PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Dimitri Romodov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Louis Edward (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Romodov
vs
Edward

160 cm
25
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

174 cm
25
142 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Prefers standup

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Dimitri Romodov!
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, Louis Edward!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Viktor Lagutenko and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Edward cracks Romodov with a good jab.
Edward with a jab.
Romodov shoots in for a double leg but Edward sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Edward lands with an uppercut that bounces Romodov off the cage and back into range.
Edward looks to score with a jab to the body but Romodov is just out of range.
Edward just misses with a punch to the body.
Romodov fails with the takedown.

Romodov clinches.
Edward tries to break the clinch but Romodov is controlling the position.
Romodov tries a knee to the head but Edward blocks it.
Romodov has Edward pressed against the cage, preventing Edward from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Nice elbow from Romodov.
Romodov is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Edward gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dimitri Romodov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Romodov swings wildly with an uppercut but Edward uses good head movement to avoid it.
Edward has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Edward is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Edward wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Romodov has him pressed against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Romodov manages to break the clinch.
Romodov shoots in looking for a takedown. Edward tries to sprawl out of it but Romodov keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Edward manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Edward works over Romodov's head and body with a nice combination.

Romodov rushes Edward and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Romodov breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Edward misses with a series of wild punches.
Edward throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Romodov closes the distance and clinches.
Edward avoids a wild elbow strike from Romodov.
Romodov keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Edward's efforts to push away.

Edward's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Louis Edward is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Edward pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Romodov back to the cage. Edward follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Edward displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
A punch combination from Edward misses.
Romodov is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Edward.
Edward swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Romodov has taken the fight to the clinch.

Romodov breaks from the clinch.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Romodov wants to clinch up but Edward keeps it at a distance.
Edward throws a combination that misses
and Romodov connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Romodov has a takedown stuffed.
The fight stays on the outside here - Romodov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Romodov fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Edward lands a jab-cross combination.
Romodov tries to clinch there but Edward circles away.
Edward throws a series of punches but Romodov avoids them all with ease.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Romodov doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Edward is working the combinations to good effect here.
Edward fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Romodov doesn't manage to clinch there - Edward circles away.
Romodov needs to keep his hands up - Edward had a free shot at his head there.
Romodov fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Edward connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Romodov moves in looking to clinch but Edward pushes him off.
Romodov wants to clinch.
Edward throws a right and a left that Romodov avoids nicely.
Edward looks to land a combination. Romodov sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Romodov tries to clinch up but Edward circles away and keeps his distance.
Romodov fails with an attempt to clinch.
Edward stuffs the takedown.
Romodov is breathing heavily.
Romodov on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Edward lands a jab to the nose.
Edward cracks a nice hook into Romodov's ribs.
Edward is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Edward slaps away a takedown attempt from Romodov, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Romodov has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Edward finds it's way round the side to connect with Romodov's head.
Edward swings for the body but Romodov moves out of range.
A nice combination there by Edward.
Edward lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Romodov circles away quickly and effectively.
Romodov has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Edward swinging wildly here.
Louis Edward seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Romodov shoots for a takedown but Edward saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Romodov gets a clinch.
Romodov struggles to land a body shot inside as Edward controls his hands.
Edward wants to break free but Romodov has control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Edward displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Edward sizes up Romodov with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Edward just misses with a punch to the body.
Edward has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Romodov takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Edward has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Romodov throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Edward's waist but Edward gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Romodov off to one side.
Romodov fails in his attempt to clinch.

Romodov instigates a clinch.
Edward wants to break free but Romodov has control.
Romodov drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Romodov prevents Edward from breaking the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Romodov tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Edward avoids it.
Edward is trying to break the clinch but Romodov has him pressed against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Edward is trying to break the clinch but Romodov is controlling him.

Romodov breaks from the clinch.
Edward throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Edward scores with a crisp jab that stopped Romodov in his tracks.
Nice uppercut lands for Edward. That snapped Romodov's head back.
Sloppy strikes from Edward. Those never looked like landing.
Romodov tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Edward manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Romodov keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Romodov tries for a takedown but Edward sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Edward unleashes a big counter combination but Romodov bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dimitri Romodov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Edward scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Romodov. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
Edward lands a jab.
Romodov tries to clinch there but Edward circles away.
Edward looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Edward lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Edward is breathing heavily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Edward fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Edward scores with a one two! Romodov had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Romodov throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Romodov tries to clinch up but Edward circles away and keeps his distance.
Edward stuffs the takedown.
Louis Edward seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Some wild striking there from Edward.
Romodov wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Romodov looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Nice jab there from Edward.
A decent looking cross lands there for Edward.
Romodov tries to clinch but Edward moves out of range.
Romodov tries to close the distance and clinch up but Edward swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Romodov tries to clinch up
and Edward counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A slow jab from Romodov misses its intended target.
Romodov tries to clinch there but Edward circles away.
Edward scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Romodov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Edward as he avoids it easily.
Romodov tries to clinch there but Edward circles away.
Edward lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Romodov circles away quickly and effectively.
Romodov has his takedown stuffed
and Edward cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Edward leaves Romodov with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Romodov has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Edward scores with a jab to the head.
No luck for Romodov with that takedown attempt.
Edward lands an overhand right.
Donk. Edward catches Romodov right on the button with a cross.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Edward sizes up Romodov with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
A left and a right from Edward both land. Nice combination.
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!
Donk. Edward catches Romodov right on the button with a cross.
Edward circles away from the clinch attempt.
Edward doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Edward paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Romodov dives in and grabs Edward's left leg, looking for a takedown. Edward pushes down on Romodov's head and hops out.
Edward scores with a body shot.
Edward's corner calls for a 1-2. Edward obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Edward lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Romodov backs up against the cage.
Edward connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Romodov's hands.
Edward swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Romodov shoots in and drives through. Edward sprawls well.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Edward scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Romodov shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Edward as he jumps to the side.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Louis Edward showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Edward with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Edward throws a right and a left that Romodov avoids nicely.
Romodov shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Edward defends it nicely.
Romodov tries to clinch there but Edward circles away.
Edward lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Romodov at a distance.
Edward throws a right and a left that Romodov avoids nicely.
Edward scores with the left hand. Romodov knows he should have avoided that one.
Romodov tries to clinch there but Edward circles away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Romodov has taken the fight to the clinch.
Edward is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Romodov keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Edward's efforts to push away.
A left hand lands to the body for Romodov.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Edward is trying to break the clinch but Romodov has him pressed against the cage.
Edward tries to break free but Romodov pushes him back against the cage.

Romodov manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Romodov is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Edward decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Romodov lands a body shot.
Romodov fails with an attempt to clinch.
Romodov with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Edward to score with a decent uppercut.
Edward tries to bum rush Romodov with a series of wild strikes but Romodov uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Edward swats away the attempt to clinch by Romodov.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Edward works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
The fight stays on the outside here - Romodov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Nice sprawl there from Edward as Romodov shoots in.
Edward scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Edward scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Edward throws a series of punches but Romodov avoids them all with ease.
Romodov misses with a straight left.
Edward fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Edward fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Romodov uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Edward.
Dimitri Romodov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Edward misses with a series of wild punches.

Romodov pushes Edward up against the cage in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Romodov gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Romodov lands a shot to the body.
Romodov jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Edward walks away with a smile on his face. Romodov gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dimitri Romodov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Edward stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Edward wants it to stay on the feet.
Edward tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Romodov was well out of range. Poor timing from Edward.
Romodov drops down looking for a counter takedown but Edward sprawls and moves away.
Edward stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Edward wants it to stay on the feet.
Edward scores with a one two! Romodov had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Romodov doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Edward throws out a powerful jab.
Nice takedown defense from Edward. No joy for Romodov on that attempt.
Edward pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Romodov back to the cage. Edward follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Edward stuffs the takedown attempt from Romodov. Romodov gets slowly back to his feet.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Edward connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Romodov's hands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
No luck for Romodov with that takedown attempt.
Edward throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Romodov tries to clinch up.
Edward takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Romodov tries for a takedown but Edward sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Romodov tries to clinch there but Edward circles away.
Romodov closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Left hook, right uppercut from Edward.
Edward digs a good hook to Romodov's body.
Edward misses the shot to the body.

Romodov gets a clinch.
A body shot lands from Romodov.
Dimitri Romodov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Romodov tries to land knees in the clinch but Edward avoids the damage to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Louis Edward comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Edward 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 26:30
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 26:30
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Louis Edward!