PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Vladimir Menchov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ivok Smolar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ivok Smolar acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Menchov
vs
Smolar

182 cm
18
188 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

177 cm
21
177 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Prefers ground

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Vladimir Menchov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ivok Smolar!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Ivan Kurochkin and Konstantin Menshow.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Smolar works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Smolar slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Menchov throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Menchov looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Menchov tries to close the distance and clinch up but Smolar swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Smolar drives through and clinches with Menchov against the cage.
Smolar on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Smolar stalls.
Smolar continues to stall. The referee tells him to work or he's going to break them up.
Menchov drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Smolar gets the underhooks and prevents it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smolar is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Menchov slows down the pace here.
Menchov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Menchov tries to stall but Smolar uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Smolar is trying to break free.
Smolar wants to break the clinch but can't.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Smolar as Menchov tries to tie him up.
Smolar is pushing Menchov up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Smolar wants to break the clinch but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Menchov tries to score a body lock takedown but Smolar shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vladimir Menchov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Smolar lands a right hand.
Smolar wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Smolar breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Smolar moves into range and connects with a jab.
A punch combination from Smolar misses.

Menchov moves into range and clinches up with Smolar.

Smolar breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Smolar tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Menchov tries to clinch there but Smolar circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Menchov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Smolar throws out a loose jab but Menchov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Smolar lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Menchov circles away from the clinch attempt

and Menchov moves into the clinch.
Menchov tries to land a knee to the head but Smolar blocks with his arms.
Smolar stalling against the cage.
Menchov fails to pull the fight into his guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Smolar misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Menchov.
Smolar pushes off an throws an elbow but Menchov leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Menchov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Menchov misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Smolar avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Menchov throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Smolar is looking to clinch but Menchov is avoiding it.
Ivok Smolar seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Menchov tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Menchov takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Smolar lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Menchov circles away quickly and effectively.
Menchov shoots in but no luck this time.
Menchov clinches but Smolar breaks the clinch
and Smolar counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smolar is looking to clinch.
Menchov swats away the attempt to clinch by Smolar.
Menchov throws a combination that misses
and Smolar counters with a left to the body.
Smolar wants to clinch but Menchov slips to the side

and Menchov counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Menchov wants to pass the guard but Smolar is keeping the position.
Menchov trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Smolar is breathing heavily.

Menchov is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Smolar wants to stand up but Menchov is controlling him.
Menchov throwing strikes from guard but Smolar blocks nicely.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Smolar. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Smolar preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Menchov missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Menchov thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Menchov 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.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Menchov gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Smolar.
Menchov gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Smolar counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Smolar.
Smolar wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Smolar's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Some wild striking there from Smolar.

Smolar moves into the clinch successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smolar wants to break the clinch but can't.
Smolar is stalling here.
The crowd are getting on Smolar's back here. They're not happy about his lack of aggression in the clinch.
Smolar scores with a hook to the body.
Smolar wants to get back to striking at distance but Menchov won't allow it.

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.
Smolar scores with a knee to the head.
Smolar is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Smolar digs a right hand into Menchov's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Menchov's gas tank.
Menchov is trying to stall.
Smolar wants to break the clinch but can't.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Menchov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Smolar avoiding damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Ivok Smolar will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Smolar tries to clinch but Menchov moves away

and Menchov counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Smolar prevents the takedown attempt.

Menchov ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Menchov no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.

Menchov working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Smolar doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Smolar manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Menchov looking for a sweep. Not yet Menchov, not yet.

Smolar decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Smolar closes the distance and clinches.
Menchov keeps control of Smolar as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Smolar is working Menchov over against the cage.

Smolar pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Menchov takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Smolar connects with a nice looking jab.
The crowd cheers as Smolar lands an impressive looking overhand right. Menchov doesn't seem phased though.

Smolar moves into the clinch.
Smolar is trying to break the clinch but Menchov has him pressed against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Menchov is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Smolar is keeping busy.
Smolar tries to break the clinch but Menchov is controlling the position.
Smolar missing with knees to the body.
Smolar stalling the fight.
Smolar softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Smolar is trying to break the clinch but Menchov has him pressed against the cage.
Menchov being controlled against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Menchov is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Smolar is trying to break free.
Smolar taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Smolar is trying to break free.
Menchov is looking to control Smolar's arms but Smolar gets an underhook and turns him. Now Menchov has his back to the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Smolar wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Smolar lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Smolar gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Menchov.
Smolar can't break the clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Smolar lands a body shot in the clinch.
Smolar pressing his opponent against the cage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ivok Smolar comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Smolar winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ivok Smolar!