PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between George Peterson (ranked 987 p4p, 1272 weight class) and Ruslan Karelin (ranked 147 p4p, 190 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Peterson
vs
Karelin

191 cm
32
213
24 - 16 - 1

190 cm
29
203
10 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

My Clothes Company
Voodoo Nutrition

Urban Fighter
Core Combat

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 24 - 16 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, George Peterson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of London, Ruslan Karelin!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Yuuki Gou and Yukihiro Shimada.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Peterson tries to close the distance and clinch but Karelin swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Peterson drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Peterson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Peterson tries to clinch up.
Karelin scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
A jab from Karelin does it's job there.
Peterson with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Karelin to score with a decent uppercut.
Karelin looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Peterson is looking to counter the offense by Karelin and move into the clinch.

Peterson closes the distance and clinches.
Peterson misses with a punch on the inside.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Karelin as Peterson tries to tie him up.
Peterson tries to land a knee to the head but Karelin blocks with his arms.
Peterson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Karelin tries to throw a body punch but Peterson avoids it by throwing Karelin back against the cage.
Karelin can't find room to land a body shot as Peterson controls the action.
Peterson blocks an uppercut.
A short right from Karelin on the inside.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Karelin blocks an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin works on Peterson's body with a couple of short punches.
Karelin lands a left hand that snaps the head of Peterson backwards.
Karelin is working Peterson over against the cage.
Karelin doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Peterson is trying to maintain a safe position but Karelin gets an underhook and turns Peterson into the cage.

Karelin turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Peterson is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Karelin scores with a couple of short elbows.
Karelin is looking to take a break and control but Peterson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Karelin throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Karelin trying to control the position but Peterson is working away.

Karelin is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Peterson has escaped the position, nice work there.
Peterson's coaches at Gym have been working on his defensive grappling in preparation for this fight so let's see if he can get out of this tricky position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karelin working the head and body with strikes.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Karelin sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Peterson is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Karelin wants to control but Peterson is keeping him busy.
Peterson is trying to get back to half guard.
Peterson is not content to let Karelin control the position.
Karelin content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Peterson manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Karelin is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Karelin is still trying to improve position.
Peterson tries to stand but can't do so whilst Karelin controls his leg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin trying to hold on to Peterson's head to control him but Peterson postures up.
Karelin has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Karelin tries to roll over but Peterson keeps him under control.
Still in half guard, Peterson seems content to control.
Karelin tries to roll over but Peterson keeps him under control.
Peterson wants to stand up but Karelin is controlling the position.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Peterson passes the guard and advances to mount!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ruslan Karelin dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Peterson tries to clinch up.
Peterson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Karelin swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Karelin avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Peterson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Karelin paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Peterson on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Karelin shoots for a double leg takedown but Peterson sprawls well. He's pushed Karelin's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Karelin circles away from the clinch attempt.
Peterson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Karelin scores with a three punch combo!

It looks like George Peterson has been cut.
Peterson takes one on the button.
Karelin lands a really nice looking cross but Peterson seems unphased.
Karelin darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Peterson is looking to clinch but Karelin is avoiding it.
The fight stays on the outside here - Peterson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Karelin with a nice cross.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Karelin circles away from the clinch attempt.
Karelin throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Karelin has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin throws a shot to the body.
Karelin fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Peterson manages to avoid it.
Karelin has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Karelin misses with a looping left.
Karelin keeps the fight on the outside.
Peterson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Karelin swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Karelin lands a really nice looking cross but Peterson seems unphased.
Peterson wants to clinch.
A little jabbing left from Karelin on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
George Peterson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Peterson forces Karelin back against the cage and clinches.
Karelin using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Peterson has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Peterson goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Karelin swings wildly with an uppercut but Peterson uses good head movement to avoid it.
A short right from Karelin on the inside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Peterson trying to control the position but instead, Karelin has worked for underhooks and has pushed Peterson into the cage.
Karelin blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Karelin trying to land knees to the body.
Peterson is working Karelin over against the cage.
Karelin landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Karelin swings wildly with an uppercut but Peterson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Karelin tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Peterson's elbow.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Karelin.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Karelin tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Peterson swings wildly with an uppercut but Karelin uses good head movement to avoid it.
Karelin misses with a short punch on the inside.
Karelin tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Karelin looking to throw knees to the head but Peterson is blocking nicely.
Karelin throws a head punch that misses.
Karelin swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Karelin.
Karelin misses with a hook to the ribs.
Peterson misses with a punch on the inside.
Peterson lands a hook to the side of the head.

Karelin pulls guard.

Peterson got a little sloppy there for a moment and Karelin has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Peterson has managed to get both his arms back between Karelin's legs - danger averted.

Karelin has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Peterson can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Karelin keeping moving, preventing Peterson from controlling successfully.
Karelin 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin trying to control the position here.
Peterson has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Karelin wants to sweep but no luck.

Karelin looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Peterson has picked Karelin up and slammed him! Karelin can't keep hold of the triangle and Peterson manages to pass to side control!
Karelin is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Peterson off and has taken his back!
Well, with Karelin on his back, surely it's only a matter of time before Peterson is tapping out... Can he escape the position?
Karelin throwing sloppy strikes.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ruslan Karelin showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on George Peterson's cut.
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!

Karelin looks to land a left hand but Peterson moved out of range nicely.
Nice body punch from Karelin.
Peterson doesn't manage to clinch there - Karelin circles away.
Peterson tries to close the distance and clinch but Karelin swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Peterson is looking to clinch.
A jab lands there for Karelin.
Ruslan Karelin seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Jab by Karelin.
Karelin misses the jab.
Karelin lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Karelin throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Peterson sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Karelin misses with a hook. Peterson ducked under it nicely.
Peterson takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Nice shot lands for Karelin.
Karelin swinging wildly here.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Karelin jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Peterson walks away with a smile on his face. Karelin gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Peterson doesn't manage to clinch there - Karelin circles away.
Karelin throws a sloppy body shot

and Peterson counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Peterson.
Peterson lands a nice uppercut.
Karelin misses with a hook from the clinch.
Peterson prevents a body shot from Karelin.
Peterson scores with an uppercut up the middle.

It looks like Ruslan Karelin has been cut.
Karelin tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Karelin doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Karelin misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Karelin works on Peterson's body with a couple of short punches.
Karelin tries to work over Peterson's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Karelin lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Karelin obliges.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Peterson.
Peterson tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Good body shot from Karelin.
Karelin tries to pull guard but Peterson won't allow it.
George Peterson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Peterson misses with a punch to the body.
Karelin tries to land knees in the clinch but Peterson avoids the damage to the body.
Karelin makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Karelin successfully pulls guard.

Karelin is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Peterson is aware though and is defending well.
Karelin controls Peterson momentarily but Peterson frees himself.

Karelin working for a triangle but Peterson defends it easily.
Karelin wants to sweep but no luck.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Karelin has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Peterson is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Karelin.
Karelin is not content to let Peterson control the position.
Karelin is trying to escape the position but Peterson is controlling the position.
Peterson working away.
Karelin regains half guard.
Karelin is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Peterson's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Peterson's back!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Peterson trying to control the hands but Karelin breaks the grip.
Ruslan Karelin has got the better of the ground game so far.
Peterson covering up well and avoiding damage.

Karelin is working for the choke. I would put my money on him to finish from this position. He's rolled onto his back and has dragged Peterson with him. Peterson is trying to defend but Karelin has an arm under the chin now! Peterson grimaces and is forced to tap out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:38 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Ruslan Karelin!
Ruslan Karelin 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.