PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Feliks Petrov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Igor Igor (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.

Petrov
vs
Igor

185 cm
18
185 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

187 cm
19
189 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Feliks Petrov!
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, Igor Igor!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Igor Prikhodko and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Petrov feints and as Igor raises his hands in defense, Petrov changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Igor has momentary wrist control but Petrov slips an elbow through the middle.
Petrov slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Igor trying to strike off his back.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Petrov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Igor works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Igor wants to stand but Petrov is controlling the position.
Petrov controls from within his opponent's guard.

Igor is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Petrov defends well.
Igor looks gassed!
Petrov controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Igor wants to stand but Petrov is controlling the position.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Petrov closes the distance and clinches.
Petrov lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

Petrov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Petrov!

Petrov feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Petrov forces his way into half guard.
Petrov looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Igor with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Petrov trying to pass the guard but Igor defending well.
Petrov keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Igor wants to get back to his feet.
Petrov works his foot free and advances to mount.
Petrov controlling his opponent.
Petrov seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Igor for as long as he can get away with.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Igor tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Petrov controlling the position easily from mount.
Igor really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Petrov working the ground and pound effectively.
Petrov controlling the position easily from mount.
Petrov is landing with some decent strikes but Igor is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Igor is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Petrov raining down shots from the mount!
Petrov content just to control the position here.
Igor is in all sorts of trouble here.
Petrov takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Igor tries to reverse the position but Petrov maintains control.
Petrov sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Feliks Petrov dominated that round.
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.

Igor closes the distance but Petrov moves to the side

and Petrov counters with a shoot takedown. Igor fights it but they end up in guard.
Igor wants to stand up but Petrov is controlling him.

Petrov gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Petrov has closed the distance and engaged Igor in a clinch.
Igor has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Petrov is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Petrov works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Petrov is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Igor is looking to stand back up but Petrov counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Igor.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Petrov postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Igor to stand up.
Igor is breathing heavily.

Igor fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Petrov, pushing him back against the cage.
Petrov lands an elbow inside that Igor shrugs off.

Petrov has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Igor uses from the top position.
Igor stopping the sweep attempt from Petrov.
Petrov is pulling down on Igor's head to control his posture.
Igor loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Igor in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Petrov keeping moving, preventing Igor from controlling successfully.
Igor is fighting to break Petrov's control of his arms but Petrov is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Igor with a flurry of punches that miss.
Igor throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Petrov clinches up with Igor and pushes him back against the cage.

Petrov breaks from the clinch.

Petrov darts in and clinches Igor up against the cage.
A short uppercut from Petrov.

Petrov manages to break the clinch.
Petrov will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Petrov shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Igor is trying to stand up here but Petrov is controlling him well.
Feliks Petrov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Petrov lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Igor tries to roll over but Petrov keeps him under control.
Igor is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Petrov scores with a couple of nice shots.

Petrov seems to be looking for submissions.

Petrov decides to return to a standing position.
Igor Igor seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Petrov instigates a clinch.
Petrov lands with a right to the head.
Igor is trying to break the clinch but Petrov is controlling him.

Petrov breaks the clinch.
Igor shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Petrov but Petrov pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Petrov gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Petrov works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Igor is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Petrov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Igor is looking to stand back up but Petrov counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Igor.

Igor actively working from the bottom here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Petrov content to control rather than advance.
Petrov'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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Feliks Petrov dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Igor on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Petrov. Petrov obviously looking to wear him down.

Petrov darts in and clinches Igor up against the cage.
Igor wants to get back to striking at distance but Petrov won't allow it.

Petrov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Petrov closes the distance and clinches.

Petrov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
The fight stays on the outside here - Petrov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Petrov tries to clinch there but Igor circles away.
Petrov tries to clinch but Igor is having none of it.

Petrov drives through and clinches with Igor against the cage.
Igor tries to circle away but Petrov has him pinned against the cage.

Petrov breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Igor throws a head kick but Petrov moves out of range.

Igor gets caught flat footed, as Petrov shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Petrov decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Igor, up you get!
Igor takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Petrov connects with a body shot.

Petrov moves into range and clinches up with Igor.

Petrov manages to break the clinch.
Petrov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Igor can do to turn this around?

Petrov scores with a takedown into Igor's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Igor being controlled here, momentarily.
Petrov has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

Petrov decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Igor, up you get!
Igor throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Petrov bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Petrov remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Petrov advances to full mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Petrov sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Igor flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.
Igor is trying to stand up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Petrov controlling his opponent.
Igor is working to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Petrov controlling the pace for now.
Petrov lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Igor hang on?
Petrov sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

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.
Petrov with good strikes from the mount here!
Petrov looking to control and managing it successfully.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Feliks Petrov just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Petrov connects with a single shot there.
A lazy left from Petrov finds it's target.
Igor Igor has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Igor misses with a combination

and Petrov decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Igor's guard.
Feliks Petrov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Petrov has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Igor tries to strike from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Feliks Petrov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Petrov 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:25
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:26
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Feliks Petrov!