PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Adam Shalashaska (ranked 328 p4p, 372 weight class) and Nikolay Leonov (ranked 22 p4p, 24 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Shalashaska
vs
Leonov

182 cm
34
186
28 - 9 - 0

180 cm
34
195
21 - 14 - 0

Great wrestler
Excellent MT
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Fast

Bondi MMA 🏝️
Hoarse Pills

Shadow Realm Apparel
NARCOS

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 28 - 9 - 0, fighting out of London, Adam Shalashaska!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 14 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nikolay Leonov!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, James Ackerman and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Donk. Leonov catches Shalashaska right on the button with a cross.
Leonov throws a head kick but Shalashaska moves out of range.
Shalashaska tries a head kick but it misses.
As Shalashaska backs off Leonov throws a huge counter combo but Shalashaska manages to avoid it all.
Shalashaska takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Shalashaska scores with a punch to the head.
Nikolay Leonov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Leonov takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Shalashaska uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Leonov.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Leonov.
Shalashaska tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Leonov was well out of range. Poor timing from Shalashaska.
Leonov jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Shalashaska takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Leonov turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

Shalashaska decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Leonov moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Shalashaska missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shalashaska throwing strikes but missing.
Leonov is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Shalashaska is controlling him.
Shalashaska trying to control the position from guard on top but Leonov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Leonov is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Shalashaska 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.
Shalashaska trying to control but Leonov is working from the bottom.
Shalashaska pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Leonov is keeping the position for now.
Leonov is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Shalashaska walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Shalashaska shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Shalashaska uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Leonov.
Leonov misses with a right hand
and Shalashaska counters with a thumping low kick.
Nikolay Leonov is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Leonov jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Shalashaska 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.
Leonov moves out of range of the body kick from Shalashaska.
Leonov let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Nice cross by Leonov.
Leonov lands a right hook to the body.
Leonov misses with a kick to the body
and Shalashaska connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Shalashaska lands a head kick!

Shalashaska rushes Leonov and presses him up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shalashaska tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Shalashaska misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Leonov working hard to break the clinch.
Leonov gets underhooks to prevent Shalashaska's takedown attempt.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Leonov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Leonov is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Shalashaska has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Leonov after a bit of a struggle.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Adam Shalashaska. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Shalashaska looking to throw knees to the head but Leonov is blocking nicely.
Shalashaska has a couple of punches blocked by Leonov.
Shalashaska connects with a knee to the head.
Leonov wants to break free but Shalashaska has control.
Shalashaska has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Leonov after a bit of a struggle.
Leonov scores with an uppercut up the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Shalashaska pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Leonov looks to land a left hand but Shalashaska moved out of range nicely.
Shalashaska appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Shalashaska lands with a slapping head kick.
Leonov throws a body punch but Shalashaska moves out of range.
Shalashaska tries a head kick but it misses.
Shalashaska throws a head kick that misses
and Leonov counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shalashaska swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Leonov counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Shalashaska lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Leonov steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Shalashaska. That one must have hurt.
A jab from Leonov misses.
Leonov jabs Shalashaska to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Leonov smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Leonov scores with a nice body kick.
Shalashaska looking to land some kicks to the body here.
A left and a right from Leonov both land. Nice combination.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Shalashaska changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Leonov tries to avoid it but Shalashaska manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Leonov to the ground. Leonov escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Leonov lands with a right hand.
Leonov misses the jab.
Nice straight punches there by Leonov. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Leonov.
Shalashaska with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Shalashaska misses with a takedown
and Leonov cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Leonov misses with a low kick as Shalashaska jumps back.
Shalashaska misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Leonov.
Leonov throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shalashaska throws a lazy head kick
and Leonov counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Shalashaska throws a poor cross that misses
and Leonov counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
A good leg kick by Leonov.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Shalashaska tries to move into range but Leonov moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Leonov dips to his left and cracks Shalashaska with an uppercut!

That's one minute gone in the round.
A nice inside leg kick there by Leonov. That's going to slow Shalashaska down.
Shalashaska scores with a nice body kick.
A nice combination there by Leonov.
Shalashaska has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Leonov.
Leonov scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Shalashaska steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Leonov. That one must have hurt.
A big left from Leonov misses.
Leonov misses with a straight left.
A head kick from Leonov lands but Shalashaska takes it in his stride.
Shalashaska tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Shalashaska shoots and misses
and Leonov counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Adam Shalashaska. That's going to take a lot out of him.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Leonov moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Leonov keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Shalashaska has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Shalashaska there as he acknowledges the shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shalashaska ducks under a wild hook from Leonov.
Shalashaska seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Leonov checks the leg kick nicely there.
Leonov with a nice calf kick.
Shalashaska misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Leonov throws a sloppy head kick
and Shalashaska counters with a straight right hand.
Leonov lands with an overhand left.
Shalashaska throws a body punch but Leonov moves out of range.
Shalashaska misses with the body kick
and Leonov counters with a straight right hand.
Leonov has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Shalashaska chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Leonov can pounce on him.
Nice jab there from Leonov.
Shalashaska dodges the punch combination from Leonov.
Shalashaska 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shalashaska pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Shalashaska takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Shalashaska tries to score a power double leg takedown but Leonov sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Shalashaska somewhat.
A big right from Leonov misses.
Leonov slips a jab from Shalashaska.
Leonov lands with an overhand left.
Shalashaska is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Shalashaska looks for the body kick but Leonov saw that one coming.
Shalashaska swings for the body but Leonov moves out of range.
A slow jab from Leonov misses its intended target.
Shalashaska is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Leonov misses with a looping right.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shalashaska thows a leg kick but Leonov checks it
and Leonov counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Shalashaska looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Shalashaska misses with a hook. Leonov ducked under it nicely.
Shalashaska takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Leonov bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Shalashaska takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Leonov pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Shalashaska avoids the head kick by Leonov.
Shalashaska moves away from the strike by Leonov.
Shalashaska looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Leonov getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Shalashaska looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.

Shalashaska closes the distance and clinches.
Shalashaska misses with an elbow strike.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Shalashaska content to slow the pace in the clinch.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Nikolay Leonov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Leonov crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Shalashaska - the referee stops the clock and Leonov gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Shalashaska. Leonov manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Leonov lands a jab.
Shalashaska looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Leonov is fending him off so far but Shalashaska persists. Nope, Leonov circles away and we're back to standing.
Shalashaska showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Leonov.
Shalashaska walks into a left hand.
Leonov lands with a kick to the ribs.
Leonov moves out of range of the body kick from Shalashaska.
Leonov goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shalashaska wants to clinch but Leonov slips to the side
and Leonov connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Leonov dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Leonov avoids a punch combination nicely.
Leonov swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shalashaska takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Shalashaska throws a lazy body kick
and Leonov counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

Shalashaska clinches up with Leonov and pushes him back against the cage.

Leonov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Shalashaska takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Shalashaska walks into a stiff left hand from Leonov.
Leonov digs a good body shot into Shalashaska's ribs.
Shalashaska has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Leonov finds it's way round the side to connect with Shalashaska's head.

Shalashaska has Leonov up against the cage in a clinch.
Shalashaska stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Adam Shalashaska has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Leonov is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Shalashaska tries a knee to the head but Leonov blocks it.

Leonov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Leonov fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Shalashaska.
Leonov scores with a nice body kick.
Leonov throws a nice looking combination but Shalashaska bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Leonov with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Leonov throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Leonov scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Leonov scores with a head kick.
Nikolay Leonov seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shalashaska showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Leonov.
Nikolay Leonov is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Shalashaska tries to clinch up.
A nice leg kick from Leonov, right into the meat of the thigh.
Shalashaska tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Leonov connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Shalashaska ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Leonov moves away.
Shalashaska takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

Leonov gets tackled into the cage by Shalashaska. Shalashaska maintains the clinch.

Leonov breaks from the clinch.
Leonov misses with an uppercut.
Leonov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Shalashaska.
Shalashaska drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shalashaska throws a right hand that misses
letting Leonov counter with a right hand.
Leonov wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
A low kick from Shalashaska is predictable there
and Leonov connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Leonov misses with the combination.
Leonov scores with a punch to the head.
Leonov throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Shalashaska shoots for a double leg takedown but Leonov sprawls well. He's pushed Shalashaska's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Leonov looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A jab lands there for Leonov.
Shalashaska gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Leonov counters with a stiff right hand.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Adam Shalashaska. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Shalashaska misses with the body kick
and Leonov counters with a straight right hand.
Shalashaska throws a leg kick that is checked
and Leonov counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nikolay Leonov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Leonov 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 William Gold scores the fight 27:30
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 27:30
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nikolay Leonov!
During a confident post fight interview, Nikolay Leonov thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.
Adam Shalashaska spoke after the fight, saying 'You're pretty good.'.