PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tony Soprano (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yuri Ivanov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Soprano kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Got Yourself a Gun . Tony Soprano has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Soprano
vs
Ivanov

188 cm
32
215 lbs
24 - 9 - 1

185 cm
28
197 lbs
21 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

[CLOSED] Xtreme Laundry

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 24 - 9 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Tony Soprano!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 8 - 0, fighting out of London, Yuri Ivanov!
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Jeff Smith and Chris Saunders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ivanov misses with the combination.
Soprano uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Ivanov.
Soprano fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Ivanov has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
A head kick from Soprano lands but Ivanov takes it in his stride.

It looks like Yuri Ivanov has been cut.
Soprano moves out of range of the strikes.
Ivanov is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Ivanov connects with a high kick.
Soprano connects with an inside leg kick.
Soprano swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Soprano connects with a crisp jab.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Soprano takes one to the chin there.
Ivanov moves out of range of the body kick.
Ivanov throws a leg kick that misses.
Ivanov stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Soprano.
Nice defenses there by Ivanov.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soprano blocks a head kick by Ivanov.
Ivanov fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Soprano scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
A punch lands to the side of Soprano 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Soprano lands with a nice combination. Ivanov backs away looking to recover.
Soprano staying out of range there.
Soprano misses with a head kick.
Soprano misses with a hook. Ivanov ducked under it nicely.
Soprano waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Ivanov.
Ivanov staying out of range there.
Soprano on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Ivanov. Ivanov obviously looking to wear him down.
Soprano connects with a jab.
A looping hook to the body misses from Soprano. Ivanov does a little dance to reset his feet.
Soprano fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Ivanov avoids the body shot from Soprano.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ivanov feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Sopranos jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Ivanov misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Soprano.
Ivanov throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Ivanov checks the leg kick.
A solid leg kick lands there for Soprano.
Soprano misses with a looping left.
Ivanov shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Ivanov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Ivanov throws a wild body kick that Soprano sees coming a mile off.
Soprano lands a jab to the nose.
Ivanov slips under a jab from Soprano.
Soprano moves away from the strike by Ivanov.
Soprano tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Ivanov was well out of range. Poor timing from Soprano.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
No joy there for Soprano, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Soprano moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Soprano checks the leg kick nicely there.
Tony Soprano is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Ivanov dives in and grabs Soprano's left leg, looking for a takedown. Soprano pushes down on Ivanov's head and hops out.
A swing and a miss from Soprano.
Soprano lands a nice looking kick to the body. Ivanov takes a step back to recover.
Some wild striking there from Soprano.
Soprano throws out a loose jab but Ivanov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ivanov keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ivanov tries a head kick but it misses.
Soprano tests Ivanov's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Ivanov takes one on the chin but seems OK.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov sizes up Soprano with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Soprano throws out a leg kick but Ivanov moves out of range and Soprano only half commits.
Ivanov misses with a leg kick
and Soprano counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Ivanov thinking.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Good work by Ivanov as he checks the leg kick.
Soprano throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A slow jab from Ivanov misses its intended target.
Soprano scores with a spinning back kick!
Ivanov takes a shot to the body in his stride.
A swing and a miss from Soprano.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Soprano misses with a double jab
and Ivanov cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Soprano avoids a kick to the body.
Soprano lands with a shot to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Soprano dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Yuri Ivanov's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Ivanov throws a head kick but Soprano moves out of range.
Jab, jab by Ivanov - just one landing.
Ivanov moves out of range of the body kick.
Soprano scores with a decent looking hook.
Ivanov digs a good hook to Soprano's body.
Ivanov throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Soprano lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Soprano paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Ivanov showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Soprano.
Soprano pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Soprano scores with a hook.

Ivanov gets the takedown into side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ivanov working the strikes but Soprano uses the opportunity to regain half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ivanov looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Soprano is trying to get back to full guard.
Ivanov is thwarting Soprano's attempts to control the position.
Soprano is trying to stand up here but Ivanov is controlling him well.
Ivanov is keen to just control but Soprano is a slippery customer.
Ivanov stops Soprano from getting back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ivanov thows a huge punch but Soprano dodges it nicely.
Ivanov working over Soprano with some ground and pound. Soprano looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Soprano is trying to get back to full guard.
Ivanov controlling the pace.
Soprano wants to get back to full guard.
Ivanov seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Soprano does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov working the head and body with strikes.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ivanov trying to mount his opponent but Soprano defends it.
Ivanov thows a huge punch but Soprano dodges it nicely.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Soprano trying to hold on to Ivanov's head to control him but Ivanov postures up.
Ivanov lands strikes from half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ivanov throwing shots but Soprano is blocking nicely.
Soprano is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Ivanov frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Ivanov raining down hammerfists from mount.
A nice elbow there by Ivanov.
Ivanov landing strikes from the mount and Soprano is in trouble!
Ivanov is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Soprano can't stay in a position like this for much longer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov raining down shots from the mount!
Ivanov punishing his opponent with strikes.
Ivanov lands a heavy elbow.
Ivanov throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Soprano can't escape the position.
Yuri Ivanov has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ivanov scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Ivanov cracks Soprano with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
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!
Ivanov connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Soprano regains half guard.
Ivanov looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Ivanov takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Ivanov lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Soprano tries to roll over but Ivanov keeps him under control.
Ivanov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Soprano is trying to control but can't.
Ivanov looks to land a strike but Soprano avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Ivanov working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Soprano's head.
Soprano looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ivanov wants to control from the top but Soprano keeps moving.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Ivanov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Soprano swivels though and keeps the full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yuri Ivanov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Yuri Ivanov's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Soprano moves out of range of the leg kick from Ivanov.
Soprano throws a chopping leg kick but Ivanov manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Soprano scores with a kick to the body.
Tony Soprano is winning the standup battle so far.
The crowd cheers as Soprano lands an impressive looking overhand right. Ivanov doesn't seem phased though.
Soprano waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Ivanov.
Soprano pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Soprano scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.

Ivanov gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Ivanov working aggressively here.
Soprano blocks an uppercut.
Soprano working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Soprano throws a head punch that misses.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Soprano.
Ivanov swings wildly with an uppercut but Soprano uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ivanov drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ivanov lands a nice uppercut.
Ivanov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ivanov goes for a takedown in the clinch but Soprano prevents it.
Ivanov can't find room to land a body shot as Soprano controls the action.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Ivanov. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ivanov.
Still in the clinch, Soprano scores with a nice short uppercut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Soprano.
Ivanov blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ivanov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ivanov has a couple of punches blocked by Soprano.

Ivanov breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Soprano slips a straight right by Ivanov.
Ivanov throws a low kick, looking for Soprano's leg but Soprano calmly moves out of range.
Soprano tests Ivanov's chin there with a solid looking shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soprano misses with a body kick.
Ivanov connects with a high kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Soprano bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Ivanov's head backwards.
Ivanov looks to land a body kick but Soprano moved away.
Soprano feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Ivanovs jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Ivanov missing with a left hand there. Soprano was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Ivanov waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Soprano.
Ivanov fails with the takedown.
Tony Soprano has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Yuri Ivanov.
Ivanov slips under a jab from Soprano.
Soprano misses with a head kick.
Nice uppercut lands for Ivanov. That snapped Soprano's head back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A slapping body kick lands there for Ivanov.
Soprano scores with a kick to the midsection.
Nice defenses there by Soprano.
Ivanov tries to clinch up but Soprano circles away and keeps his distance.
Ivanov fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Ivanov throws a wild body kick that Soprano sees coming a mile off.
Ivanov turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Soprano lunges at Ivanov with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Ivanov's hand.
Ivanov shoots in but no luck this time.
Soprano is looking to land body kicks.
Soprano throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Ivanov throws a jab when Soprano was well out of range.
A big left from Ivanov misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov is trying hard to land a takedown here. Soprano sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Soprano chopping away at his opponent's legs.
A solid leg kick lands there for Soprano.
Ivanov misses with a looping right.
Soprano throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Soprano is looking to chop away at Ivanov's legs.
Soprano thows a body shot but no joy.
Soprano swings for the body but Ivanov moves out of range.
A jab from Ivanov misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ivanov throws a head kick that misses.
Ivanov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Soprano swings and misses with a hook to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Tony Soprano.
I think Soprano 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 Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 28:29
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Tony Soprano!
During a confident post fight interview, Tony Soprano thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.