LFL 8: Selmy vs. Papadopoulos PBP Commentary

Undercard bout

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Karl der Grosse (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Hayden Venn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Karl der Grosse has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

der Grosse
vs
Venn

181 cm
28
220 lbs
12 - 11 - 0

200 cm
18
270 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Hell's Balls Recovery (160)

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 12 - 11 - 0, fighting out of New York, Karl der Grosse!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Hayden Venn!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, John Kavanagh and Jorge Garcia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
der Grosse scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Jab from der Grosse.
der Grosse throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Venn stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Venn misses with a lunging right hand

and der Grosse counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
der Grosse frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
der Grosse looking to finish Venn with some ground and pound. This is bad for Venn!

der Grosse quickly switches position and commits to an armbar! It's a big risk for der Grosse but it's paid off an Venn is forced to tap! Nice work by der Grosse.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:36 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Karl der Grosse!
Our winner, Karl der Grosse, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.

C
A

C
B

energy
A | B

hype
A | B

pop
A | B

mgr
A | B

FIGHT
RATING
100%

Undercard bout

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Alexander Krush (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ben Hutch (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Krush comes into the arena with Pusha T- Pain blaring out of the sound system. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Krush
vs
Hutch

189 cm
32
185 lbs
10 - 11 - 0

196 cm
33
194 lbs
10 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 11 - 0, fighting out of New York, Alexander Krush!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ben Hutch!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Franklyn Lucas and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Krush pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Hutch throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Hutch throws a sloppy head kick and Krush moves out of range easily.
Ben Hutch seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Hutch clinches.
Hutch fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Krush breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Hutch wants to clinch but Krush slips to the side
and Krush counters with a nice body kick.

Krush lands a big head kick that sends Hutch tumbling to the mat! Krush takes a step backwards and waves Hutch back to his feet - he wants the finish!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Krush throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Krush.
Krush throws a quick head kick that knocks Hutch silly! This fight is all over! What a finish! Krush is up on the cage, taking in the applause from the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:38 of round 1, we have a winner by way of KO (Head Kick). Alexander Krush!
Alexander Krush is the new middleweight champion!
After the fight, Alexander Krush 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.

C
A

C
B

energy
A | B

hype
A | B

pop
A | B

mgr
A | B

FIGHT
RATING
100%

Undercard bout

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Chris Irvine (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Edgar Van Der Houst (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Irvine comes to the cage accompanied by Break the Walls. Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Irvine
vs
Van Der Houst

180 cm
18
167 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

190 cm
21
180 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Chris Irvine!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Edgar Van Der Houst!
The judges for this bout are Eddie Farnsworth, Jonathan Paton and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Van Der Houst connects with a good right hand that stumbles Irvine. Irvine circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Van Der Houst doesn't manage to clinch there - Irvine circles away.

Irvine shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Irvine lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Van Der Houst is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Irvine scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Van Der Houst trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!

Van Der Houst throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Van Der Houst wants to sweep here but Irvine controlling him for the moment.
Irvine working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Van Der Houst's head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Irvine chips away with some ground and pound.
Irvine stays in close to Van Der Houst's body and controls the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Irvine scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Irvine scoring with some ground and pound.
Irvine landing some decent shots from guard.
Irvine scoring with punches to the head and body.
Irvine connects with a couple of short punches.
Van Der Houst is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Van Der Houst is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Irvine landing some decent shots from guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Irvine working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Irvine lands a couple of decent looking shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Irvine is working Van Der Houst over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Irvine makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Irvine is working Van Der Houst over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

Van Der Houst is rocked!

Van Der Houst looking for a guillotine here but Irvine defends easily.
Van Der Houst wants to stand and escape but Irvine is having none of it.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Irvine lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Van Der Houst is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Irvine with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Irvine postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Van Der Houst keeping moving, preventing Irvine from controlling successfully.
Irvine scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Irvine postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Van Der Houst wants to sweep here but Irvine controlling him for the moment.
Irvine stops Van Der Houst from standing up.
Van Der Houst really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Irvine. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Irvine postures up and lands a big shot to Van Der Houst's brow.
Irvine working some strikes from top position.
Irvine postures up.
Van Der Houst keeping moving, preventing Irvine from controlling successfully.
Van Der Houst is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Irvine is working Van Der Houst over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Irvine is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Irvine distracts Van Der Houst with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Irvine controlling from the top position.
Irvine trying to control but Van Der Houst is working from the bottom.
Irvine sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Irvine is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Irvine makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Irvine won't allow Van Der Houst to sweep him here.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Irvine is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Van Der Houst keeping moving, preventing Irvine from controlling successfully.
Irvine 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.
Irvine keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Van Der Houst's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chris Irvine dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Irvine moves out of range of the body kick from Van Der Houst.
Van Der Houst tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Irvine paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Irvine gets caught napping as Van Der Houst dives in and scores a takedown. Irvine manages to retain guard.
Van Der Houst would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Irvine is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Irvine manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Irvine lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Van Der Houst is still in real trouble! Can Irvine finish him?
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Van Der Houst can do anything to dispel that myth.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Irvine lands a big elbow - Van Der Houst is in trouble! More strikes from the mount and Van Der Houst is forced to tap out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Chris Irvine!
Chris Irvine decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.

C
A

C
B

energy
A | B

hype
A | B

pop
A | B

mgr
A | B

FIGHT
RATING
100%

Undercard bout

Co-main event

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Dean Walker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ultimate Warrior (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Warrior is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Ultimate Warrior Entrance. Dean Walker has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Walker
vs
Warrior

205 cm
26
285 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

188 cm
30
275 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Dean Walker !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ultimate Warrior!
The judges for this bout are Anthony Taglia, Dean Styles and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Warrior closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Well, if Warrior is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Walker is defending against the submission attempts here by Warrior.
Warrior prevents Walker from improving his position.
Walker is trying to maintain the position but Warrior is very close to passing his half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Walker wants to control but Warrior passes into side.
Warrior gets to mount! Walker was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Warrior controlling from the full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Warrior's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Walker on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Walker tries to get out of the position.
Warrior working Walker over with strikes here.
Walker tries to control the position but Warrior now has his back.

Warrior looking for the choke but no joy.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Warrior is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Walker is defending well though. Warrior let's go of the attempt for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Warrior has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Walker has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Warrior trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Walker doesn't escape.

Warrior working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Warrior has good solid back control here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
I really don't envy Walker right now.

Walker fending off the submission attempt from Warrior.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A bit of a pause in the action here. Warrior controlling the positon.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ultimate Warrior dominated that round.
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.

Warrior closes the distance and pushes Walker back into the cage.

Warrior escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Warrior avoids the head kick by Walker .
Walker looks to land a body kick but Warrior moved away.
Warrior tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Walker manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Warrior scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Walker is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Warrior has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Warrior controls the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Warrior working the ground and pound from side control.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Warrior lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Walker down.
Walker wants to get back to his feet but Warrior is dominant here and he's now got Walker 's back!
Walker prevents Warrior from getting a body triangle.

Warrior is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Walker is defending well though. Warrior let's go of the attempt for now.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Warrior lands a shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Walker tries to break free.
Warrior is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.

Warrior has managed to slip his arm under Walker 's chin. This could be all over... yep, Walker is tapping out! Submission win for Warrior.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:32 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Ultimate Warrior!
Ultimate Warrior spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.

C
A

C
B

energy
A | B

hype
A | B

pop
A | B

mgr
A | B

FIGHT
RATING
54%

Main event

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Barristan Selmy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ghiorghos Papadopoulos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Selmy
vs
Papadopoulos

187 cm
25
222 lbs
10 - 3 - 0

185 cm
30
266 lbs
9 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Barristan Selmy!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ghiorghos Papadopoulos!
The judges for this bout are Anthony Taglia, Lou da Vinci and John Kavanagh.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Papadopoulos shoots for a takedown but Selmy saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Papadopoulos darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Selmy keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Papadopoulos is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Papadopoulos throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Papadopoulos is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Papadopoulos thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Papadopoulos throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Papadopoulos slips a nice elbow through Selmy's hands, connecting with Selmy's forehead.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Papadopoulos throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Selmy is pressing down on Papadopoulos's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Papadopoulos throwing strikes but missing.
Papadopoulos throws a big elbow that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Papadopoulos is in close to Selmy's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Papadopoulos works over Selmy with some ground and pound from guard.
Selmy is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Papadopoulos preventing the sweep.
Papadopoulos landing with the ground and pound.

Selmy is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Papadopoulos throws a big elbow that misses.
Selmy wants to sweep but no luck.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Papadopoulos throwing strikes but missing.
Papadopoulos stands up over Selmy, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Papadopoulos postures up in Selmy's guard and throws a big left but Selmy blocks it.
Papadopoulos is working Selmy over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Papadopoulos must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Selmy tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Papadopoulos really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Selmy. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Papadopoulos is working Selmy over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Selmy working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Papadopoulos.
Selmy on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Selmy tries to get out of the position.
Papadopoulos working some strikes from top position.
Papadopoulos scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

Selmy is rocked!
Papadopoulos postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Oh Selmy is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Papadopoulos throws an elbow that misses. Selmy uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Papadopoulos's guard. Nice move by Selmy!
Selmy seems to have got his legs back now.

Selmy drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Selmy jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Papadopoulos throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Papadopoulos looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Papadopoulos trying to strike off his back.
Selmy makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Papadopoulos is looking to sweep but instead, Selmy has passed into half guard.
Papadopoulos throws a strike from the bottom but Selmy passes into side control!
Papadopoulos looking for a sweep but Selmy has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Papadopoulos tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Papadopoulos is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
Papadopoulos flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
Papadopoulos keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

Selmy looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Papadopoulos flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
Papadopoulos tries to get back to half guard but can't.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Papadopoulos is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Papadopoulos flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ghiorghos Papadopoulos dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Selmy just misses with a punch to the body.
Papadopoulos with a lazy takedown attempt
and Selmy counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Papadopoulos changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Selmy tries to avoid it but Papadopoulos manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Selmy to the ground. Selmy escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Papadopoulos doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Selmy counters with a nice double leg into side control. Papadopoulos won't be happy with that.
Barristan Selmy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ghiorghos Papadopoulos.
Papadopoulos looks to move to half guard but instead Selmy has passed into mount! Damn!
Selmy lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Papadopoulos hang on?
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Papadopoulos swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Papadopoulos tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Selmy blocks Papadopoulos's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
Selmy with good strikes from the mount here!
Selmy landing punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Papadopoulos is wriggling around trying to escape.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Selmy is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Papadopoulos can't stay in a position like this for much longer.

Papadopoulos tries to improve his position but Selmy has taken his back! Selmy has a choke - it's sunk in pretty tight... Will Papadopoulos tap? No... maybe... yes! He's tapped! Selmy pushes Papadopoulos away and gets up to celebrate with his corner!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:46 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Barristan Selmy!
Barristan Selmy retains his heavyweight title!
After winning the bout, Barristan Selmy thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.