PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Anatoly Wasserman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sid Horton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sid Horton acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Wasserman
vs
Horton

178 cm
22
179 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

189 cm
24
180 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Good kicks
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

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 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Anatoly Wasserman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sid Horton!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Illya Tyunina and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Horton misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Wasserman moves out of range of the body kick.
Horton fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Wasserman misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Horton swinging wilding here.
A telegraphed right hand from Horton misses the target.
Wasserman tries for a takedown but Horton sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Wasserman slips a straight right by Horton.
Horton throws a right hand that Wasserman ducks under and follows up with a left that Wasserman also avoids with ease.
Horton pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Horton misses with a body shot.
Horton goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wasserman uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Horton.
Horton misses with an attempted mid kick.

Wasserman scores with a takedown into Horton's guard.

Wasserman gets to his feet - Horton follows without any prompting.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Horton.
Horton tries to clinch but Wasserman moves out of range.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Wasserman is defended easily by Horton.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anatoly Wasserman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Horton displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Wasserman.
Wasserman looks for a takedown but Horton sprawls well.
Horton looks to land a combination but Wasserman avoids it well.
Horton throws a shot from downtown. Wasserman moves away and avoids it.
Horton lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Wasserman circles away quickly and effectively.
Horton misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Wasserman.
Horton misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Horton misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Horton looks gassed!

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.
A combination from Horton does no damage.

Wasserman closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Horton is not content to let Wasserman control the position.

Wasserman working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
The referee asks Wasserman politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Wasserman prefers to stall for the moment though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Horton is not content to let Wasserman control the position.
Wasserman misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Wasserman controls the position.

Wasserman looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Wasserman throwing shots but missing, from side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Wasserman tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Wasserman has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Wasserman goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Horton has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Wasserman but great work by Horton.
Wasserman 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.

Horton decides to stand back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Horton tries to close the distance and clinch but Wasserman swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Horton throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Wasserman.
Wasserman shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Horton defends it nicely.
Horton stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Horton wants it to stay on the feet.
Horton pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Wasserman shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Horton's guard.

Horton has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Wasserman off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Horton takes a swing at Wasserman's ribcage but misses.
Wasserman fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anatoly Wasserman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wasserman bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Horton misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Horton doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Wasserman counters with a single leg into guard. Horton didn't expect that.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Wasserman drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Horton manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Wasserman has Horton in his guard.
Wasserman is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Horton is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Wasserman is working an open guard so Horton takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Horton misses with the body kick

so Wasserman counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Wasserman stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Horton swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Wasserman keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Horton's head.
Anatoly Wasserman overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Horton wants to stand but Wasserman is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Horton can't keep his opponent in guard - Wasserman advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Wasserman with the ground and pound but Horton uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Wasserman won't allow Horton to get back to his feet.
Wasserman trying to control the position from guard on top but Horton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Horton is working an open guard so Wasserman takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

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.
Horton swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Wasserman counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Horton striking from his own guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Wasserman accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Wasserman trying to control but Horton is working from the bottom.
Horton wants to stand up but Wasserman is controlling him.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Horton throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Wasserman will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Wasserman gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Horton throws a sloppy body shot

and Wasserman counters with a shoot takedown. Horton fights it but they end up in guard.
Wasserman trying to control but Horton is working from the bottom.
Wasserman stops Horton from standing up.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Wasserman wants to control from the top but Horton keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wasserman tries to free his leg and advance position but Horton is retaining full guard.
Horton wants to stand and escape but Wasserman is having none of it.
Wasserman's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Horton wants to stand and escape but Wasserman is having none of it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A low kick from Horton misses

and Wasserman decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Horton's guard.
Horton is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Wasserman trying to control the position from guard on top but Horton is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sid Horton has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wasserman prevents Horton from getting back to his feet.
Wasserman looking to sit in guard and control but Horton gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Wasserman pulls Horton in close to his closed guard and prevents Horton from doing any damage or advancing position.
Anatoly Wasserman is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wasserman trying to control the position.

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.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Horton throws a head kick but Wasserman moves out of range.
Wasserman takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Horton misses with a jab to the body

and Wasserman counters with a single leg into guard. Horton didn't expect that.
Horton being controlled here, momentarily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anatoly Wasserman showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Wasserman, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anatoly Wasserman!