PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Denis Kurlaev (ranked 1685 p4p, 1087 weight class) and Paul Joseph Watson (ranked 228 p4p, 155 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Watson's choice of entrance music: Anarchy in the UK. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Kurlaev
vs
Watson

185 cm
25
220
8 - 7 - 1

190 cm
26
213
9 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Urban Fighter
Fenrir Fightgear - Anno 2013

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Denis Kurlaev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Paul Joseph Watson!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Konstantin Menshow and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Watson connects with a crisp jab.
Watson fails with a takedown attempt.
Kurlaev throws a hook to the side of Watson's head but Watson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Paul Joseph Watson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kurlaev connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Watson momentarily.
Kurlaev swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Watson now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Kurlaev misses with a hook. Watson ducked under it nicely.
Watson with a hook.
Donk. Watson catches Kurlaev right on the button with a cross.
Watson lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Kurlaev at a distance.
Kurlaev misses with a straight right.
Kurlaev stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Kurlaev wants it to stay on the feet.
As Watson tries to get set, Kurlaev tries to push him back and clinch up but Watson manages to avoid the attempt.
Watson misses with a lunging right hand
and Kurlaev counters with a left to the body.
We've been informed that Watson has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Kurlaev misses with a straight left.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Watson paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Kurlaev seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Kurlaev misses with a body shot.
Watson lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Watson throws an overhand right that lands on Kurlaev's shoulder, as Kurlaev tries to avoid the shot.
Watson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Kurlaev throwing a counter right hand but Watson manages to avoid it.
Kurlaev moves in looking to clinch but Watson pushes him off.
Watson fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Denis Kurlaev has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paul Joseph Watson.
Kurlaev ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Watson shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Kurlaev eats them both and turns towards Watson to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.

It looks like Denis Kurlaev has been cut.
Jab, jab by Kurlaev - just one landing.
Kurlaev scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kurlaev throws out a loose jab but Watson uses good head movement to avoid it.

Watson fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Kurlaev sprawls well initially but Watson persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Kurlaev kicks off Watson and gets to his feet.
Kurlaev misses with a series of wild punches.
Watson takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Kurlaev misses with a hook.
Nice jab there from Watson.
Kurlaev takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Kurlaev fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Watson manages to avoid it.
Watson scores with a jab to the jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Watson.
Kurlaev on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Watson connects with a jab.
Watson lands with a straight right. Kurlaev didn't see that one coming.
A looping hook to the body misses from Watson. Kurlaev does a little dance to reset his feet.
Watson ducks under a wild hook from Kurlaev.
Watson fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Watson paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
A shot to the liver by Kurlaev. Beautiful body shot.
Watson slips under a jab.
Watson appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Watson lands a right hook to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kurlaev keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Watson is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Kurlaev had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
Kurlaev takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Kurlaev displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Watson throws out the jab.
Kurlaev is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Watson.
Watson lands with an overhand left.
Watson throws a hook but Kurlaev avoids it easily.
Kurlaev takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Kurlaev misses the shot to the body.
Kurlaev on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Watson throws a hook but Kurlaev avoids it easily.
Jab, jab by Watson - just one landing.
Kurlaev throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Watson.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Watson! But no joy.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kurlaev is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paul Joseph Watson dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Denis Kurlaev's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Watson catches Kurlaev with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Watson has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Watson lands a jab to Kurlaev's midsection.
Watson connects with the punch.
Watson moves into range and connects with a jab.
A combination from Watson does no damage.
Kurlaev misses with a hook
and Watson counters with a left to the body.
Watson scores with a one two! Kurlaev had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Watson fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Watson stuns Kurlaev with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A shot to the liver by Watson. Beautiful body shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kurlaev. Watson does a little dance to reset his feet.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Watson! But no joy.
Kurlaev misses with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurlaev misses with an uppercut.
A countering left hand to the body from Watson misses.
Watson shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Kurlaev as he avoids it easily.
Kurlaev wants to clinch
and Watson cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Nice jab there from Watson.
Watson shoots and misses

and Kurlaev counters by clinching up.

Watson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Kurlaev tries to clinch but Watson moves out of range.
Kurlaev moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Denis Kurlaev is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kurlaev tries to clinch but Watson moves out of range.
Kurlaev throws a body shot but no joy.
Kurlaev misses with a hook.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Watson lands a head shot.
Paul Joseph Watson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Watson throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Kurlaev stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Watson lands a lovely overhand right.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kurlaev misses the body punch
and Watson counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Watson fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Kurlaev looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Watson connects with a body shot.
Kurlaev looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Kurlaev misses with a body shot.
Watson shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Kurlaev as he avoids it easily.
Denis Kurlaev has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paul Joseph Watson.
Watson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kurlaev.
Watson throws a jab but it's blocked by Kurlaev.
Kurlaev throwing a counter right hand but Watson manages to avoid it.
Jab by Watson.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watson throws a hook but Kurlaev blocks it.
Kurlaev showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Watson.
Kurlaev is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Watson.
Kurlaev has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Kurlaev there as he acknowledges the shot.
Watson avoids the body shot from Kurlaev.
Kurlaev misses with a few strikes there.
Watson is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Kurlaev with a body shot.
Kurlaev walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Watson scores with a sloppy right hand. Kurlaev should have avoided that one.
Watson tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Kurlaev swivels and escapes.
Jab, jab by Watson - just one landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kurlaev throws a jab when Watson was well out of range.
Watson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Kurlaev looks to throw the jab but Watson is out of range.
Kurlaev on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Kurlaev throws a nice looking combination but Watson bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Watson works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Watson lands an overhand right.
Kurlaev misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Watson.
The fight stays on the outside here - Kurlaev looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Watson shoots in and gets a takedown into Kurlaev's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Paul Joseph Watson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Denis Kurlaev's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Kurlaev is looking to clinch.
Watson with a lazy takedown attempt
enabling Kurlaev to counter with a crisp jab.
Kurlaev misses with an uppercut
and Watson counters with a stiff right hand.
Kurlaev throws out a loose jab but Watson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Watson is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Kurlaev with a body shot.
Watson takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Kurlaev swings for the body but Watson moves out of range.
Watson connects with a nice looking jab.
Kurlaev is looking to clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kurlaev tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Watson paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Watson walks into a left hand.
Watson fails to land with a series of punches.
Kurlaev missing with a left hand there. Watson was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kurlaev on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Watson connects with a jab.
Kurlaev tries to clinch but Watson is having none of it.
Kurlaev uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Watson.
Kurlaev is looking to counter punch.
Watson takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Watson lands a nice shot that snaps Kurlaev's head back.
Watson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Watson just misses with a punch to the body.
Kurlaev tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Watson manages to circle out of the way.
Watson fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Kurlaev lands a jab-cross combination.
Watson shoots in looking for a takedown but Kurlaev manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Watson's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Denis Kurlaev has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Watson blocks a jab.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A looping hook to the body misses from Watson. Kurlaev does a little dance to reset his feet.
Watson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kurlaev throws a predictable looking body shot
enabling Watson to counter with a crisp jab.
Watson takes a swing at Kurlaev's ribcage but misses.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Watson is defended easily by Kurlaev.
Denis Kurlaev has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Paul Joseph Watson.
Good standup being displayed there by Kurlaev as he connects with a hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Watson lands a jab to Kurlaev's midsection.
Kurlaev avoids the body shot from Watson.
Watson cracks Kurlaev with an open hand slap.
Watson scores with a jab. Kurlaev acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Watson swats away the attempt to clinch by Kurlaev.
It seemed like Watson was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Watson bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Kurlaev's head.
Watson with a nice cross.
Watson misses with a looping right.
Kurlaev seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kurlaev misses the shot to the body.
A slow jab from Watson misses its intended target.
Kurlaev takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Watson tests Kurlaev's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Watson moves away from the strike by Kurlaev.
Kurlaev lands a body shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kurlaev keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kurlaev throws an overhand right that lands on Watson's shoulder, as Watson tries to avoid the shot.
Watson thows a left - swing and a miss!
Kurlaev throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Paul Joseph Watson is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Watson throws a looping overhand right but Kurlaev ducks down to avoid it.
Kurlaev tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Watson manages to circle out of the way.

And that's the end of the fight!
Paul Joseph Watson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Watson 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 27:30
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Paul Joseph Watson!
In his post fight interview, Paul Joseph Watson started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.