PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Neo Oen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Tucker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). John Tucker will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Oen
vs
Tucker

175 cm
23
219 lbs
5 - 5 - 0

188 cm
22
210 lbs
6 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Aspire Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Neo Oen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 10 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, John Tucker!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Aleksandr Martynov and Konstantin Menshow.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Oen ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Oen is trying hard to land a takedown here. Tucker sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Oen avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Tucker jabs Oen right on the nose. Oen blinks but takes it well.

Oen moves into range and clinches up with Tucker.
Oen misses with a short punch on the inside.
Oen takes a shot to the head.
Oen manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Oen pressing his opponent against the cage.
Oen blocks a body shot from Tucker.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Oen blocks a body shot from Tucker.
Tucker lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Oen backwards.
Oen tries for a takedown. No joy.
Oen prevents a body shot from Tucker.
Oen has been working on his balance at Russian Bears Training Center, so perhaps that has help him stuff some of the takedown attempts by Tucker.
Oen is trying to drag Tucker to the mat but Tucker just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Neo Oen. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tucker lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Oen or not.

Tucker's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
A shot to the liver by Tucker. Beautiful body shot.
Tucker comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Oen takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Tucker throws a shot from downtown. Oen moves away and avoids it.
Oen tries to counter with a takedown but Tucker is quick to defend against it.
Oen is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Tucker.
Tucker works the jab nicely.

Oen shoots in and gets a takedown into Tucker'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.
Oen throws a big elbow that misses.
Tucker has his hands on Oen's head, controlling the position.
Oen is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Oen wants to control from the top but Tucker keeps moving.
Oen with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Oen tries to free his leg and advance position but Tucker is retaining full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Oen advances position into side control!
Tucker wants to control but Oen postures up.
Oen working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Oen lands some shots froms side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Oen working the head with strikes.
Oen lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Tucker down.
Tucker gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Oen scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Tucker?
Oen has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Oen wants to control the pace but Tucker is squirming around nicely.
Tucker avoids a series of strikes thrown by Oen.
Oen can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Tucker is looking to escape.
Oen is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Tucker can't stay in a position like this for much longer.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Oen looking to control but Tucker is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Tucker can do anything to dispel that myth.
Tucker in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Tucker really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Oen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Oen thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Oen unloading with bombs!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Oen tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Oen scores with a couple of good head shots there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Neo Oen dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Oen ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Tucker looks to land a right hand but Oen moved out of range.
Tucker fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Oen manages to avoid it.
A shot to the liver by Tucker. Beautiful body shot.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Oen.
John Tucker seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Oen takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Tucker slaps away a takedown attempt from Oen, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Tucker looks like he wants to counter punch here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tucker takes a swing at Oen's ribcage but misses.
Oen slips under a jab from Tucker.
Tucker swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

Oen throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Tucker tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Oen is in Tucker's guard.
Tucker being controlled here, momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Oen pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Tucker is keeping the position for now.
Oen trying to control but Tucker is working from the bottom.
Tucker wants to control but Oen passes easily into half guard.
Oen moves into full mount! Tucker won't be happy about that!
Oen avoids the attempt from Tucker to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Oen connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Oen can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Tucker is looking to escape.
A nice elbow there by Oen.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Oen there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Tucker avoids a series of strikes thrown by Oen.
Tucker holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Oen tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Tucker avoids a series of strikes thrown by Oen.
Oen postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Tucker looks a forlorn figure.
Oen unloads with some shots from mount but Tucker bucks and avoids them well.
Oen takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Oen misses with a head shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Oen throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Tucker is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Tucker is looking to improve his position but Oen isn't that keen on the idea.
Oen wants to control the pace but Tucker is squirming around nicely.
Oen tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Oen wants to control the pace but Tucker is squirming around nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Neo Oen dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Oen drives through with a takedown into guard.
Tucker can't keep his opponent in guard - Oen advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Oen is keen to just control but Tucker is a slippery customer.
Well, if Oen is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Tucker is refusing to be controlled, as Oen sits in half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tucker won't allow Oen to pass to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Oen 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.
Oen trying to pass the guard but Tucker defending well.
Oen is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Tucker!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Tucker defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Oen.
Tucker holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Oen tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Oen is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Tucker can't stay in a position like this for much longer.

Oen with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Neo Oen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Tucker holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Oen tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Oen thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tucker wants to hold on but Oen pushes him away.
Oen looking to ground and pound but Tucker is blocking nicely.
Neo Oen is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Oen controlling from the full mount.

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.
Tucker is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Oen takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
John Tucker has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Neo Oen showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Oen, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:26
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:26
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Neo Oen!
John Tucker was interviewed post fight and said 'Thanks my fans for their support.'.