PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Silvain Bourcier (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pavel Marinov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bourcier comes to the cage accompanied by Misha Calvin - Ready or not. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Bourcier
vs
Marinov

188 cm
25
266 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

200 cm
25
225 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Solid boxing
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Dangerous knees
Heavy handed

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Silvain Bourcier!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Pavel Marinov!
The judges for this bout are Winston Alpacca, Peter Branson and David Hoff.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marinov throws a shot to the body.

Bourcier shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Bourcier is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Marinov avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Bourcier.
Marinov trying to control but Bourcier postures up.
Marinov wants to get back to full guard but Bourcier has passed into side control.
Bourcier throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Marinov tries to bench press Bourcier off him but Bourcier keeps the position.
You can see the frustration on Marinov's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Marinov regains half guard.
Bourcier is looking to take a break and control but Marinov is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Bourcier escapes and gets back to his feet.

Bourcier looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bourcier throws a big elbow that misses.
Bourcier could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marinov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bourcier.
Bourcier postures up in Marinov's guard and throws a big left but Marinov blocks it.
Marinov is trying to keep Bourcier in close.
Bourcier won't allow Marinov to sweep him here.
Marinov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Bourcier lands a couple of digs.
Bourcier preventing the sweep.
Marinov has control of Bourcier's left arm, preventing Bourcier from doing any damage.
Bourcier throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Bourcier stays in close to Marinov's body and controls the position.
Bourcier makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Marinov is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Marinov prevents Bourcier from improving his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marinov is keen to just control but Bourcier is a slippery customer.
Bourcier is looking to improve his position.
Marinov is trying to control. Bourcier wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bourcier moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Bourcier is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Bourcier looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Bourcier looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Marinov wants to control from the top but Bourcier keeps moving.
Bourcier is pulling down on Marinov's head to control his posture.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Marinov just misses with a punch to the body.

Bourcier shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Bourcier was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Bourcier working the head with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bourcier scores with a couple of short elbows.

Marinov is rocked!
Bourcier connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Marinov some visible discomfort.
Marinov is still in real trouble! Can Bourcier finish him?
Bourcier advances to full mount.
Bourcier avoids the attempt from Marinov to control.
Bourcier lands a heavy shot. That's hurt Marinov! Bourcier sees the opportunity and turns up the heat - strike after strike land to the defenseless Marinov and the ref dives in to save him! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:32 of round 1, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Silvain Bourcier!
A relieved looking Silvain Bourcier thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.