PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Kirill Berkut (ranked 2859 p4p, 2396 weight class) and Do No Joy (ranked 284 p4p, 246 weight class). Do No Joy will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Berkut
vs
No Joy

160 cm
19
158
3 - 0 - 0

176 cm
20
147
3 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
KO power

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kirill Berkut!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Do No Joy!
The judges for this bout are Gregory Folan, William Peck and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Berkut shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts No Joy as he jumps to the side.
No Joy misses with an attempted mid kick.
Berkut fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
A thudding body kick lands there by No Joy!
No Joy wants to slow Berkut down by chopping away at his legs.
Berkut tries to score a power double leg takedown but No Joy sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Berkut somewhat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kirill Berkut. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
No luck for Berkut with that takedown attempt.
No Joy displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Berkut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Berkut throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Berkut takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
A decent looking cross lands there for No Joy.
Kirill Berkut seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
No Joy lunges at Berkut with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Berkut's hand.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Berkut.
Berkut shoots for a double leg takedown but No Joy sprawls well. He's pushed Berkut's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Berkut shoots in but no luck this time.
Berkut backing away here, and No Joy unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
No Joy throws a nice outside leg kick.
No Joy lands with a straight right. Berkut didn't see that one coming.
Berkut takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Berkut tries to land a front kick but No Joy steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
No Joy throws out a counter right but Berkut avoids it with no problem.
Berkut shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and No Joy counters with a nice leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Berkut shoots in for a double leg but No Joy sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
This has been an exciting period of action!
No Joy tries to work over Berkut's front leg with a kick but Berkut checks it.
Nice takedown defense from No Joy. No joy for Berkut on that attempt.
Berkut shoots in for a takedown but No Joy shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Berkut closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Berkut lands in his opponent's guard.
No Joy tries to land a sweep but no joy.
No Joy is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
No Joy utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Berkut lands a couple of decent looking shots.
No Joy wants to sweep here but Berkut controlling him for the moment.
Berkut missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if No Joy can do anything to dispel that myth.
No Joy looking for a sweep. Not yet No Joy, not yet.
Berkut trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Berkut 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.
Berkut won't allow No Joy to sweep him here.
Berkut is working No Joy over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Berkut trying to control the position from guard on top but No Joy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Berkut is looking to work some ground and pound but No Joy has wrist control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Berkut landing with the ground and pound.
Berkut stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. No Joy swivels though and keeps the full guard.
No Joy looking to hit a scissor sweep but Berkut is one step ahead there.
We've been hearing that Berkut has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Berkut is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
No Joy striking off his back but it's not causing Berkut any problems.
Berkut might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Berkut lands a couple of digs.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Berkut chips away with some ground and pound.
No Joy working a defensive guard here.
No Joy looking to hit a scissor sweep but Berkut is one step ahead there.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Do No Joy dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Berkut fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
No Joy has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
No Joy misses with a low kick.
Berkut tries to counter with a takedown but No Joy is quick to defend against it.
No Joy works the jab nicely.
Berkut gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and No Joy counters with a left to the body.
Berkut shoots in for a takedown but No Joy shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kirill Berkut. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Berkut shoots in for a double leg but No Joy sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
No Joy attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Berkut attempts a counter takedown but No Joy avoids it well and moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A low kick from No Joy is predictable there

and Berkut counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
No Joy is refusing to be controlled, as Berkut sits in half guard.
Kirill Berkut overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
No Joy is looking to control Berkut's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can No Joy avoid being mounted?
No Joy is trying to get back to full guard.
No Joy wants to control the action here but instead Berkut manages to pass to full mount!
Berkut wants to control the pace but No Joy is squirming around nicely.
No Joy can't escape the position.
Berkut trying to control but No Joy is having none of it.
No Joy manages to regain half guard. Good work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No Joy wants to get back to full guard.
Berkut looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks No Joy with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
No Joy really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Berkut. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Berkut wants to free his trapped foot but No Joy is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Berkut lands with a punch from half guard.
Berkut sitting and controlling from the half guard.

Berkut seems to be working for a kimura but No Joy defends the submission attempt.
Berkut looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Berkut lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
No Joy is pressing down on Berkut's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
No Joy looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Berkut puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Berkut winds up and cracks No Joy with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Berkut working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
No Joy tries to roll over but Berkut keeps him under control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Berkut is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
No Joy is looking for a sweep. Berkut is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Berkut lands a nice short elbow.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Berkut connects with a nice short shot to No Joy's temple.
No Joy trying to control here.
Berkut scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Berkut looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
No Joy is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kirill Berkut dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

That kick from No Joy tenderised Berkut's leg. Berkut is trying to keep his angry face on.
Berkut shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts No Joy as he jumps to the side.
Nice sprawl there from No Joy as Berkut shoots in.
No Joy has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Berkut is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Berkut looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Berkut moves out of range of the body kick from No Joy.

Berkut looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
No Joy throws a sloppy strike from the bottom. He's now off balance and Berkut manages to pass to side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Berkut slows the pace down.
No Joy sneaks back into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
No Joy is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Berkut is looking to take a break and control but No Joy is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Berkut lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Berkut is nestled in close to No Joy, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
No Joy misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Berkut working No Joy over with strikes.
No Joy punching from the bottom.
No Joy is looking for a sweep. Berkut is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Berkut working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
No Joy wants to get back to full guard.
Berkut scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Berkut is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
No Joy tries to roll over but Berkut keeps him under control.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Berkut connects with a nice short shot to No Joy's temple.
Berkut lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Berkut lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
No Joy has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Berkut is working away from the top position though.
Berkut working over No Joy with some ground and pound. No Joy looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Berkut takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
No Joy tries to roll over but Berkut keeps him under control.

Berkut is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, No Joy has managed to free his arm - good work.
Berkut scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
No Joy is refusing to be controlled, as Berkut sits in half guard.
Do No Joy has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
No Joy is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
No Joy moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Berkut with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
No Joy looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Berkut lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Berkut is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

No Joy is rocked!
Berkut makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
No Joy is still in real trouble! Can Berkut finish him?
Berkut landing some decent shots from guard.
Berkut arches his back and unloads with a massive left and a right! No Joy's eyes roll back into his head, he's out cold! The ref dives in to stop the fight - wow, they were hard shots!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:56 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Kirill Berkut!
A victorious Kirill Berkut thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.