PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tyson Smirnov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Deven Lion (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Smirnov
vs
Lion

188 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
18
187 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Prefers standup

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 New York, Tyson Smirnov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Deven Lion!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Reed Andrews and Steve Montenegro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Smirnov swats away the attempt to clinch by Lion.

Smirnov manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Lion on his heels. He'll look to pass Lion's guard now, I'm sure.
Smirnov not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Smirnov forces his way into half guard.
Smirnov is taking a breather. Lion says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Smirnov stops Lion from getting back to his feet.
Smirnov is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Lion tries to buck Smirnov off but he can't manage it.
Smirnov dominating with strikes here.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Smirnov cracks Lion with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Smirnov raining down shots from the mount!
Lion taking shots to the head.
Lion's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Smirnov connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smirnov controlling from the full mount.
Smirnov in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

Lion is rocked!
Smirnov looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Lion is still in real trouble! Can Smirnov finish him?

Smirnov is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Lion to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Lion shrugs it off.
Lion wants to get back to his feet.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Smirnov cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
You get the feeling that Lion really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Lion looks gassed!
Smirnov controlling the position easily from mount.
Lion seems to have recovered his senses.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Smirnov seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Lion for as long as he can get away with.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smirnov with shots to the head and body - Lion looks very uncomfortable down there.
Smirnov controlling from the full mount.
Lion really wants to buck Smirnov off and get back to his feet.
Smirnov scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Lion?
Smirnov controlling from the full mount.
A nice elbow there by Smirnov.
Lion squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Smirnov is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Lion can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Smirnov has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Lion wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smirnov takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Smirnov has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Smirnov working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Smirnov controlling from mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lion is bucking up trying to escape but Smirnov cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

Smirnov is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Lion has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Smirnov controlling the pace for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lion's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Smirnov cracks Lion with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Smirnov in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Lion trying desperately to get to his feet.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Smirnov sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Lion wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyson Smirnov dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Smirnov shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Smirnov prevents Lion from standing back up.
Smirnov seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Lion is trying to stand back up but Smirnov is controlling him
Smirnov is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Lion!
Smirnov raining down hammerfists from mount.
Smirnov looking to control and managing it successfully.
Smirnov looking to finish Lion with some ground and pound. This is bad for Lion!
Smirnov content just to control the position here.
Smirnov is landing with some decent strikes but Lion is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
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!
Lion is bucking up trying to escape but Smirnov cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Lion is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smirnov controlling from the full mount.
Smirnov raining down shots from the mount!
Smirnov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Lion's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Smirnov controlling the pace for now.
Smirnov landing shots from mount.
Lion tries to buck Smirnov off but he can't manage it.
Smirnov controlling the position easily from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Smirnov has hold of Lion's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Lion manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Smirnov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Tyson Smirnov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Smirnov with shots to the head and body - Lion looks very uncomfortable down there.
Smirnov lands a big shot there that rocks Lion but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Lion wants to get back to his feet.
Smirnov content just to control the position here.
Smirnov working the ground and pound effectively.
Smirnov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Lion can do to turn this around?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smirnov scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Lion?
Smirnov landing strikes from the mount and Lion is in trouble!
Smirnov lands with some strikes.
Smirnov looking to control and managing it successfully.
Lion taking shots to the head.
Smirnov looking to control and managing it successfully.
Smirnov scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Lion?
Smirnov working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Smirnov content just to control the position here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Lion is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Smirnov looking to control and managing it successfully.
Lion is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Smirnov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Smirnov working the ground and pound effectively.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tyson Smirnov dominated that second round.
That's time! Smirnov's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. And we move into the final round!

Smirnov fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Lion to the ground. Smirnov is now in Lion's guard.
Lion being controlled here, momentarily.
Lion wants to stand and escape but Smirnov is having none of it.
Smirnov scoring with some ground and pound.
Smirnov slips nicely into half guard.
Smirnov takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Smirnov looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Lion with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Smirnov is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

Smirnov is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Smirnov lands strikes from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smirnov stops Lion from getting back to his feet.
Smirnov is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Lion takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Smirnov is looking to advance position but Lion won't allow it.
Smirnov trying to control the pace.

Smirnov decides to stand up.
Lion tries to clinch up

and Smirnov counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Smirnov.
Lion wants to stand up but Smirnov is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Smirnov's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Lion wants to stand but Smirnov is controlling the position.

Tyson Smirnov has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Smirnov fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Lion to the ground. Smirnov is now in Lion's guard.
Smirnov won't allow Lion to get back to his feet.
Smirnov is stalling in the full guard.
Smirnov stands and throws Lion's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Smirnov controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Smirnov tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Smirnov has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Lion being controlled for a moment.
Lion is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Tyson Smirnov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Lion tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
Smirnov controls the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lion is trying to get back to his feet but Smirnov has full control of the position and if anything, Lion has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Good control from Smirnov.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Tyson Smirnov just wasn't active enough.
Smirnov swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Deven Lion has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Smirnov has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Lion finds it's way round the side to connect with Smirnov's head.
Lion tries to close the distance and clinch up but Smirnov swats him away and circles back towards the center.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tyson Smirnov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Smirnov has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Jonathan Paton scores the fight 30:27
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tyson Smirnov!