PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Katurian Tupolski (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vincente Saldivar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tupolski comes to the cage accompanied by Mobb Deep - Shook Ones part II. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Tupolski
vs
Saldivar

175 cm
26
182 lbs
9 - 6 - 0

179 cm
25
180 lbs
12 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Sun-Tzu. 15%

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Katurian Tupolski!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Vincente Saldivar!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Saam Ante and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tupolski throws a nice looking combination but Saldivar bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Saldivar swings away with a body shot that misses
and Tupolski counters with an outside leg kick.
Tupolski clobbers Saldivar with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Katurian Tupolski seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tupolski comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Tupolski lands a jab-cross combination.
Tupolski takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
A shot to the body from Tupolski misses
and Saldivar counters with a stiff right hand.
Tupolski uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Saldivar.
As Saldivar backs away, Tupolski returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Tupolski misses with a hook
and Saldivar counters with a nice body shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Saldivar tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Saldivar swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saldivar buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Nice defenses there by Saldivar.
We've been informed that Saldivar has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Tupolski lands a really nice looking cross but Saldivar seems unphased.
Tupolski bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
A jab from Saldivar misses.
Tupolski moves away from the strike by Saldivar.
A telegraphed right hand from Saldivar misses the target.
Tupolski misses with a low kick as Saldivar jumps back.
Saldivar was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Saldivar connects with an inside leg kick.
Tupolski scores with a jab. Saldivar acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Tupolski throws a leg kick
and Saldivar makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Tupolski misses the target.
Tupolski feints a jab promting Saldivar to slip. Tupolski then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Saldivar slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Tupolski fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Saldivar has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Saldivar is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Tupolski fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Tupolski looks to score with a jab to the body but Saldivar is just out of range.
Tupolski pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Saldivar throws a body shot but no joy.
Saldivar fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tupolski throws a right hand that Saldivar ducks under and follows up with a left that Saldivar also avoids with ease.
Saldivar fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Saldivar lands with a shot to the body.
Tupolski stuns Saldivar with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.

Tupolski moves into range and clinches up with Saldivar.
With the fighters up against the cage, Tupolski throws an elbow but misses.
Saldivar swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Saldivar scores with a shoulder strike.
Saldivar swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Tupolski can't find room to land a body shot as Saldivar controls the action.
Saldivar lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Tupolski with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Tupolski blocks the elbow strike.
Saldivar takes a shot to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tupolski blocks an uppercut.
Saldivar misses with a body punch.
Tupolski missing with knees to the body.
Saldivar misses with a punch on the inside.
Saldivar is leaning against Tupolski and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Tupolski swings wildly with an uppercut but Saldivar uses good head movement to avoid it.
Saldivar wants to stall.
Saldivar trying to control the position but instead, Tupolski has worked for underhooks and has pushed Saldivar into the cage.
Saldivar is trying to slow the pace down but that's a couple of times in a row that he's tried to get underhooks and Tupolski has denied him.
Tupolski tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Saldivar avoids it.
Saldivar working aggressively here.
Saldivar is working Tupolski over against the cage.
Saldivar lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
A short body shot lands from Saldivar as the two fighters clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Katurian Tupolski will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Tupolski fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Saldivar on the side of the head.
Tupolski walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Saldivar checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Saldivar looks to land a combination but Tupolski avoids it well.
Saldivar fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Tupolski is out of range.
Saldivar throws a hook but Tupolski avoids it easily.
Tupolski swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Tupolski swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Tupolski connects with a good right hand that stumbles Saldivar. Saldivar circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Saldivar looks to score with a jab to the body but Tupolski is just out of range.
Saldivar uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Tupolski.
Tupolski throws a lazy right hand but Saldivar sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Saldivar takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saldivar finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Tupolski checks the leg kick.
Tupolski bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Saldivar's head.
Some wild striking there from Saldivar.
A low kick from Tupolski misses
and Saldivar counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Saldivar ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Saldivar feints and then cracks Tupolski's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Tupolski down.
Saldivar feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Tupolski's calf.
Tupolski throws a series of punches but Saldivar moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tupolski wants to clinch.
Saldivar swings for the body but Tupolski moves out of range.
Saldivar 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.
Tupolski scores with a decent looking hook.
Saldivar scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Tupolski 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 Saldivar has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Saldivar and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Left hook, right uppercut from Tupolski.
Tupolski misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Saldivar throws out a counter right but Tupolski avoids it with no problem.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saldivar lands a leg kick that knocks Tupolski off balance momentarily.
Saldivar throws a body punch but Tupolski moves out of range.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Tupolski.
Tupolski throws a quick inside leg kick.
Tupolski throws a nice looking combination but Saldivar bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Saldivar counters with a body kick.
Saldivar feints and then cracks Tupolski's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Tupolski down.
Saldivar uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Tupolski.
A slapping leg kick lands for Tupolski.
It looks like Tupolski has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
Tupolski takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Tupolski misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Saldivar.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tupolski moves out of range of the leg kick from Saldivar.
Saldivar misses with a wild body shot.
Tupolski looks to land a combination but Saldivar avoids it well.
Saldivar uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Tupolski.
Saldivar only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Tupolski connects with the punch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Saldivar scores with a shot to the body.
Saldivar gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Tupolski counters with a stiff right hand.
Saldivar is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Tupolski.
Tupolski fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Tupolski is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Tupolski bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Saldivar's head backwards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Katurian Tupolski dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Saldivar checks a leg kick.
Saldivar throws out a counter right but Tupolski avoids it with no problem.
Saldivar connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Tupolski's hands.

Tupolski rushes Saldivar and presses him up against the cage.
Tupolski lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
A head punch on the inside from Saldivar fails to land.
Tupolski lands with a light punch inside.
Tupolski lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Saldivar backwards.
A right hand to the body from Tupolski.
Saldivar goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A short body shot lands from Saldivar as the two fighters clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tupolski with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Saldivar fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Saldivar blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Saldivar.
Tupolski connects with a nasty looking knee right to Saldivar's face.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A nice left hand lands by Saldivar.
Tupolski trying to land knees to the body.
Saldivar misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tupolski lands a nice knee to the body.
Saldivar tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Tupolski tries to throw a body punch but Saldivar avoids it by throwing Tupolski back against the cage.
Tupolski misses with a knee strike.
Saldivar throws an elbow but it misses.
Tupolski is trying to stall.
Saldivar fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tupolski scores with a nice hook to the head.
Saldivar lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Tupolski avoiding damage as Saldivar throws knees to the body.
Tupolski lands a right hand that snaps the head of Saldivar backwards.
Tupolski tries a body shot but Saldivar blocks it.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Katurian Tupolski is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saldivar goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A right hand to the body from Saldivar.
Tupolski managing to block the knees to the body from Saldivar.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Tupolski.
Vincente Saldivar has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Saldivar misses with the head strike.
A nice left hand lands by Saldivar.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Tupolski prevents a body shot from Saldivar.
Katurian Tupolski has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Saldivar misses with a body punch.
Tupolski stalling in the clinch but Saldivar improves position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saldivar lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Saldivar misses with a short punch on the inside.
Saldivar lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Saldivar swings wildly with an uppercut but Tupolski uses good head movement to avoid it.
Saldivar misses with a punch on the inside.
A left hand lands to the body for Saldivar.
Still in the clinch, Tupolski scores with a nice short uppercut.
Tupolski trying to control the position but instead, Saldivar has worked for underhooks and has pushed Tupolski into the cage.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Saldivar takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saldivar lands with a short shot to the head.
Saldivar wants to stall.
Saldivar can't find room to land a body shot as Tupolski controls the action.
A body shot lands from Saldivar.
Saldivar lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Saldivar is trying to stall.
Saldivar doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Tupolski blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Saldivar swings away with an uppercut that misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vincente Saldivar comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Tupolski has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Aafke Stam scores the fight 29:28
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 29:28
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Katurian Tupolski!
Katurian Tupolski seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.