PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Mark Marx (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nickolay Katorjnov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Katorjnov is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Remember the name - Fort Minor. Nickolay Katorjnov has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Mark Marx's chin.

Marx
vs
Katorjnov

177 cm
25
174 lbs
10 - 4 - 1

178 cm
29
186 lbs
15 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Decent wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Heavy handed

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 10 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mark Marx!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Nickolay Katorjnov!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, George Francis and Gwen Towbar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Katorjnov throws a body punch but Marx moves out of range.
Marx 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.
Katorjnov misses with a hook

and Marx counters with a shoot takedown. Katorjnov fights it but they end up in guard.
Marx wants to pass the guard but Katorjnov is keeping the position.
Marx sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Katorjnov is looking to stand up but Marx isn't so interested in that idea.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Katorjnov is on top in guard.
Marx keeping full guard, as Katorjnov tries to pass.
Marx pulls Katorjnov in close to his closed guard and prevents Katorjnov from doing any damage or advancing position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marx tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Marx keeping moving, preventing Katorjnov from controlling successfully.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Marx uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Marx tries for a takedown but Katorjnov sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

That's two 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.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Katorjnov.
Katorjnov misses with a looping right.
Katorjnov throws a good cross that connects.
Marx shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Katorjnov but Katorjnov pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Katorjnov throws a leg kick that is checked

and Marx counters with a nice double leg into side control. Katorjnov won't be happy with that.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Marx works to advance to full mount. Katorjnov defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Marx looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Katorjnov is wriggling around trying to escape.
Katorjnov wants to try and get back to his feet.
Katorjnov can't escape the position.
Marx is landing with some decent strikes but Katorjnov is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Katorjnov squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
Katorjnov looks gassed!
Katorjnov can't escape the position.
Marx sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Marx raining down shots from the mount!
Marx controlling the position easily from mount.
Marx with good strikes from the mount here!
Marx controlling from the full mount.
Katorjnov is in all sorts of trouble here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Marx content just to control the position here.
Katorjnov really wants to buck Marx off and get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Marx dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Katorjnov throws a leg kick but Marx sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Marx shoots in and drives through. Katorjnov sprawls well.
Katorjnov just misses with a punch to the body.
A low kick from Katorjnov is predictable there

and Marx counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Katorjnov's guard now.
Marx won't allow Katorjnov to sweep him here.
Marx sitting in guard here, content to control.
Katorjnov is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Marx is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marx is stalling in the full guard.
Marx's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Mark Marx wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Katorjnov feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Marx's calf.
Marx shoots and misses
and Katorjnov counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Marx thinking.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marx shoots in for a takedown but Katorjnov shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mark Marx. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Katorjnov thows a leg kick but Marx checks it

and Marx counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Marx.
Marx pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Katorjnov is keeping the position for now.
Marx content to stall in guard here.
Katorjnov trying to control the position.
Katorjnov has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Marx has passed into side control.
Marx happy to just control the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Katorjnov is looking to regain half guard here but Marx keeps moving and retains side control.
Katorjnov is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Katorjnov is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Katorjnov taking a bit of punishment here - Marx scoring with strikes.
Katorjnov takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Marx cracks Katorjnov with a big right hand but Katorjnov just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Marx landing strikes.
Marx controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marx has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Marx advances nicely into full mount.
Marx content just to control the position here.
Marx in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Katorjnov is trying to escape the mount.
Marx lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Marx sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Marx seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Katorjnov for as long as he can get away with.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mark Marx dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Katorjnov misses with a lunging right hand

and Marx counters with a nice double leg into side control. Katorjnov won't be happy with that.
Mark Marx overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Marx takes a little break here. Katorjnov wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Marx working the head with strikes.
Marx remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Katorjnov takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Marx happy to just control the position for now.
Katorjnov is trying to work for a sweep but Marx has mounted him!
Marx controlling from the full mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Katorjnov tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Marx looking to control and managing it successfully.
Nickolay Katorjnov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two 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.
Katorjnov is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Katorjnov takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Katorjnov can't escape the position.
Katorjnov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Marx controlling from the full mount.
Marx looking to finish Katorjnov with some ground and pound. This is bad for Katorjnov!
Marx controlling from mount.
Marx prevents Katorjnov from getting the reversal.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Marx controlling his opponent.
Marx landing strikes, looking to finish!
Marx is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Marx landing strikes from the mount.
Marx sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Mark Marx is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Marx 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Marx won't let Katorjnov get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Marx takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Mark Marx.
Katorjnov throws a lazy uppercut

and Marx decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Katorjnov's guard.
Katorjnov can't keep his opponent in guard - Marx advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Still in half guard, Marx seems content to control.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Marx works his way into full mount!
Katorjnov is trying desperately to improve position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mark Marx showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Marx, 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 Chris Downing scores the fight for Mark Marx!
Judge George Francis scores the fight for Mark Marx!
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight for Mark Marx!

Mark Marx wins by unanimous decision!