punch combination from Luther misses.
Khalidov fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Luther avoids it really well and circles away.

Khalidov drives through and clinches with Luther against the cage.
Khalidov is looking to take this one to the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Luther fails to land.
Luther tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Luther.
Khalidov is looking to take this one to the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Borris Khalidov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Luther pushes Khalidov back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Khalidov wants to take the fight to the mat but Luther manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Luther with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Khalidov blocking some punches.
Khalidov drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Khalidov tries to score a body lock takedown but Luther shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
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 Borris Khalidov will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Borris Khalidov's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Luther misses with a jab, cross combination.
Luther throws a body punch but Khalidov moves out of range.
Luther misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Khalidov.
Luther punishes Khalidov's body with a nice straight punch.
Khalidov dives in and grabs Luther's left leg, looking for a takedown. Luther pushes down on Khalidov's head and hops out.
Luther is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Khalidov rather than just go for the knockout.
Luther throws a series of punches but Khalidov avoids them all with ease.
Luther jabs at Khalidov's body.
Luther looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Luther throws a low kick, looking for Khalidov's leg but Khalidov calmly moves out of range.
Khalidov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Luther as he avoids it easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Khalidov fails to land the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Borris Khalidov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Luther clobbers Khalidov with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
David Luther is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Luther fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Khalidov.
Luther misses with a series of wild punches.
Luther misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Khalidov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Luther as he avoids it easily.
Khalidov fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Khalidov moves out of range of the body kick.
Khalidov shoots in for a takedown but Luther shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Luther keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Luther fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Khalidov manages to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Luther lunges at Khalidov with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Khalidov's hand.
Khalidov fails to land the takedown.
Luther throws a sloppy head kick and Khalidov moves out of range easily.
Nice uppercut lands for Luther. That snapped Khalidov's head back.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Khalidov scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Khalidov with the ground and pound but Luther regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Luther slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Khalidov throwing strikes but missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov throws a big right hand that misses.
Khalidov throws an elbow that misses. Luther uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Khalidov's guard. Nice move by Luther!
Borris Khalidov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Khalidov is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Khalidov with the ground and pound but Luther uses the opportunity to regain guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Khalidov distracts Luther with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Khalidov looking to sit in guard and control but Luther gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Khalidov wants to sweep but no luck.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Luther stops Khalidov from standing up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Luther wants to stand but Khalidov has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

Luther stands and steps away. Khalidov gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

And that's the end of the fight!
David Luther comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Luther has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 28:30
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... David Luther!
A very excited looking David Luther made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.