PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bruce Wagner (ranked 3965 p4p, 4323 weight class) and Shavkat Grigoriyan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Wagner
vs
Grigoriyan

190 cm
24
205
1 - 0 - 0

194 cm
20
200
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Bruce Wagner!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Shavkat Grigoriyan!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Gregory Folan and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Grigoriyan scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Wagner is pushing Grigoriyan's head away, looking to escape. Grigoriyan manages to hold on to the position though.
Grigoriyan is looking to take a break and control but Wagner is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
A lull in the action here as Grigoriyan stalls from top position.

Grigoriyan stands up and beckons Wagner to his feet.
Grigoriyan ducks under a wild hook from Wagner.
Grigoriyan fails with an attempt to clinch.
Grigoriyan fails with the takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wagner wants to slow Grigoriyan down by chopping away at his legs.
Wagner throws a front kick aimed at Grigoriyan's knee but Grigoriyan avoids it well.
Grigoriyan scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Wagner misses the jab.
Wagner chopping away at his opponent's legs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wagner bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Wagner rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Grigoriyan counters with a two punch combo.
Wagner throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Wagner leaves Grigoriyan with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
A punch combination from Wagner misses.

Grigoriyan shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Wagner is breathing heavily.
Wagner is trying to stand up here but Grigoriyan is controlling him well.
Grigoriyan tries to pass the half guard into mount. Wagner knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Wagner wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grigoriyan wants to lay and pray for a moment but Wagner keeps working.
Grigoriyan tries to pass to full mount but Wagner defends it.
Grigoriyan slows the pace down in half guard.

Wagner manages to escape and get back to his feet!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Wagner swinging wildly here.
Wagner motions for Grigoriyan to come forward. Wagner throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Wagner throws a big shot that misses.
Grigoriyan fails with an attempt to clinch.
Wagner swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Grigoriyan wants to counter with a clinch but Wagner pushes him away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wagner does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.

Grigoriyan looking for a takedown here - he's got it.

Wagner has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Grigoriyan is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.
Grigoriyan tries to pull guard but Wagner holds him up against the cage and eventually Grigoriyan drops back down to his feet.
Bruce Wagner has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shavkat Grigoriyan.
Wagner takes an elbow to the temple.
Wagner struggles to land a body shot inside as Grigoriyan controls his hands.
Wagner misses with a punch to the body.
Grigoriyan is looking to take this one to the mat.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Wagner.
Wagner lands a body shot in the clinch.
Wagner presses Grigoriyan against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Wagner tries a body shot but Grigoriyan blocks it.
Wagner can't find room to land a body shot as Grigoriyan controls the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Grigoriyan blocks a body shot from Wagner.
Wagner doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Grigoriyan fails to pull the fight into his guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Grigoriyan misses with a knee strike.
Grigoriyan is trying to maintain a safe position but Wagner gets an underhook and turns Grigoriyan into the cage.
Grigoriyan blocks a body shot from Wagner.
Wagner doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Wagner tries to work over Grigoriyan's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Wagner struggles to land a body shot inside as Grigoriyan controls his hands.
Wagner tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Wagner tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Grigoriyan looking to stall.
Grigoriyan prevents a body shot from Wagner.
Wagner misses with a shot to the kidneys.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Bruce Wagner dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Grigoriyan.

Grigoriyan instigates a clinch.
Wagner misses with a hook to the ribs.
Wagner can't find room to land a body shot as Grigoriyan controls the action.
Grigoriyan jumps guard but Wagner stands there with Grigoriyan around his waist. Grigoriyan gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Wagner tries to throw a body punch but Grigoriyan avoids it by throwing Wagner back against the cage.
Wagner struggles to land a body shot inside as Grigoriyan controls his hands.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wagner doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Wagner is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Grigoriyan can do to turn this around?
Grigoriyan blocks a body shot from Wagner.
Wagner struggles to land a body shot inside as Grigoriyan controls his hands.
Grigoriyan can't find room to land a body shot as Wagner controls the action.
Wagner misses with a hook to the ribs.
Wagner tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Grigoriyan's elbow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wagner misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Wagner tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Wagner doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Grigoriyan manages to break the clinch.
Wagner pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Grigoriyan let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Wagner swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Grigoriyan throws a push kick but Wagner slaps the foot to one side.
Wagner throws a right hand that Grigoriyan ducks under and follows up with a left that Grigoriyan also avoids with ease.
Wagner throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Grigoriyan tries a quick counter leg kick but Wagner is wise to it.
Grigoriyan shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Wagner counters with a nice uppercut.
Bruce Wagner has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shavkat Grigoriyan.
Grigoriyan shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Wagner sprawls well. Wagner wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Grigoriyan gets slowly back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grigoriyan checks a leg kick nicely.
Wagner sets himself, and Grigoriyan steps forward looking for the clinch! Wagner avoids it this time.

Grigoriyan looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Wagner!

Wagner sneaks out the side door and pushes Grigoriyan away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
No luck for Grigoriyan with that takedown attempt.
Wagner swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.

Grigoriyan scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

Wagner throws Grigoriyan to one side and escapes!
Wagner throws a leg kick which misses Grigoriyan's front leg but catches the back leg as Grigoriyan tries to avoid it.

Grigoriyan feints and as Wagner raises his hands in defense, Grigoriyan changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Wagner is looking to stand up but Grigoriyan isn't so interested in that idea.
Wagner trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wagner is looking to stand back up but Grigoriyan counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Wagner.
Wagner is trying to stand up here but Grigoriyan is controlling him well.
Grigoriyan looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Grigoriyan stops Wagner from getting back to his feet.
Bruce Wagner overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Grigoriyan in particular looking to stall.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Wagner dodges the punch combination from Grigoriyan.
Wagner lands a really nice looking cross but Grigoriyan seems unphased.
A decent looking cross lands there for Wagner.
Wagner throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Grigoriyan throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Wagner's waist but Wagner gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Grigoriyan off to one side.
Wagner scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Shavkat Grigoriyan is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Grigoriyan tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Wagner manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Wagner lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Grigoriyan backs up against the cage.
Grigoriyan wants to clinch.
An attempted straight right counter from Wagner misses the target.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Bruce Wagner dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Wagner jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Bruce Wagner is winning the standup battle so far.
Grigoriyan tries to clinch there but Wagner circles away.
Wagner connects with a nice looking jab.
Wagner missing with a left hand there. Grigoriyan was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Wagner lands a head shot.
Grigoriyan wants to clinch.
Grigoriyan swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Grigoriyan checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Grigoriyan wants to counter with a clinch but Wagner pushes him away.
Wagner tries to score with a low kick but Grigoriyan moves his leg out of the way.
Wagner loads up on a big right hand but Grigoriyan slips the punch.
Wagner connects with the punch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
No joy there for Grigoriyan, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Grigoriyan.
The fight stays on the outside here - Grigoriyan looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Bruce Wagner is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Grigoriyan blocks a low kick nicely.
Wagner misses with a looping left.
Wagner misses with a wild combination.
Nice takedown defense from Wagner. No joy for Grigoriyan on that attempt.
Wagner swats away the attempt to clinch by Grigoriyan.
Wagner uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Grigoriyan.
Grigoriyan showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Wagner.
Bruce Wagner is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grigoriyan looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Wagner thuds his right hand into Grigoriyan's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Wagner lands a jab-cross combination.
Wagner misses with a looping right.
Wagner uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Grigoriyan has time to react.
Wagner throws a big shot that misses.
Grigoriyan darts in looking for a takedown but Wagner gets double underhooks and turns Grigoriyan into the cage.
Bruce Wagner has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Shavkat Grigoriyan.
Grigoriyan tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Wagner bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Grigoriyan uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Wagner.
Wagner lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Grigoriyan circles away quickly and effectively.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grigoriyan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Bruce Wagner seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Wagner displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Grigoriyan.
Grigoriyan misses with the combination.
Wagner scores with a nice head shot.
Wagner swats away the attempt to clinch by Grigoriyan.
Wagner tests Grigoriyan's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Grigoriyan throws a leg kick that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wagner misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Grigoriyan has a takedown stuffed.
Wagner scores with a nice right hand.
Wagner throws a nice outside leg kick.
Wagner scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
A bone on bone clash there as Grigoriyan blocks the leg kick.
Wagner avoids a punch combination nicely.
Grigoriyan tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bruce Wagner showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Wagner 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 Steve Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bruce Wagner!
Bruce Wagner decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.