PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Yuri Ivanov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alessio Legionarius (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Alessio Legionarius has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Ivanov
vs
Legionarius

185 cm
24
197 lbs
13 - 6 - 0

185 cm
24
192 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

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 13 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Yuri Ivanov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Alessio Legionarius!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Kenichi Hosakawa and Yukihiro Shimada.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Legionarius blocks a leg kick.

Ivanov clinches with his opponent.
Ivanov stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Ivanov lands a hook to the side of the head.
Ivanov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Ivanov prevents a body shot from Legionarius.
Ivanov digs a right hand into Legionarius's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Legionarius's gas tank.
Legionarius misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Legionarius blocks a body shot from Ivanov.
Legionarius tries to throw a body punch but Ivanov avoids it by throwing Legionarius back against the ropes.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.
Legionarius working aggressively here.
Ivanov blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Ivanov misses with a punch to the body.
Legionarius throws a punch but it's blocked by Ivanov.
Legionarius's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Ivanov lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Ivanov drops down looking for an ankle pick but Legionarius pulls his leg out and moves away.
Ivanov shoots for a double leg takedown but Legionarius sprawls well. He's pushed Ivanov's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Legionarius throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Ivanov just misses with a punch to the body.

Ivanov darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Ivanov thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Legionarius's head.
Ivanov prevents Legionarius from improving his position.
Ivanov trying to pass the guard but Legionarius defending well.
Ivanov throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Ivanov looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov trying to control the action but Legionarius is working from the bottom.
Legionarius is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Ivanov controlling the action here.
Legionarius pushes Ivanov off looking to stand but Ivanov dives back in and keeps control.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Ivanov wants to pass to mount but Legionarius is defending the position.
Legionarius is staying active underneath Ivanov, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Yuri Ivanov.
Ivanov pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Legionarius avoids the body shot from Ivanov.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov tries to clinch but Legionarius moves out of range.
A low kick from Ivanov is predictable there
and Legionarius counters with a left to the body.
Ivanov works the jab nicely.
Good leg kick by Ivanov there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Legionarius delivers a nice body kick.
Ivanov misses with a leg kick
letting Legionarius counter with a right hand.

It looks like Yuri Ivanov has been cut.
Yuri Ivanov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ivanov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Legionarius scores with a leg kick.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Legionarius has closed the distance and engaged Ivanov in a clinch.
Legionarius misses with the head strike.
Legionarius prevents a body shot from Ivanov.
Ivanov has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Legionarius after a bit of a struggle.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Yuri Ivanov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Legionarius misses with a hook to the ribs.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Legionarius.
Legionarius misses with a body punch.
Legionarius can't find room to land a body shot as Ivanov controls the action.
Still in the clinch, Legionarius scores with a nice short uppercut.
Ivanov tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ivanov goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Ivanov has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Legionarius clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Legionarius holding both Ivanov 's hands and preventing any damage.
Legionarius trying to control the hands but Ivanov won't let him.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Legionarius tries to break free.
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 Yuri Ivanov will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Yuri Ivanov's cut.
That's time! Ivanov's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Ivanov shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Legionarius is trying to defend but Ivanov finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Legionarius wants to improve his position but Ivanov is controlling well.
Legionarius is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Legionarius is not content to let Ivanov control the position.
The fighters are battling for position here. Legionarius manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Ivanov slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Ivanov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ivanov looking to sit in guard and control but Legionarius gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Ivanov wants to sweep here but Legionarius controlling him for the moment.
Legionarius trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Legionarius is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Legionarius throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Ivanov works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ivanov looking for a sweep. Not yet Ivanov, not yet.
Legionarius in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Legionarius won't allow Ivanov to sweep him here.
Legionarius controls from within his opponent's guard.
Legionarius's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Alessio Legionarius.
Ivanov fails with a takedown attempt.
Legionarius throws a half hearted mid kick.

Legionarius shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Legionarius showed some decent athleticism there.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Legionarius throws a strike but Ivanov avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Legionarius looking to pass the guard.
Legionarius trying to stand up but can't free himself from Ivanov's guard.
Legionarius is looking to advance position but Ivanov has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Ivanov avoids the attempt from Legionarius to control.
Ivanov trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Legionarius is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Legionarius tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Ivanov content just to control the position here.
Legionarius tries to hold on but Ivanov postures up.
Legionarius is trying desperately to improve position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ivanov misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Poor strikes thrown by Ivanov there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Ivanov controlling his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Alessio Legionarius will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Yuri Ivanov's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Legionarius shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Ivanov pinned against the ropes. Ivanov gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Ivanov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ivanov misses with the body kick
and Legionarius counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Legionarius fails with the takedown.
A nice leg kick lands there from Legionarius.
Ivanov throws a quick inside leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ivanov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Legionarius.
Legionarius tries to bum rush Ivanov with a series of wild strikes but Ivanov uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Alessio Legionarius seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A nice leg kick lands there from Ivanov.
Ivanov lands a nice looking kick to the body. Legionarius takes a step back to recover.
A slapping leg kick lands for Ivanov.
Ivanov moves in looking to clinch but Legionarius pushes him off.
Legionarius avoids the head kick by Ivanov.
Ivanov connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Ivanov turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Ivanov misses.
Ivanov throws a nice head kick!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Legionarius throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Ivanov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Ivanov jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Legionarius pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Legionarius avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Ivanov scores with a push kick.
Ivanov tries to clinch but Legionarius moves out of range.
Ivanov lands a jab to Legionarius's midsection.
Ivanov dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Legionarius. That did some damage!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ivanov clinches up against the ropes.
Legionarius lands a left hand that snaps the head of Ivanov backwards.

Legionarius has hold of one of Ivanov's legs. Ivanov is fighting the takedown attempt but Legionarius gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Legionarius looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Legionarius looking to sit in guard and control but Ivanov gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Ivanov wants to pass the guard but Legionarius is keeping the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov trying to control but Legionarius is working from the bottom.
Legionarius is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ivanov pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Legionarius is keeping the position for now.
Ivanov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Legionarius works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Legionarius trying to keep a closed guard but Ivanov is proving a slippery customer.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Ivanov stopping the sweep attempt from Legionarius.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ivanov trying to control the position from guard on top but Legionarius is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yuri Ivanov showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Ivanov 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 29:28
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yuri Ivanov!
Yuri Ivanov decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.