PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Raven Dark (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Semen Semenov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Semen Semenov is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Dark
vs
Semenov

180 cm
23
200 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

185 cm
18
205 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

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 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Raven Dark!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Semen Semenov!
The judges for this bout are Paulsen Ambrosius, Wagner Zegers and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Semenov misses the shot to the body.
Semenov falls off balance throwing a combination
and Dark counters with a nice uppercut.

Dark clinches up with Semenov and pushes him back against the cage.
Semenov tries to break the clinch but Dark is controlling the position.
Dark goes for a takedown attempt but Semenov pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Dark showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Semenov.
Dark throws a head kick that misses.
Semenov blocks a head kick by Dark.
Semenov throws a series of strikes that have Dark backpedaling.

It looks like Raven Dark has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Semenov fails to land with a series of punches.
Semenov throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Dark.
Semenov misses with a combination
and Dark counters with a nice body kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dark throws a nice looking combination but Semenov bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Semenov throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Dark.
Dark shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Semenov pinned against the cage. Semenov gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Semenov swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Dark connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Some wild striking there from Semenov.
Semenov looks winded!
Dark fails to land the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Raven Dark. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Semenov misses with a double jab
letting Dark counter with a right hand.
Semenov scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Dark feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Semenov's calf.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Semenov scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Dark doesn't seem bothered though.
Nice body punch from Semenov.
Semen Semenov is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Danga de danga de dang - Dark scores with a four punch combination!
Dark shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Semenov but Semenov pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Semenov scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Semenov throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Dark counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Semenov is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Semenov misses with a right hand
and Dark counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Semen Semenov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Semenov throws a combination that misses
and Dark counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Semenov is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Danga de danga de dang - Dark scores with a four punch combination!
Semenov swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Dark counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Semenov is lucky that one didn't land flush.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Semenov rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Dark counters with a big head kick but Semenov shrugs it off.
Dark shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Semenov as he avoids it easily.
Semenov fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Dark manages to avoid it.
Dark swinging wildly here.
Semenov comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Semenov looks to score with a jab to the body but Dark is just out of range.
Semenov falls off balance throwing a combination
and Dark counters with a head kick.
We've been informed that Semenov has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Semenov looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Semenov throws a series of punches but Dark moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Semenov takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Dark shoots in but Semenov avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Semenov lands a lovely overhand right.
Dark throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Semenov looks to land a combination but Dark avoids it well.
Dark slips a jab from Semenov.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Jab, jab by Semenov - just one landing.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Semenov keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Semenov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Semenov dodges the punch combination from Dark.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Raven Dark will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Raven Dark's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

A combination from Semenov does no damage.
Semenov swinging wildly here.
Semenov throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Dark holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Semenov working hard to break the clinch.

Dark pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Semenov misses with a wild combination.
Semenov throws out a powerful jab.
Dark is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Semenov.
Dark stalks Semenov and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Semenov's face. Semenov staggers backwards, shaken.
Semenov is breathing heavily.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Dark.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Dark throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Semenov's waist but Semenov gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Dark off to one side.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Semenov throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Dark finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Dark with a hook.
Dark slips a jab and a cross from Semenov.
Semenov ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dark moves away.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Dark.
Semenov misses with a double jab
and Dark counters with a one-two to the body.
Dark shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Semenov as he jumps to the side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Raven Dark. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Semenov falls off balance throwing a combination
and Dark counters with a big head kick but Semenov shrugs it off.
Raven Dark is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Semenov throws a right hand that misses
and Dark makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dark throws a nice looking combination but Semenov bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Semenov throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Dark counters with a nice kick to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Semenov throws a looping overhand right but Dark ducks down to avoid it.
Semenov stuffs the takedown.
Dark scores with a leg kick.
Semenov misses with a few strikes there.
Dark is looking to clinch.
Semenov looks to throw the jab but Dark is out of range.
Semenov throws a left and a right that both miss
and Dark finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Dark throws a front kick that sends Semenov stumbling back into the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A right-left combo lands from Dark.
Semenov throws a series of punches but Dark moves out of range.
Semenov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A head kick from Dark lands but Semenov takes it in his stride.
Raven Dark is winning the standup battle so far.
No joy there for Semenov, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Dark gets a clinch.
Semenov tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Dark smiles and moves away.
Dark keeps Semenov at a distance using the push kick.
Semenov rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Dark moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Semenov throws a series of punches but Dark moves out of range.
Dark throws a front kick that sends Semenov stumbling back into the cage.
Dark connects with a high kick.
Dark tests Semenov's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Semenov misses with a combination
and Dark counters with a thumping low kick.
Semenov misses with a double jab.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Semenov misses with a few strikes there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Dark jabs Semenov to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Dark fails to land with a series of punches.
Semenov misses with a combination
and Dark counters with a flying knee. Nice.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Raven Dark dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Raven Dark's cut.
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!

Semenov takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Semenov tries to bum rush Dark with a series of wild strikes but Dark uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Semenov is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Dark.
Semenov throws a series of strikes that have Dark backpedaling.
Semenov throws a nice looking combination but Dark bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Dark slips a jab and a cross from Semenov.
Dark throws a series of punches but Semenov avoids them all with ease.
Dark slips a jab and a cross from Semenov.
Semenov misses with a double jab
and Dark counters with a good low kick that Semenov was not able to check.
Dark darts in looking for a takedown but Semenov gets double underhooks and turns Dark into the cage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Dark is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Semenov tries to pull guard but Dark holds him up against the cage and eventually Semenov drops back down to his feet.

Dark manages to break the clinch.
Semenov throws a combination that misses
and Dark counters with a body kick that stops Semenov in his tracks momentarily.
Dark misses with a double jab.
Semenov fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
No joy there for Dark, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Semenov circles away from the clinch attempt
and Semenov counters with a three punch combo that has Dark backing up. Dark nods at Semenov to acknowledge the strikes.
Dark throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Semenov's waist but Semenov gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Dark off to one side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Raven Dark. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Danga de danga de dang - Semenov scores with a four punch combination!
Left hook, right uppercut from Dark.
A right-left combo lands from Semenov.
Semenov fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Dark manages to avoid it.
Semenov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Dark throws a right and a left that both miss.
Dark slips a jab and a cross from Semenov.
Semenov fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Dark shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Semenov as he avoids it easily.
Dark on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Semenov will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Semenov misses with a looping left.
Dark throws a head kick that Semenov semi-blocks.
Semenov misses with a wild combination.
Dark tries to clinch up but Semenov circles away and keeps his distance.
Dark shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Semenov pinned against the cage. Semenov gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Dark takes a body punch but keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Semenov throws a series of punches but Dark avoids them all with ease.
Semenov cracks Dark with a right hand to the side of the head.
Dark moves in looking to clinch but Semenov pushes him off.
Dark misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Semenov slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Semenov swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Dark moves into the clinch.
Semenov throws a punch but it's blocked by Dark.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Dark keeps control of Semenov as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Dark breaks from the clinch.
Semen Semenov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Raven Dark is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Semenov swinging wildly here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Semen Semenov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Dark has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 29:28
Judge Wagner Zegers scores the fight 29:28
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Raven Dark!
In his post fight interview, Raven Dark started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.