PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Zeljko Kerum (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Borcuha Derzkiy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kerum
vs
Derzkiy

202 cm
25
260 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

194 cm
22
250 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Zeljko Kerum!
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, Borcuha Derzkiy!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Igor Prikhodko and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kerum feints and as Derzkiy raises his hands in defense, Kerum changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Kerum postures up in Derzkiy's guard and throws a big left but Derzkiy blocks it.
Kerum stands and throws Derzkiy's legs to the side, diving into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Kerum tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Kerum has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Kerum is trying to get an arm triangle but Derzkiy is defending well.
Derzkiy really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kerum. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
An elbow from Kerum crashes against the mat.

Kerum tries for a kimura but Derzkiy is defending well.

Kerum is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Derzkiy knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kerum tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Kerum has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
You can see the frustration on Derzkiy's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.

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.
Kerum trying to control the action but Derzkiy is working from the bottom.
Derzkiy defending against the ground and pound.
Derzkiy takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.

Kerum is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Derzkiy has escaped the position, nice work there.
Kerum lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Derzkiy down.

Kerum is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Derzkiy has escaped the position, nice work there.

Kerum tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Kerum has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Kerum content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Derzkiy wants to control but Kerum postures up.
Derzkiy gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Kerum scoring with strikes but Derzkiy is staying in there.
Derzkiy looks gassed!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kerum wants to take Derzkiy's back here but Derzkiy is holding on to an arm, himself looking to escape.

Kerum looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Kerum landing strikes from the mount.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kerum looking to finish with strikes here!

Kerum looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kerum fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zeljko Kerum dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Kerum shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Derzkiy is trying to defend but Kerum finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Derzkiy is refusing to be controlled, as Kerum sits in half guard.
Kerum is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Derzkiy!
Kerum takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Kerum misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Derzkiy is breathing heavily.
Kerum looking to control but Derzkiy is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kerum scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Kerum sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Kerum throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Kerum lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Derzkiy hang on?

Kerum has control of Derzkiy's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Derzkiy regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Kerum unloads with some shots from mount but Derzkiy bucks and avoids them well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Kerum wants to finish this one by submission but Derzkiy is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Kerum.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kerum moves to the back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kerum lands a shot to the head.
Kerum has his opponent trapped and is landing shots. Not a good position for Derzkiy.
Kerum throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Kerum trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
Kerum thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.

Kerum patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kerum is looking for the choke from the back position but Derzkiy is controlling his hands well.

Derzkiy showing good submission defense here.
Derzkiy is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Kerum off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.

Derzkiy defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Kerum's arms.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kerum lands punches and elbows.

Kerum working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
Kerum 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.

Kerum has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kerum trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Derzkiy doesn't escape.
Derzkiy trying to control the position but Kerum manages to sink in the hooks.

Derzkiy is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Kerum gets his way!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Kerum looking for the RNC.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zeljko Kerum dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Kerum scores with a takedown into Derzkiy's guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kerum trying to control the position from guard on top but Derzkiy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kerum with a flurry of punches that miss.
Derzkiy takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Derzkiy avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Derzkiy trying to control the position.
Kerum stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Derzkiy swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Kerum is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Derzkiy can do to turn this around?
Kerum throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Derzkiy works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Kerum drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Kerum jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Kerum trying to control but Derzkiy is working from the bottom.
Kerum in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

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.
Derzkiy keeping moving, preventing Kerum from controlling successfully.
Kerum slips nicely into half guard.
Kerum not landing any meaningful shots this time.

Kerum seems to be looking for submissions.
Kerum wants to pass the guard but Derzkiy is defending well.

Kerum is looking for a kimura but Derzkiy is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Kerum to get the leverage.

Kerum is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Derzkiy is not content to let Kerum control the position.

Kerum is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Derzkiy defends it well.
Kerum is keen to just control but Derzkiy is a slippery customer.
Kerum content to control rather than advance.
Zeljko Kerum is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

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.

Kerum in half guard on the top. He's looking for a kimura... He's got it locked and he's managed to free his trapped foot. Derzkiy tries to escape but it's on too tight and he has to tap! Great BJJ skills there from Kerum!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:19 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Zeljko Kerum!