PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Nikolai Kovalenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Simon Williams (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Williams has chosen UFC: Closer to the Edge (Jared Leto) as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Kovalenko
vs
Williams

205 cm
39
260 lbs
52 - 25 - 0

193 cm
39
275 lbs
40 - 17 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Spartan Nutrition

GREEN!160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the super heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 52 - 25 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nikolai Kovalenko!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 40 - 17 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Simon Williams!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Igor Prikhodko and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Williams gets a clinch.

Kovalenko manages to break the clinch.
Williams gets cracked there but stands up to it.

It looks like Simon Williams has been cut.
Williams tries to land a leg kick but Kovalenko saw it coming and moves away.
Kovalenko swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
letting Williams counter with a right hand.
Kovalenko throws the left hand but Williams avoids the punch easily.
Williams steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Kovalenko.

Williams has Kovalenko up against the cage in a clinch.
Williams misses with a punch to the body.
Kovalenko holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Williams throws a punch but it's blocked by Kovalenko.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Williams displaying some good clinch control by pressing Kovalenko up against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Williams.
Williams misses with a punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovalenko is trying to push Williams away but Williams has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Williams slows down the pace here.
A nice left hand lands by Williams.
Williams effectively controlling the action here.
A bit of stalling here from Williams.
Williams misses with a punch on the inside.
Williams misses with a body punch.
Williams throws a head punch that misses.
Williams throws a head punch that misses.
A shot in the inside from Williams.
Williams fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Williams misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Williams throws a punch but it's blocked by Kovalenko.
Williams misses with a punch on the inside.

Kovalenko manages to break the clinch.
Kovalenko throws a sloppy head kick and Williams moves out of range easily.
Kovalenko misses with a double jab.

Williams moves into the clinch.
Williams tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Williams manages to break the clinch.
Williams throws a hook to the side of Kovalenko's head but Kovalenko sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Kovalenko misses with a looping right.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kovalenko throws a head kick but Williams moves out of range.
Kovalenko throws the kick towards the body but Williams avoids it.
Kovalenko's corner calls for a 1-2. Kovalenko obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Kovalenko misses with a hook

and Williams counters by clinching up.
Williams throws a head punch that misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Williams.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Williams creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Kovalenko being controlled against the cage.
Williams taking a breather.
Williams misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Kovalenko.
Kovalenko on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Kovalenko breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Kovalenko scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Williams has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Kovalenko.
Williams fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Kovalenko.
Williams chopping away at his opponent's legs.

Williams clinches.
Williams tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Williams tries to throw a body punch but Kovalenko avoids it by throwing Williams back against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Williams lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Williams with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Kovalenko.
Williams lands a left hand that snaps the head of Kovalenko backwards.

Kovalenko's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kovalenko connects with a crisp jab.
Kovalenko throws a series of punches but Williams avoids them all with ease.
Williams misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Kovalenko counters with a nice uppercut.
Williams dodges the punch combination from Kovalenko.
Williams throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Kovalenko misses with a two punch combination.
Kovalenko takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Williams getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

Kovalenko is rocked!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Simon Williams dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Simon Williams's cut.
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.

Williams tries to clinch up but Kovalenko circles away and keeps his distance.
Williams rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Kovalenko counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Williams scores with a leg kick.
Kovalenko is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Kovalenko misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A slow jab from Williams misses its intended target.
Kovalenko's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Kovalenko duly obliges.
Nikolai Kovalenko is winning the standup battle so far.

Williams feints and then winds up with a huge right hand that connects perfectly and sends Kovalenko sprawling to the canvas! Kovalenko rolls over backwards and springs off the cage and manages to regain his footing - how acrobatic! Oh, he's still wobbly - can Williams finish him?!
Oh Kovalenko is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kovalenko displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Williams throws out the jab.
BAM! Williams delivers a spinning backfist that drops Kovalenko like a ragdoll! This is all oooooveeeer! He was out before he hit the ground!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:35 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Spinning Backfist). Simon Williams!
Simon Williams is the new super heavyweight champion!