PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Pavlo Bilous (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ben Saunders (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Saunders has chosen Patiently Waiting as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Bilous
vs
Saunders

171 cm
25
167 lbs
9 - 8 - 0

175 cm
25
168 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Pavlo Bilous!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ben Saunders!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Frank Dennis and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bilous connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Bilous ducks right into an uppercut from Saunders.
Saunders throws a left and a right that both miss
and Bilous cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
A swing and a miss from Saunders.

Saunders pushes Bilous up against the cage in a clinch.
Saunders lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Bilous backwards.
Saunders is pressed up against the cage. Bilous has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Saunders down to the mat. Saunders avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Saunders tries a head kick but it misses.
Saunders looks to land a left hand but Bilous moved out of range nicely.

Bilous has closed the distance and engaged Saunders in a clinch.
Bilous fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Saunders swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Bilous tries to score a body lock takedown but Saunders shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pavlo Bilous. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bilous tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Bilous is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Saunders pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Bilous is trying to pull guard but Saunders turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Bilous gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Saunders wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bilous lands strikes from half guard.
Bilous throwing shots but Saunders is blocking nicely.
Bilous misses with a head shot. Saunders uses the momentum to regain guard.
Saunders is looking to stand up but Bilous isn't so interested in that idea.
Bilous with a flurry of punches that miss.
Saunders preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Bilous throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Saunders works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bilous accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Bilous stands up over Saunders, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Saunders wants to get back to his feet but Bilous is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Saunders scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Saunders tries to close the distance and clinch but Bilous swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ben Saunders seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Saunders moves out of range as Bilous throws a body kick.
Saunders dodges the punch combination from Bilous.
Saunders takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Saunders bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Bilous wants to clinch up but Saunders keeps it at a distance.
Ben Saunders is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Saunders connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Bilous momentarily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Saunders tries to bum rush Bilous with a series of wild strikes but Bilous uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Bilous shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Bilous seems to be working for a kimura but Saunders defends the submission attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saunders keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Saunders is not content to let Bilous control the position.
Saunders keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Bilous is trying to control. Saunders wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Saunders kicks off Bilous and gets to his feet.

Bilous moves into the clinch.
Bilous blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
The referee calls for Bilous to work.
Bilous jumps guard but Saunders turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saunders misses with a punch to the body.

Saunders's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
We've been informed that Saunders has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Saunders misses with a right hand
and Bilous counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Bilous looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Saunders bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Bilous's head backwards.
Saunders misses with a head kick.
Bilous tried to counter with a leg kick but Saunders avoided it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Saunders's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Bilous connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Saunders scrambles back to his feet.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bilous shoots in looking for a takedown but Saunders manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Bilous's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Saunders! But no joy.
Bilous throws a front kick aimed at Saunders's knee but Saunders avoids it well.

Bilous has managed to clinch.

Saunders breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Saunders misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
It looked like Bilous wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Bilous tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Saunders throws a head kick that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Ben Saunders will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Bilous swings for the body but Saunders moves out of range.
Saunders throws a head kick that misses.
Bilous doesn't manage to clinch there - Saunders circles away.
Bilous just misses with a punch to the body.
Bilous fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Saunders avoids it really well and circles away.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Saunders! But no joy.
Saunders throws a head kick but Bilous moves out of range.
Bilous throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A clash of legs there as Saunders blocks the low kick.

Saunders closes the distance and pushes Bilous back into the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bilous has Saunders pressed against the cage, preventing Saunders from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Saunders misses with a short punch on the inside.
Saunders being controlled against the cage.
Saunders misses with a body punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bilous taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Saunders scores with a shoulder strike.
Saunders avoiding damage.
Bilous has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Saunders avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Still in the clinch, Saunders scores with a nice short uppercut.
Bilous just leaning against Saunders, taking a breather.
Bilous is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Saunders to keep the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pavlo Bilous. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bilous looking to stall.
Bilous fails to pull guard.
Saunders scores with a hook to the body.
Bilous tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Saunders just stands there and leans against the cage.
Bilous blocking some punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bilous jumps guard but Saunders stands there with Bilous around his waist. Bilous gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Bilous blocks an uppercut.
Bilous is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Saunders is keeping busy.
Bilous tries to stall but Saunders uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Saunders has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Bilous prevents Saunders from breaking the clinch.
Bilous blocks an uppercut.
Bilous is looking to take this one to the mat.
Saunders tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Saunders lands a shoulder strike.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.

Saunders's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Bilous getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

Bilous gets tackled into the cage by Saunders. Saunders maintains the clinch.
Saunders tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Bilous jumps guard and drags Saunders to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Bilous had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Saunders defends it easily.
Bilous looking to hit a scissor sweep but Saunders is one step ahead there.
Bilous being controlled here, momentarily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Saunders tries to stand but Bilous is controlling from the bottom.
Saunders wants to pass the guard but Bilous is keeping the position.
Ben Saunders has got the better of the ground game so far.
Bilous looking for a sweep. Not yet Bilous, not yet.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
A big right from Saunders misses.

Bilous changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Saunders looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Saunders is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Bilous asserts his dominance and retains side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Saunders 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!

Bilous gets a double leg takedown into Saunders's guard.
Saunders is looking to stand up but Bilous isn't so interested in that idea.
Saunders avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Bilous throws a strike but Saunders rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Bilous looking to control.

Saunders has a momentary lapse of concentration, allowing Bilous to throw up a leg and lock on what appears to be a pretty tight triangle! Saunders is fighting it off but it's all too little too late - Bilous pulls down on the head and he's put Saunders to sleep! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Pavlo Bilous!
A very excited looking Pavlo Bilous made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.