PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Viktor Tsoi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ferdinand Cortes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tsoi's entrance music is Zvezda po Imeni Solnce. A fine choice. Ferdinand Cortes has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Viktor Tsoi's chin.

Tsoi
vs
Cortes

169 cm
30
138 lbs
24 - 6 - 1

169 cm
29
150 lbs
26 - 2 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Zenith Nutrition (160q/225$)
Bullet Proof System

Reaper Combatwear
Sully's Bar & Grill

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the featherweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Viktor Tsoi!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 2 - 1, fighting out of London, Ferdinand Cortes!
The judges for this bout are Paul Tew, Donald Grub and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cortes throws a shot from downtown. Tsoi moves away and avoids it.
Donk. Cortes catches Tsoi right on the button with a cross.
Tsoi misses with a straight right.
Cortes appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Tsoi ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Cortes throws a nice outside leg kick.
Tsoi checks a low kick from Cortes.
A little feinted left hand from Tsoi on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Cortes throws a jab but it's blocked by Tsoi.
Cortes just manages to avoid a counter high kick fromTsoi.
Cortes works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cortes pivots, looking for a leg kick but Tsoi is out of range and Cortes settles back down.
Tsoi on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Tsoi chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Cortes can pounce on him.
Cortes swings away with a body shot that misses
and Tsoi counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cortes throws a low kick but it's checked well by Tsoi.
Cortes connects with a leg kick. Tsoi looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Cortes fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Tsoi slips under a jab from Cortes.
Tsoi takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Good work by Tsoi as he checks the leg kick.
Cortes with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Cortes wants to slow Tsoi down by chopping away at his legs.
Nice uppercut lands for Cortes. That snapped Tsoi's head back.
Tsoi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Cortes misses with a hook. Tsoi ducked under it nicely.
Cortes throws out a loose jab but Tsoi uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cortes looks to score with a jab to the body but Tsoi is just out of range.
Cortes lands with a nice body kick.
The fighters circling - Cortes throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Cortes displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Tsoi throws out the jab.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Tsoi throws a big shot that misses.
Cortes throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Tsoi tries to bum rush Cortes with a series of wild strikes but Cortes uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Cortes throws a sloppy body shot
and Tsoi counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Cortes swings away with a body shot that misses
and Tsoi counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Cortes misses with a wild body shot.
Tsoi misses with a body shot
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cortes throws a leg kick that is checked
and Tsoi counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Cortes misses with a wild body shot.
A good leg kick by Cortes.
Cortes misses with a hook. Tsoi ducked under it nicely.
An attempted straight right counter from Tsoi misses the target.
Cortes throws an off balance right hand
and Tsoi cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Cortes misses with a looping left.
Tsoi blocks a jab.
A quick step to the side and Tsoi tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Nice body kick from Cortes.
Cortes delivers a nice body kick.
Cortes connects with a body shot.
Cortes throws a hook but Tsoi blocks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tsoi throws a right hand that misses
letting Cortes counter with a right hand.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Tsoi looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Cortes throws a leg kick but Tsoi sees it coming and moves out of range.
Tsoi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Tsoi tries to land a body kick
and Cortes connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Cortes walks into a straight right hand from Tsoi.
Tsoi looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Cortes looks to score with a jab to the body but Tsoi is just out of range.
Tsoi throws a leg kick
and Cortes connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
A nice inside leg kick there by Tsoi. That's going to slow Cortes down.
A big left from Cortes misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Tsoi scores with a crisp jab that stopped Cortes in his tracks.
Tsoi loads up on a big right hand but Cortes slips the punch.
Tsoi moves out of range of the strikes.
Cortes is looking to chop away at Tsoi's legs.
Tsoi lands with a hook. Cortes tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Cortes misses with an uppercut
and Tsoi counters with a nice low kick that buckles Cortes's knee momentarily.
Cortes scores with a nice strike.
Jab, jab by Cortes - just one landing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tsoi checks a leg kick.
A head kick by Cortes misses
enabling Tsoi to counter with a crisp jab.
An inside leg kick from Cortes misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice uppercut lands for Cortes. That snapped Tsoi's head back.
Cortes throws a head kick but Tsoi moves out of range.
Tsoi lands with a nice body punch.
Cortes throws a leg kick that misses.
Tsoi was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Cortes throws a half hearted mid kick.
Tsoi walks into a jab.
Tsoi misses with a looping right.
Tsoi stuns Cortes with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Tsoi listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Tsoi fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Cortes manages to avoid it.
Cortes lands a nice looking body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cortes lunges at Tsoi with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Tsoi's hand.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cortes misses with a leg kick
and Tsoi counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Tsoi throws an overhand right that lands on Cortes's shoulder, as Cortes tries to avoid the shot.
Cortes works the jab nicely.
Cortes throws out a loose jab but Tsoi uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ferdinand Cortes seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice body punch from Cortes.
Ferdinand Cortes seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Tsoi throws a low kick, looking for Cortes's leg but Cortes calmly moves out of range.
Tsoi misses with a looping right.
Cortes doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Tsoi moves out of range of the body kick from Cortes.
Tsoi is looking to counter with a body kick.
Cortes throws a right hand that misses
and Tsoi connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Cortes throws out a loose jab but Tsoi uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Donk. Cortes catches Tsoi right on the button with a cross.
Cortes with a hook.
Cortes ducks under a wild hook from Tsoi.
Cortes avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Tsoi digs a good body shot into Cortes's ribs.
Cortes throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Tsoi on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Cortes throws a body kick that misses.
Cortes looks to throw a body kick
and Tsoi finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Cortes connects with a right hand. Tsoi shakes it off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tsoi throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A little jabbing left from Cortes on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
A swing and a miss from Tsoi.
A right-left combo lands from Tsoi.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cortes throws a lazy right hand but Tsoi sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Cortes has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Tsoi lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Tsoi takes one to the side of the head.
Cortes looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Tsoi checks a leg kick nicely.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Cortes.
Tsoi keeps Cortes at a distance using the push kick.
Cortes misses with a body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Viktor Tsoi will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Cortes misses with a shot to the body
and Tsoi counters with a nice body kick.
A big right from Tsoi misses.
Cortes throws a lazy uppercut
and Tsoi counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Tsoi takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Cortes dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Tsoi. That did some damage!
Tsoi throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Tsoi throws a right hand that misses
and Cortes counters with a nice leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cortes jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Cortes scores with a jab. Tsoi acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Cortes ducks under a wild hook from Tsoi.
Tsoi jabbing away but nothing is landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsoi takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Cortes missing with a left hand there. Tsoi was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Tsoi bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Tsoi might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
Tsoi lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Tsoi throws a body punch but Cortes moves out of range.
Tsoi lands a really nice looking cross but Cortes seems unphased.
Cortes misses with a shot to the body
and Tsoi counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Cortes chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Tsoi is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Cortes defending well as Tsoi loads up on a big left hand.
Tsoi misses with an uppercut. Cortes saw that one coming.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cortes throws an overhand right that lands on Tsoi's shoulder, as Tsoi tries to avoid the shot.
Tsoi takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Tsoi lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Tsoi looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Cortes lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Tsoi slips a jab from Cortes.
Cortes tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Tsoi is able to avoid easily.
Tsoi fires out a quick counter leg kick but Cortes just manages to avoid it.
Tsoi avoids the body shot from Cortes.
Tsoi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Cortes.
Cortes jabs at Tsoi's body.
A big right from Tsoi misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tsoi throws a nice head kick!
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Cortes.
Cortes misses the shot to the body.
Tsoi appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Cortes feints and then cracks Tsoi's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Tsoi down.
Cortes throws a head kick that misses.
Cortes tries to score with a low kick but Tsoi moves his leg out of the way.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Cortes.
Cortes connects with a leg kick. Tsoi looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Tsoi takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Cortes throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Tsoi throws a body kick, spinning off balance
enabling Cortes to counter with a crisp jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cortes lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Tsoi will be looking to protect his midsection after taking some solid kicks to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cortes lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Cortes tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Cortes jabs Tsoi to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Cortes takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Cortes tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Tsoi was well out of range. Poor timing from Cortes.
Cortes throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Cortes swings away with a body shot that misses
and Tsoi connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Tsoi lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Tsoi blocks a jab.
Tsoi swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ferdinand Cortes really dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Cortes lands a nice looking kick to the body. Tsoi takes a step back to recover.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Cortes scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
A slow jab from Tsoi misses its intended target.
Cortes cracks a nice hook into Tsoi's ribs.
Tsoi throws a poor cross that misses
and Cortes counters with a left to the body.
Tsoi throws the left hand but Cortes avoids the punch easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cortes throws a front kick aimed at Tsoi's knee but Tsoi avoids it well.
Tsoi was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Cortes misses with a jab to the body
and Tsoi counters with a nice uppercut.
Cortes feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Tsoi's calf.
Tsoi fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Cortes manages to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cortes connects with the punch.
Cortes tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Tsoi is able to avoid easily.
It looked like Tsoi wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Tsoi scores with a shot to the body.
Cortes motions for Tsoi to come forward. Cortes throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Cortes throws a nice outside leg kick.
Tsoi takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Cortes lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Cortes takes a swing at Tsoi's ribcage but misses.
Tsoi lands with an uppercut that bounces Cortes off the cage and back into range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tsoi slips under a jab.
Cortes fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Tsoi looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Tsoi misses with a looping left.
Cortes keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Tsoi throws a hook to the side of Cortes's head but Cortes sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cortes connects with a looping right hand.
Cortes scores with a leg kick.
Tsoi takes one to the chin there.
Tsoi misses with a left hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Cortes misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Tsoi.
As Cortes looks to move away, Tsoi throws a big counter combo but Cortes just gets out of the way.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A cross from Tsoi lands.
Cortes walks into a stiff left hand from Tsoi.
Cortes misses with a straight right.
Cortes looks to land a right hand but Tsoi moved out of range.
Cortes scores with a jab.
Tsoi lands with a nice body kick.
A jab from Tsoi does it's job there.
Cortes throws a body punch but Tsoi moves out of range.
Tsoi swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Tsoi tries a head kick but it misses.
A nice leg kick lands there from Cortes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cortes takes a swing at Tsoi's ribcage but misses.
Tsoi misses with an uppercut.
Cortes scores with a nice strike.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Cortes fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Tsoi manages to avoid it.
Tsoi throws a jab but it's blocked by Cortes.
A nice side step and Cortes releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Cortes swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Cortes throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Tsoi misses with a body shot.
Cortes avoids a kick to the body.
Cortes takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ferdinand Cortes dominated that fourth round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Cortes stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Cortes throws a body shot but no joy.
Cortes connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.

Tsoi is rocked!
Good work by Tsoi as he checks the leg kick.
Oh Tsoi is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Jab by Cortes.
Cortes scoring well with a low kick there.
Cortes ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Tsoi moves away.
Cortes thows a leg kick but Tsoi checks it
and Tsoi counters with a slapping leg kick.
Cortes throws a body shot but no joy.
Tsoi keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Tsoi throwing a counter right hand but Cortes manages to avoid it.
Tsoi seems to have got his legs back now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tsoi takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Cortes throws a nice outside leg kick.
Cortes lands with a nice body punch.
Cortes throws a lazy uppercut
and Tsoi counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A big right from Cortes misses.
Cortes works Tsoi's body with a nice hook.
Cortes misses with a left hand
letting Tsoi counter with a right hand.
Tsoi fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Cortes is out of range.
Cortes scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Viktor Tsoi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cortes misses with an uppercut. Tsoi saw that one coming.
Tsoi chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Cortes can pounce on him.
Tsoi moves out of range of the leg kick from Cortes.
Cortes avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Cortes slips under a jab.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cortes lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Cortes shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
A lazy left from Cortes finds it's target.
Cortes rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Tsoi cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Cortes cracks Tsoi with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A cross from Cortes lands.
Tsoi ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Cortes throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Tsoi stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Cortes misses with a low kick.
A counter left hand to the body from Tsoi misses its target.
Cortes looks to land a right hand but Tsoi moved out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Cortes. Tsoi does a little dance to reset his feet.
Cortes swings for the body but Tsoi moves out of range.
Tsoi swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Tsoi scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Cortes throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cortes connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Tsoi's hands.
Good shot there by Cortes.
A jab from Cortes does it's job there.
Cortes with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Cortes throws a leg kick but Tsoi moved away.
And Tsoi counters with a quick kick to the body but Cortes blocks it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Tsoi tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Cortes manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Cortes tries a low kick but Tsoi avoids it.
Cortes misses with a low kick.
A good leg kick by Cortes.
Tsoi scores with a nice body kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ferdinand Cortes comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Cortes has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 46:50
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 46:49
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 45:50

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ferdinand Cortes! Ferdinand Cortes retains his featherweight title!
After winning the bout, Ferdinand Cortes thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.