PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ivan Udarchenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joao Henrique (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Udarchenko
vs
Henrique

190 cm
18
225 lbs
0 - 5 - 0

190 cm
20
250 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good in bed

Good wrestler
Brawler
Determined

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 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ivan Udarchenko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Joao Henrique!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Dmitry Maklakov and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Henrique is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Udarchenko's half guard.
Udarchenko looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Henrique trying to control from Udarchenko's half guard. Udarchenko has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Henrique postures up and lands a big shot to Udarchenko's brow.
Henrique throwing strikes but missing.
Henrique must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Henrique chips away with some ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Henrique working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Henrique postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Henrique controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Henrique throwing strikes but missing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henrique postures up and lands a big shot to Udarchenko's brow.
Henrique is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Henrique cracks Udarchenko with a solid left hand.
Henrique trying to control the position from guard on top but Udarchenko is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Henrique working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

Henrique drops back looking for a leg! Udarchenko is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Udarchenko manages to kick Henrique off! Henrique jumps back into Udarchenko's guard.
Henrique wants to control from the top but Udarchenko keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henrique with a nice head shot there.
Henrique cracks Udarchenko with a solid left hand.
Henrique lands a couple of digs.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Henrique's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Henrique with a flurry of punches that miss.
Henrique stands up over Udarchenko, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henrique distracts Udarchenko with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Henrique postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Henrique is working Udarchenko over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Henrique scoring with some ground and pound.
Henrique is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Henrique working some strikes from top position.
Henrique content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Henrique postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Henrique's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Udarchenko working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Henrique decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Henrique moves in looking to clinch but Udarchenko pushes him off.

Udarchenko gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Henrique to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Henrique makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Henrique lands a couple of elbows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joao Henrique dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Henrique closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Udarchenko to the mat! Udarchenko manages to get full guard.
Henrique connects with a couple of short punches.
Henrique works over Udarchenko with some ground and pound from guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Henrique's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Henrique landing some decent shots from guard.
Henrique works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Ground and pound from Henrique.
Henrique winds up and cracks Udarchenko with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Henrique lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Udarchenko has hold of Henrique's hands but Henrique slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Henrique is nestled in close to Udarchenko, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Henrique is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Henrique throws a strike but Udarchenko avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Henrique postures up in Udarchenko's guard and throws a big left but Udarchenko blocks it.
Udarchenko looking to control.
Henrique chips away with some ground and pound.
Henrique scoring with some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Henrique is in close to Udarchenko's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Henrique with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Udarchenko working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Henrique.
Henrique lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Udarchenko looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Udarchenko has momentary wrist control but Henrique slips an elbow through the middle.
Udarchenko avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Henrique working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Udarchenko's head.
Henrique lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Henrique cracks Udarchenko with a solid left hand.
Henrique cracks Udarchenko with a solid left hand.
Henrique throwing strikes from guard but Udarchenko blocks nicely.
Henrique scoring with some ground and pound.
Henrique makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Henrique loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Udarchenko is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Henrique chips away with some ground and pound.
Henrique trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Udarchenko manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Udarchenko stopping the sweep attempt from Henrique.
Henrique keeping moving, preventing Udarchenko from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joao Henrique showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Henrique decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

Henrique is working for a kimura but Udarchenko is defending it quite comfortably.
Udarchenko on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Udarchenko has hold of Henrique's hands but Henrique slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Henrique looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Henrique drops an elbow to the side of Udarchenko's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Henrique lands with a punch from half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Henrique landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Henrique landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Udarchenko taking some punishment here, with Henrique in his half guard.
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. Henrique connects with a nice short shot to Udarchenko's temple.
Udarchenko keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

Udarchenko actively working from the bottom here.
Nice strikes from Henrique there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Udarchenko has hold of Henrique's hands but Henrique slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Henrique thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Ground and pound from Henrique.
Henrique lands with a punch from half guard.
Udarchenko keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Henrique is nestled in close to Udarchenko, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Henrique uses his free foot to push down on Udarchenko's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Udarchenko.
Henrique has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Udarchenko's face.
Henrique has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Udarchenko slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Henrique throwing shots but Udarchenko is blocking nicely.
Henrique working over Udarchenko with some ground and pound. Udarchenko looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Henrique lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Henrique missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Henrique looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Henrique landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Henrique lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Henrique lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Henrique with the ground and pound but Udarchenko uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Henrique's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Henrique stands up over Udarchenko, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Joao Henrique is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Henrique working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joao Henrique comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Henrique has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 26:30
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 26:30
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joao Henrique!