PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jack Sullivan (ranked 198 p4p, 87 weight class) and Valentin Taneyev (ranked 36 p4p, 16 weight class). Valentin Taneyev has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Jack Sullivan's chin.

Sullivan
vs
Taneyev

193 cm
28
210
16 - 3 - 0

186 cm
35
209
27 - 12 - 1

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Heavy handed

Brooklyn Threads
Urban Fighter

Bondi MMA 🏝️
Conviction

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 16 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jack Sullivan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Valentin Taneyev!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Yuuki Gou and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Taneyev throws a body shot but no joy.
Nice cross by Taneyev.
Sullivan lands with a cross.
Sullivan throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Taneyev tries to clinch up.
Sullivan tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Taneyev is able to avoid easily.
Taneyev displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Sullivan throws out the jab.
A nice side step and Taneyev releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Taneyev throws a nice outside leg kick.
Taneyev checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
A head kick by Sullivan misses
and Taneyev counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Nice uppercut lands for Taneyev. That snapped Sullivan's head back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sullivan with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Sullivan displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Taneyev throws out the jab.
Sullivan wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Sullivan wants to land a leg kick but Taneyev is out of range.
Taneyev let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Sullivan on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Sullivan moves out of range as Taneyev throws a body kick.
Taneyev on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Sullivan has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Taneyev scoring well with a low kick there.
Taneyev lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Taneyev has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Taneyev throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sullivan connects with a crisp jab.
Taneyev misses with a hook
and Sullivan counters with a nice low kick that buckles Taneyev's knee momentarily.
Sullivan avoids the body shot from Taneyev.
Taneyev looks to land a right hand but Sullivan moved out of range.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sullivan loads up on a big right hand but Taneyev slips the punch.
Sullivan throws a hook but Taneyev blocks it.
Taneyev is looking to score with low kicks.
Sullivan went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.

Sullivan closes the distance and clinches.
Nice body punch from Sullivan - that landed with a thud.
Sullivan misses with the head strike.
Taneyev wants to break the clinch but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sullivan swings wildly with an uppercut but Taneyev uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sullivan lands a hook that snaps the head of Taneyev backwards.
Sullivan lands with a right to the head.
Sullivan misses with the head strike.
Taneyev lands a hook that snaps the head of Sullivan backwards.
Taneyev misses with a punch to the body.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sullivan.
Sullivan misses with a punch to the body.
Sullivan stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Sullivan blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Sullivan scores with a shoulder strike.
Taneyev leaning against his opponent.
A bit of stalling here from Taneyev.
Sullivan working aggressively here.
Taneyev takes a shot to the head.
A head punch on the inside from Sullivan fails to land.
Sullivan misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Taneyev misses with a knee to the head.
Sullivan misses with a hook from the clinch.
Taneyev swings wildly with an uppercut but Sullivan uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
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!

Sullivan works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Sullivan throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Taneyev keeping full guard, as Sullivan tries to pass.
Taneyev is adopting a defensive guard.
Sullivan has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Sullivan throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Taneyev works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sullivan throws a big elbow that misses.
Taneyev is controlling Sullivan's posture.
Taneyev utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Sullivan throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Taneyev works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Sullivan throwing strikes from guard but Taneyev blocks nicely.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jack Sullivan dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Sullivan misses with a looping right.
Taneyev throws a series of punches but Sullivan avoids them all with ease.
Taneyev lands with a straight right. Sullivan didn't see that one coming.
Taneyev throws an overhand right that lands on Sullivan's shoulder, as Sullivan tries to avoid the shot.
Sullivan throws a jab when Taneyev was well out of range.
Taneyev appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Sullivan connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Taneyev throws a jab but it's blocked by Sullivan.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sullivan misses with an uppercut.
Sullivan avoids the head kick by Taneyev.
A looping hook to the body misses from Taneyev. Sullivan does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sullivan misses with a hook. Taneyev ducked under it nicely.

Sullivan pushes Taneyev up against the cage in a clinch.
Taneyev blocking some punches.
Sullivan lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Taneyev backwards.
Taneyev has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Taneyev fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Taneyev blocks an uppercut.
Taneyev tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sullivan avoids it.
Sullivan wants a takedown.
Taneyev gets through Sullivan's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Sullivan tries a body shot but Taneyev blocks it.
Taneyev can't find room to land a body shot as Sullivan controls the action.
Sullivan misses with a hook from the clinch.

Taneyev breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Sullivan fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Sullivan scores with a kick to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sullivan throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Taneyev cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Sullivan throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
A little jabbing left from Taneyev on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Sullivan moves out of range of the strikes.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Taneyev throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Sullivan.
Valentin Taneyev seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Sullivan misses with a looping right.
Taneyev takes one on the button.
Sullivan scores with a leg kick.
Taneyev throws a lazy uppercut
and Sullivan counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Sullivan throws a leg kick which misses Taneyev's front leg but catches the back leg as Taneyev tries to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taneyev swings away with a body shot that misses
and Sullivan counters with a nice low kick that buckles Taneyev's knee momentarily.
Sullivan cracks a nice hook into Taneyev's ribs.
Sullivan lands with a right hand.
Taneyev just misses with a punch to the body.
A little feinted left hand from Sullivan on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Taneyev throws a lazy uppercut

and Sullivan counters with a big uppercut that knocks Taneyev off his feet! Sullivan dives into side control looking to finish!

Taneyev is rocked!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sullivan throws an elbow but Taneyev slips to the side and avoids it well.
Taneyev is still in real trouble! Can Sullivan finish him?

Sullivan tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Sullivan has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Taneyev seems to have recovered his senses.
Sullivan is trying to ground and pound but Taneyev uses the momentary lack of control by Sullivan to regain half guard.
Sullivan is keen to just control but Taneyev is a slippery customer.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sullivan sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Taneyev defending well though.
Taneyev keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Taneyev is trying to maintain the position but Sullivan is very close to passing his half guard.
Sullivan tries to pass the half guard into mount. Taneyev knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Taneyev blocking the ground and pound attempt from Sullivan.
Sullivan throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Taneyev to regain full guard.
Sullivan postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sullivan throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Sullivan throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Sullivan trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Jack Sullivan dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Sullivan throws out a powerful jab.
Taneyev delivers a nice body kick.
Taneyev throws a series of punches but Sullivan moves out of range.
Sullivan throws an off balance right hand
and Taneyev connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Taneyev throws a hook but Sullivan blocks it.
Sullivan connects with a leg kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A head kick misses from Taneyev.
Sullivan keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Sullivan feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Sullivan looks for the body kick but Taneyev saw that one coming.
A little jabbing left from Taneyev on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Sullivan.
Taneyev uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sullivan.
Sullivan throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Taneyev works the jab nicely.
Taneyev misses with a double jab
and Sullivan counters with a straight right hand.
A punch lands to the side of Taneyev 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Taneyev tries to land a body kick
and Sullivan counters with a thumping low kick.
Taneyev takes a head kick and shrugs it off.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taneyev misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Sullivan throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sullivan misses with a straight right.
Valentin Taneyev has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sullivan tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Taneyev paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Sullivan throws a hook but Taneyev avoids it easily.
A little jabbing left from Taneyev on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Sullivan blocks a jab.
Taneyev motions for Sullivan to come forward. Taneyev throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Sullivan.
Taneyev takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Jack Sullivan is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sullivan lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Sullivan is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Taneyev lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
An inside leg kick lands from Sullivan.
Sullivan looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Taneyev misses with an uppercut
and Sullivan counters with a thumping low kick.
Taneyev misses with a right hand
and Sullivan counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Taneyev misses with a hook
and Sullivan counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Taneyev walks into a jab.
Sullivan is looking to land body kicks.
Taneyev takes one to the chin there.
Sullivan is looking to land body kicks.
Taneyev tries to move into range but Sullivan moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Taneyev misses with a lunging right hand
and Sullivan counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Taneyev's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A shot to the body from Taneyev misses
and Taneyev takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Sullivan throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Taneyev connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jack Sullivan showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sullivan has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jack Sullivan!
A victorious Jack Sullivan thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.