PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Akeen Coker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sergey Panikov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Panikov has chosen Fighters as his entrance music. 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.

Coker
vs
Panikov

165 cm
30
141 lbs
22 - 9 - 2

160 cm
34
145 lbs
26 - 12 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Bullet Proof System

Zenith Nutrition (160q/225$)

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 22 - 9 - 2, fighting out of Los Angeles, Akeen Coker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 12 - 0, fighting out of New York, Sergey Panikov!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, Yves DeLean and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Coker keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Panikov fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Coker throws a big shot that misses.
Coker swings for the body but Panikov moves out of range.
Coker fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Panikov checks it well.
Panikov tries a quick counter leg kick but Coker is wise to it.
Panikov motions for Coker to come forward. Panikov throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Coker was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Panikov uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Coker.
We've been informed that Panikov has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Panikov is looking to land body kicks.
Coker misses with a kick to the body.
Coker uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Panikov.
Coker has been working on his boxing with his coaches at White Eagle in the buildup to the fight.
Coker slips a jab from Panikov.
Coker is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Coker will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Coker turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Panikov takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

Panikov has closed the distance and engaged Coker in a clinch.
Coker blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Coker misses with a hook from the clinch.
Coker fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Panikov throws a head punch that misses.
Coker misses with a body punch.
Coker letting Panikov take a breather here.
Coker blocking some punches.
Coker jumps guard but Panikov turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Panikov blocks an uppercut.
Coker blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Panikov struggles to land a body shot inside as Coker controls his hands.
Panikov lands a hook to the side of the head.
Coker softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Coker misses with a short punch on the inside.
Coker working hard to break the clinch.
Coker throws a punch but it's blocked by Panikov.
Panikov dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
A short right from Coker on the inside.
Coker blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Panikov has a couple of punches blocked by Coker.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Panikov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Panikov blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Panikov swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Panikov lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Coker swings away with an uppercut that misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Panikov.
Coker's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Coker lands with a light punch inside.
Coker goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Coker blocks an uppercut.
Coker changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Panikov fights it off and pushes away nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Akeen Coker. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Panikov scores with a nice head shot.
Panikov explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Panikov goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Panikov blocks the body kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Coker takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Coker lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Coker throws out a powerful jab.
Coker cracks Panikov with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Coker misses with a leg kick.
Coker scores with a nice head shot.
Panikov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Coker attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Coker fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Panikov manages to avoid it.
Coker attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Panikov is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Coker tries to score with a low kick but Panikov moves his leg out of the way.
Panikov looks to land a right hand but Coker moved out of range.
Panikov pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Panikov avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Coker does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Panikov throws a hook but Coker blocks it.
Coker fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Panikov has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Panikov avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Coker checks a leg kick nicely.
Coker checks a low kick from Panikov.
Coker swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Panikov looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Panikov fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Coker is out of range.
Coker throws an off balance right hand

and Panikov counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Coker tries a body shot but Panikov blocks it.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Panikov looking to slow down the pace here.
Coker doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Panikov working some nice short punches in the clinch.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Panikov tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Coker takes a shot to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Sergey Panikov will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Coker avoids a kick to the body.
Akeen Coker is winning the standup battle so far.
Coker throws a low kick but Panikov moves out of range easily.
Coker throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Panikov sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Coker fakes the leg kick and cracks Panikov in the body.
Coker fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Panikov manages to avoid it.
Coker bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Coker throws a half hearted mid kick.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Panikov! But no joy.
Coker missing with a left hand there. Panikov was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Panikov missing with a left hand there. Coker was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Coker keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Some bone on bone action there as Panikov checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Panikov lands with a right hand.
The fighters circling - Panikov throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Panikov scoring well with a low kick there.
Panikov lands a jab to the nose.
Panikov lands with a hook. Coker tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Coker has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Panikov.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Coker scores with a hook to the body. Panikov takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Coker looks to score with a jab to the body but Panikov is just out of range.
Panikov lands with a thumping leg kick.
Coker wants to slow Panikov down by chopping away at his legs.
Coker looks to land a body kick but Panikov moved away.
Coker fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Panikov on the side of the head.
Panikov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Coker.
A looping hook to the body misses from Panikov. Coker does a little dance to reset his feet.

Coker looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Coker is looking to work some ground and pound but Panikov has wrist control.
Coker slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Coker wants to control from the top but Panikov keeps moving.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Coker is fighting to break Panikov's control of his arms but Panikov is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Panikov working a defensive guard here.
Coker in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Panikov is adopting a defensive guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Horrible takedown attempt by Coker or perhaps it was just good defense by Panikov, which made it look bad.
Coker misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Panikov looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Panikov takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Sergey Panikov is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Coker jabs Panikov to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Panikov looks for the body kick but Coker saw that one coming.
Coker throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Coker feints and then cracks Panikov's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Panikov down.
Panikov on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Panikov moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Coker fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Panikov manages to avoid it.
Coker throws a body punch but Panikov moves out of range.
Coker looks to throw the jab but Panikov is out of range.
It seemed like Panikov was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.

Coker shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Coker showed some decent athleticism there.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Coker not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Coker controlling the pace.
Coker throwing shots but Panikov is blocking nicely.
Panikov is trying to maintain the position but Coker is very close to passing his half guard.
Ground and pound from Coker.
Coker is thwarting Panikov's attempts to control the position.
Coker thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Akeen Coker dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Panikov thuds his right hand into Coker's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Panikov moves out of range of the strikes.
A nice leg kick lands there from Panikov.
Panikov scores with a body shot.
Panikov walks forward, straight into a front kick from Coker.
Good exchange - Coker coming out on top.
Good shot there by Coker.
Good leg kick by Panikov there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Panikov ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Coker moves away.
Coker throws a leg kick but Panikov moved away.
Coker backing away here, and Panikov unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Panikov throws a body shot but no joy.
Coker scores with a nice head shot.
Coker cracks Panikov with an open hand slap.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Panikov connects with a nice looking jab.

Panikov darts in and clinches Coker up against the cage.

Coker breaks the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Panikov blocks a low kick nicely.
A right-left combo lands from Panikov.
Coker motions for Panikov to come forward. Coker throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Panikov uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Coker.
Panikov throws a leg kick but Coker moved away.
Panikov throws a low kick, looking for Coker's leg but Coker calmly moves out of range.
Panikov is looking to score with low kicks.
Panikov takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Coker looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Coker misses the jab.
Coker throws a head kick that misses.
A low kick from Coker misses
letting Panikov counter with a right hand.

Coker shoots in and bounces Panikov off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Panikov utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Panikov trying to control the position.
Coker trying to control the position from guard on top but Panikov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Coker throwing strikes but missing.
Coker postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Coker throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Panikov works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Coker 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 ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Panikov misses with a body kick.
Panikov misses with a low kick as Coker jumps back.
Coker throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Panikov scores with a shot to the body.
Coker works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Coker lands a nice leg kick that just misses Panikov's sensitive parts.
Panikov throws a hook to the side of Coker's head but Coker sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Coker swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
A shot to the liver by Panikov. Beautiful body shot.
Coker fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Panikov checks it well.

Panikov gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Coker holding his opponent close, against the cage.

Coker breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Panikov pushes Coker away with a front kick.
Panikov connects with a body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Panikov scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Coker fails with a takedown attempt.
Coker throws a lazy uppercut
enabling Panikov to counter with a crisp jab.
Panikov misses with a left hand
and Panikov takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Coker lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Panikov has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Panikov and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Coker takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Coker scores with a hook to the body. Panikov takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Coker walks into a left hand.
Coker uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Panikov.
Panikov tries to land a front kick but Coker steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Panikov lands with a right hand.
Panikov misses with a shot to the body
and Coker counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Panikov lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Coker scores with a nice head shot.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Sergey Panikov.
I think Panikov 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 Elvis Blanc scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 28:29
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Sergey Panikov!
Sergey Panikov took to the mic in his post fight interview and said 'You lose to slow learner with little skill, how you feel? I smoke cigarettes, 40 a day, and eat pizza.'.