PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Quinten Rain (ranked 4806 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alexander Emelianenko (ranked 6565 p4p, 477 weight class). Rain comes to the cage accompanied by Eye of the storm.. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Rain
vs
Emelianenko

191 cm
25
213 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
18
205 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Urban Fighter
Voodoo Nutrition

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Quinten Rain!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alexander Emelianenko!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Konstantin Menshow and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rain stuffs the takedown.

Emelianenko rushes Rain and presses him up against the cage.
Rain tries to pull guard but Emelianenko holds him up against the cage and eventually Rain drops back down to his feet.

Emelianenko pulls guard.

Emelianenko is working an open guard so Rain takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Rain misses with a two punch combination.
Rain tries to clinch up.
Alexander Emelianenko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Emelianenko tries to close the distance and clinch but Rain swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Emelianenko misses with a jab, cross combination.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Emelianenko wants to clinch up but Rain keeps it at a distance.
Rain closes the distance but Emelianenko moves to the side
and Emelianenko counters with a three punch combo that has Rain backing up. Rain nods at Emelianenko to acknowledge the strikes.
Emelianenko shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Rain sprawls well. Rain wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Emelianenko gets slowly back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Emelianenko has managed to clinch.
Rain looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Rain misses with a knee to the head.
Rain blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Rain wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Emelianenko is looking to break free of the clinch but Rain has double underhooks.
Rain can't get the takedown.
Rain letting Emelianenko take a breather here.
Rain is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Rain is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Emelianenko crunches a lovely knee into Rain's ribcage.
Rain prevents a body shot from Emelianenko.
Rain has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Emelianenko avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Quinten Rain. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Emelianenko goes for a takedown attempt but Rain pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Emelianenko throws a right and a left that both miss.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Emelianenko.
Rain went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Sloppy strikes from Rain. Those never looked like landing.
Emelianenko swats away the attempt to clinch by Rain.
Rain shoots in and drives through. Emelianenko sprawls well.

Emelianenko closes the distance and clinches.
Emelianenko tries to pull guard but Rain forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

Emelianenko pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko closes the distance and clinches up with Rain, looking for a takedown. Emelianenko pushes Rain against the cage but Rain circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Rain gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Rain tries to pull guard but Emelianenko won't allow it.

Emelianenko breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Emelianenko tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rain appears to be looking for a big counter.
Emelianenko has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Rain is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Emelianenko lands with a kick to the temple. Rain shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Rain fails in his attempt to clinch.

Emelianenko takes the fight into the clinch.
Rain is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Rain is trying to break the clinch but Emelianenko is controlling him.
Rain is trying to pull guard but Emelianenko turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Emelianenko lands a shot to the body.
Rain is breathing heavily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Emelianenko pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Emelianenko moves into the clinch successfully.
Rain being controlled against the cage.
Emelianenko tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Emelianenko pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Emelianenko swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Rain jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rain walks into a stiff left hand from Emelianenko.

Emelianenko forces Rain back against the cage and clinches.
Rain drops down looking for an ankle pick but Emelianenko pulls his leg out and moves away.
Emelianenko throws a nice looking combination but Rain bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Emelianenko closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Emelianenko dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Emelianenko gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Rain.
Emelianenko throws a sloppy head kick and Rain moves out of range easily.
Horrible takedown attempt by Rain or perhaps it was just good defense by Emelianenko, which made it look bad.
Rain shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Emelianenko but Emelianenko pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Rain tries to close the distance and clinch but Emelianenko swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Rain looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Quinten Rain. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Emelianenko shoots in looking for a takedown but Rain manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Emelianenko's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Emelianenko has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rain throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Emelianenko.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Emelianenko manages to break the clinch.
Emelianenko is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Rain appears to be looking for a big counter.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Emelianenko has Rain up against the cage in a clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Emelianenko.
A right handed body shot lands from Emelianenko.

Emelianenko ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Emelianenko no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Emelianenko is trying to keep Rain in close.

Emelianenko has an active guard here but Rain has managed to pass into half guard.
Rain is controlling the pace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rain thows a huge punch but Emelianenko dodges it nicely.
Emelianenko blocking the ground and pound attempt from Rain.
Rain seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Emelianenko does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Emelianenko manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Rain keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.
Rain tries for a takedown but Emelianenko manages to get underhooks.
Emelianenko tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Emelianenko manages to break the clinch.

Emelianenko rushes Rain and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Emelianenko stops a takedown attempt from Rain.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rain stops a takedown attempt from Emelianenko.
Rain prevents the takedown attempt.
Emelianenko prevents Rain from breaking the clinch.
Rain tries for a takedown but Emelianenko manages to get underhooks.
Rain is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Emelianenko gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Emelianenko working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Emelianenko dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Emelianenko is pushing Rain up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Rain blocks an elbow strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko tries to pull guard but Rain won't allow it.
Emelianenko tries to land knees in the clinch but Rain avoids the damage to the body.
Emelianenko tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Rain avoids it.
Rain tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Emelianenko just stands there and leans against the cage.
Emelianenko tries to throw a body punch but Rain avoids it by throwing Emelianenko back against the cage.
Rain is looking to break free of the clinch but Emelianenko has double underhooks.
Rain is trying to drag Emelianenko to the mat but Emelianenko just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Alexander Emelianenko seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

Emelianenko escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Emelianenko throws a nice head kick!
Rain swinging wildly here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Emelianenko showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Emelianenko misses with a takedown attempt
enabling Rain to counter with a crisp jab.
Rain shoots in for a takedown but Emelianenko shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Emelianenko throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Rain swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.

Emelianenko closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Rain tries to pull guard but Emelianenko holds him up against the cage and eventually Rain drops back down to his feet.
A short left from Emelianenko.

Emelianenko pulls Rain into guard.
Rain stops Emelianenko from standing up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rain controls from within his opponent's guard.
Emelianenko is trying to control the position but Rain postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko being controlled here, momentarily.
Rain stops Emelianenko from standing up.
Emelianenko not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Emelianenko avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Rain shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Emelianenko defends it nicely.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Quinten Rain. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Nice takedown defense from Rain. No joy for Emelianenko on that attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Emelianenko misses with the combination.
Horrible takedown attempt by Rain or perhaps it was just good defense by Emelianenko, which made it look bad.
Rain fails with the takedown
and Emelianenko counters with a one-two to the body.
Emelianenko throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Rain.

Emelianenko has closed the distance and engaged Rain in a clinch.
Emelianenko lands a right hand.
Rain is trying to pull guard but Emelianenko turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Rain prevents a body shot from Emelianenko.
Rain blocks a body shot from Emelianenko.
A short left from Emelianenko.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko is trying to drag Rain to the mat but Rain just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Rain is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Emelianenko is keeping busy.
Rain looking to slow down the pace here.
Rain wants a takedown but no success here.
Emelianenko controlling the action here for a moment.
Emelianenko stalling.
Emelianenko receives a warning from the referee for stalling.
Rain tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Emelianenko avoids it.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Emelianenko takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Alexander Emelianenko is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Rain wants to break free but Emelianenko has control.
Emelianenko dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Emelianenko jumps guard but Rain turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Rain jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Emelianenko walks away with a smile on his face. Rain gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Rain motions for Emelianenko to come forward. Rain throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Emelianenko lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Rain backs up against the cage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Emelianenko fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

Emelianenko has Rain up against the cage in a clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexander Emelianenko comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Emelianenko has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 27:30
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexander Emelianenko!
Alexander Emelianenko was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.