PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Yoan Gonzalez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Volkrav Kusmetov (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.

Gonzalez
vs
Kusmetov

169 cm
20
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

150 cm
18
153 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Self confident

Good wrestler
Brawler
Inexperienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Yoan Gonzalez!
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, Volkrav Kusmetov!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Illya Tyunina and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gonzalez tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Kusmetov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Kusmetov shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
We're hearing some news coming in from back stage. It's official - Kusmetov has eaten all the pies!
Kusmetov preventing the sweep.

Gonzalez has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Kusmetov can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Kusmetov trying to control the position from guard on top but Gonzalez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kusmetov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Gonzalez looking to control.
Kusmetov won't allow Gonzalez to get back to his feet.
Kusmetov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Gonzalez looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Kusmetov tries to free his leg and advance position but Gonzalez is retaining full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kusmetov controls from within his opponent's guard.

Kusmetov got a little sloppy there for a moment and Gonzalez has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Kusmetov has managed to get both his arms back between Gonzalez's legs - danger averted.
Kusmetov wants to stand but Gonzalez is controlling his posture from full guard.
Kusmetov postures up.
Kusmetov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gonzalez swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kusmetov throws a big elbow that misses.

Gonzalez has his feet on Kusmetov's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Gonzalez avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Kusmetov scores with a takedown into Gonzalez's guard.
Gonzalez keeping full guard, as Kusmetov tries to pass.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Gonzalez is on top in guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kusmetov keeping moving, preventing Gonzalez from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kusmetov pulls Gonzalez in close to prevent any damage.
Kusmetov is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Gonzalez slips nicely into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kusmetov wants to control the action here but instead Gonzalez manages to pass to full mount!
Kusmetov is trying desperately to improve position.
Kusmetov wants to control but Gonzalez is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kusmetov is in all sorts of trouble here.
Gonzalez scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Gonzalez throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Gonzalez looking to control but Kusmetov is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Kusmetov working to try and regain half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gonzalez tries to control but Kusmetov wriggling away.
Kusmetov slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Volkrav Kusmetov will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Kusmetov defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Gonzalez.

Gonzalez gets caught flat footed, as Kusmetov shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Gonzalez looking to hit a scissor sweep but Kusmetov is one step ahead there.
Kusmetov wants to control from the top but Gonzalez keeps moving.
Gonzalez wants to improve his position but instead Kusmetov has moved into half guard.
Kusmetov takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

Kusmetov decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Gonzalez avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gonzalez gets caught flat footed, as Kusmetov shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Gonzalez is trying to keep Kusmetov in close.
Kusmetov wants to control from the top but Gonzalez keeps moving.
Kusmetov is looking to stand up but Gonzalez won't let him.

Gonzalez looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kusmetov sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Kusmetov trying to move into half guard but instead Gonzalez has managed to sweep!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kusmetov pulls Gonzalez in close to his closed guard and prevents Gonzalez from doing any damage or advancing position.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Kusmetov keeping full guard, as Gonzalez tries to pass.
Kusmetov is adopting a defensive guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Volkrav Kusmetov has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Gonzalez wants to clinch.
Gonzalez moves in looking to clinch but Kusmetov pushes him off.
Gonzalez fails with the takedown

and Kusmetov counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Gonzalez!
Gonzalez taking shots to the head.

Kusmetov is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Gonzalez has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Gonzalez!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kusmetov is looking to sweep but instead, Gonzalez has passed into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gonzalez wants to take a breather but Kusmetov is having none of it.
Kusmetov flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kusmetov keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Kusmetov can do anything to dispel that myth.
Kusmetov is trying to stand up here but Gonzalez is controlling him well.
Kusmetov is doing well to control the position and prevent Gonzalez from advancing to side control.
Kusmetov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Gonzalez. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Let's hope that Kusmetov has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Volkrav Kusmetov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Kusmetov leaves Gonzalez with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Gonzalez throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A head kick misses from Gonzalez.
Gonzalez tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kusmetov swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Gonzalez throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Kusmetov closes the distance but Gonzalez moves to the side

and Gonzalez counters with a single leg into guard. Kusmetov didn't expect that.

Kusmetov escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Gonzalez gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Gonzalez tries to stand but Kusmetov is controlling from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kusmetov is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Kusmetov looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Gonzalez trying to control but Kusmetov is working from the bottom.
Kusmetov is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kusmetov controls Gonzalez momentarily but Gonzalez frees himself.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Gonzalez tries to clinch there but Kusmetov circles away.

Kusmetov gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Kusmetov looking to control.

Kusmetov has his feet on Gonzalez's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Kusmetov throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

Kusmetov drives through and clinches with Gonzalez against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gonzalez manages to break the clinch.

Kusmetov shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Kusmetov showed some decent athleticism there.
Volkrav Kusmetov has got the better of the ground game so far.

Kusmetov is working for a submission of some sort.
Kusmetov content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Kusmetov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kusmetov missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Kusmetov looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Kusmetov thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Gonzalez's head.
Gonzalez is trying to stand.
Kusmetov is taking a breather. Gonzalez says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Kusmetov with the ground and pound but Gonzalez uses the opportunity to regain guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Volkrav Kusmetov.
I've got Kusmetov winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight for Volkrav Kusmetov!
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight for Volkrav Kusmetov!
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight for Volkrav Kusmetov!

Volkrav Kusmetov wins by unanimous decision!