PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Bartlomiej Jan (ranked 3860 p4p, 2357 weight class) and George Backman (ranked 386 p4p, 257 weight class). Jan comes to the cage accompanied by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WJFjXtHcy4. Bartlomiej Jan has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Jan
vs
Backman

150 cm
26
136
10 - 14 - 0

180 cm
30
145
6 - 8 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 10 - 14 - 0, fighting out of London, Bartlomiej Jan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 8 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, George Backman!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Dmitry Maklakov and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Backman fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Jan fails with the takedown
and Backman counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Jan drives through with a takedown into Backman's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Backman wants to sweep here but Jan controlling him for the moment.
Backman pulls Jan in close to his closed guard and prevents Jan from doing any damage or advancing position.
Jan might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Jan trying to control the position from guard on top but Backman is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Jan sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Backman controlling the position.
Jan advances position into side control!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Jan is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Backman has escaped the position, nice work there.
Backman is looking for a sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Jan passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Backman!

Jan with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Backman is squirming around, avoiding Jan's attempts to control the action.
Backman gets back to half guard.
Backman told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.
Jan is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Jan throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Jan looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Jan is keen to just control but Backman is a slippery customer.
Backman is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Jan in particular looking to stall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Jan is trying to control the action in half guard but Backman is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Jan throws a head kick that misses.
Backman feints a jab promting Jan to slip. Backman then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Jan slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Backman throws a leg kick which misses Jan's front leg but catches the back leg as Jan tries to avoid it.
Left hook, right uppercut from Backman.
Backman scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Jan doesn't seem bothered though.
George Backman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Jan shoots in for a takedown but Backman shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
A nice side step and Backman releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Backman lands a jab-cross combination.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Jan with a lazy takedown attempt
and Backman counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bartlomiej Jan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Jan is breathing heavily.
A slapping leg kick lands for Backman.
Backman pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Jan back to the cage. Backman follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

George Backman dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Jan gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Backman is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Jan shoots and misses
and Backman counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Jan is rocked!
Jan looks up at the clock. Bad move! Backman lands a right hand from hell, dropping Jan. Backman pounces and finishes the fight with a flurry of punches and elbows.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:14 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). George Backman!
George Backman seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.