PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vitaliy Mitin (ranked 1953 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sly Yaj (ranked 3298 p4p, 0 weight class). Sly Yaj will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Mitin
vs
Yaj

185 cm
26
240 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

196 cm
27
255 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

ZZ POPS

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Vitaliy Mitin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Sly Yaj!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Michael Johnstone and Peter Branson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yaj throws a body shot but no joy.

Yaj closes the distance and clinches.
Yaj prevents the takedown attempt.
A short right from Yaj on the inside.

It looks like Vitaliy Mitin has been cut.
Yaj misses with the head strike.
Mitin goes for a takedown attempt but Yaj pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Yaj fails in his attempt to clinch.
A jab lands there for Yaj.
Mitin takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Yaj fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mitin manages to avoid it.
Mitin tries to counter with a takedown but Yaj is quick to defend against it.
Yaj tries to clinch there but Mitin circles away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yaj looks to land a left hand but Mitin moved out of range nicely.
Mitin half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Mitin throws out a loose jab but Yaj uses good head movement to avoid it.
Decent striking displayed by Yaj there.
Mitin misses the jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yaj misses with a body shot

and Mitin counters with a nice double leg into side control. Yaj won't be happy with that.
Mitin working away.
Mitin lands some shots froms side control.
Yaj taking punishment in the form of punches.
Mitin has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Yaj is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Yaj is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Yaj can't do much from the bottom here.
Yaj is not content to let Mitin control the position.
Yaj wants to control but Mitin postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yaj parries the strikes from Mitin easily there. Mitin is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Yaj to escape.
Yaj tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Mitin lands an elbow.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Mitin working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Mitin scores with punches from side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Yaj is not content to let Mitin control the position.
Mitin throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The ground and pound from Mitin seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Mitin tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Mitin working the ground and pound but Yaj is defending the strikes.
Mitin misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Check out the look on Mitin's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Yaj is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Mitin looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Yaj is avoiding damage well.
Yaj is looking to regain half guard here but Mitin keeps moving and retains side control.
Mitin lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Mitin scores with a couple of short elbows.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mitin cracks Yaj with a big elbow.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Yaj can do anything to dispel that myth.
Mitin grinds an elbow into Yaj's temple.

Mitin working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Mitin tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Mitin cracks Yaj with an elbow. That is naaassty.

Mitin looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vitaliy Mitin dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Vitaliy Mitin's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Mitin uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Yaj.

Yaj takes the fight into the clinch.
Mitin goes for a takedown attempt but Yaj pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Yaj doesn't manage to clinch there - Mitin circles away.

Yaj moves into the clinch.
A short left from Yaj.
Mitin tries to break the clinch but Yaj is controlling the position.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Yaj.
A left hand lands to the body for Yaj.
Mitin is looking to take this one to the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yaj is working Mitin over against the cage.
Yaj works on Mitin's body with a couple of short punches.
Yaj scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A hook to the body from Yaj.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
A short body shot lands from Yaj as the two fighters clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mitin's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

Vitaliy Mitin's cut is getting worse.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Yaj.
Sly Yaj seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Yaj.
Mitin has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Yaj after a bit of a struggle.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vitaliy Mitin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nice body punch from Yaj.
A nice right hand lands inside from Yaj.
Yaj lands a hook to the side of the head.
Yaj lands a nice uppercut.
Yaj lands a hook that snaps the head of Mitin backwards.

Mitin is rocked!

Vitaliy Mitin's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
Yaj unloads with a big right hand that wobbles Mitin! He's leaning against the cage trying to keep his feet but Yaj is unloading with more strikes now! Mitin drops to his knees and the referee stops the fight for a TKO!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:41 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Sly Yaj!
After winning the bout, Sly Yaj thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.