PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Alexei Rodionovich (ranked 25452 p4p, 25633 weight class) and Makhmud Muradov (ranked 716 p4p, 673 weight class). Rodionovich comes to the cage accompanied by Svarga & Drygva - Volnitsa. The crowd seem to be enjoying Muradov's choice of entrance music: Saida - O'zbekiston. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Rodionovich
vs
Muradov

185 cm
19
183
2 - 3 - 0

188 cm
20
185
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid 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 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Alexei Rodionovich!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Makhmud Muradov!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, Jonathan Paton and Steve Montenegro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rodionovich rushes Muradov and presses him up against the cage.
Rodionovich is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Muradov is defending well for now.
Rodionovich definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Rodionovich lands a knee to the head.

It looks like Makhmud Muradov has been cut.
Rodionovich stalling in the clinch.
Rodionovich blocks an uppercut.
Muradov lands a right hand.
Muradov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Rodionovich blocks it with crossed arms.
Rodionovich unloads a knee to the mid-section. Muradov lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Muradov tries to stall but Rodionovich uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Muradov swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Rodionovich throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Muradov blocks it with crossed arms.
Rodionovich lands an elbow inside that Muradov shrugs off.
Rodionovich throws a knee to the head but misses.
Rodionovich blocks an elbow strike from Muradov.
Rodionovich throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Muradov blocks it with crossed arms.
Rodionovich throws a knee to the head but misses.
Rodionovich tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rodionovich lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Muradov is trying to break the clinch but Rodionovich has him pressed against the cage.
Muradov is trying to maintain a safe position but Rodionovich gets an underhook and turns Muradov into the cage.
Muradov avoiding damage as Rodionovich throws knees to the body.
Rodionovich throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Muradov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Muradov scores with a nice hook to the head.
Muradov using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rodionovich has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Rodionovich lands an elbow just above Muradov 's eye.
Rodionovich blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Muradov is trying to force a seperation but Rodionovich has the dominant position.
Rodionovich's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Rodionovich tries to land a knee to the head but Muradov blocks with his arms.
Muradov misses with a hook from the clinch.
Rodionovich managing to block the knees to the body from Muradov.
Rodionovich tries to land knees in the clinch but Muradov avoids the damage to the body.
Muradov has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Rodionovich tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Rodionovich keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Muradov's efforts to push away.
Muradov being controlled against the cage.
Muradov doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Muradov connects with a nasty looking knee right to Rodionovich's face.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Muradov takes an elbow to the forehead.
Muradov softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Muradov throws a punch but it's blocked by Rodionovich.
Rodionovich lands a good knee to the midsection. Muradov won't want to take too many of those.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rodionovich misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Muradov.
Rodionovich takes a knee right on the jaw!
Rodionovich blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Rodionovich lands an elbow that stopped Muradov in his tracks for a moment.
Rodionovich crunches a lovely knee into Muradov's ribcage.
Rodionovich misses with an elbow over the top.
Rodionovich tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Muradov scores with a shot to the side of Rodionovich's head.
Rodionovich trying to land knees to the body.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Rodionovich obliges.
Muradov blocks an elbow strike from Rodionovich.
Rodionovich lands an elbow just above Muradov 's eye.
Muradov misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Rodionovich lands an elbow that stopped Muradov in his tracks for a moment.
Muradov is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Muradov misses with a hook to the ribs.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Rodionovich looking to throw knees to the head but Muradov is blocking nicely.
Rodionovich throws an elbow but it's blocked.
A knee to the head by Rodionovich.
Muradov lands a body punch.
Rodionovich is breathing heavily.
Nice elbow from Rodionovich.
Muradov looking to slow down the pace here.
Rodionovich tries to land knees in the clinch but Muradov avoids the damage to the body.
Rodionovich misses with a knee strike.
Rodionovich blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Muradov takes an elbow to the forehead.

Muradov manages to break the clinch.
Rodionovich is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Muradov throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Rodionovich walks into a jab.
We've been informed that Muradov has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Muradov turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Muradov lands an overhand right.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Muradov lunges at Rodionovich with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Rodionovich's hand.
Muradov misses with a series of wild punches.
Rodionovich tries to counter by clinching up but Muradov breaks away and moves out of range.
Rodionovich takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Rodionovich is looking to clinch but Muradov is avoiding it.
Muradov misses with a few strikes there.
Rodionovich takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Rodionovich is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
A slapping leg kick lands for Muradov.

Rodionovich clinches with his opponent.
Rodionovich blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Alexei Rodionovich will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Makhmud Muradov's cut.
That's time! Rodionovich's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Muradov throws a low kick but Rodionovich avoids it.
Muradov swats away the attempt to clinch by Rodionovich.
Rodionovich is looking to clinch but Muradov is avoiding it.
Rodionovich on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Muradov. Muradov obviously looking to wear him down.
Muradov throws out a leg kick but Rodionovich moves out of range and Muradov only half commits.
Rodionovich wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Alexei Rodionovich is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Rodionovich takes the fight into the clinch.
Rodionovich tries a knee to the head but Muradov blocks it.
Rodionovich trying to land knees to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Muradov.
Rodionovich lands a knee to the body.
Muradov looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rodionovich comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Muradov misses with a knee strike.
Muradov looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Rodionovich is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Rodionovich avoiding damage.
Muradov is breathing heavily.
Rodionovich throws a knee to the head but misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Muradov takes a knee right on the jaw!
Muradov throws an elbow but it misses.
Rodionovich scores a nice knee to the body.
Rodionovich with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Rodionovich tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Rodionovich slowing the pace effectively.
Rodionovich is pushing Muradov up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Rodionovich connects with a nasty looking knee right to Muradov's face.
Rodionovich lands an elbow inside that Muradov shrugs off.
Muradov blocks the elbow strike.
Rodionovich lands a knee to the head.
Muradov misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Rodionovich.
Rodionovich on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Rodionovich misses with a knee strike.
Rodionovich lands an elbow that stopped Muradov in his tracks for a moment.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Muradov is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Rodionovich is keeping busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Muradov pushes Rodionovich back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Rodionovich tries to land knees in the clinch but Muradov avoids the damage to the body.
Rodionovich pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Rodionovich prevents a body shot from Muradov.
Rodionovich with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
A short right from Muradov on the inside.
Muradov lands a shoulder strike.
Muradov tries to work over Rodionovich's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Muradov lands with a short shot to the head.
Muradov lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Rodionovich throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Muradov on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Muradov working hard to break the clinch.
Rodionovich throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Muradov blocks it with crossed arms.
Muradov with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Rodionovich missing with knees to the body.

Muradov breaks the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rodionovich tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Muradov is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Muradov throws a head kick that misses.

Rodionovich rushes Muradov and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Rodionovich tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Rodionovich looking to throw knees to the head but Muradov is blocking nicely.
Muradov tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Muradov is trying to stall.
Muradov throws a head punch that misses.
Muradov wants to get back to striking at distance but Rodionovich won't allow it.
Muradov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Muradov tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Alexei Rodionovich has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Muradov wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Muradov is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Muradov softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Rodionovich throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Rodionovich missing with knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rodionovich lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Rodionovich has Muradov pushed against the cage.
Muradov stalling the fight.
A knee to the head by Rodionovich.
Muradov managing to block the knees to the body from Rodionovich.

Muradov breaks from the clinch.
Muradov throws a wild body kick that Rodionovich sees coming a mile off.
Rodionovich blocks the body kick.
Rodionovich is looking to counter the offense by Muradov and move into the clinch.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Rodionovich tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Muradov paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Muradov!
Muradov throws a low kick, looking for Rodionovich's leg but Rodionovich calmly moves out of range.
Muradov plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Muradov fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Muradov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Muradov lands a head shot.
Muradov connects with a single shot there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Alexei Rodionovich will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Makhmud Muradov's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Rodionovich avoids the body shot from Muradov.
Muradov thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Rodionovich if he has to take too many more of those.
Muradov tries a head kick but it misses.
Muradov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Rodionovich clinches up against the cage.
Rodionovich on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Knees to the body from Rodionovich.
Knees in the clinch landing for Muradov.
Rodionovich unloads a knee to the mid-section. Muradov lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Muradov takes an elbow to the temple.
Rodionovich lands an elbow inside.
Muradov wants to break free but Rodionovich has control.
Muradov avoiding damage as Rodionovich throws knees to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rodionovich landing knees to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rodionovich with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Muradov lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Muradov slows down the pace here.
Rodionovich connects with a nasty looking knee right to Muradov's face.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Muradov blocks an elbow strike.
Muradov avoiding damage as Rodionovich throws knees to the body.
Rodionovich misses with an elbow over the top.
Rodionovich takes a shot to the head.
Muradov makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Muradov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Rodionovich throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Muradov on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Muradov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Muradov lands a right hand that snaps the head of Rodionovich backwards.
Muradov scores with a shot to the side of Rodionovich's head.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Muradov is looking to break free of the clinch but Rodionovich has double underhooks.
Muradov looking to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Muradov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Come on Rodionovich - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Muradov working hard to break the clinch.
A frustrated look appears on Muradov's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Muradov looking to throw knees to the head but Rodionovich is blocking nicely.
Muradov wants to get back to striking at distance but Rodionovich won't allow it.
Muradov looking to throw knees to the head but Rodionovich is blocking nicely.
Rodionovich avoiding damage as Muradov throws knees to the body.
Rodionovich creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Muradov's defenses.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rodionovich lands a damaging elbow.
Muradov misses with an elbow over the top.
Rodionovich keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Muradov's efforts to push away.
Rodionovich has Muradov pressed against the cage, preventing Muradov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Rodionovich comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Muradov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Rodionovich has him pressed against the cage.
Muradov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Muradov breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Muradov throws a low kick, looking for Rodionovich's leg but Rodionovich calmly moves out of range.
Muradov moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Muradov misses with a jab, cross combination.
Muradov throws a looping overhand right but Rodionovich ducks down to avoid it.
Muradov keeps the fight on the outside.
As Rodionovich backs off Muradov throws a huge counter combo but Rodionovich manages to avoid it all.
Muradov misses with a jab to the body

and Rodionovich counters by moving into the clinch.
Muradov dodges an elbow strike from Rodionovich.
Rodionovich tries a knee to the head but Muradov blocks it.
Rodionovich throws a knee to the head but misses.
Muradov tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Muradov takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Muradov avoids a wild elbow strike from Rodionovich.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Muradov lands a nice uppercut.
Muradov wants to get back to striking at distance but Rodionovich won't allow it.
Muradov wants to break the clinch but can't.
Rodionovich has Muradov pressed against the cage, preventing Muradov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Muradov tries to throw a body punch but Rodionovich avoids it by throwing Muradov back against the cage.
Rodionovich with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Rodionovich using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Muradov has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Muradov with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Rodionovich is trying to maintain a safe position but Muradov gets an underhook and turns Rodionovich into the cage.
Rodionovich keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Muradov's efforts to push away.
Rodionovich tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Muradov is trying to force a seperation but Rodionovich has the dominant position.
Rodionovich lands an elbow inside that Muradov shrugs off.
Muradov wants to break free but Rodionovich has control.
Makhmud Muradov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Alexei Rodionovich is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Muradov lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Muradov unloads a knee to the mid-section. Rodionovich lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Makhmud Muradov.
I think Rodionovich has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 John Kavanagh scores the fight 30:28
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 30:28
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexei Rodionovich!
As Alexei Rodionovich got his breath back, he grabbed the microphone and managed to blurt out the following: Hard work, hard victory!'.