PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ilia Kosarev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matt Garza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Garza's choice of entrance music: Mirror. Ilia Kosarev looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Kosarev
vs
Garza

175 cm
19
155 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

165 cm
21
154 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ilia Kosarev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Matt Garza!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Garza darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Jeez, both these guys look absolutely knackered already, that's not a good sign!

Garza is trying to work for a kimura but Kosarev is defending well.

Garza is working for a submission of some sort.

Garza is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kosarev looks like he's trying to stand up.
Kosarev avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Garza.

Garza is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Kosarev defends it well.
Kosarev tries to kick Garza off but Garza keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Garza seems to be working for a kimura but Kosarev defends the submission attempt.

Garza is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Kosarev doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Garza.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Garza is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Kosarev doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Garza.
Kosarev wants to stand back up but Garza manages to pass into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Garza tries for a kimura but Kosarev is defending well.
Garza tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Kosarev wants to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kosarev tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.

Garza is working hard for the rear naked choke here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Kosarev preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Garza.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Garza has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Kosarev has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Garza dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Garza lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Kosarev circles away quickly and effectively.
Garza throws a nice inside leg kick.
Garza has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Kosarev.
Kosarev knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Garza on the ground.
Kosarev with the ground and pound but Garza regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Kosarev working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Garza's thigh. Garza counters though and makes it back to full guard.
Kosarev with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garza avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Garza looking to control.
Kosarev scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Kosarev with a flurry of punches that miss.
Kosarev trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

Garza is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Garza is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Kosarev is aware though and is defending well.
Kosarev throws a big right hand that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kosarev throws a big right hand that misses.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Kosarev accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Kosarev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kosarev with a flurry of punches that miss.

Garza working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Kosarev doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Kosarev manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Kosarev distracts Garza with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kosarev throws a big elbow that misses.
Kosarev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kosarev loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Kosarev is fighting to break Garza's control of his arms but Garza is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Kosarev throws a big elbow that misses.
Garza is controlling Kosarev's posture.
Kosarev cracks Garza with a solid left hand.
Kosarev trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Kosarev postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Garza holds on and takes a little breather.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Matt Garza.

Garza closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Kosarev quickly recovers to half guard.

Garza seems to be working for a kimura but Kosarev defends the submission attempt.
Garza tries to pass the half guard into mount. Kosarev knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Kosarev avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Garza.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Garza wants to work for an arm triangle but Kosarev is really keeping half guard well and defending 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 Ilia Kosarev will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Garza shoots in and gets a takedown into Kosarev's guard.
Garza won't allow Kosarev to get back to his feet.

Garza thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Kosarev is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kosarev is wriggling around but Garza manages to pass to half guard.
Kosarev is trying to stand back up but Garza is controlling him
Garza sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Kosarev defending well though.

Garza is looking for a kimura but Kosarev is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Garza to get the leverage.
Garza uses his free foot to push down on Kosarev's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Kosarev.
Garza breaks from Kosarev's wrist control and lands an elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kosarev wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Garza trying to control but Kosarev is having none of it.

Garza is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Kosarev has managed to escape the submission attempt.

Garza looking for a guillotine from mount but Kosarev is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Garza working for a submission here. He's tucked his head under his opponent's arm, looking for an arm triangle. He's hopped off into side control, looking to tighten the submission... is it going to work? He's given up a good position looking for it. Kosarev looks OK. Oh, I spoke too soon, he's out! That must have been tighter than I thought! Excellent work there by Garza! Submission of the night perhaps?

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:38 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Arm Triangle). Matt Garza!
Matt Garza bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.