PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Miguel Voro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ruslan Antonov (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.

Voro
vs
Antonov

186 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
23
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight 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, Miguel Voro!
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, Ruslan Antonov!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Vladimir Khabensky and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A chopping leg kick lands by Antonov.
Voro walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Voro takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Antonov misses with a double jab

and Voro counters by moving into the clinch.
Voro tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Voro keeps control of Antonov as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Voro changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Antonov fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Antonov throws a nice outside leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Antonov pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Voro is looking to counter the offense by Antonov and move into the clinch.
Antonov falls off balance throwing a combination

and Voro counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Voro throwing shots but Antonov is blocking nicely.
Antonov is trying to get back to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Voro passes to side control.
Voro in side control, just content to control the action for now.

Voro has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Antonov fails to land with a series of punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Antonov swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Antonov sizes up Voro with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Voro sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Voro goes for a double leg but Antonov avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Antonov continues to drive forward.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Miguel Voro. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Voro shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Antonov sprawls well. Antonov wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Voro gets slowly back to his feet.
Voro misses with a body kick.
Antonov throws a body kick that misses.
Antonov is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Antonov shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Voro sprawls well. Voro wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Antonov gets slowly back to his feet.
Voro tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Voro shoots in for a double leg but Antonov sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Antonov swinging wildly here.

Voro closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Antonov to the mat! Antonov manages to get full guard.
Antonov looking for a sweep. Not yet Antonov, not yet.
Voro throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Antonov works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Voro throwing strikes but missing.
Voro trying to control but Antonov is working from the bottom.
Antonov can't keep his opponent in guard - Voro advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Voro trying to control the action but Antonov is working from the bottom.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Antonov throws a nice looking combination but Voro bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Antonov misses with a two punch combination.
Antonov will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Antonov looks winded!

Voro shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Antonov manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Voro slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Ruslan Antonov will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Antonov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Antonov misses with a wild combination.
Ruslan Antonov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Voro showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Antonov.
Voro shoots in looking for a takedown but Antonov manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Voro's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Antonov lands a nice looking body kick.
Antonov lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Antonov misses with a kick to the body.
Voro really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Voro closes the distance and pushes Antonov back into the cage.
Voro drops down looking for an ankle pick but Antonov pulls his leg out and moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Voro looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Antonov!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Antonov avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Voro.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Antonov prevents Voro from moving into mount.
Voro wants to control but Antonov is keeping him busy.
Antonov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Voro. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Voro passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Antonov!
Voro moves to back control.

Voro is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Antonov is defending well though. Voro let's go of the attempt for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Voro throwing sloppy strikes.
Voro really has the hooks in deep now - there seems like no escape for Antonov.

Antonov preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Voro.
Voro trying to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Voro has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Antonov is keeping busy.
Voro avoiding Antonov 's attempts to control his hands.
Antonov covering up well and avoiding damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Voro is looking for the choke from the back position but Antonov is controlling his hands well.
You can see the frustration on Antonov's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Voro is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Voro tries to get the hooks in deep but Antonov pushed the leg off.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Antonov is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Voro gets his way!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Miguel Voro 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!

Voro takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Antonov takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Voro lands with a slapping head kick.
Antonov throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Voro takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

Voro gets a double leg takedown into Antonov's guard.
Voro postures up in Antonov's guard and throws a big left but Antonov blocks it.
Voro scoring with punches to the head and body.
Voro wants to control from the top but Antonov keeps moving.
Miguel Voro overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Voro missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Voro sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Voro with a flurry of punches that miss.

Voro stands and steps away. Antonov gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Voro throws a sloppy head kick and Antonov moves out of range easily.
Antonov tries a head kick but it misses.
Voro is looking for a counter combo.
Voro throws a head kick that misses.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Antonov changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Antonov misses with a takedown attempt - Voro sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Voro throws a sloppy head kick and Antonov moves out of range easily.
A head kick misses from Voro.
Antonov tries a head kick but it misses.
Good standup being displayed there by Antonov as he connects with a hook.
Antonov dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Voro. That did some damage!
Antonov throws a shot to the body.
Miguel Voro is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Antonov misses with a head kick.
Voro is looking for a counter combo.
Antonov lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Voro moves in looking to clinch but Antonov pushes him off.
Antonov throws a right hand that Voro ducks under and follows up with a left that Voro also avoids with ease.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Antonov lands a nice leg kick that just misses Voro's sensitive parts.
Antonov throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Antonov enables Voro to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Antonov manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Antonov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Voro.
Voro works a leg free and moves into half guard.

Voro is looking for a kimura here.

Voro decides to stand up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Antonov throws a wild body kick that Voro sees coming a mile off.
Voro stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Voro wants it to stay on the feet.
Voro shoots in but no luck this time.
Voro takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Antonov gets caught flat footed, as Voro shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Antonov keeping moving, preventing Voro from controlling successfully.
Voro looking to pass the guard.
Voro trying to control the position from guard on top but Antonov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Miguel Voro.
I think Voro 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight for Miguel Voro!
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight for Miguel Voro!
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight for Ruslan Antonov!

Miguel Voro wins by split decision!