PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Steve Buscemi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Keith Franco (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Buscemi's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Sopranos Theme. Franco is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Clobberin Time. Keith Franco will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Buscemi
vs
Franco

165 cm
25
159 lbs
6 - 4 - 0

178 cm
21
164 lbs
6 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Great low kicks
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Vodka Rags

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Steve Buscemi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Keith Franco!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Franco looks to land a right hand but Buscemi moved out of range.
Buscemi moves out of range as Franco strikes.
Buscemi ducks under a wild hook from Franco.
Franco throws a body punch but Buscemi moves out of range.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Franco 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 Buscemi has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Buscemi and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Franco lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Buscemi at a distance.
Buscemi keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Franco.
Franco throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A thudding body kick lands there by Buscemi!

Buscemi moves into range and clinches up with Franco.
Buscemi lands a good knee to the midsection. Franco won't want to take too many of those.
Franco wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Stalling in the clinch from Buscemi.
Franco tries to circle away but Buscemi has him pinned against the cage.

Franco breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Franco pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Franco throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Buscemi on the side of the head.
Franco throws a jab but it's blocked by Buscemi.
Buscemi staying out of range there.
Buscemi tries to clinch but Franco moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Buscemi moves away from the strike by Franco.

Buscemi takes the fight into the clinch.
Franco works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Buscemi looking to stall.
Buscemi is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Franco is defending well for now.
Franco is trying to break free.
Buscemi is trying to maintain a safe position but Franco gets an underhook and turns Buscemi into the cage.
Franco wants to break the clinch but can't.
Franco lands with a short shot to the head.

Franco breaks the clinch.
Franco misses with a straight left.
Franco moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
The crowd cheers as Franco lands an impressive looking overhand right. Buscemi doesn't seem phased though.
Franco throws a hook but Buscemi blocks it.
Buscemi is looking to clinch.
Buscemi tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Buscemi slips under a jab from Franco.
Franco throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Buscemi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Franco.
Buscemi slips under a jab from Franco.
Buscemi moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Keith Franco seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Franco misses with a combination

and Buscemi counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Franco looks gassed!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Franco is pulling down on Buscemi's head. It's preventing any offense from Buscemi, at least for the moment.
Buscemi might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Buscemi passes into half guard.
Buscemi is keen to just control but Franco is a slippery customer.
Buscemi trying to pass the guard but Franco defending well.
Franco trying to hold on to Buscemi's head to control him but Buscemi postures up.
Buscemi with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Buscemi is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Franco doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Buscemi.
Buscemi trying to pass the guard but Franco defending well.

Buscemi is trying to work for a kimura but Franco is defending well.
Buscemi trying to mount his opponent but Franco defends it.
Franco trying to control here but he's found himself mounted! Oh no!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Poor strikes thrown by Buscemi there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Buscemi can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Franco is looking to escape.
Buscemi fails to advance to Franco's back.
Franco is trying desperately to improve position.
Buscemi tries to control but Franco wriggling away.
Franco is looking to get to half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Buscemi avoids the attempt from Franco to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Franco throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Buscemi sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Franco thows a left - swing and a miss!

Buscemi feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Buscemi advances position into side control!
Franco wants to control but Buscemi postures up.

Buscemi looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Buscemi postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Franco can't do much from the bottom here.

Buscemi is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Franco knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Buscemi tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Buscemi trying to control the position but Franco is working away.
What's Franco going to do here then? He's in a bit of a pickle.

Buscemi looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

Buscemi wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Franco, who protects the arm well.
Buscemi tries to move to mount but Franco blocks the move with his legs.

That's two 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.
You can see the frustration on Franco's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Buscemi has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Buscemi trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Franco looks out of his depth in this position - he's holding on tight.
Franco is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Buscemi in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Buscemi throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Buscemi content just to control the position here.
Franco wants to control but Buscemi is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Franco holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Buscemi tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Franco is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Franco is trying to escape the mount.
Buscemi looking to control but Franco is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Buscemi is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Franco is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Franco is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Buscemi tries to control but Franco wriggling away.
Franco is trying desperately to improve position.
Buscemi moves to the back.
Buscemi is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
Buscemi avoiding Franco 's attempts to control his hands.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Steve Buscemi dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Franco scores with a decent looking hook.
Franco might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Buscemi tries to clinch there but Franco circles away.
Franco pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Good exchange - Franco coming out on top.

Buscemi gets a clinch.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Buscemi takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Franco has a couple of punches blocked by Buscemi.
Franco can't break the clinch.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Buscemi tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Franco avoids it.

Franco pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Franco throws a lazy head kick
and Buscemi counters with a big head kick but Franco shrugs it off.
Buscemi doesn't manage to clinch there - Franco circles away.
Buscemi bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Buscemi pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Franco is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Buscemi.
Franco connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Buscemi tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Franco swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Buscemi moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Franco takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Buscemi displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Franco throws out the jab.
Franco connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Buscemi's hands.
A telegraphed right hand from Franco misses the target.
Steve Buscemi is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Donk. Franco catches Buscemi right on the button with a cross.
Buscemi uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Franco.
Franco missing with a left hand there. Buscemi was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Buscemi ducks under a wild hook from Franco.
Franco misses with a double jab.
A jab from Franco misses.
Buscemi is looking to clinch.
Buscemi lands a jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Buscemi doesn't manage to clinch there - Franco circles away.
Buscemi is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Buscemi lands a jab to the head.
Buscemi uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Franco.
Franco circles away from the clinch attempt.
Buscemi tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Keith Franco seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Buscemi looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Franco is fending him off so far but Buscemi persists. Nope, Franco circles away and we're back to standing.

Franco shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Buscemi looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Buscemi wants to stand and escape but Franco is having none of it.
Franco throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Buscemi tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Franco throwing strikes but missing.
Franco throwing strikes but missing.
Franco with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Buscemi wants to get back to his feet but Franco is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Buscemi manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Franco is trying to reverse the position but instead Buscemi has taken his back - oops!
Buscemi is trying to stick to Franco's back but Franco is turning into Buscemi. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Buscemi's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Franco.

Franco avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Buscemi controls Franco momentarily but Franco frees himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Buscemi has momentary wrist control but Franco slips an elbow through the middle.
Franco with a nice head shot there.
Buscemi preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Buscemi looking to hit a scissor sweep but Franco is one step ahead there.
Buscemi keeping moving, preventing Franco from controlling successfully.
Franco preventing the sweep.
Steve Buscemi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Buscemi is working hard here to advance position.
Franco lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Keith Franco has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Steve Buscemi is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Franco scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

Buscemi working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Franco doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Franco manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Keith Franco.
I think Buscemi has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 29:28
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Steve Buscemi!