PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Cheick Kongo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nikolai Borisavljevic (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.

Kongo
vs
Borisavljevic

210 cm
21
240 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

178 cm
22
235 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Self confident

Good wrestler
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight 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, Cheick Kongo!
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, Nikolai Borisavljevic!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Fedor Mirinova and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kongo has closed the distance and engaged Borisavljevic in a clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Kongo.
Borisavljevic drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Kongo stalling in the clinch.
Borisavljevic has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Kongo avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Kongo with a knee to the head.
Borisavljevic goes for a takedown attempt but Kongo pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Cheick Kongo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nikolai Borisavljevic.

Kongo clinches up with Borisavljevic and pushes him back against the cage.
Borisavljevic has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Kongo is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Stalling in the clinch from Kongo.
Borisavljevic stops a takedown attempt from Kongo.
Kongo manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Kongo unloads a knee to the mid-section. Borisavljevic lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Kongo lands a knee to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Borisavljevic has hold of one of Kongo's legs. Kongo is fighting the takedown attempt but Borisavljevic gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Kongo knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Borisavljevic on the ground.
Kongo is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Borisavljevic lands a couple of digs.
Kongo trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Borisavljevic trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Borisavljevic controls from within his opponent's guard.
Kongo trying to keep a closed guard but Borisavljevic is proving a slippery customer.

Kongo has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Borisavljevic can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Borisavljevic with a nice head shot there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kongo keeping moving, preventing Borisavljevic from controlling successfully.
Borisavljevic is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Borisavljevic postures up and lands a big shot to Kongo's brow.
Borisavljevic scoring with punches to the head and body.
Borisavljevic with a nice head shot there.
Kongo is breathing heavily.
Borisavljevic stands up over Kongo, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Kongo will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Borisavljevic sitting in guard here, content to control.
Kongo is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Borisavljevic missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Borisavljevic scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Borisavljevic sitting in guard here, content to control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Borisavljevic working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Borisavljevic makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Borisavljevic is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Borisavljevic throws a big right hand that misses.
Borisavljevic in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Borisavljevic keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Kongo's head.
Borisavljevic lands a couple of digs.
Borisavljevic distracts Kongo with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Borisavljevic scoring with punches to the head and body.
Borisavljevic scoring with some ground and pound.
Kongo being controlled here, momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kongo has momentary wrist control but Borisavljevic slips an elbow through the middle.
Borisavljevic working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Borisavljevic wants to control from the top but Kongo keeps moving.
Borisavljevic working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Kongo's head.
Borisavljevic 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.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kongo keeping moving, preventing Borisavljevic from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nikolai Borisavljevic dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Horrible takedown by Borisavljevic or perhaps it was just good defense by Kongo which made him look bad.

Borisavljevic scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Kongo trying to control from the bottom.
Borisavljevic keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Kongo has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Borisavljevic is working away from the top position though.
Kongo moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Nikolai Borisavljevic has got the better of the ground game so far.
Borisavljevic works over Kongo with some ground and pound from guard.
Borisavljevic working some strikes from top position.
Borisavljevic is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Borisavljevic is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Borisavljevic lands a couple of elbows.
Borisavljevic wants to control from the top but Kongo keeps moving.
Kongo wants to stand and escape but Borisavljevic is having none of it.
Borisavljevic postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Borisavljevic trying to control but Kongo is working from the bottom.
Borisavljevic 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.

Despite being in the dominant position, Nikolai Borisavljevic just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Kongo gets caught flat footed, as Borisavljevic shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Borisavljevic scoring with some ground and pound.
Borisavljevic content to stall in guard here.
Borisavljevic content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Borisavljevic sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Borisavljevic landing with the ground and pound.
Kongo looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Borisavljevic is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Kongo is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Borisavljevic controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kongo controls Borisavljevic momentarily but Borisavljevic frees himself.
Borisavljevic lands a couple of digs.
Borisavljevic lands a couple of elbows.
Borisavljevic showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Kongo wants to stand and escape but Borisavljevic is having none of it.
Kongo can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Borisavljevic controls the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Borisavljevic lands a couple of elbows.
Kongo looking to hit a scissor sweep but Borisavljevic is one step ahead there.
Borisavljevic postures up and lands a big shot to Kongo's brow.
Borisavljevic postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Borisavljevic connects with a couple of short punches.
Borisavljevic is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Borisavljevic postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Borisavljevic stays in close to Kongo's body and controls the position.
Borisavljevic has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Borisavljevic working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Kongo's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nikolai Borisavljevic showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Borisavljevic shoots in for a takedown but Kongo shows good takedown defense.
Cheick Kongo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Borisavljevic tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Kongo swivels and escapes.
Kongo shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Borisavljevic counters with a takedown into side control.
Kongo tries to improve position but can't.
Borisavljevic lands an elbow.
Kongo is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
You can see the frustration on Kongo's face as Borisavljevic controls the position.
Kongo is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Kongo is working hard here to advance position.
Borisavljevic controls the position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Borisavljevic lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Kongo down.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Borisavljevic scoring with punches from side control.
Kongo is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Borisavljevic in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Borisavljevic controlling the position.
Borisavljevic landing a few strikes.
Borisavljevic in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Borisavljevic slows the pace down.
Borisavljevic lands a few punches from side control.
Borisavljevic content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Borisavljevic has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Kongo!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Borisavljevic landing strikes from the mount.
Borisavljevic with good strikes from the mount here!
Borisavljevic lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Kongo tries to lock up and control but Borisavljevic gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Borisavljevic breaks from Kongo's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Borisavljevic raining down shots from the mount!
Kongo can't escape the position.
Borisavljevic tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Kongo taking shots to the head.
Cheick Kongo has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kongo takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Borisavljevic is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Kongo can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Kongo on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Kongo tries to get out of the position.
Borisavljevic landing strikes from the mount.
Borisavljevic lands a nice shot to the head.
Borisavljevic controlling the position easily from mount.
Borisavljevic unloading with bombs!
Borisavljevic lands a heavy elbow.
Kongo in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Kongo is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
BOOM! Borisavljevic connects with a massive shot to the dome!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Borisavljevic cracks Kongo with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Kongo is bucking up trying to escape but Borisavljevic cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Borisavljevic lands a big shot there that rocks Kongo but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Kongo wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Borisavljevic looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Borisavljevic cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Borisavljevic landing strikes from the mount and Kongo is in trouble!
Kongo is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Borisavljevic tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Borisavljevic lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Nikolai Borisavljevic is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Borisavljevic blocks Kongo's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nikolai Borisavljevic comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Borisavljevic 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 27:30
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nikolai Borisavljevic!