PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jewel Moses (ranked 24171 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lartem Obov (ranked 3591 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Moses
vs
Obov

154 cm
24
151 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

168 cm
25
145 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Jewel Moses!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Lartem Obov!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Ryoma Takatsuka and Chris Saunders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Obov is looking to land body kicks.
Obov lands with a nice body punch.
Obov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Moses as he avoids it easily.
Moses closes the distance and clinches up with Obov, looking for a takedown. Moses pushes Obov against the cage but Obov circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Obov lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Obov fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Obov tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Moses was well out of range. Poor timing from Obov.
Obov throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
enabling Moses to counter with a crisp jab.
A nice inside leg kick there by Obov. That's going to slow Moses down.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Obov tries to land a front kick but Moses steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Obov avoids the head kick by Moses.
Obov shoots and misses
and Moses counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Obov misses with a wild body shot.
Obov slaps away a takedown attempt from Moses, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Obov throws a combination that misses
and Moses counters with a body kick.
Moses swats away the attempt to clinch by Obov.
Obov throws a series of punches but Moses avoids them all with ease.
Obov throws a leg kick
and Obov takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Moses slaps away a takedown attempt from Obov, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Jewel Moses has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lartem Obov.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Moses.
Obov thinks about the counter body kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Obov throws a sloppy head kick and Moses moves out of range easily.
Moses throws a big counter combination but Obov scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Obov pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Obov looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Moses could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Obov misses with a head kick.
Lartem Obov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Obov will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Moses tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Obov defends well and Moses ends up having to push Obov into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Moses tries for a takedown but Obov sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Good work by Moses as he checks the leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Obov throws a predictable looking body shot
and Moses counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Obov closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Moses quickly recovers to half guard.
Obov looks winded!
Obov throwing shots but Moses is blocking nicely.
Moses looks like he's trying to stand up.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Obov lands a nice short elbow.
Obov trying to control from half guard but Moses is working away.
Moses manages to get to full guard.

Moses has his foot on Obov's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Obov works his way back into a safe position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Obov is working Moses over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

Moses had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Obov defends it easily.
Obov lands a couple of digs.
Moses keeping moving, preventing Obov from controlling successfully.
Obov looking to pass the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Obov throws a series of punches but Moses moves out of range.
Moses pushes Obov away with a front kick.
Obov throws a leg kick which misses Moses's front leg but catches the back leg as Moses tries to avoid it.
Obov throws a wild body kick that Moses sees coming a mile off.
Obov throws a hook but Moses blocks it.
Moses moves out of range of the body kick.
Moses lifts his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
Moses avoids the head kick by Obov.
Lartem Obov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Moses avoids the head kick by Obov.
Moses appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Obov looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
A leg kick checked by Moses.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Moses shoots in and gets a takedown into Obov's guard.
Moses stopping the sweep attempt from Obov.
Obov is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Moses landing with the ground and pound.
Obov throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Obov controlling Moses's posture.
Moses preventing the sweep.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Obov is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Moses is controlling him.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Obov throws a head kick that Moses semi-blocks.
Obov throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nice takedown defense from Obov. No joy for Moses on that attempt.
Moses shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Moses takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Obov throws a right and a left that Moses avoids nicely.
Moses blocks a head kick by Obov.
Obov is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Obov throws a head kick that misses
and Moses counters with an outside leg kick.
Moses shoots in for a takedown but Obov shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jewel Moses. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Moses shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Moses showed some decent athleticism there.

Obov kicks Moses off and gets back to his feet.
Moses doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Horrible takedown attempt by Obov or perhaps it was just good defense by Moses, which made it look bad.
Moses was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Obov is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Moses rather than just go for the knockout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Moses decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

Obov has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Moses is on him like a limpet, forcing Obov back against the cage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Obov keeps control of Moses as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Obov throws an elbow but it misses.
Moses prevents a body shot from Obov.
Obov makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Obov tries to work over Moses's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A frustrated look appears on Moses's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Obov pushes off an throws an elbow but Moses leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.

Moses escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Obov lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lartem Obov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Obov shoots for a double leg takedown but Moses sprawls well. He's pushed Obov's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Moses is trying hard to land a takedown here. Obov sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Obov wants to counter with a clinch but Moses pushes him away.
Obov misses with the body kick
and Moses counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Nice sprawl there from Moses as Obov shoots in.
A looping hook to the body misses from Obov. Moses does a little dance to reset his feet.
Moses is looking to counter punch.
Obov fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Lartem Obov seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Moses bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Obov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sloppy strikes from Obov. Those never looked like landing.
Moses is looking to counter with a body kick.
Obov swings widly with a right hand
and Moses counters with a nice uppercut.
Obov throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Obov misses with a hook.
Moses tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Obov swivels and escapes.
Obov looks to land a body kick but Moses moved away.
A quick step to the side and Moses tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Moses tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Obov swivels and escapes.
Obov throws a fast counter high kick but Moses manages to duck under it in time.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jewel Moses. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Obov wants to land a leg kick but Moses is out of range.
It looked like Moses wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Obov throws a body shot but no joy.
Moses throws a counter high kick but Obov was just alert enough to avoid it.
A nice inside leg kick there by Obov. That's going to slow Moses down.
Moses shoots in and drives through. Obov sprawls well.
Obov tried to score with a low kick but Moses checks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Obov.
Moses tries to bum rush Obov with a series of wild strikes but Obov uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Obov closes the distance and clinches.
Moses goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

Obov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Obov goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Obov throws a predictable looking body shot
and Moses counters with a nice body kick.
Obov connects with the punch.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A short left from Moses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Moses throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Obovs head.
Obov lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Moses backwards.
Obov tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Moses stalling against the cage.
Obov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Moses crunches a lovely knee into Obov's ribcage.
The referee is keeping an eye on Moses - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Moses is struggling to control the position.
Moses avoiding damage as Obov throws knees to the body.
Obov throws a head punch that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Obov tries to land a knee to the head but Moses blocks with his arms.
Obov comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Obov scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Lartem Obov seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

Obov manages to break the clinch.
Lartem Obov is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Obov throws a sloppy head kick
letting Moses counter with a right hand.
Moses changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Obov tries to avoid it but Moses manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Obov to the ground. Obov escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Obov will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Moses throws a quick counter kick to the body but Obov avoids it.
Moses tries for a takedown but Obov sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Obov will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Moses was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Jewel Moses has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Obov avoids the head kick by Moses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lartem Obov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Obov 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lartem Obov!