PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between DJ Thunda (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Evgeni Elkemenchi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be fireworks!

Thunda
vs
Elkemenchi

181 cm
21
164 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

172 cm
21
168 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, DJ Thunda!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Evgeni Elkemenchi!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Franklyn Lucas and Eddie Farnsworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Thunda throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Elkemenchi takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.

It looks like Evgeni Elkemenchi has been cut.
Elkemenchi gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Thunda.
Elkemenchi shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Thunda counters with a slapping leg kick.
Thunda fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.

Thunda drops Elkemenchi with a big left hand and mounts him. Elkemenchi is in big trouble!

Elkemenchi is rocked!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Thunda controlling the pace for now.
Elkemenchi is still in real trouble! Can Thunda finish him?
Elkemenchi is trying desperately to improve position.
Elkemenchi seems to have recovered his senses.
Thunda avoids the attempt from Elkemenchi to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thunda controlling his opponent.
Thunda's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Thunda has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Thunda continues to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Further stalling from Thunda.
Elkemenchi has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Thunda has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Thunda.
Thunda continues to hold on tight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
If it seems like I'm not saying a lot, it's just because Thunda is stinking the place up with his stalling.
Thunda tries to control but Elkemenchi wriggling away.
Thunda takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Elkemenchi is squirming around, avoiding Thunda's attempts to control the action.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Elkemenchi is trying desperately to improve position.
Thunda controlling from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

DJ Thunda dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Evgeni Elkemenchi's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Thunda misses with a wild body shot.
Elkemenchi now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Thunda throws a lazy uppercut

and Elkemenchi counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Still in half guard, Elkemenchi seems content to control.

Elkemenchi is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Elkemenchi looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Thunda tries to roll over but Elkemenchi keeps him under control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thunda is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute Elkemenchi jumps into side control!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thunda tries to buck Elkemenchi off but Elkemenchi is having none of it.
Thunda is working hard here to advance position.
Thunda is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Elkemenchi can do to turn this around?
Elkemenchi cracks Thunda with a big elbow.
Elkemenchi throws a strike aimed at the side of Thunda's head but Thunda avoids it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thunda avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Elkemenchi.
Sloppy strikes there by Elkemenchi.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Elkemenchi throws an elbow but Thunda slips to the side and avoids it well.
Thunda can't do much from the bottom here.
Thunda tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Elkemenchi wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Thunda is not content to let Elkemenchi control the position.
Thunda is in a bad spot here and he knows it... just holding on for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Elkemenchi wants to control but Thunda is keeping him busy.
Thunda is trying to improve his position.
Thunda wants to control but Elkemenchi postures up.
Elkemenchi lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Thunda regains half guard.
Thunda is looking for a sweep. Elkemenchi is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Elkemenchi trying to control the action but Thunda is working from the bottom.
Elkemenchi thows a huge punch but Thunda dodges it nicely.
Elkemenchi missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Elkemenchi lands with a punch from half guard.
Thunda wants to improve his position but Elkemenchi is controlling well.
Elkemenchi seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Thunda does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Elkemenchi has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Elkemenchi sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Thunda defending well though.
Thunda is looking to improve his position.
Elkemenchi wants to take a breather but Thunda is having none of it.

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.
Thunda wants to improve his position but Elkemenchi is controlling well.
Elkemenchi not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Evgeni Elkemenchi has got the better of the ground game so far.
Elkemenchi tries to pass to full mount but Thunda defends it.
Elkemenchi working the head and body with strikes.
Thunda wants to improve his position but Elkemenchi is controlling well.

Elkemenchi is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Thunda trying to hold on to Elkemenchi's head to control him but Elkemenchi postures up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Elkemenchi takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Evgeni Elkemenchi showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Evgeni Elkemenchi's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Elkemenchi shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Thunda counters with a one-two to the body.
Thunda throws out a loose jab but Elkemenchi uses good head movement to avoid it.
Thunda misses with a straight left.
Thunda lands with a straight right. Elkemenchi didn't see that one coming.
Thunda connects with a single shot there.
Thunda throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Elkemenchi counters with a right hand to the body.
Thunda misses with a two punch combination.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Elkemenchi.
Elkemenchi tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Thunda manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Thunda is looking to counter with head kicks.
Elkemenchi shoots in for a takedown but Thunda shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
DJ Thunda has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Evgeni Elkemenchi.
Elkemenchi avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Elkemenchi now looks to counter with a shot at the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Elkemenchi fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Thunda avoids it really well and circles away.
Elkemenchi fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
A big left from Thunda misses.
Elkemenchi with the counter takedown but Thunda avoids it easily.
A head kick by Thunda misses

and Elkemenchi counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Thunda is refusing to be controlled, as Elkemenchi sits in half guard.
Thunda wants to control but Elkemenchi is keeping busy and won't allow it.

Elkemenchi is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Thunda sees it coming and defends easily.
The fighters are battling for position here. Thunda manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thunda preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Thunda wants to sweep here but Elkemenchi controlling him for the moment.
Elkemenchi with a flurry of punches that miss.
Elkemenchi postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Elkemenchi is looking to work some ground and pound but Thunda has wrist control.
Elkemenchi won't allow Thunda to sweep him here.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Elkemenchi accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Elkemenchi trying to control the position from guard on top but Thunda is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Thunda has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Elkemenchi scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Elkemenchi trying to mount his opponent but Thunda defends it.
Thunda trying to control from the bottom.
Elkemenchi wants to lay and pray for a moment but Thunda keeps working.
Elkemenchi prevents Thunda from improving his position.
Thunda blocking the ground and pound attempt from Elkemenchi.
Elkemenchi wants to take a breather but Thunda is having none of it.
Thunda keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thunda is trying to get back to full guard.
Elkemenchi thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

Elkemenchi looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Nice strikes from Elkemenchi there.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Thunda has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Elkemenchi is working away from the top position though.
Thunda is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Elkemenchi scores with a couple of nice shots.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Evgeni Elkemenchi.
I think Elkemenchi has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Lou da Vinci scores the fight 28:28
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 29:27
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 28:28

The fight is ruled a majority draw!