PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Pavlo Kersikov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Donnie Alto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Kersikov
vs
Alto

186 cm
18
209 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

188 cm
18
212 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

KINGDOM

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Pavlo Kersikov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Donnie Alto!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, Joseph Jones and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Alto fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kersikov manages to avoid it.
Alto takes one on the button.
Kersikov moves out of range as Alto strikes.
Nice defenses there by Kersikov.
Alto looks to score with a jab to the body but Kersikov is just out of range.
Kersikov swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kersikov. Alto does a little dance to reset his feet.
Alto displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Kersikov throws out the jab.
Kersikov scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Kersikov misses with a hook. Alto ducked under it nicely.
Kersikov checks a leg kick.
Alto ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kersikov moves away.
Alto plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!

It looks like Pavlo Kersikov has been cut.
Kersikov looks to score with a jab to the body but Alto is just out of range.
Kersikov throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Kersikov lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Alto misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Kersikov bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Alto's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kersikov swings for the body but Alto moves out of range.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Alto.
Pavlo Kersikov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kersikov throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Alto lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Kersikov thows a body shot but no joy.
Alto thows a left - swing and a miss!
Kersikov just misses with a punch to the body.
Kersikov looks to throw the jab but Alto is out of range.
A punch combination from Kersikov misses.
Kersikov lands a body shot.
Alto ducks under a wild hook from Kersikov.
Alto bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Alto tries a head kick but it misses.
Alto scores with a one two! Kersikov had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Kersikov's jab looks to have found its range, popping Alto under the eye.
Kersikov cracks Alto with a good jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alto tries a head kick but it misses.
Kersikov staying out of range there.
Kersikov rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Alto counters with a thumping low kick.
Alto ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kersikov moves away.
Kersikov throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Alto stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Alto misses with an attempted mid kick.
Kersikov moves out of range of the strikes.
Kersikov throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Kersikov thows a body shot but no joy.
Good work by Kersikov as he checks the leg kick.
Kersikov swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Alto clinches with his opponent.
Alto digs a right hand underneath Kersikov's ribcage. Kersikov let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Alto scores with a shot to the side of Kersikov's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alto tries to land knees in the clinch but Kersikov avoids the damage to the body.
Kersikov can't find room to land a body shot as Alto controls the action.
A short right from Alto.
Alto dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Alto lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Kersikov backwards.
Alto unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Alto is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Kersikov doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Alto avoiding damage.
A left hand lands to the body for Alto.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alto stalls.
Alto receives a warning from the referee for stalling.
Kersikov trying to control the position but instead, Alto has worked for underhooks and has pushed Kersikov into the cage.
Kersikov can't seem to implement his control oriented gameplan at the moment. That's no bad thing of course, for those of us who want to see a good fight.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Alto goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Kersikov is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Alto lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Kersikov.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Donnie Alto dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Pavlo Kersikov's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Kersikov lunges at Alto with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Alto's hand.
Kersikov misses with a double jab
and Alto counters with a nice low kick that buckles Kersikov's knee momentarily.
Kersikov misses with a hook. Alto ducked under it nicely.
Kersikov throws a looping overhand right but Alto ducks down to avoid it.
Kersikov throws out a loose jab but Alto uses good head movement to avoid it.
Alto on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Kersikov thows a left - swing and a miss!
Kersikov throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Alto tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Alto's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Kersikov connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Alto scrambles back to his feet.
Alto moves away from the strike by Kersikov.
Kersikov staying out of range there.

Alto closes the distance and clinches.
Alto lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Alto throws an elbow but misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short uppercut from Alto.
Kersikov tries to circle away but Alto has him pinned against the cage.
Alto scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A nice left hand lands by Alto.
Alto just leaning against Kersikov, taking a breather.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Alto in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Kersikov wants to stall.

Alto breaks from the clinch.
Nice uppercut there from Kersikov.
Kersikov cracks Alto with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
A telegraphed right hand from Kersikov misses the target.
Alto throws a body punch but Kersikov moves out of range.
Kersikov fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Alto manages to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alto staying out of range there.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Alto, as that shot connected.
Alto pivots, looking for a leg kick but Kersikov is out of range and Alto settles back down.

Kersikov gets tackled into the cage by Alto. Alto maintains the clinch.
Kersikov is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Still in the clinch, Alto scores with a nice short uppercut.
Kersikov dodges an elbow strike from Alto.
Alto pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kersikov letting Alto take a breather here.
A short uppercut from Alto.
Alto can't find room to land a body shot as Kersikov controls the action.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alto lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Kersikov avoids the elbow strike from Alto, against the cage.
Alto lands a body shot.
Alto's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Alto lands a hook that snaps the head of Kersikov backwards.
Alto looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Kersikov looking to slow down the pace here.
Donnie Alto seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Alto scores with a nice hook to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alto throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Alto lands a left hand.
Alto is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
The crowd are getting on Alto's back here. They're not happy about his lack of aggression in the clinch.

Alto pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Alto does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Alto lands a nice hook to Kersikov's body. Kersikov takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Kersikov lands a jab-cross combination.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kersikov ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Alto moves away.
A punch combination from Kersikov misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Donnie Alto showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Pavlo Kersikov's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

A jab from Alto does it's job there.
Alto just misses with a punch to the body.
Alto misses with a head kick.
Alto fakes the leg kick and cracks Kersikov in the body.
Kersikov scores with a nice right hand.
Alto fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
A head kick misses from Alto.
Alto avoids the body shot from Kersikov.
Kersikov keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Kersikov misses with a wild body shot.

Alto clinches up with Kersikov and pushes him back against the cage.
Alto lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Kersikov.
Alto lands a left hand that snaps the head of Kersikov backwards.
Alto slows down the pace here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alto tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Kersikov's elbow.
Kersikov blocks an elbow strike from Alto.
Alto is leaning against Kersikov and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.

Alto breaks the clinch.
Kersikov throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Alto stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Kersikov misses with a straight left.
Kersikov throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Kersikov lands a really nice looking cross but Alto seems unphased.
Alto closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alto throws a head kick but Kersikov moves out of range.
A big left from Kersikov misses.
Kersikov misses with a jab, cross combination.
Alto ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Alto uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kersikov.
Alto misses with a head kick.
Alto throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A clash of legs there as Kersikov blocks the low kick.
Kersikov looks to land a right hand but Alto moved out of range.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Alto lands a body shot in the clinch.
Alto misses with an elbow strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Alto's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Donnie Alto seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A telegraphed right hand from Alto misses the target.
Alto looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Kersikov throws a big shot that misses.
Alto scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Kersikov tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Alto was well out of range. Poor timing from Kersikov.
Alto turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Donnie Alto is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Danga de danga de dang - Alto scores with a four punch combination!
Kersikov slips a jab from Alto.
Alto lands a jab to Kersikov's midsection.
Kersikov blocks a jab.
Kersikov loads up on a big right hand but Alto slips the punch.
Kersikov missing with a left hand there. Alto was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Alto takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alto takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Kersikov avoids the head kick by Alto.
Alto loads up on a big right hand but Kersikov slips the punch.
Kersikov misses with a looping right.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kersikov. Alto does a little dance to reset his feet.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Alto fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Kersikov swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Kersikov bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Kersikov takes a kick to the side of the head.
A punch combination from Kersikov misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Alto throws a head kick that misses.
Alto uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Kersikov.
Alto scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Pavlo Kersikov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kersikov slips under a jab.

And that's the end of the fight!
Donnie Alto comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Alto 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 John Kavanagh scores the fight 27:30
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 27:30
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Donnie Alto!
Donnie Alto decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.