PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between James Hackett (ranked 6717 p4p, 538 weight class) and Alla Pugacheva (ranked 5423 p4p, 486 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Hackett
vs
Pugacheva

175 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

179 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, James Hackett!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Alla Pugacheva!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, Colin Fotheringham and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hackett tries to close the distance and clinch but Pugacheva swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Pugacheva darts in and clinches Hackett up against the cage.

Pugacheva ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Pugacheva no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Hackett sitting in guard here, content to control.
Hackett wants to stand but Pugacheva has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Pugacheva controlling Hackett's posture.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hackett's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Hackett wants to pass the guard but Pugacheva is keeping the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hackett not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

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

Hackett clinches up with Pugacheva and pushes him back against the cage.
Pugacheva is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Hackett pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Hackett misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Pugacheva.
Pugacheva has Hackett pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Hackett manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

Pugacheva manages to break the clinch.

Hackett takes the fight into the clinch.
Pugacheva tries to pull guard but Hackett holds him up against the cage and eventually Pugacheva drops back down to his feet.
James Hackett has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alla Pugacheva.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Hackett using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Pugacheva has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Hackett trying to land knees to the body.
Hackett taking a breather.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hackett throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Pugacheva blocks it with crossed arms.
Pugacheva has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Hackett avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Pugacheva tries a knee to the head but Hackett blocks it.
Pugacheva tries to pull guard but Hackett forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Hackett is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Pugacheva is trying to break the clinch but Hackett is controlling him.
Hackett misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Pugacheva.
Hackett will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Pugacheva up against the cage.
Hackett is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Pugacheva is defending well for now.
A knee to the head by Hackett.
Hackett using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Pugacheva has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Hackett using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Pugacheva has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hackett is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Pugacheva is defending well for now.
Pugacheva managing to block the knees to the body from Hackett.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Pugacheva successfully pulls guard.
Hackett controls from within his opponent's guard.
Pugacheva working a defensive guard here.
Hackett passes Pugacheva's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Hackett looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Hackett wants to pass to mount but Pugacheva is defending the position.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Hackett in particular looking to stall.
Hackett has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pugacheva is in all sorts of trouble here.
Hackett takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Pugacheva is in all sorts of trouble here.
Hackett controlling from mount.
Hackett has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Pugacheva is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hackett tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Hackett dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Hackett tries to clinch up.

Pugacheva gets tackled into the cage by Hackett. Hackett maintains the clinch.
Hackett is stalling here.
Hackett landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Hackett with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Pugacheva avoiding damage as Hackett throws knees to the body.
Hackett gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Pugacheva.
Hackett is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Pugacheva is defending well for now.
Pugacheva has Hackett pressed against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hackett missing with knees to the body.
Pugacheva avoiding damage as Hackett throws knees to the body.
Hackett is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Pugacheva is defending well for now.

Pugacheva escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Pugacheva instigates a clinch.
Hackett has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Hackett tries to land a knee to the head but Pugacheva blocks with his arms.

Pugacheva ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Pugacheva no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Hackett content to stall in guard here.
Hackett won't allow Pugacheva to sweep him here.
Hackett wants to stand but Pugacheva has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Hackett is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Pugacheva controls Hackett momentarily but Hackett frees himself.
Hackett is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
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.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
James Hackett is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Hackett takes the fight into the clinch.
Hackett is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Pugacheva can do to turn this around?
Hackett lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Pugacheva tries a knee to the head but Hackett blocks it.
Hackett missing with knees to the body.
Pugacheva wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Pugacheva managing to block the knees to the body from Hackett.
Pugacheva on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Hackett.
Hackett unloads a knee to the mid-section. Pugacheva lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Pugacheva is breathing heavily.
Hackett tries to land knees in the clinch but Pugacheva avoids the damage to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pugacheva on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Hackett with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Pugacheva has Hackett pressed against the cage.
Hackett tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Pugacheva avoids it.

Pugacheva breaks from the clinch.
Hackett tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Pugacheva counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Pugacheva shoots for a double leg takedown but Hackett sprawls well. He's pushed Pugacheva's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Hackett defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Pugacheva.
James Hackett has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alla Pugacheva.

Pugacheva dives in and scores a takedown into Hackett's guard.
Hackett keeping moving, preventing Pugacheva from controlling successfully.

Hackett is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Pugacheva defends well.
Hackett managing to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hackett continues to stall.

Hackett has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Pugacheva can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Pugacheva loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Pugacheva postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Hackett pulls Pugacheva in close to his closed guard and prevents Pugacheva from doing any damage or advancing position.
James Hackett overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Pugacheva in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Hackett dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Pugacheva scores with a takedown into Hackett's guard.
Pugacheva being controlled here momentarily.
Hackett is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Hackett has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Hackett.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
More hug and hope from Hackett.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Hackett tries to close the distance and clinch but Pugacheva swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Hackett tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Pugacheva paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Pugacheva gets tackled into the cage by Hackett. Hackett maintains the clinch.
Hackett throws a knee to the head but misses.
Hackett unloads a knee to the mid-section. Pugacheva lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Pugacheva wants a takedown but no success here.
Knees in the clinch landing for Pugacheva.
Hackett landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Hackett misses with a knee to the head.
Hackett blocks a body shot from Pugacheva.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hackett trying to land knees to the body.
James Hackett has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Hackett throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Pugacheva blocks it with crossed arms.

Pugacheva pulls guard effortlessly.
Hackett controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Pugacheva wants to stand up but Hackett is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hackett is stalling in the full guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Pugacheva circles away from the clinch attempt.

Hackett closes the distance and pushes Pugacheva back into the cage.
Hackett tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Pugacheva avoids it.

Pugacheva breaks the clinch.
Hackett swats away the attempt to clinch by Pugacheva.
Hackett is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
No luck for Pugacheva with that takedown attempt.
James Hackett seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hackett tries to close the distance and clinch up but Pugacheva swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Pugacheva keeps the fight on the outside.
Pugacheva changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Hackett tries to clinch but Pugacheva is having none of it.
Hackett tries to close the distance and clinch up but Pugacheva swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Pugacheva keeps the fight on the outside.

Pugacheva gets a clinch.

Pugacheva escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Hackett moves in looking to clinch but Pugacheva pushes him off.
A head kick misses from Pugacheva.

Hackett gets a clinch.
Hackett misses with a knee to the head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Hackett using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Pugacheva has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Hackett is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Pugacheva is defending well for now.
Pugacheva lands a left hand.
Alla Pugacheva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
James Hackett is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Pugacheva changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Hackett fights it off and pushes away nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to James Hackett.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hackett, 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 Chris Edwards scores the fight 30:28
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 30:28
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Hackett!