PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Ookko Buhatiir (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andrei On (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Buhatiir
vs
On

174 cm
22
168 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

177 cm
26
175 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ookko Buhatiir!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Andrei On!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Anthony Taglia and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Buhatiir has taken the fight to the clinch.
On misses with a knee strike.
Buhatiir is trying to pull guard but On has him pressed against the cage.
On connects with a knee to the head.
On looking to throw knees to the head but Buhatiir is blocking nicely.
On throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Buhatiir blocks it with crossed arms.
On looking to throw knees to the head but Buhatiir is blocking nicely.
On tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
On throws a knee to the head but misses.
On connects with a nasty looking knee right to Buhatiir's face.
Buhatiir changes levels and goes for a takedown here. On fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Buhatiir tries to bum rush On with a series of wild strikes but On uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Buhatiir fails with the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ookko Buhatiir. That's going to take a lot out of him.

On gets caught napping as Buhatiir dives in and scores a takedown. On manages to retain guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Buhatiir passes into half guard.
Well, if Buhatiir is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
On keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Buhatiir perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ookko Buhatiir has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Buhatiir.
Buhatiir fails with a takedown attempt.
Andrei On is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Buhatiir moves into the clinch.
On with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
On lands a knee to the head.
Buhatiir tries to pull guard but On forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
On scores with a knee to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
On throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Buhatiir blocks it with crossed arms.
Buhatiir is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
On with a knee to the head.

Buhatiir is rocked!

It looks like Ookko Buhatiir has been cut.
Buhatiir is breathing heavily.
On tries to land a knee to the head but Buhatiir blocks with his arms.
Buhatiir tries to break free but On pushes him back against the cage.
On looking to throw knees to the head but Buhatiir is blocking nicely.
Buhatiir tries to pull guard but On forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
On connects with a knee to the head.
Oh Buhatiir is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
On misses with a knee to the head.
Buhatiir seems to have got his legs back now.
On tries a knee to the head but Buhatiir blocks it.
On tries to land a knee to the head but Buhatiir blocks with his arms.
On throws a knee to the head but misses.
On tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
On misses with a knee strike.
On tries to land a knee to the head but Buhatiir blocks with his arms.
On looking to throw knees to the head but Buhatiir is blocking nicely.
Buhatiir is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
On throws a knee to the head but misses.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Buhatiir.
On scores with a knee to the head.

Buhatiir wants the takedown. On is fighting it off but Buhatiir persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in On's guard against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
On keeping full guard, as Buhatiir tries to pass.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Buhatiir with a nice head shot there.
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 Ookko Buhatiir will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ookko Buhatiir's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Buhatiir shoots in but On avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Buhatiir looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? On is fending him off so far but Buhatiir persists. Nope, On circles away and we're back to standing.

Buhatiir takes the fight into the clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for On.
On tries a knee to the head but Buhatiir blocks it.
On with an attempt at a knee that misses.
On tries a knee to the head but Buhatiir blocks it.
On misses with a knee to the head.
On misses with a knee strike.
On throws a knee to the head but misses.
On tries to land knees in the clinch but Buhatiir avoids the damage to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
On looking to throw knees to the head but Buhatiir is blocking nicely.
On is breathing heavily.
Buhatiir is trying to pull guard but On has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ookko Buhatiir. That's going to take a lot out of him.
On throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Buhatiir blocks it with crossed arms.
Buhatiir tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. On just stands there and leans against the cage.

Buhatiir jumps guard and drags On to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Buhatiir trying to strike off his back.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Buhatiir looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Buhatiir 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.

Buhatiir has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. On is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Buhatiir.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Buhatiir throws an elbow to the body but it doesn't land.
Buhatiir throws a couple of strikes even though he's not really in a good position to do so.
Buhatiir is looking for a sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

On stands up and we're back to a striking position.

On rushes Buhatiir and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
On with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
On using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Buhatiir has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Buhatiir jumps guard but On stands there with Buhatiir around his waist. Buhatiir gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Buhatiir has had enough of the clinch but On keeps him there for the moment.
On throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Buhatiir blocks it with crossed arms.
Buhatiir is trying to pull guard but On has him pressed against the cage.
On scores with a knee to the head.
Buhatiir tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
On tries to land a knee to the head but Buhatiir blocks with his arms.
On utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
On tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
On using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Buhatiir has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Buhatiir goes for a takedown attempt but On pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Buhatiir swats away the attempt to clinch by On.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Buhatiir has On up against the cage in a clinch.
On tries a knee to the head but Buhatiir blocks it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andrei On showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Ookko Buhatiir's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Buhatiir fails with a takedown attempt.
On wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Buhatiir keeps the fight on the outside.
On takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Horrible takedown by Buhatiir or perhaps it was just good defense by On which made him look bad.
On wants to clinch.
On wants to clinch up but Buhatiir keeps it at a distance.
Buhatiir shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ookko Buhatiir. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
On stuffs the takedown.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
On moves in looking to clinch but Buhatiir pushes him off.
Buhatiir throws a sloppy head kick and On moves out of range easily.

On moves into the clinch successfully.
On lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
On tries a knee to the head but Buhatiir blocks it.
On with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Buhatiir takes a knee right on the jaw!
On tries a knee to the head but Buhatiir blocks it.
On with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
On tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
On with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Buhatiir fails to pull guard.
On looking to throw knees to the head but Buhatiir is blocking nicely.
On misses with a knee to the head.
Buhatiir jumps guard but On stands there with Buhatiir around his waist. Buhatiir gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
On lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
On gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Buhatiir.
Buhatiir tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. On just stands there and leans against the cage.
On using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Buhatiir has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
On throws a knee to the head but misses.
On misses with a knee strike.
Buhatiir jumps guard but On stands there with Buhatiir around his waist. Buhatiir gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Buhatiir looking to slow down the pace here.

Buhatiir pulls guard.

Buhatiir throws his legs up looking for a submission but On uses it to pass to side control.

On decides to stand back up. On steps back and let's Buhatiir get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
On is looking to clinch but Buhatiir is avoiding it.
Ookko Buhatiir seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
On tries to close the distance and clinch but Buhatiir swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Buhatiir falls off balance throwing a combination

and On counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by On.
Buhatiir changes levels and goes for a takedown here. On fights it off and pushes away nicely.

On clinches.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Knees in the clinch landing for On.
On misses with a knee strike.
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!
On connects with a nasty looking knee right to Buhatiir's face.

And that's the end of the fight!
Andrei On comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think On 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 Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 28:29
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 28:29
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Andrei On!