PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ivan Russovich (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Fedor Kuzmin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Russovich
vs
Kuzmin

180 cm
20
183 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

186 cm
19
184 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good in bed

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ivan Russovich!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Fedor Kuzmin!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Kuzmin. Russovich shrugs it off though.

Russovich closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Russovich lands in his opponent's guard.
Russovich working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Kuzmin tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Kuzmin keeping moving, preventing Russovich from controlling successfully.

Russovich postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Kuzmin is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Russovich, into his guard.
Russovich preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Kuzmin throwing strikes from guard but Russovich blocks nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuzmin throws a strike but Russovich rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Russovich drops back looking for a leg! Kuzmin is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Kuzmin manages to kick Russovich off! Russovich jumps back into Kuzmin's guard.
Russovich trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

Russovich drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Kuzmin manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Russovich has Kuzmin in his guard.
Russovich is controlling Kuzmin's posture.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Kuzmin throws and elbow that misses. Russovich uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Kuzmin's guard. Nice move by Russovich!
Kuzmin wants to stand up but Russovich is controlling him.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Kuzmin holds on and takes a little breather.
Kuzmin is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Russovich loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuzmin throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Russovich trying to control the position from guard on top but Kuzmin is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Russovich drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Russovich jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Kuzmin has control of Russovich's left arm, preventing Russovich from doing any damage.

Russovich postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Kuzmin is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Russovich, into his guard.
Kuzmin must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kuzmin works over Russovich with some ground and pound from guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Russovich pulls Kuzmin in close to his closed guard and prevents Kuzmin from doing any damage or advancing position.
Russovich has a closed guard, preventing Kuzmin from standing up.
Kuzmin trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Russovich manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Russovich trying to control but Kuzmin is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fedor Kuzmin dominated that 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.

Kuzmin misses with a head kick.
The fight stays on the outside here - Kuzmin looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Kuzmin clinches.
Kuzmin stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Russovich looking for a takedown.
Kuzmin gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Russovich.

Kuzmin escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kuzmin misses with a takedown

and Russovich counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Russovich wants to control from the top but Kuzmin keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuzmin manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Russovich manages to get himself to full guard.
Kuzmin is breathing heavily.

Russovich scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Russovich circles away from the clinch attempt

and Russovich counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Kuzmin's guard now.
Russovich thows a big elbow that misses.

Russovich is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Russovich controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Russovich drops back, looking for a kneebar! Kuzmin looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Kuzmin looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Kuzmin!
Kuzmin sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Russovich is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Russovich managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Kuzmin.
Kuzmin throws a strike aimed at the side of Russovich's head but Russovich avoids it well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Russovich holds on to Kuzmin's head and controls the position momentarily.
Russovich can't do much from the bottom here.
Kuzmin connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Russovich some visible discomfort.
Kuzmin in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
An elbow from Kuzmin crashes against the mat.
Kuzmin fails to land a wild elbow strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Kuzmin in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Kuzmin wants to lay and pray for a moment but Russovich keeps working.
Kuzmin wants to stand but Russovich is controlling his arm.
Kuzmin scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Russovich to see if he's OK.
Russovich regains half guard.
Kuzmin sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Russovich defending well though.
Russovich controlling the position well.
Kuzmin works his way into full mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Russovich dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Kuzmin gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Russovich counters with a single leg into guard. Kuzmin didn't expect that.
Kuzmin controls Russovich momentarily but Russovich frees himself.

Russovich drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Russovich jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

Russovich is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Russovich thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuzmin is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Russovich chips away with some ground and pound.

Russovich drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Russovich jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

Russovich drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Kuzmin manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Russovich has Kuzmin in his guard.

That's two 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.
Kuzmin throws and elbow that misses. Russovich uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Kuzmin's guard. Nice move by Russovich!
Russovich keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Kuzmin's head.

Russovich is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Kuzmin is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Kuzmin has escaped and now he's on top!

Kuzmin stands over his opponent and dives in with a flying punch! Russovich throws up his legs and catches Kuzmin in a triangle! Oh this looks tight! Kuzmin tries to escape but he's forced to tap! Wow, fantastic work there by Russovich! That came out of nowhere!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:05 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Ivan Russovich!