PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Bryan Kennedy (ranked 4738 p4p, 4553 weight class) and Tihomir Belyanov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Kennedy
vs
Belyanov

178 cm
25
192
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
196
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Bryan Kennedy !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Tihomir Belyanov!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, David Hoff and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kennedy looks for a takedown but Belyanov sprawls well.
Belyanov looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Kennedy with a poor takedown
and Belyanov counters with a nice uppercut.
Bryan Kennedy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kennedy with a lazy takedown attempt
and Belyanov counters with a straight right hand.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bryan Kennedy . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kennedy misses with a takedown attempt
and Belyanov cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Belyanov gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Kennedy to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Kennedy tries to free his leg and advance position but Belyanov is retaining full guard.
Kennedy sitting in guard here, content to control.
Belyanov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Kennedy .
Kennedy working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Kennedy throws a big elbow that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belyanov keeping moving, preventing Kennedy from controlling successfully.
Belyanov utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Kennedy postures up.
Kennedy stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Belyanov swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Kennedy throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Belyanov works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Kennedy slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Kennedy slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Kennedy has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Belyanov avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Kennedy .
Kennedy controls the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy trying to control the action but Belyanov is working from the bottom.
Kennedy tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.
Kennedy misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Belyanov tries to improve position but can't.
Kennedy trying to control the action but Belyanov is working from the bottom.
Kennedy misses with the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Kennedy throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Kennedy throws a strike aimed at the side of Belyanov's head but Belyanov avoids it well.

Kennedy working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Kennedy just content to control the position.
Kennedy throws an elbow but Belyanov slips to the side and avoids it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
An elbow from Kennedy crashes against the mat.
Kennedy wants to lay and pray for a moment but Belyanov keeps working.
Belyanov parries the strikes from Kennedy easily there. Kennedy is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Belyanov to escape.
Kennedy is looking to take a break and control but Belyanov is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Kennedy tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kennedy in side control, throwing shots but Belyanov defends.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Bryan Kennedy dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

No luck with that takedown attempt from Kennedy .
Nice straight punches there by Belyanov. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Belyanov.
Kennedy changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Belyanov tries to avoid it but Kennedy manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Belyanov to the ground. Belyanov escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Belyanov keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.

Kennedy looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Kennedy sitting and controlling from the half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Kennedy lands a nice short elbow.
Bryan Kennedy overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kennedy trying to control the action but Belyanov is working from the bottom.
Belyanov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kennedy . If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Kennedy is working for a kimura but Belyanov is defending it quite comfortably.
Belyanov is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Kennedy keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Kennedy trying to control from half guard but Belyanov is working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Kennedy perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Kennedy frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Kennedy lands a big elbow.

It looks like Tihomir Belyanov has been cut.
Belyanov suckers Kennedy into throwing a sloppy strike and uses the momentum to reverse the position beautifully! Belyanov is now in Kennedy 's guard!
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Kennedy is on top in guard.

Kennedy trying to control but Belyanov is working from the bottom.
Kennedy advances to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy looks to land a strike but Belyanov avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Kennedy cracks Belyanov with a solid left hand.
Kennedy wants to pass the guard but Belyanov is keeping the position.
Kennedy trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Kennedy postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Kennedy throwing strikes but missing.
Kennedy slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Kennedy lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy trying to control the position from guard on top but Belyanov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kennedy chips away with some ground and pound.
Kennedy throws a big elbow that misses.
Kennedy throwing strikes from guard but Belyanov blocks nicely.
Kennedy throwing strikes from guard but Belyanov blocks nicely.
Belyanov has momentary wrist control but Kennedy slips an elbow through the middle.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Kennedy slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Belyanov preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Bryan Kennedy dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Tihomir Belyanov's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Kennedy decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Kennedy sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Kennedy sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Belyanov defending well though.
Kennedy content to control rather than advance.
Kennedy wants to take a breather but Belyanov is having none of it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Belyanov is defending against the submission attempts here by Kennedy .
Kennedy is nestled in close to Belyanov, 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.
Ground and pound from Kennedy .
Kennedy scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Well, if Kennedy is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Kennedy trying to mount his opponent but Belyanov defends it.
Kennedy looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Belyanov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Kennedy trying to control the action but Belyanov is working from the bottom.
Belyanov keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Kennedy missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Kennedy missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Kennedy working the head and body with strikes.
Kennedy is taking a breather. Belyanov 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.
Kennedy seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Belyanov does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Kennedy missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Kennedy seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Belyanov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Belyanov is not content to let Kennedy control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belyanov avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Kennedy .

Kennedy is working for a kimura but Belyanov is defending it quite comfortably.
Kennedy uses his free foot to push down on Belyanov's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Belyanov.
Tihomir Belyanov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kennedy putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Kennedy tries to control but Belyanov wriggling away.
Kennedy can't control as he wanted to and Belyanov manages to get the fight back to his half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kennedy controlling the pace.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kennedy wants to control but Belyanov is keeping him busy.
Belyanov keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Kennedy takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Belyanov trying to keep hold of his opponent's head but Kennedy manages to pass to mount!
Belyanov is in a horrible position here. Kennedy smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

That has opened up Tihomir Belyanov's cut even more.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Kennedy with the ground and pound from mount.

Belyanov is rocked!

The cut above Tihomir Belyanov's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kennedy postures up and throws a couple of big shots that have Belyanov in real trouble here! The ref calls for Belyanov to improve his position which he doesn't do, so the referee has no choice but to end the fight due to the strikes!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Bryan Kennedy !