PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kirill Morozov (ranked 3222 p4p, 4130 weight class) and Dagfinn Balstad (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dagfinn Balstad will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Morozov
vs
Balstad

180 cm
25
193
1 - 0 - 0

185 cm
25
194
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Intelligent

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kirill Morozov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Dagfinn Balstad!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Fedor Mirinova and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Balstad defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Morozov.
Balstad looks to land a combination. Morozov sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Morozov shoots for a takedown but Balstad saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
A looping hook to the body misses from Balstad. Morozov does a little dance to reset his feet.
Morozov feinted with a counter takedown.
Balstad lands with an overhand left.
Balstad stuffs the takedown attempt from Morozov. Morozov gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kirill Morozov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Morozov on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Morozov shoots in for a takedown but Balstad shows good takedown defense.
Morozov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Morozov will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Balstad fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.

Morozov drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Morozov advances position into side control!
Balstad regains half guard.
Morozov working the head and body with strikes.
Balstad is trying to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morozov scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Morozov is thwarting Balstad's attempts to control the position.
Balstad is trying to get back to full guard.
Morozov drops an elbow to the side of Balstad's head.
Balstad gets back to full guard.
Balstad trying to keep a closed guard but Morozov is proving a slippery customer.
Morozov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Balstad can do anything to dispel that myth.
Morozov postures up.
Balstad has momentary wrist control but Morozov slips an elbow through the middle.
Morozov is in close to Balstad's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Balstad wants to sweep here but Morozov controlling him for the moment.
Morozov looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morozov scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Balstad is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Morozov scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Balstad striking off his back but it's not causing Morozov any problems.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Morozov passes Balstad's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Morozov is thwarting Balstad's attempts to control the position.
Morozov working Balstad over with strikes.
Balstad has hold of Morozov's hands but Morozov slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Morozov drops an elbow to the side of Balstad's head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Morozov connects with a nice short shot to Balstad's temple.
Morozov working over Balstad with some ground and pound. Balstad looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Morozov scoring with strikes to the body and head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morozov drops an elbow to the side of Balstad's head.
Morozov blocks the strikes from Balstad.
Morozov looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Morozov wants to free his trapped foot but Balstad is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Balstad is looking to improve his position.
Morozov scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Balstad is rocked!
Ground and pound from Morozov.
Balstad is still in real trouble! Can Morozov finish him?
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Morozov lands a nice short elbow.
Morozov works his way into full mount!
Morozov lands a big elbow - Balstad is in trouble! More strikes from the mount and Balstad is forced to tap out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:53 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Kirill Morozov!
During a confident post fight interview, Kirill Morozov thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.