PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Sergei Sokolov (ranked 2584 p4p, 1415 weight class) and Teofomo Laurez (ranked 304 p4p, 190 weight class). Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Sokolov
vs
Laurez

180 cm
23
181
3 - 2 - 0

180 cm
22
180
4 - 2 - 0

Great wrestler
Basic striking
Insanely flexible

Decent wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

All-Star Apparel

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Sergei Sokolov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Teofomo Laurez !
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Konstantin Menshow and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sokolov tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Laurez manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Sokolov closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Laurez 's guard.
Laurez can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Sokolov controls the pace.
Sokolov throws a big right hand that misses.
Sokolov lands a couple of digs.
Laurez utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Laurez preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Sokolov missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Laurez being controlled here, momentarily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sokolov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Sokolov missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sokolov throws a big elbow that misses.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sokolov accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
We've been hearing that Sokolov has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Sokolov 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.
Sokolov stands up over Laurez , holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Sokolov wants to control from the top but Laurez keeps moving.
Sokolov with a flurry of punches that miss.
Laurez avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Sokolov looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Laurez utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Sokolov throwing strikes but missing.
Sokolov throwing strikes from guard but Laurez blocks nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sokolov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Sokolov trying to control the position from guard on top but Laurez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sokolov lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Sokolov controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Laurez really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Sokolov. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sokolov stopping the sweep attempt from Laurez .
Sokolov is looking to work some ground and pound but Laurez has wrist control.
Sokolov is pushing down on Laurez 's leg trying to pass to half guard. Laurez is fighting to maintain full guard but Sokolov has managed to sneak the leg through.
Sokolov is controlling the pace.
Sokolov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Laurez keeps working.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sokolov seems to be working for a kimura but Laurez defends the submission attempt.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sokolov sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Laurez defending well though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sokolov thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Sokolov working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Sokolov is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Sokolov thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Laurez 's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Sokolov is trying to work for a kimura but Laurez is defending well.
Sokolov thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Sokolov is looking to take a break and control but Laurez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Sokolov not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Laurez blocking the ground and pound attempt from Sokolov.
Sokolov thows a huge punch but Laurez dodges it nicely.
Nice strikes from Sokolov there.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Laurez trying to control here.
Laurez is trying to get back to full guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Sergei Sokolov 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.

Sokolov closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Sokolov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Laurez can do to turn this around?
Sokolov missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Sokolov throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Sokolov looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Sokolov thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Laurez 's head.
Sokolov controlling the action here.
Sokolov throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Laurez keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Sergei Sokolov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sokolov trying to control the action but Laurez is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sokolov sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Laurez defending well though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sokolov seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Sokolov sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Laurez defending well though.
Laurez keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Laurez blocking the ground and pound attempt from Sokolov.
Sokolov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Laurez keeps working.
Sokolov throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Sokolov not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Sokolov winds up and cracks Laurez with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Sokolov wants to work for an arm triangle but Laurez is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sokolov thows a huge punch but Laurez dodges it nicely.
Sokolov trying to mount his opponent but Laurez defends it.
Laurez is trying to get back to full guard.
Sokolov throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Sokolov is working for a submission of some sort.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Laurez can do anything to dispel that myth.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Sokolov in particular looking to stall.
Sokolov thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Laurez 's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sokolov is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Sokolov thows a huge punch but Laurez dodges it nicely.
Sokolov is nestled in close to Laurez , controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Sokolov lands strikes from half guard.

Sokolov is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Sokolov is looking to take a break and control but Laurez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Sokolov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Sokolov scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Sokolov lands with a punch from half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sokolov throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Sokolov lands with a punch from half guard.
Sokolov tries to pass the half guard into mount. Laurez knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Laurez slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Sokolov with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Sokolov throwing strikes from guard but Laurez blocks nicely.
Sokolov advances position into side control!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sokolov throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Sokolov lands some shots froms side control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Sergei Sokolov dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Sokolov shoots in and drives through. Laurez sprawls well.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Laurez enables Sokolov to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Laurez manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Sokolov is standing up over Laurez . Laurez looks to escape but Sokolov dives into side control.

Laurez avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Sokolov.
Sokolov throws an elbow but Laurez slips to the side and avoids it well.
You can see the frustration on Laurez 's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Sokolov scores with a couple of short elbows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sokolov working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Sokolov lands some shots froms side control.
Sokolov working the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sokolov working away.
Sokolov lands a few punches from side control.
Sokolov advances nicely into full mount.
The referee warns Laurez that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Sokolov lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Laurez hang on?
Sokolov cracks Laurez with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Sokolov lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

Laurez is rocked!

Sokolov goes for an armbar but Laurez turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Laurez .
Sokolov wants to stand up but Laurez is controlling him.
Sokolov wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Teofomo Laurez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sokolov working for a triangle but Laurez defends it easily.
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!
Laurez working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sokolov looking for a sweep. Not yet Sokolov, not yet.
Sokolov working a defensive guard here.
Laurez must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Sokolov is looking to stand up but Laurez isn't so interested in that idea.
Laurez wanted to stand there but Sokolov had control of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sokolov working a defensive guard here.
Sokolov pulls Laurez in to control the position.
Sokolov continues to stall.
Sergei Sokolov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Laurez looking to sit in guard and control but Sokolov gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Sokolov works over Laurez with some ground and pound from guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Sokolov tries to free his leg and advance position but Laurez is retaining full guard.
Sokolov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Laurez 's head.
Sokolov is stalling in the full guard.
Sokolov has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Sokolov looking to pass the guard.
Sokolov controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Laurez keeps the fight on the outside.
Laurez throws a low kick but Sokolov moves out of range easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sergei Sokolov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Sokolov, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sergei Sokolov!
Sergei Sokolov seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.