PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Yasol Kim (ranked 2445 p4p, 241 weight class) and Ivan Volkov (ranked 734 p4p, 78 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kim
vs
Volkov

175 cm
23
155 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

175 cm
24
154 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Excellent grappler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing

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 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Yasol Kim!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ivan Volkov!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Cecil Peabody and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kim misses with a straight right.
Volkov goes for a double leg but Kim avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the ropes as Kim continues to drive forward.
Volkov tries to bum rush Kim with a series of wild strikes but Kim uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Volkov jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Volkov throws a lazy uppercut
and Kim connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Kim throws a head kick but Volkov moves out of range.

Volkov gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Kim escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Volkov displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Kim throws out the jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kim misses with a two punch combination.
Good exchange - Volkov coming out on top.
Volkov lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Kim at a distance.
Jab by Volkov.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Volkov is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Kim tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Volkov manages to circle out of the way.
Kim looks to throw the jab but Volkov is out of range.
Kim slips a straight right by Volkov.
Volkov misses with a looping right.
Kim throws a head kick but Volkov moves out of range.
Kim throws a left and a right that both miss
and Volkov connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Kim ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Volkov tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kim swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Volkov gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Volkov dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the ropes.
Kim lands a right hand that snaps the head of Volkov backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kim tries to work over Volkov's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A head punch on the inside from Volkov fails to land.
Kim gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Volkov.

Kim breaks the clinch.
Kim looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Volkov lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.

Volkov looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kim tries to kick Volkov off but Volkov keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Kim is controlling Volkov's position as best he can from this difficult position.

Volkov is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

Volkov seems to be looking for submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Volkov controlling the action here.
Kim wants to get back to his feet.
Kim won't allow Volkov to pass to mount.
Volkov thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kim's head.
Kim is staying active underneath Volkov, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Volkov is taking a breather. Kim says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Volkov wants to pass to mount but Kim is defending the position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

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.
Volkov throws a lazy uppercut
and Kim counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Volkov.
It appears Kim was looking to counter with a kick there.
Yasol Kim has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ivan Volkov.

Volkov drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
A bit of a lull in the action here.
Kim wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Check out the look on Volkov's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Volkov dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

No luck with that takedown attempt from Volkov.
The fight stays on the outside here - Volkov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
It appears Kim was looking to counter with a kick there.
Yasol Kim is winning the standup battle so far.
Volkov dives in for a single leg takedown but Kim sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the ropes.
Volkov looks to land a right hand but Kim moved out of range.
Volkov lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Volkov dives in for a single leg takedown but Kim sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the ropes.
Kim swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Yasol Kim has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ivan Volkov.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kim displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Volkov throws out the jab.
Kim displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Volkov.
A little feinted left hand from Kim on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Kim takes one on the chin but seems OK.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Volkov drives through with a takedown into Kim's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Kim is trying to control the position but Volkov postures up.
Volkov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Volkov throwing strikes from guard but Kim blocks nicely.
Volkov slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

Volkov looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Volkov in the domination position with Kim hanging on.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Volkov tries to move into full mount but can't pass Kim's legs.
Volkov wants to control but Kim is keeping him busy.

Volkov tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

Kim bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
Volkov might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A shot to the body from Volkov misses
and Kim counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Volkov looks to score with a jab to the body but Kim is just out of range.
Kim swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Volkov wants to counter the offense by Kim and move into the clinch position.
Volkov wants to clinch up but Kim keeps it at a distance.
Kim takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Volkov throws a series of punches but Kim avoids them all with ease.
Volkov tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Kim was well out of range. Poor timing from Volkov.
Volkov gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
enabling Kim to counter with a crisp jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Volkov throws a shot from downtown. Kim moves away and avoids it.
Volkov looks to score with a jab to the body but Kim is just out of range.
Yasol Kim is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kim stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Kim wants it to stay on the feet.
Volkov misses with a two punch combination.
Volkov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Volkov tries to clinch up but Kim circles away and keeps his distance.

Volkov pushes Kim up against the ropes in a clinch.
Kim blocking some punches.
A frustrated look appears on Volkov's face as he tries to break the clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A short uppercut from Kim.
Volkov has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kim wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Kim breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Kim stuns Volkov with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Ivan Volkov will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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. This is the final round!

Volkov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Volkov is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Kim.
Volkov lands a jab to the head.
Volkov looks to land a left hand but Kim moved out of range nicely.
Volkov chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Kim can pounce on him.

Volkov drives through and clinches with Kim against the ropes.
Kim prevents a takedown attempt there.
Kim misses with a punch on the inside.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Volkov tries to work over Kim's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Volkov misses with some punches.
Kim lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

Kim manages to break the clinch.
Nice sprawl there from Kim as Volkov shoots in.
As Volkov looks to move away, Kim throws a big counter combo but Volkov just gets out of the way.
A jab from Volkov does it's job there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Volkov tries to clinch up but Kim circles away and keeps his distance.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kim. Volkov does a little dance to reset his feet.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Volkov! But no joy.
Volkov scores with a punch to the head.
Volkov misses with an uppercut
letting Kim counter with a right hand.
Kim uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Volkov.
Kim takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Kim throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Volkov looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Volkov ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Volkov avoids the head kick by Kim.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Volkov! But no joy.
Kim cracks Volkov with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Volkov is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Volkov defending well as Kim loads up on a big left hand.
Kim slips a straight right by Volkov.
Kim appears to be looking for a big counter.
Nice jab there from Volkov.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Volkov tries to clinch but Kim moves out of range.
Kim is looking to counter punch.
A combination from Volkov does no damage.
Volkov looks to throw the jab but Kim is out of range.
Kim swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Volkov misses with a wild body shot.
Volkov throws a combination that misses
enabling Kim to counter with a crisp jab.
A lazy left from Volkov finds it's target.
Volkov thows a left - swing and a miss!
Volkov throws the left hand but Kim avoids the punch easily.
Ivan Volkov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kim looks to land a combination but Volkov avoids it well.
Volkov throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Kim stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Kim walks into a straight right hand from Volkov.
Volkov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Kim as he avoids it easily.
Yasol Kim has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ivan Volkov.
Nice shot by Volkov.
Kim just misses with a punch to the body.
Ivan Volkov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Volkov tries to clinch but Kim moves out of range.
It looked like Kim was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Volkov.
Kim looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Volkov throws a series of punches but Kim moves out of range.

Volkov closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Volkov lands in his opponent's guard.
Kim wants to sweep but no luck.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Volkov won't allow Kim to get back to his feet.

Kim wriggles free and stands up.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Volkov scores with a decent looking hook.
Yasol Kim has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kim misses with a left hand
and Volkov counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Volkov looks to clinch
and Kim counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Volkov is looking to clinch but Kim is avoiding it.
Kim misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Volkov now looks to counter with a shot at the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Ivan Volkov.
Well Volkov 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 Gwen Towbar scores the fight for Ivan Volkov!
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight for Ivan Volkov!
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight for Ivan Volkov!

Ivan Volkov wins by unanimous decision!
A very excited looking Ivan Volkov made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.
In defeat, Yasol Kim stepped up to the mic, saying 'Perkele'.