PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Nate Burgelson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Owen Gaines (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Burgelson
vs
Gaines

190 cm
25
210 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

200 cm
24
215 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Prefers standup

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nate Burgelson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Owen Gaines!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Konstantin Menshow and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gaines waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Burgelson.
Gaines punishes Burgelson's body with a nice straight punch.
Gaines is looking to chop away at Burgelson's legs.
Burgelson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Gaines.
Gaines throws a sloppy head kick and Burgelson moves out of range easily.
Gaines pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Gaines does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Gaines misses with a head kick.
Burgelson moves out of range as Gaines throws a body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gaines misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Burgelson.
Gaines scores with a sloppy right hand. Burgelson should have avoided that one.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Burgelson checks a leg kick.
Gaines with a jab.
Burgelson walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gaines goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Gaines throws a low kick but Burgelson moves out of range easily.
Gaines fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Burgelson is out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gaines swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Gaines moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Gaines swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Gaines throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Gaines misses with a body shot.
Gaines misses with a wild body shot.
Gaines lands a head kick. Burgelson smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Gaines loads up on a big right hand but Burgelson slips the punch.
Owen Gaines is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gaines throws a leg kick but Burgelson sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Burgelson shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
No joy there for Gaines, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Burgelson tries to keep at a distance but Gaines has taken the fight into the clinch.
Burgelson jumps guard but Gaines turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Gaines is trying to stall.
Burgelson managing to block the knees to the body from Gaines.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Gaines misses with a hook to the ribs.
Burgelson blocks an elbow strike.
Gaines tries a body shot but Burgelson blocks it.
Gaines misses with a knee strike.
Gaines throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Burgelson blocks it with crossed arms.
Burgelson managing to block the knees to the body from Gaines.
Burgelson prevents a body shot from Gaines.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A right handed body shot lands from Gaines.

Burgelson is trying to trip Gaines. He has hold of a leg but Gaines is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Burgelson persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Burgelson not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

A looping hook to the body misses from Gaines. Burgelson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Gaines pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Gaines takes a swing at Burgelson's ribcage but misses.

Gaines drives through and clinches with Burgelson against the cage.
Gaines misses with a body punch.
Gaines lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Burgelson avoids the elbow strike from Gaines, against the cage.
Gaines has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Gaines with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gaines can't find room to land a body shot as Burgelson controls the action.
Gaines working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Gaines tries a knee to the head but Burgelson blocks it.

Burgelson has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Gaines uses from the top position.
Gaines wants to stand but Burgelson has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Burgelson is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Gaines wants to get up but he can't break Burgelson's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Burgelson looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Burgelson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Gaines throws a wild body kick that Burgelson sees coming a mile off.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Gaines. Burgelson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Gaines throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Burgelson's head.
Gaines scores with a shot to the body.
Owen Gaines seems to be getting the better of the standup.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Burgelson blocks a low kick nicely.

Gaines rushes Burgelson and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Gaines misses with a body punch.
Burgelson tries to pull guard but Gaines won't allow it.
Burgelson prevents a body shot from Gaines.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gaines is trying to maintain a safe position but Burgelson gets an underhook and turns Gaines into the cage.
Gaines makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Burgelson blocks the elbow strike.
We've been informed that Gaines has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Gaines has a couple of punches blocked by Burgelson.
A short left from Gaines.
Gaines connects with a nasty looking knee right to Burgelson's face.
Gaines working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Gaines lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Gaines throws an elbow but misses.
Burgelson blocks an uppercut.
Gaines throws an elbow that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gaines lands a nice shot to the body.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Gaines just misses with a elbow thrown towards Burgelson's brow.
Burgelson jumps guard but Gaines stands there with Burgelson around his waist. Burgelson gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Gaines tries to land a knee to the head but Burgelson blocks with his arms.
Burgelson blocks an elbow strike.
Gaines misses with a body punch.
Gaines scores with a knee to the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Burgelson is trying to pull guard but Gaines has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nate Burgelson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A battle for position here, against the cage.

Burgelson turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Burgelson manages to end up in side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Owen Gaines showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Burgelson's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Burgelson checks a leg kick.

Gaines closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Gaines tries to throw a body punch but Burgelson avoids it by throwing Gaines back against the cage.
Burgelson tries for a takedown. No joy.
Gaines putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Burgelson in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Gaines scores with a nice hook to the head.
Burgelson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Gaines stalls.
Burgelson tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burgelson is trying to pull guard but Gaines turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nate Burgelson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gaines throws an elbow but it's blocked.

Burgelson turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Gaines seems a little lost for a moment, as Burgelson dominates the positioning.
Gaines tries to improve position but can't.
Burgelson moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Gaines is trying to get back to half guard.
You can see the frustration on Gaines's face as Burgelson controls the position.
Gaines tries to buck Burgelson off but Burgelson is having none of it.
Gaines seems a little lost for a moment, as Burgelson dominates the positioning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Burgelson seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Gaines for as long as he can get away with.
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!

The ref stands the fighters back up. Nate Burgelson wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Gaines scores with a jab to the jaw.
Gaines swings for the body but Burgelson moves out of range.
Gaines pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Gaines is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Burgelson rather than just go for the knockout.

Gaines closes the distance and clinches.
Gaines lands a nice uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gaines tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Burgelson avoids it.

Burgelson decides to pull guard.
Burgelson pulls Gaines in close to prevent any damage.
Gaines must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Burgelson keeping moving, preventing Gaines from controlling successfully.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Gaines tries a head kick but it misses.
Owen Gaines is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burgelson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Gaines.
A left and a right from Gaines both land. Nice combination.

Gaines has taken the fight to the clinch.

Burgelson drags the fight down to the ground.
Burgelson has Gaines pulled in close to control his posture.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nate Burgelson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

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

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Owen Gaines.
I've got Gaines 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 27:30
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 27:30
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Owen Gaines!
Owen Gaines decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.