PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Aleksanteri Karelin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Freddie Mercury (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Karelin's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, CCCP. The crowd seem to be enjoying Mercury's choice of entrance music: Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody. Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Karelin
vs
Mercury

191 cm
26
286 lbs
17 - 9 - 0

225 cm
31
263 lbs
20 - 9 - 2

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Affordable Quality + Reliable Laundry

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 4 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 9 - 0, fighting out of London, Aleksanteri Karelin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 9 - 2, fighting out of London, Freddie Mercury!
The judges for this bout are , Frank Antenori and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A nice inside leg kick there by Mercury. That's going to slow Karelin down.
Karelin takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Mercury loads up on a big right hand but Karelin slips the punch.
Karelin ducks under a wild hook from Mercury.
Karelin just misses with a punch to the body.
Mercury fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Karelin checks it well.
Mercury misses with an uppercut.
Nice body kick from Mercury.
Mercury scores with a leg kick.
Karelin takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Karelin moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
A jab from Mercury finds it's way through Karelin's defenses.
Karelin throws an overhand right that lands on Mercury's shoulder, as Mercury tries to avoid the shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mercury lets loose with a powerful body kick. Karelin will feel that in the morning.
Karelin throws a lazy uppercut
and Mercury counters with a good low kick that Karelin was not able to check.
Mercury throws a lazy right hand but Karelin sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercury lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Mercury connects with a crisp jab.
Karelin tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Mercury manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Mercury lands a leg kick that knocks Karelin off balance momentarily.
Karelin fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mercury manages to avoid it.
Mercury thuds his shin into the meat of Karelin's side.
Mercury moves out of range as Karelin strikes.
Mercury lands with a nice body kick.
Mercury uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Karelin blocks a jab.
Mercury on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Mercury lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Karelin has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Karelin and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Mercury is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mercury keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Mercury looks for the body kick but Karelin saw that one coming.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mercury throws a half hearted mid kick.
Karelin takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Freddie Mercury seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Karelin slips under a jab.
Mercury throws a quick inside leg kick.
Mercury throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Mercury throws a nice inside leg kick.
Mercury misses with an uppercut.
Karelin checks a leg kick nicely.
The fighters circling - Karelin throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Mercury is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Mercury walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Karelin checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Karelin moves out of range of the body kick.
Karelin takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Mercury keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Karelin.
Mercury throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mercury avoids the body shot from Karelin.
Karelin tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Mercury manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Mercury will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Karelin takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Good shot there by Karelin.
Karelin misses the shot to the body.
Karelin tries to clinch up but Mercury circles away and keeps his distance.
Karelin scores with a jab to the head.
Mercury looks for the body kick but Karelin saw that one coming.
Mercury looks to land a right hand but Karelin moved out of range.
Mercury looks to land a combination but Karelin avoids it well.
A nice inside leg kick there by Mercury. That's going to slow Karelin down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin slips a jab from Mercury.
Karelin checks the leg kick.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mercury wants to slow Karelin down by chopping away at his legs.
Mercury throws out a powerful jab.
Mercury looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Good leg kick by Mercury there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Mercury scores with a hook.
Mercury with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Mercury misses with a low kick.
Mercury moves away from the strike by Karelin.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Karelin ducks under a wild hook from Mercury.
Karelin throws a shot from downtown. Mercury moves away and avoids it.
Mercury throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Karelin is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
A big left from Karelin misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Freddie Mercury dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Mercury keeps Karelin at a distance using the push kick.
Mercury thows a left - swing and a miss!
Mercury lands a nice shot that snaps Karelin's head back.
Karelin will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
Karelin slips a straight right by Mercury.
Karelin sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
A looping hook to the body misses from Karelin. Mercury does a little dance to reset his feet.
Karelin is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Mercury.
Mercury lands a nice looking kick to the body. Karelin takes a step back to recover.
Mercury is looking to score with low kicks.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Karelin might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
Mercury lands with a right hand.
Karelin slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Mercury, as that shot connected.
Mercury takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercury looks to land a left hand but Karelin moved out of range nicely.
Karelin has a takedown stuffed.
Mercury works the jab nicely.
Mercury moves out of range of the strikes.
Karelin throws a hook but Mercury blocks it.
Mercury misses with a leg kick.
Mercury lands with a slapping head kick.
A clash of legs there as Karelin blocks the low kick.
Mercury throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Karelin.
Nice uppercut lands for Mercury. That snapped Karelin's head back.
Karelin swings for the body but Mercury moves out of range.
Mercury is looking to score with low kicks.
Freddie Mercury is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Karelin walks into a left hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karelin blocks a jab.
Karelin moves out of range as Mercury strikes.
Karelin avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Mercury.
Nice body kick from Mercury.
Karelin moves out of range of the body kick from Mercury.
Mercury lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Mercury moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
A clash of legs there as Karelin blocks the low kick.
Karelin closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Mercury blocks a jab.
Mercury lands a leg kick that knocks Karelin off balance momentarily.
Karelin misses with a lunging right hand
and Mercury counters with a low kick, right behind Karelin 's knee.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mercury swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Mercury lands a head kick!
Karelin takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Mercury throws a head kick that half lands.
Mercury lands a head kick. Karelin smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
A telegraphed right hand from Karelin misses the target.
Karelin wants to clinch up but Mercury keeps it at a distance.
No joy there for Karelin, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Freddie Mercury seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A swing and a miss from Mercury.
Nice body kick from Mercury.
Mercury lands with a kick to the temple. Karelin shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mercury scores with a jab to the jaw.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercury with a nice cross.
Nice body kick there by Mercury.
Karelin misses with a body shot.
Mercury connects with a leg kick. Karelin looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Mercury misses with a low kick as Karelin jumps back.
Karelin rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Mercury counters with a nice low kick that buckles Karelin's knee momentarily.
Mercury misses with a two punch combination.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Mercury.
Mercury takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Mercury pushes Karelin away with a front kick.
Mercury connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Karelin blocks a leg kick.
Mercury misses with a lunging right hand

and Karelin counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Freddie Mercury showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Karelin checks the leg kick.
Karelin misses with a hook. Mercury ducked under it nicely.
Mercury lets loose with a powerful body kick. Karelin will feel that in the morning.
Karelin lands a head shot.

It looks like Freddie Mercury has been cut.
Mercury fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Karelin.
Mercury lands a really nice looking cross but Karelin seems unphased.
Mercury has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Mercury cracks Karelin with a right hand to the side of the head.
Karelin looks to land a left hand but Mercury moved out of range nicely.
Mercury lands a nice looking kick to the body. Karelin takes a step back to recover.
Mercury throws a front kick that sends Karelin stumbling back into the cage.
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!
Karelin connects with a looping right hand.
Mercury bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Mercury.
A nice combination there by Mercury.

It looks like Aleksanteri Karelin has been cut.
Mercury misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Karelin throws a looping overhand right but Mercury ducks down to avoid it.
Nice shot by Mercury.
Mercury throws the left hand but Karelin avoids the punch easily.
Karelin slips a straight right by Mercury.
Mercury clobbers Karelin with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Mercury connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Karelin tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Mercury was well out of range. Poor timing from Karelin.
Karelin looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Karelin fails with an attempt to clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Karelin looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A leg kick checked by Karelin.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mercury scores with a punch to the head.
Mercury smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Mercury tries a low kick but Karelin avoids it.
Karelin moves forwards but Mercury connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Karelin checks the leg kick.
Karelin fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mercury manages to avoid it.
Karelin lands a jab to the head.
Mercury looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Mercury gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Karelin defending well as Mercury loads up on a big left hand.
Mercury scores with a nice right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donk. Mercury catches Karelin right on the button with a cross.
Karelin misses with a hook.
Mercury cracks the inside of Karelin's front leg.
Karelin throws a jab when Mercury was well out of range.
Karelin checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Mercury misses with a body kick.
Karelin slips a jab and a cross from Mercury.
Karelin fails with an attempt to clinch.
Mercury moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Karelin pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Mercury scoring well with a low kick there.
Mercury lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Mercury throws an overhand right that lands on Karelin's shoulder, as Karelin tries to avoid the shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercury wants to slow Karelin down by chopping away at his legs.
Karelin tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Mercury has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Mercury throws the left hand but Karelin avoids the punch easily.
Mercury lands a nice looking body kick.
Karelin takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mercury connects with a looping right hand.
Karelin moves out of range of the leg kick from Mercury.
Mercury throws a low kick but it's checked well by Karelin.
Mercury fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Karelin has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A punch lands to the side of Karelin 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Mercury connects with a leg kick. Karelin looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Mercury throws a low kick but it's checked well by Karelin.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Freddie Mercury really dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's time! Karelin's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Mercury bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Karelin has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Karelin there as he acknowledges the shot.
Mercury thows a body kick. Karelin tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Mercury feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Karelin's calf.
Karelin ducks under a wild hook from Mercury.
Mercury connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Mercury lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Mercury misses with a kick to the body.
Karelin looks to land a left hand but Mercury moved out of range nicely.
Jab, jab by Mercury - just one landing.
Mercury keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Karelin.
Karelin throws a hook to the side of Mercury's head but Mercury sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Mercury lands a nice looking body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin misses with a body punch
and Mercury makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Karelin fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Mercury on the side of the head.
Karelin moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Mercury buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Karelin steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Mercury.
Mercury connects with a high kick.
Mercury avoids the body shot from Karelin.
Mercury lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Karelin takes one on the button.
Mercury chopping away at his opponent's legs.
The fighters circling - Mercury throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Karelin tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mercury throws a wild body kick that Karelin sees coming a mile off.
Mercury works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Mercury misses with a two punch combination.
Mercury throws a chopping leg kick but Karelin manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Mercury darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Mercury circles away from the clinch attempt.
Mercury throws a shot from downtown. Karelin moves away and avoids it.
Karelin takes a swing at Mercury's ribcage but misses.
Karelin uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Mercury.
A swing and a miss from Karelin.
Karelin takes a swing at Mercury's ribcage but misses.
Karelin has a takedown stuffed.
Mercury walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Karelin checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Aleksanteri Karelin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mercury throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Freddie Mercury is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Mercury throws a low kick but Karelin avoids it.
Mercury fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Karelin.
Mercury tests Karelin's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Nice shot lands for Mercury.
Karelin on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Karelin sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Mercury throws a right hand that Karelin ducks under and follows up with a left that Karelin also avoids with ease.
Karelin throws a hook but Mercury blocks it.
Mercury scoring well with a low kick there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercury throws a solid leg kick but Karelin takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Mercury.
Mercury misses with a low kick.
Nice body kick there by Mercury.
Mercury misses with a looping left.
Mercury thumps Karelin with a low kick.
Karelin throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Mercury sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Mercury connects with a good right hand that stumbles Karelin. Karelin circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Mercury pushes Karelin away with a front kick.
Mercury misses with a straight left.
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.
Karelin misses with an uppercut
and Mercury counters with a low kick, right behind Karelin 's knee.
Mercury connects with an inside leg kick.
Mercury lands the left hand.

And that's the end of the fight!
Freddie Mercury comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Mercury winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 36:40
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 36:40
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 36:40

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Freddie Mercury!