PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Sava Savov (ranked 3530 p4p, 173 weight class) and Kane Swift Jnr (ranked 4303 p4p, 202 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Savov
vs
Swift Jnr

164 cm
22
134 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

177 cm
22
147 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Sava Savov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Kane Swift Jnr!
The judges for this bout are Alan Glass, Robert Twigg and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Swift Jnr works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Swift Jnr lands an uppercut.
Savov tries to work over Swift Jnr's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Knees to the body from Savov.
Savov is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Savov lands a good knee to the midsection. Swift Jnr won't want to take too many of those.
Swift Jnr looks winded!
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Savov tries to pull guard but Swift Jnr holds him up against the cage and eventually Savov drops back down to his feet.
Savov tries to land knees in the clinch but Swift Jnr avoids the damage to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Savov fails to pull guard.
Savov is looking to take this one to the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sava Savov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Swift Jnr stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Savov jumps guard but Swift Jnr stands there with Savov around his waist. Savov gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
I was talking to Savov's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Swift Jnr tries to break free but Savov pushes him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Savov stalling in the clinch.
Swift Jnr dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Savov has Swift Jnr pressed against the cage, preventing Swift Jnr from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Swift Jnr is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Swift Jnr misses with a body punch.

Swift Jnr escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Swift Jnr throws a push kick but Savov slaps the foot to one side.
Savov shoots in and drives through. Swift Jnr sprawls well.
Swift Jnr scores with a nice right hand.
Savov tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Swift Jnr manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Swift Jnr scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Kane Swift Jnr seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Savov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Swift Jnr doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Savov tries to clinch but Swift Jnr moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Swift Jnr throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Savov has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Swift Jnr finds it's way round the side to connect with Savov's head.

Swift Jnr shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Savov is trying to defend but Swift Jnr finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Savov is trying to get back to full guard.
Savov throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Savov is looking for a sweep. Swift Jnr is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Swift Jnr slows the pace down in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Swift Jnr slips a nice elbow through Savov's hands, connecting with Savov's forehead.
Savov throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Swift Jnr controlling the action here.

Swift Jnr is working for a kimura but Savov is defending it quite comfortably.

Savov is defending against the submission attempts here by Swift Jnr.
Swift Jnr prevents Savov from improving his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Savov pushes Swift Jnr off looking to stand but Swift Jnr dives back in and keeps control.
Savov is trying to control but can't.
Swift Jnr is nestled in close to Savov, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Savov tries to get to full guard but Swift Jnr has control of the leg.
Swift Jnr blocks the strikes from Savov.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Swift Jnr is looking for a kimura here.

Swift Jnr is looking for a kimura but Savov is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Swift Jnr to get the leverage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kane Swift Jnr 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.

Nice takedown defense from Swift Jnr. No joy for Savov on that attempt.
Swift Jnr jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Savov shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Swift Jnr counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
We've been informed that Swift Jnr has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Swift Jnr keeps the fight on the outside.

Swift Jnr drives through with a takedown into Savov's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

Swift Jnr 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.
Swift Jnr has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Savov looking to hit a scissor sweep but Swift Jnr is one step ahead there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Swift Jnr is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Swift Jnr working some strikes from top position.
Swift Jnr not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Savov wants to stand and escape but Swift Jnr is having none of it.
Swift Jnr is in close to Savov's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Swift Jnr has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Swift Jnr drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Swift Jnr jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Savov trying to control the position.
Swift Jnr seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Swift Jnr working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Savov's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Swift Jnr is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Kane Swift Jnr has got the better of the ground game so far.
Swift Jnr advances position into side control!
Swift Jnr landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Savov knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Swift Jnr on the ground.

Swift Jnr tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Swift Jnr has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Savov is trying to work for a sweep but Swift Jnr has mounted him!
Savov tries to buck Swift Jnr off but he can't manage it.
Savov sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Swift Jnr seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

Swift Jnr is trying to work for a kimura but Savov is defending well.

Swift Jnr is working for a kimura but Savov is defending it quite comfortably.
Swift Jnr lands strikes from half guard.
Savov taking some punishment here, with Swift Jnr in his half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Savov has hold of Swift Jnr's hands but Swift Jnr slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Swift Jnr is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Savov defends it well.
Savov is trying to get back to full guard.
Savov throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Savov is not content to let Swift Jnr control the position.
Swift Jnr not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Savov is trying to get back to full guard.
Nice strikes from Swift Jnr there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kane Swift Jnr showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Savov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Swift Jnr stuffs the takedown.

Swift Jnr gets a takedown into half guard.

Swift Jnr is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Savov has managed to free his arm - good work.
Savov is looking to escape.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Swift Jnr connects with a nice short shot to Savov's temple.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Swift Jnr is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Swift Jnr is nestled in close to Savov, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Swift Jnr performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

Swift Jnr is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Savov sees it coming and defends easily.
Swift Jnr blocks the strikes from Savov.
Savov wants to control but Swift Jnr is keeping busy.
Swift Jnr controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Savov is staying active underneath Swift Jnr, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Savov is looking to control Swift Jnr's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Savov avoid being mounted?
Savov is looking to improve his position.
Sava Savov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Swift Jnr is keen to just control but Savov is a slippery customer.
Savov wants to improve his position but Swift Jnr is controlling well.
Savov regains full guard. Nicely done.
Savov trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Swift Jnr is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Swift Jnr is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Swift Jnr stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Savov swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Swift Jnr forces his way into half guard.
Savov wants to get back to his feet.

Swift Jnr is trying to work for a kimura but Savov is defending well.

Savov is defending against the submission attempts here by Swift Jnr.
Savov is looking for a sweep. Swift Jnr is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Kane Swift Jnr is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Swift Jnr content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Swift Jnr wants to control but Savov is keeping him busy.

Swift Jnr is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Swift Jnr is working for a kimura but Savov is defending it quite comfortably.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kane Swift Jnr comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Swift Jnr 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 Alan Glass scores the fight 27:30
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kane Swift Jnr!
After winning the bout, Kane Swift Jnr thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.