PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Josh Kos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aleksei Kruschev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Kos
vs
Kruschev

188 cm
23
182 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

175 cm
20
175 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Likes ground

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Josh Kos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Aleksei Kruschev!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Aleksandr Martynov and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kruschev is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Kruschev wants to clinch.
Kos misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Kos misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kruschev ducks under a wild hook from Kos.

Kos scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Kruschev is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Kos wants to control but Kruschev is keeping him busy.
Kruschev is looking for a sweep.
Kruschev really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kos. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kruschev tries to strike from the bottom but misses.
Kos looking to control but instead Kruschev has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
Kruschev is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Kos working over Kruschev with some ground and pound. Kruschev looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Kos is taking a breather. Kruschev says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Kruschev slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Kruschev bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Kos's guard.
Kruschev postures up and lands a big shot to Kos's brow.
Kruschev loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kos is trying to control the position but Kruschev postures up.
Kos preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Kos on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Kos tries to get out of the position.
Kos keeping moving, preventing Kruschev from controlling successfully.
Kos 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.
Kruschev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Kos tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Kruschev must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kos is working hard here to advance position.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Kos shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Kruschev moves in looking to clinch but Kos pushes him off.
Kos cracks Kruschev with a good jab.
Kos keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kruschev steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Kos.

Kos shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Kos is breathing heavily.
Kruschev striking from the bottom here.
Kos trying to control but Kruschev is working from the bottom.
Kos stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Kruschev swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Kos trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Kruschev looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Kruschev wriggles free and stands up.
Kruschev defending well as Kos loads up on a big left hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kos darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Kruschev is trying to get back to full guard.
Kos working over Kruschev with some ground and pound. Kruschev looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Nice strikes from Kos there.
Still in half guard, Kos seems content to control.
Kos is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Kos stands up and beckons Kruschev to join him on the feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Kos dominated that round.
That's time! Kos's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Kruschev tries to clinch but Kos is having none of it.
Kruschev is looking to clinch.
Kos shoots for a takedown but Kruschev saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Kos misses with a looping left.
Kos goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Kos throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Kruschev's waist but Kruschev gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Kos off to one side.
Kos shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Kruschev sprawls well. Kruschev wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Kos gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Kos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kos misses with a straight right.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kos looks to land a right hand but Kruschev moved out of range.
Kos fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Kruschev gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Kos cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Kos tries for a takedown but Kruschev circles away easily

and Kruschev counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Kos's guard now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kruschev postures up in Kos's guard and throws a big left but Kos blocks it.
Kruschev preventing the sweep.
Kos will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.

Kruschev stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Kruschev bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Kos slips a jab and a cross from Kruschev.

Kos drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Kos lands a few punches from side control.
Kruschev defending against the ground and pound.
Kos working away.
Kos will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kos is putting a hurting on Kruschev here, landing some big shots from side control.
Kos looks up at the clock and then as Kruschev takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Kos smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Kos trying to control the action but Kruschev is working from the bottom.
Kos working the head and body with strikes.
Kos scoring with punches from side control.
Kruschev tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Kos easily slips into full mount!
Kos can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Kruschev is looking to escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Kos landing shots from mount.
Josh Kos overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Kos lands a big elbow.
Kos landing shots from mount.
Kos landing strikes, looking to finish!
Kos lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Kruschev hang on?
Kruschev wants to control but Kos is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Kos dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Kos scores with the left hand. Kruschev knows he should have avoided that one.
Kos changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Kruschev tries to avoid it but Kos manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Kruschev to the ground. Kruschev escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
The fighters circling - Kos throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Kos lands a head shot.
A big left from Kos misses.
Kos shoots for a takedown but Kruschev saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kos tries for a takedown but Kruschev circles away easily

and Kruschev counters with a single leg into guard. Kos didn't expect that.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Kos. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kruschev trying to control but Kos is working from the bottom.
Kruschev throwing strikes from guard but Kos blocks nicely.
Kos bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Kruschev's guard.
Kruschev looking for a sweep. Not yet Kruschev, not yet.
Kos is looking to work some ground and pound but Kruschev has wrist control.
Kruschev throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

Kruschev has his foot on Kos's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Kos works his way back into a safe position though.
Kruschev looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kos slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Kos in side control lands a decent elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Kos landing strikes.
Kos working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Kos cracks Kruschev with a big right hand but Kruschev just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Kruschev is working to avoid the ground and pound but Kos connects with a decent elbow.
Kos in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Kos working the body and head with strikes.
Kos has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Kruschev!
Kos content just to control the position here.
Kos with the ground and pound from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kos throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Kruschev really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Kos wants to control the pace but Kruschev is squirming around nicely.
Kos with shots to the head and body - Kruschev looks very uncomfortable down there.
Kos breaks from Kruschev's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Kos dominating with strikes here.
Kruschev wants to hold on but Kos pushes him away.
Kos content just to control the position here.
Kruschev is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Kos lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Kruschev hang on?
Kruschev taking shots to the head.
Kos in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Kos blocks Kruschev's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
Kos with a couple of short strikes.
Kruschev regains half guard.
Kos is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Kruschev!
Kos prevents Kruschev from getting the reversal.
Aleksei Kruschev has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Josh Kos is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Kos has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Kruschev's face.
Kos landing strikes from the mount and Kruschev is in trouble!

And that's the end of the fight!
Josh Kos showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Kos has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Josh Kos!