PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ricky Costa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ivan Dragov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ivan Dragov has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Costa
vs
Dragov

212 cm
25
235 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

197 cm
22
240 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ricky Costa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ivan Dragov !
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Fedor Mirinova and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dragov tries to score with a low kick but Costa moves his leg out of the way.
Dragov displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Costa.
Dragov shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Costa but Costa pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Dragov keeps the fight on the outside.
Costa throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Costa wants to clinch.
Costa blocks the body kick.
Dragov has a takedown stuffed.
Costa has a takedown stuffed.
No luck for Dragov with that takedown attempt.
Ricky Costa has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ivan Dragov .
Costa tries to work over Dragov 's front leg with a kick but Dragov checks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dragov fails with the takedown.
Dragov misses with a head kick.
Costa is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Dragov pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Dragov clinches up against the cage.
Costa blocks an uppercut.
Dragov changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Costa fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Dragov throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Costa cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Costa really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Costa wants to clinch up but Dragov keeps it at a distance.

Costa gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Dragov is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Costa scores with a knee to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Costa connects with a knee to the head.
Dragov looks winded!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Costa takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Costa scores a nice knee to the body.
Costa connects with a knee to the head.
Costa lands a damaging elbow.
Costa lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Costa keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Dragov 's efforts to push away.
Costa creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Dragov 's defenses.
Costa lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Costa lands a knee to the head.
Costa scores a nice knee to the body.
Dragov takes a knee to the side of the body.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Costa.
Costa with a knee to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Costa lands an elbow inside.
Costa lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Nice elbow from Costa.
Costa scores with a knee to the head.
Dragov takes a knee right on the jaw!
Costa is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Costa cracks Dragov with a nice body shot.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Costa.
Costa lands a body shot.
Costa lands a good knee to the midsection. Dragov won't want to take too many of those.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Knees to the body from Costa.
Costa lands a knee to the head.
Costa lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Costa connects with a nasty looking knee right to Dragov 's face.
Costa with a knee to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Costa lands an elbow inside.
Costa stalling in the clinch.
Dragov takes an elbow to the forehead.
Costa lands a knee to the head.
Costa utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Costa lands a damaging elbow.
Costa connects with a knee to the head.
Costa unloads a knee to the mid-section. Dragov lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Costa gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Costa has Dragov pressed against the cage, preventing Dragov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Costa controlling the action here for a moment.
Dragov takes a knee to the side of the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Costa dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Costa is trying hard to land a takedown here. Dragov sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Costa has taken the fight to the clinch.
Costa landing knees to the head.
Costa connects with a nasty looking knee right to Dragov 's face.
A shot in the inside from Costa.

Costa jumps guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Costa not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Dragov wants to pass the guard but Costa is keeping the position.
Costa is trying to control the position but Dragov postures up.
Dragov trying to control the position from guard on top but Costa is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Dragov shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Costa pinned against the cage. Costa gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Dragov is breathing heavily.
Costa shoots in but no luck this time.
Costa misses with a takedown attempt - Dragov sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ricky Costa. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Costa stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Costa wants it to stay on the feet.

Dragov gets tackled into the cage by Costa. Costa maintains the clinch.
Costa unloads a knee to the mid-section. Dragov lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Costa lands a good knee to the midsection. Dragov won't want to take too many of those.
Costa lands a nice elbow.
Costa landing knees to the head.
Costa is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Dragov can do to turn this around?
Costa holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Ricky Costa has scored more points in the clinch so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Costa using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A shot in the inside from Costa.
Costa scores with a knee to the head.
Costa scores with a knee to the head.
Costa lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Costa lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Costa landing knees to the body.
Costa struggles to land a body shot inside as Dragov controls his hands.
Costa with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Costa landing knees to the body.
Costa landing knees to the head.
Costa connects with a knee to the head.
Dragov takes a knee right on the jaw!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Costa lands an elbow that stopped Dragov in his tracks for a moment.
Dragov wants a takedown but no success here.
A short right from Costa.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Costa for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
Dragov jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Costa walks away with a smile on his face. Dragov gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Dragov avoids the body shot from Costa.
Ricky Costa seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Costa tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Dragov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Costa tries to clinch but Dragov is having none of it.

Costa clinches.
Costa taking a breather.
Costa jumps guard but Dragov turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Costa creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Dragov 's defenses.
Costa landing knees to the head.
Nice elbow from Costa.
Costa creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Dragov 's defenses.
Costa prevents the takedown attempt.
Costa unloads a knee to the mid-section.

Costa successfully pulls guard.
Costa knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Dragov on the ground.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Dragov missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Costa is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Dragov trying to control but Costa is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Costa dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Costa tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Costa shoots in but Dragov avoids the takedown attempt easily.
The fighters circling - Dragov throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

Costa instigates a clinch.
Costa connects with a nasty looking knee right to Dragov 's face.
Costa connects with a nasty looking knee right to Dragov 's face.
Dragov takes a knee right on the jaw!
Costa prevents Dragov from breaking the clinch.
Costa landing knees to the body.
Dragov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Costa landing some nice looking knees to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Dragov takes an elbow to the forehead.
Costa stalling the fight.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dragov takes an elbow to the forehead.
Dragov tries to pull guard but Costa forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Costa landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Costa landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Costa lands a good knee to the midsection. Dragov won't want to take too many of those.
Costa lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
A nice right hand lands inside from Costa.
A short uppercut from Costa.
Costa putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Dragov in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Costa scores with a knee to the head.
Costa comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Costa gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A knee to the head by Costa.
Costa on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Costa with a knee to the head.
Costa with a knee to the head.
Costa connects with a knee to the head.
A knee to the head by Costa.
Dragov blocks the elbow strike.
Costa fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Dragov has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Costa after a bit of a struggle.
Costa lands an elbow inside that Dragov shrugs off.
Costa lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Costa misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Costa prevents the takedown attempt.
Ricky Costa has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ivan Dragov .
Costa with a knee to the head.
Dragov is trying to pull guard but Costa has him pressed against the cage.
Dragov takes a knee right on the jaw!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Costa connects with a nasty looking knee right to Dragov 's face.
Dragov wants to take the fight to the mat but Costa manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Costa lands a nice knee to the body.
Dragov wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Dragov takes a knee right on the jaw!
Dragov goes for a takedown attempt but Costa pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Costa fails with an attempt to clinch.
Costa tries to clinch up but Dragov circles away and keeps his distance.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Costa.
Costa lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dragov fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Ricky Costa is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Costa fails with an attempt to clinch.
Costa fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Dragov moves into the clinch.
Dragov trying to control the position but instead, Costa has worked for underhooks and has pushed Dragov into the cage.
Costa landing knees to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricky Costa showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Costa 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 Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:27
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ricky Costa!