PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vitaly Karelin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Phil Hellmuth Jr (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Karelin kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Russian National Anthem. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Karelin
vs
Hellmuth Jr

183 cm
31
289 lbs
16 - 3 - 0

188 cm
30
260 lbs
20 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Great elbows
Good gas tank

Highland Clothing

Highland Clothing
Museum of Monsters & Madmen

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Vitaly Karelin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Phil Hellmuth Jr!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, James Glass and Steven Brown.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Karelin swings for the body but Hellmuth Jr moves out of range.
Karelin shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Hellmuth Jr throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Hellmuth Jr cracks Karelin with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

It looks like Vitaly Karelin has been cut.
Hellmuth Jr lands a jab-cross combination.
Phil Hellmuth Jr seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hellmuth Jr misses with an uppercut. Karelin saw that one coming.
Hellmuth Jr throws a jab when Karelin was well out of range.
Hellmuth Jr misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Karelin.
Hellmuth Jr throws a body punch but Karelin moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hellmuth Jr takes a swing at Karelin's ribcage but misses.
Hellmuth Jr scores with a jab to the head.
A punch combination from Karelin misses.
We've been hearing reports that Karelin has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Hellmuth Jr ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Karelin moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Karelin closes the distance and pushes Hellmuth Jr back into the cage.
Karelin swings wildly with an uppercut but Hellmuth Jr uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hellmuth Jr misses with an elbow strike.
Karelin wants a takedown.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Karelin creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Karelin'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.
A nice right hand lands inside from Hellmuth Jr.

Vitaly Karelin's cut is getting worse.
Hellmuth Jr lands an elbow just above Karelin 's eye.
Karelin wants to break the clinch but can't.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Karelin.
Karelin lands a shot to the body.
Karelin pushes Hellmuth Jr back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hellmuth Jr looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Karelin misses with a hook from the clinch.
Karelin throws a punch but it's blocked by Hellmuth Jr.
Hellmuth Jr gets through Karelin's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Karelin dodges an elbow strike from Hellmuth Jr.
Karelin misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Karelin has a couple of punches blocked by Hellmuth Jr.
Karelin takes an elbow to the temple.

Vitaly Karelin's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.

Karelin pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Hellmuth Jr stuns Karelin with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Karelin misses with a wild body shot.
Hellmuth Jr misses with an uppercut.
A big right from Hellmuth Jr misses.
Karelin takes a jab right on the kisser.
Hellmuth Jr has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Karelin is landing a low percentage of strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hellmuth Jr steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Karelin.
Hellmuth Jr appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Hellmuth Jr misses with an uppercut. Karelin saw that one coming.
Hellmuth Jr throws out a loose jab but Karelin uses good head movement to avoid it.
Karelin attempts a counter takedown but Hellmuth Jr avoids it well and moves away.
Hellmuth Jr jabs Karelin right on the nose. Karelin blinks but takes it well.
Karelin with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Hellmuth Jr to score with a decent uppercut.

Jeez, Vitaly Karelin's cut is really nasty now. The referee must be thinking about getting that checked.

The referee calls the doctor in to look at Vitaly Karelin's cut. Oh no, the doctor has called an end to the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:32 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Cut). Phil Hellmuth Jr!
After the fight, Phil Hellmuth Jr was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.