PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Aleksandr Kerzhakov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Yuri De Santiuya (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). De Santiuya has chosen Tupac - Keep Ya Head Up as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Kerzhakov
vs
De Santiuya

190 cm
20
220 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

193 cm
26
214 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Determined

Bad Man Clothing (Nothing over 40$)

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Aleksandr Kerzhakov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Yuri De Santiuya!
The judges for this bout are Ryoma Takatsuka, Jeff Smith and Colin Fray.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kerzhakov tries for a takedown but De Santiuya circles away easily
and De Santiuya counters with a left and a right that stings Kerzhakov.
De Santiuya shoots in but no luck this time.
Kerzhakov bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A combination from De Santiuya does no damage.
De Santiuya misses with a low kick.
Nice takedown defense from Kerzhakov. No joy for De Santiuya on that attempt.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by De Santiuya.

De Santiuya fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Kerzhakov to the ground. De Santiuya is now in Kerzhakov's guard.
Kerzhakov is adopting a defensive guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Kerzhakov working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. De Santiuya doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. De Santiuya manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Santiuya has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Kerzhakov is proving hard to escape from.
Kerzhakov pulls De Santiuya in close to prevent any damage.
De Santiuya wants to stand but Kerzhakov has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kerzhakov is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Kerzhakov prevents De Santiuya from standing back up.
Kerzhakov working the head and body with strikes.
De Santiuya is trying to stand up here but Kerzhakov is controlling him well.
We've been hearing that Kerzhakov has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Kerzhakov not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Well, if Kerzhakov is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kerzhakov trying to mount his opponent but De Santiuya defends it.
De Santiuya pushes Kerzhakov off looking to stand but Kerzhakov dives back in and keeps control.
Kerzhakov is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Kerzhakov controlling from mount.
Kerzhakov raining down shots from the mount!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
De Santiuya is trying to stand.
Kerzhakov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kerzhakov raining down shots from the mount!
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De Santiuya is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Kerzhakov sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Kerzhakov cracks De Santiuya with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
De Santiuya is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
A nice elbow there by Kerzhakov.
De Santiuya is trying to stand up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aleksandr Kerzhakov dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

De Santiuya tries to sprawl but Kerzhakov drives through with a takedown into half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Kerzhakov lands a nice short elbow.
De Santiuya won't allow Kerzhakov to pass to mount.
Kerzhakov performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
De Santiuya scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Kerzhakov manages to mount him!
Kerzhakov sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
De Santiuya wants to try and get back to his feet.
Kerzhakov 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.
Kerzhakov pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kerzhakov landing strikes, looking to finish!

De Santiuya is rocked!
De Santiuya is trying to stand up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kerzhakov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
De Santiuya is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Kerzhakov controlling the pace for now.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Aleksandr Kerzhakov.
Kerzhakov misses with a hook. De Santiuya ducked under it nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Santiuya throws a big shot that misses.
That kick from De Santiuya tenderised Kerzhakov's leg. Kerzhakov is trying to keep his angry face on.
A punch combination from De Santiuya misses.
Yuri De Santiuya is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
De Santiuya throws a sloppy head kick and Kerzhakov moves out of range easily.
Kerzhakov closes the distance and clinches up with De Santiuya, looking for a takedown. Kerzhakov pushes De Santiuya against the cage but De Santiuya circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
De Santiuya looks to land a combination but Kerzhakov avoids it well.
De Santiuya misses with a body kick.

Kerzhakov closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

De Santiuya breaks from the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from De Santiuya - that will leave a mark!

Kerzhakov has De Santiuya up against the cage in a clinch.

De Santiuya escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
De Santiuya swinging wildly here.
Kerzhakov tries to clinch but De Santiuya moves out of range.
Kerzhakov avoids the head kick by De Santiuya.
De Santiuya fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kerzhakov manages to avoid it.
Kerzhakov has a takedown stuffed.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Santiuya with a lazy takedown attempt

and Kerzhakov counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
De Santiuya is breathing heavily.
Kerzhakov not doing much here.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kerzhakov passes to side control.
Kerzhakov prevents De Santiuya from escaping the position.
Kerzhakov scores with a couple of short elbows.
Kerzhakov tries to move into full mount but can't pass De Santiuya's legs.
Kerzhakov advances nicely into full mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kerzhakov content just to control the position here.
Kerzhakov working the ground and pound effectively.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aleksandr Kerzhakov dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Kerzhakov shoots in for a takedown but De Santiuya shows good takedown defense.
De Santiuya fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kerzhakov manages to avoid it.
De Santiuya throws a head kick but Kerzhakov moves out of range.
De Santiuya swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Kerzhakov dives in for a single leg takedown but De Santiuya sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Kerzhakov breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
De Santiuya is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Kerzhakov.
Kerzhakov fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aleksandr Kerzhakov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kerzhakov misses with a takedown attempt - De Santiuya sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kerzhakov shoots in but De Santiuya avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kerzhakov tries to clinch there but De Santiuya circles away.
De Santiuya fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Yuri De Santiuya seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
No joy there for De Santiuya, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Kerzhakov takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Kerzhakov throws a hook but De Santiuya blocks it.
De Santiuya misses with a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kerzhakov on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by De Santiuya. De Santiuya obviously looking to wear him down.
Kerzhakov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says De Santiuya as he avoids it easily.
Kerzhakov shoots for a double leg takedown but De Santiuya sprawls well. He's pushed Kerzhakov's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
De Santiuya throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
De Santiuya throws a push kick but Kerzhakov slaps the foot to one side.
Kerzhakov avoids a punch combination nicely.

Kerzhakov gets a double leg takedown into De Santiuya's guard.
De Santiuya wants to stand but Kerzhakov is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kerzhakov lands a couple of elbows.
De Santiuya wants to stand and escape but Kerzhakov is having none of it.
Kerzhakov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Aleksandr Kerzhakov.
De Santiuya stuffs the takedown.
Kerzhakov is trying hard to land a takedown here. De Santiuya sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Kerzhakov shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in De Santiuya's guard.
Yuri De Santiuya has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

De Santiuya is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Kerzhakov seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
De Santiuya is looking to stand up but Kerzhakov isn't so interested in that idea.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kerzhakov works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Aleksandr Kerzhakov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
De Santiuya punching from the bottom.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nice strikes from Kerzhakov there.
Kerzhakov wants to free his trapped foot but De Santiuya is holding on for dear life with his legs.
De Santiuya is trying to stand up here but Kerzhakov is controlling him well.

And that's the end of the fight!
Aleksandr Kerzhakov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kerzhakov, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 30:27
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Colin Fray scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Aleksandr Kerzhakov!
Aleksandr Kerzhakov thanked the fans post fight for their support.
In defeat, Yuri De Santiuya stepped up to the mic, saying 'Don't really need to say anything, because I never lose. I respect my opponent though. Proved he was better than me.'.