PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alexey Markov (ranked 2325 p4p, 49 weight class) and Greg Bell (ranked 3274 p4p, 132 weight class). There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Markov
vs
Bell

188 cm
26
223 lbs
7 - 9 - 0

176 cm
33
300 lbs
14 - 21 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Brawler
Granite chin

Vegan Gains

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 9 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alexey Markov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 21 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Greg Bell!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Chris Downing and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bell looks to land a body kick but Markov moved away.
Markov scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Markov scores with a hook.
Bell throws out a loose jab but Markov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Markov feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Bells jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Bell throws a body shot but no joy.
Bell takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Bell shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.

Bell drives through with a takedown into guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Markov is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Bell is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bell's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Markov pulls Bell in close to his closed guard and prevents Bell from doing any damage or advancing position.
My spies in Crapollas Gym inform me that Bell has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Markov looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Markov trying to control the position.
Markov wants to sweep here but Bell controlling him for the moment.
Bell showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Markov looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Markov is working hard here to advance position.

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.
Bell sitting in guard here, content to control.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Markov closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Markov is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Bell tries a head kick but it misses.
Markov cracks Bell with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Markov takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Markov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Bell is clearly looking to counter with head kicks.
Bell takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Markov will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Markov lands a body shot.
Markov cracks a nice hook into Bell's ribs.
Markov jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Markov connects with a leg kick. Bell looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Markov is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Bell tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Markov moves out of range of the body kick.

Markov drives through with a takedown into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Markov trying to control the position from guard on top but Bell is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Bell wants to control but Markov passes easily into half guard.
Markov trying to control from half guard but Bell is working away.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Bell has hold of Markov's hands but Markov slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Bell is trying to get back to full guard.
Markov takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Markov throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bell moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bell will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Bell keeping moving, preventing Markov from controlling successfully.
Bell is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Markov's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Markov missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Bell keeping moving, preventing Markov from controlling successfully.

Bell is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Markov defends well.

Bell escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Markov gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexey Markov dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Markov lands with a nice combination. Bell backs away looking to recover.
Alexey Markov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Markov lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Bell backs up against the cage.
Markov connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Bell tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
A cross from Markov lands.
Markov avoids the head kick by Bell.
Markov's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Markov duly obliges.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Markov.
Markov lands with an uppercut that bounces Bell off the cage and back into range.
A decent looking cross lands there for Markov.
Bell thows a left - swing and a miss!
Left hook, right uppercut from Markov.
Markov's corner calls for a 1-2. Markov obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Markov cracks Bell with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Jab by Markov.
Markov changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Alexey Markov is winning the standup battle so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Markov lands with an uppercut that bounces Bell off the cage and back into range.
Markov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Bell can do to turn this around?
Markov displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Bell.
Markov pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Bell back to the cage. Markov follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Markov cracks Bell with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Markov changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Bell fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Markov manages to avoid it.
Bell pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Bell walks into a jab.
Markov fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Bell takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Markov leaves Bell with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Markov connects with a looping right hand.
Markov jabs Bell right on the nose. Bell blinks but takes it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bell walks into a left hand.
Bell fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Alexey Markov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Greg Bell.
Markov sizes up Bell with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Markov lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Markov scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Markov closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Markov lands a jab to the head.
Markov blocks a head kick by Bell.
Markov avoids the head kick by Bell.
Bell has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
A big right from Bell misses.
Bell on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Markov lands with an uppercut that bounces Bell off the cage and back into range.
Markov lands a jab to the head.
Markov feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Bells jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Bell is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Markov.
Markov is working the combinations to good effect here.
Bell is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Markov.
Nice jab there from Markov.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bell stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Bell wants it to stay on the feet.
Markov scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
A left and a right from Markov both land. Nice combination.
Markov moves out of range of the body kick.
Markov throws a leg kick which misses Bell's front leg but catches the back leg as Bell tries to avoid it.
Bell pulls out of a head kick attempt.
A nice inside leg kick there by Markov. That's going to slow Bell down.

Markov closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Markov lands with a punch from half guard.
Markov controlling the action here.
Markov seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Bell for as long as he can get away with.
Markov will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
We've been hearing that Markov has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Markov not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Bell is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Bell looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Markov wants to pass the guard but Bell is defending well.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bell is trying to get back to full guard.
Ground and pound from Markov.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexey Markov dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Markov displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Bell takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Markov fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Bell looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Markov fails with the takedown.
Markov tests Bell's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Bell stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Bell wants it to stay on the feet.
Bell changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Bell walks into a jab.
Markov moves out of range of the strikes.
Bell takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Bell takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Markov looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Markov works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Markov scoring well with a low kick there.
Markov lands with a right hand.
Markov scores with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Bell closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Markov is not content to let Bell control the position.
Markov is working to avoid the ground and pound but Bell connects with a decent elbow.
Markov is in a bad spot here and he knows it... just holding on for now.

Bell tries for a kimura but Markov is defending well.
Bell trying to control the position but Markov is working away.
Markov is trying to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Markov is letting Bell control him for a moment.
Bell avoids the strikes from the bottom by Markov.
Bell trying to control the action but Markov is working from the bottom.
Markov is trying to control Bell's posture but Bell avoids it.
Markov sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Markov wants to improve his position but Bell is controlling well.
Bell drops an elbow to the side of Markov's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bell content to control rather than advance.
Markov trying to control here.

Bell wants to work for an arm triangle but Markov is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Markov is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Alexey Markov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Markov moves into full guard.
Markov tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Bell trying to control the position from guard on top but Markov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Bell postures up in Markov's guard and throws a big left but Markov blocks it.
Bell's corner is telling him to maintain position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Bell 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.

Markov gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Markov will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Markov trying to keep a closed guard but Bell is proving a slippery customer.
Markov is controlling Bell's posture.
Bell trying to control the position from guard on top but Markov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Greg Bell has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bell scoring with some ground and pound.

Markov is rocked!

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 Alexey Markov.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Markov, 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 Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:26
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:26
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexey Markov!
Alexey Markov took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, Organic Nutrition for their support in the buildup to the fight.