PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Francisco Hendrix (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Viktor Belkevich (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Viktor Belkevich will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Hendrix
vs
Belkevich

186 cm
18
150 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

182 cm
25
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Inexperienced

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Francisco Hendrix!
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, Viktor Belkevich!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Konstantin Menshow and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Belkevich shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Hendrix manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Hendrix ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

Belkevich feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Hendrix scrambles and gets back to his feet.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Belkevich has managed to clinch.
Hendrix displaying some good clinch control by pressing Belkevich up against the cage.
Hendrix is looking to take this one to the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Belkevich.
A frustrated look appears on Belkevich's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Hendrix tries to throw a body punch but Belkevich avoids it by throwing Hendrix back against the cage.
Belkevich has a couple of punches blocked by Hendrix.
Hendrix stalling in the clinch.
Hendrix content to slow the pace in the clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Hendrix just misses with a elbow thrown towards Belkevich's brow.
Hendrix really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Belkevich stops a takedown attempt from Hendrix.
Hendrix prevents Belkevich from breaking the clinch.
Hendrix throws a head punch that misses.
Belkevich wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Hendrix has him pressed against the cage.
Hendrix keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Belkevich's efforts to push away.
Hendrix changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Belkevich fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Francisco Hendrix. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hendrix takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belkevich lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Belkevich.

It looks like Francisco Hendrix has been cut.
Donk. Belkevich catches Hendrix right on the button with a cross.

Belkevich closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Belkevich is trying to break the clinch but Hendrix has him pressed against the cage.
Belkevich is trying to break the clinch but Hendrix is controlling him.
Hendrix has Belkevich pressed against the cage, preventing Belkevich from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Belkevich has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Hendrix escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Hendrix swinging wildly here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belkevich throws a right hand that Hendrix ducks under and follows up with a left that Hendrix also avoids with ease.
Belkevich throws a combination that misses

and Hendrix decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Belkevich's guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

Belkevich is working an open guard so Hendrix takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Belkevich loads up on a big right hand but Hendrix slips the punch.
Belkevich throws a left and a right that both miss

and Hendrix moves into the clinch.
Belkevich is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Hendrix keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Belkevich's efforts to push away.
Belkevich gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Hendrix.
Hendrix stalls.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hendrix manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Hendrix tries to land knees in the clinch but Belkevich avoids the damage to the body.
Hendrix can't get the takedown.
A frustrated look appears on Belkevich's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Belkevich tries to break free but Hendrix pushes him back against the cage.
Belkevich looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Hendrix can't get the takedown.

Belkevich gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hendrix trying to control from the bottom.
Belkevich frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Viktor Belkevich will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Francisco Hendrix's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Hendrix tries to clinch but Belkevich is having none of it.
Belkevich is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Hendrix walks into a jab.
Belkevich darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Belkevich throws a right hand that Hendrix ducks under and follows up with a left that Hendrix also avoids with ease.
As Belkevich looks to move away, Hendrix throws a big counter combo but Belkevich just gets out of the way.
Viktor Belkevich seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Belkevich gets a double leg takedown into Hendrix's guard.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Hendrix manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
Hendrix keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Belkevich's efforts to push away.
Hendrix effectively controlling the action here.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Belkevich is pressed up against the cage. Hendrix has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Belkevich down to the mat. Belkevich avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Belkevich falls off balance throwing a combination

so Hendrix counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

Belkevich scrambles and gets back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Viktor Belkevich seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Belkevich misses with the combination.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hendrix. Belkevich does a little dance to reset his feet.
Belkevich wants to counter the offense by Hendrix and move into the clinch position.
Belkevich throws a head kick but Hendrix moves out of range.
No joy there for Belkevich, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Hendrix clinches with his opponent.
Hendrix has Belkevich pressed against the cage.

Hendrix has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Belkevich uses from the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Hendrix is working an open guard so Belkevich takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
A right-left combo lands from Belkevich.
Belkevich dips to his left and cracks Hendrix with an uppercut!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Hendrix gets tackled into the cage by Belkevich. Belkevich maintains the clinch.
Hendrix tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Belkevich smiles and moves away.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
A nice combination there by Belkevich.

Hendrix is rocked!
Belkevich rushes Hendrix with punches - Hendrix moves straight backwards instead of circling and gets clipped by the second strike... and the third... and the fourth! Oh, Hendrix goes down! Belkevich follows up with more strikes and the ref steps in to end the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Viktor Belkevich!
In his post fight interview, Viktor Belkevich started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.