PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Yuri Vasilev (ranked 4186 p4p, 4234 weight class) and Phil Johnson (ranked 375 p4p, 0 weight class). Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Vasilev
vs
Johnson

184 cm
23
150
1 - 0 - 0

190 cm
18
175
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Likes comics

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Yuri Vasilev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Phil Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Dmitry Maklakov and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Johnson gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Vasilev connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

It looks like Phil Johnson has been cut.

Johnson shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Johnson showed some decent athleticism there.
Vasilev has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Johnson is working away from the top position though.
Johnson wants to take a breather but Vasilev is having none of it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vasilev moves into full guard.
Johnson is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vasilev is trying to keep Johnson in close.
Johnson with a flurry of punches that miss.
Vasilev looking for a sweep. Not yet Vasilev, not yet.
Vasilev trying to control the position.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Vasilev lands a couple of decent looking body shots there.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Vasilev gets a clinch.

Johnson decides to pull guard.
Vasilev lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Vasilev preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Vasilev sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Vasilev really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Vasilev tries to free his leg and advance position but Johnson is retaining full guard.
Johnson working a defensive guard here.
Vasilev wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Johnson showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Vasilev.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson lands a jab to the head.
Vasilev throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Vasilev drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Johnson explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Johnson lands a really nice looking cross but Vasilev seems unphased.
Johnson looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Vasilev is fending him off so far but Johnson persists. Nope, Vasilev circles away and we're back to standing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Vasilev drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Johnson manages to get back to half guard.
Johnson looks winded!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is looking to control Vasilev's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Johnson avoid being mounted?
Vasilev content to control rather than advance.
Vasilev's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Further stalling from Vasilev.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Johnson trying to control here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Phil Johnson will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Phil Johnson's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Johnson misses with a leg kick.
Vasilev went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch but Vasilev swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Vasilev connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Vasilev leaves Johnson with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Vasilev throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Vasilev goes for a double leg but Johnson avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Johnson continues to drive forward.
Johnson is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.

Vasilev gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Johnson tries to push off, looking to stand up, but Vasilev manages to move to mount!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnson tries to reverse the position but Vasilev maintains control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Johnson is still trying to improve position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vasilev looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Johnson really wants to buck Vasilev off and get back to his feet.
Vasilev trying to control but Johnson is having none of it.
Johnson is trying desperately to improve position.
Vasilev controlling from the full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Vasilev avoids the attempt from Johnson to control.
Vasilev controlling his opponent.
The referee warns Johnson that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
BOOM! Vasilev connects with a massive shot to the dome!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vasilev content just to control the position here.
Johnson is trying desperately to improve position.
Vasilev putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Vasilev controlling the position easily from mount.
Johnson is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Vasilev pushing the pace here, looking to move to his opponents back and work for a finish.

Vasilev gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!
Johnson connects with the punch.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch but Vasilev swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Yuri Vasilev is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Vasilev shoots and misses
and Johnson connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Vasilev is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Johnson can do to turn this around?
Johnson wants to clinch up but Vasilev keeps it at a distance.
Johnson missing with a left hand there. Vasilev was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Yuri Vasilev dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Phil Johnson's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Johnson has Vasilev up against the cage in a clinch.

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

Vasilev closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Johnson wants to control but Vasilev is keeping busy.
Johnson lands a couple of sideways elbows.
Vasilev moves nicely into side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnson regains half guard there - taking advantage of Vasilev's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.
Yuri Vasilev overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Vasilev slows the pace down in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson wants to control but Vasilev is keeping busy.
Vasilev perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

That's two 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.
Vasilev seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Johnson for as long as he can get away with.

Vasilev 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.
Johnson is trying to control but Vasilev passes into side control!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is trying to improve his position.
Johnson is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Vasilev is controlling him well.
Vasilev slows the pace down.

Vasilev stands up.
Johnson stuffs the takedown attempt from Vasilev. Vasilev gets slowly back to his feet.
Johnson has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Johnson there as he acknowledges the shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A combination from Johnson does no damage.
Johnson looks to land a combination but Vasilev avoids it well.
Vasilev thinks about countering with a head kick.

Vasilev shoots in and bounces Johnson off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Johnson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Vasilev passes Johnson's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Vasilev is looking to stall here but Johnson recovers full guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Vasilev stands up from Johnson's guard - Vasilev perhaps looking for a knockout.

And that's the end of the fight!
Yuri Vasilev showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Vasilev 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight for Yuri Vasilev!
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight for Yuri Vasilev!
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight for Yuri Vasilev!

Yuri Vasilev wins by unanimous decision!