PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Aniruddha Anand (ranked 5126 p4p, 2913 weight class) and Vedran Mihaljevic (ranked 512 p4p, 326 weight class). Anand comes to the cage accompanied by Swag Se Segat by Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif. Vedran Mihaljevic is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Anand
vs
Mihaljevic

160 cm
20
144
0 - 0 - 1

195 cm
25
265
8 - 7 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Bondi MMA ðŸï¸
Hoarse Pills

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Aniruddha Anand!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Vedran Mihaljevic!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Tarja Halkonen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mihaljevic scores with a jab to the jaw.
Anand looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Anand slips a jab from Mihaljevic.
Mihaljevic tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Mihaljevic looks to throw the jab but Anand is out of range.
Mihaljevic with a jab.
A big right from Mihaljevic misses.
A jab from Anand misses.
Anand ducks under a wild hook from Mihaljevic.
Anand looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Mihaljevic connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Vedran Mihaljevic seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Anand throws the kick towards the body but Mihaljevic avoids it.
Anand misses with a straight left.
Mihaljevic takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Mihaljevic is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Anand misses with a looping left.
Mihaljevic ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Anand moves away.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Mihaljevic lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Anand has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Anand and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
A slapping leg kick lands for Anand.
Mihaljevic 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.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mihaljevic takes one to the side of the head.
A head kick misses from Mihaljevic.
Mihaljevic throws a hook but Anand blocks it.
Mihaljevic misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mihaljevic throws a nice looking combination but Anand bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Anand tries to close the distance and clinch up but Mihaljevic swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Nice shot by Mihaljevic.
Anand lands with a nice body punch.
Mihaljevic shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Anand tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Mihaljevic manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Anand throws an overhand right that lands on Mihaljevic's shoulder, as Mihaljevic tries to avoid the shot.
Anand throws a leg kick that misses.
Mihaljevic pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Anand moves away from the strike by Mihaljevic.
Mihaljevic on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Anand does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Mihaljevic doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Mihaljevic looks for the body kick but Anand saw that one coming.
Mihaljevic scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Anand tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Mihaljevic paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Mihaljevic throws the left hand but Anand avoids the punch easily.
Mihaljevic tries to bum rush Anand with a series of wild strikes but Anand uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Anand looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Anand slips a straight right by Mihaljevic.
An attempted straight right counter from Anand misses the target.

Anand forces Mihaljevic back against the cage and clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Mihaljevic's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Anand is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Mihaljevic's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Anand looks to land a left hand but Mihaljevic moved out of range nicely.
Anand looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Mihaljevic is fending him off so far but Anand persists. Nope, Mihaljevic circles away and we're back to standing.
Mihaljevic swinging wildly here.
Good exchange - Mihaljevic coming out on top.
Mihaljevic fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Anand moves out of range as Mihaljevic strikes.
Mihaljevic needs to keep his hands up - Anand had a free shot at his head there.
Anand on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Mihaljevic throws a hook but Anand blocks it.
Mihaljevic waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Anand.
Mihaljevic uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Anand has time to react.
Mihaljevic takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Mihaljevic looks to throw the jab but Anand is out of range.
Mihaljevic lands a slapping body shot.
An inside leg kick from Mihaljevic misses.
Anand moves in looking to clinch but Mihaljevic pushes him off.
Mihaljevic gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mihaljevic changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Anand looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Anand manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Mihaljevic is trying to stand.
Anand seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Mihaljevic does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Mihaljevic is trying to stand up here but Anand is controlling him well.
Anand works his foot free and advances to mount.
Anand wants to take his opponent's back but Mihaljevic doesn't allow it.
Mihaljevic really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Anand. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
You get the feeling that Mihaljevic really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Anand sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Anand can't control as he wanted to and Mihaljevic manages to get the fight back to his half guard.
Mihaljevic wants to get back to his feet.
Anand passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Mihaljevic!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Vedran Mihaljevic dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Anand blocks a jab.
Mihaljevic throws a hook to the side of Anand's head but Anand sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Anand.
Nice jab there from Mihaljevic.
Mihaljevic defending well as Anand loads up on a big left hand.
Mihaljevic throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Mihaljevic fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Good exchange - Mihaljevic coming out on top.
Mihaljevic looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Mihaljevic swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Vedran Mihaljevic seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Anand with a nice cross.
Nice takedown defense from Mihaljevic. No joy for Anand on that attempt.
A little jabbing left from Mihaljevic on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mihaljevic ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Mihaljevic throws out a loose jab but Anand uses good head movement to avoid it.
Anand misses with a straight left.
A combination from Mihaljevic does no damage.
Mihaljevic moves away from the strike by Anand.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Anand scoring well with a low kick there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mihaljevic cracks Anand with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Mihaljevic misses with a straight right.
Mihaljevic thuds his right hand into Anand's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Mihaljevic has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Anand waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Mihaljevic.
Anand throws a leg kick but Mihaljevic sees it coming and moves out of range.
Anand misses with a looping left.
Mihaljevic connects with a crisp jab.
Mihaljevic misses with a two punch combination.
Mihaljevic blocks a low kick nicely.
Mihaljevic scores with a decent looking hook.
Mihaljevic scores with a crisp jab that stopped Anand in his tracks.
Mihaljevic clobbers Anand with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
A big right from Mihaljevic misses.

Mihaljevic moves into the clinch successfully.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mihaljevic looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Anand goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Anand gets through Mihaljevic's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
A short uppercut from Anand.

Mihaljevic's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Anand tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Mihaljevic fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Nice jab there from Mihaljevic.
Mihaljevic pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Anand back to the cage. Mihaljevic follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

Mihaljevic decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Anand has his hands clasped together around Mihaljevic's back. He's all about the action.
Anand is trying to maintain the position but Mihaljevic is very close to passing his half guard.
Aniruddha Anand has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mihaljevic looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Anand wants to control but Mihaljevic is keeping busy.
Anand might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Anand moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Anand looking to control but Mihaljevic passes into half guard.
Vedran Mihaljevic has got the better of the ground game so far.

Mihaljevic stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Anand throws the left hand but Mihaljevic avoids the punch easily.
Despite the aggression on Mihaljevic's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Mihaljevic.
Mihaljevic throws a series of punches but Anand moves out of range.
Anand tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Mihaljevic was well out of range. Poor timing from Anand.
Mihaljevic lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Anand circles away quickly and effectively.
Mihaljevic misses the jab.
Anand seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.

Anand clinches up with Mihaljevic and pushes him back against the cage.

Mihaljevic escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Sloppy strikes from Mihaljevic. Those never looked like landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Anand shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Mihaljevic sprawls well. Mihaljevic wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Anand gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aniruddha Anand. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The fighters circling - Mihaljevic throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Anand misses with a head kick.
Mihaljevic pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Mihaljevic swings for the body but Anand moves out of range.
Anand scoring well with a low kick there.
Anand just misses with a punch to the body.
Anand looks for the body kick but Mihaljevic saw that one coming.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mihaljevic lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Anand swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Mihaljevic jabs Anand right on the nose. Anand blinks but takes it well.
Anand throws a low kick, looking for Mihaljevic's leg but Mihaljevic calmly moves out of range.
Anand throws a leg kick but Mihaljevic sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Mihaljevic missing with a left hand there. Anand was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Nice shot lands for Anand.
Anand defending well as Mihaljevic loads up on a big left hand.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Vedran Mihaljevic showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Anand throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Anand misses with a low kick.
Anand uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Mihaljevic.
Anand misses with a body kick.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Mihaljevic! But no joy.
Anand takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Mihaljevic misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Mihaljevic lets loose with a powerful body kick. Anand will feel that in the morning.
Mihaljevic missing with a left hand there. Anand was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Mihaljevic defending well as Anand loads up on a big left hand.
Anand tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Mihaljevic was well out of range. Poor timing from Anand.
Anand tries to land a front kick but Mihaljevic steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
A punch lands to the side of Anand 's head but he takes it in his stride.
A telegraphed right hand from Mihaljevic misses the target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Anand blocks a jab.
Anand looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Anand uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Mihaljevic.
Anand dips to his left and cracks Mihaljevic with an uppercut!
Anand throws a leg kick that misses.
Mihaljevic connects with a nice looking jab.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mihaljevic throws an overhand right that lands on Anand's shoulder, as Anand tries to avoid the shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anand shoots for a takedown but Mihaljevic saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Anand throws a body shot but no joy.
Anand throws a jab but it's blocked by Mihaljevic.
Mihaljevic lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
Mihaljevic throws a right hand that misses
and Anand counters with a body kick.
Anand walks into a jab.
Mihaljevic throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Anand.
Anand darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
A nice leg kick lands there from Anand.
Mihaljevic lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Mihaljevic looks for a takedown but Anand sprawls well.
Mihaljevic takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Anand scores with the left hand. Mihaljevic knows he should have avoided that one.
Anand walks into a straight right hand from Mihaljevic.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Anand throws a leg kick but Mihaljevic sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Mihaljevic slips under a jab.
A lazy left from Anand finds it's target.
Mihaljevic misses with a looping right.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mihaljevic checks a leg kick.
Mihaljevic looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Anand wants to clinch up but Mihaljevic keeps it at a distance.

Mihaljevic shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Mihaljevic showed some decent athleticism there.
Anand makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Anand.
Anand trying to keep a closed guard but Mihaljevic is proving a slippery customer.
Anand looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Mihaljevic stands and steps away. Anand gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Mihaljevic slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Anand blocks a jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Anand finds it's way through Mihaljevic's defenses.
Anand misses with an uppercut.
A slow jab from Anand misses its intended target.
Anand misses with an uppercut.
Mihaljevic throws out a counter right but Anand avoids it with no problem.
Mihaljevic throws an overhand right that lands on Anand's shoulder, as Anand tries to avoid the shot.
Anand moves out of range as Mihaljevic strikes.
Anand displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Mihaljevic throws out the jab.
Mihaljevic lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Anand drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Anand slips a jab and a cross from Mihaljevic.

Anand rushes Mihaljevic and presses him up against the cage.
Anand scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Anand misses with a punch on the inside.
A short right from Anand on the inside.
Mihaljevic lands a nice uppercut.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Mihaljevic pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Mihaljevic clinches up with Anand and pushes him back against the cage.
Mihaljevic prevents a body shot from Anand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Mihaljevic breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Mihaljevic on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.

Mihaljevic closes the distance and clinches.

Mihaljevic manages to break the clinch.
Mihaljevic walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Mihaljevic ducks under a wild hook from Anand.
Anand blocks a jab.
Anand appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Anand uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Mihaljevic.
Anand fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mihaljevic manages to avoid it.
Vedran Mihaljevic is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Anand slips under a jab.
Anand fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mihaljevic manages to avoid it.
Anand misses with a looping left.
Anand throws a solid leg kick but Mihaljevic takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Anand.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Anand throws a head punch that misses.
Anand misses with a shot to the kidneys.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Vedran Mihaljevic.
I've got Mihaljevic 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 Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vedran Mihaljevic!
A less than humble Vedran Mihaljevic misjudged his post fight interview somewhat and came across a little too arrogant whilst trying to hype up his own abilities.