PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between John Joe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aleksandr Karelin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Joe
vs
Karelin

193 cm
20
220 lbs
0 - 5 - 0

191 cm
18
271 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
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 0 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, John Joe!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Aleksandr Karelin!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Konstantin Menshow and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Joe circles away from the clinch attempt.
Joe looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!

Karelin feints and as Joe raises his hands in defense, Karelin changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Karelin advances position into side control!
Karelin wants to lay and pray for a moment but Joe keeps working.

Karelin tries for a kimura but Joe is defending well.
Karelin lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Joe down.

It looks like John Joe has been cut.

Karelin is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Joe knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Joe dodges the ground and pound from Karelin.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin throwing strikes but Joe manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!
Karelin manages to work his way to half guard, despite Joe's best efforts.
Karelin gets full guard.
Joe preventing the sweep.
Karelin bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Joe's guard.
Karelin advances to half guard.
Karelin is keen to just control but Joe is a slippery customer.
Joe knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Karelin on the ground.
Karelin not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Karelin sitting and controlling from the half guard.

Karelin is looking for a kimura but Joe is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Karelin to get the leverage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karelin working Joe over with strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Joe keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Karelin connects with a nice short shot to Joe's temple.
Joe on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Joe tries to get out of the position.
Karelin drops an elbow to the side of Joe's head.

Karelin is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Karelin is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Karelin throwing shots but Joe is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karelin winds up and cracks Joe with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Karelin stalling away here and it's allowed Joe to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Karelin lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Karelin throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Joe works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Karelin wants to control from the top but Joe keeps moving.
Karelin has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Joe can't keep his opponent in guard - Karelin advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin slips a nice elbow through Joe's hands, connecting with Joe's forehead.
Joe is trying to maintain the position but Karelin is very close to passing his half guard.
Karelin uses his free foot to push down on Joe's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Joe.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Karelin looking to finish Joe with some ground and pound. This is bad for Joe!
Karelin lands with some strikes.
Karelin raining down hammerfists from mount.

John Joe's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Karelin with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Karelin lands a big shot there that rocks Joe but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aleksandr Karelin dominated that round.
The cut man is working on John Joe's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Karelin clinches with his opponent.
Joe tries to circle away but Karelin has him pinned against the cage.
A shot in the inside from Karelin.

Jeez, John Joe's cut is really nasty now. The referee must be thinking about getting that checked.
Karelin misses with a knee to the head.
Karelin drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Karelin on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Karelin lands a left hand.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at John Joe's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:40 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Aleksandr Karelin!