PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between sosed naprotiv (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Oleg Dragov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be fireworks!

naprotiv
vs
Dragov

200 cm
22
203 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

186 cm
18
210 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Great elbows
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Determined

Death Ring Apparel

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, sosed naprotiv!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Oleg Dragov!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Sergei Dronov and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
naprotiv fails with a takedown attempt.
naprotiv shoots in for a takedown but Dragov shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
sosed naprotiv seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dragov leaves naprotiv with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for sosed naprotiv. That's going to take a lot out of him.

naprotiv gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Dragov to score an easy takedown into full guard.
naprotiv will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
naprotiv is trying to control the position but Dragov postures up.
Dragov postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Dragov sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Dragov's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Dragov showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Dragov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Dragov slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Dragov's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Despite being in the dominant position, Oleg Dragov just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
naprotiv is looking to clinch.
naprotiv with a poor takedown

and Dragov counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in naprotiv's guard now.
naprotiv is breathing heavily.
Dragov scoring with some ground and pound.
Dragov sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Dragov stands up over naprotiv, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dragov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of naprotiv's head.
naprotiv can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Dragov controls the pace.
Let's hope that Dragov has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
I looks like Dragov might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
Dragov postures up.
Dragov is in close to naprotiv's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Dragov controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's four 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.
Dragov distracts naprotiv with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Dragov content to stall in guard here.
naprotiv has momentary wrist control but Dragov slips an elbow through the middle.
Dragov is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Dragov is in close to naprotiv's body, working some short punches and elbows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Oleg Dragov dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Dragov looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
naprotiv tries to roll over but Dragov keeps him under control.
Dragov slows the pace down in half guard.

Dragov seems to be working for a kimura but naprotiv defends the submission attempt.
Dragov is looking to pass naprotiv's guard but actually naprotiv recovers to full guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Dragov works over naprotiv with some ground and pound from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dragov distracts naprotiv with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Dragov passes into half guard.
naprotiv is trying to get back to full guard.
Dragov is taking a breather. naprotiv says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Dragov tries to pass to full mount but naprotiv defends it.
Dragov lands with a punch from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Dragov slips a nice elbow through naprotiv's hands, connecting with naprotiv's forehead.
naprotiv is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Dragov scores with a couple of nice shots.
Dragov trying to control the pace.
Dragov takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dragov sitting and controlling from the half guard.

Dragov is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so naprotiv is just riding it out for now. Dragov eventually gives up the hold.
Dragov trying to control the pace.

Despite being in the dominant position, Oleg Dragov just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
naprotiv uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Dragov.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
naprotiv wants to clinch but Dragov slips to the side

and Dragov counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Dragov drops an elbow to the side of naprotiv's head.

Dragov is working for a kimura but naprotiv is defending it quite comfortably.
naprotiv is trying to escape back to his feet but Dragov uses the scramble to pass into side control.
naprotiv is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Oleg Dragov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Dragov shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in naprotiv's guard.
naprotiv is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Dragov stays in close to naprotiv's body and controls the position.

Dragov drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Dragov jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dragov not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
naprotiv trying to keep a closed guard but Dragov is proving a slippery customer.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dragov is stalling in the full guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Dragov forces his way into half guard.
Dragov slows the pace down in half guard.
Dragov drops an elbow to the side of naprotiv's head.

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.
Dragov 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.
Dragov drops an elbow to the side of naprotiv's head.
Nice strikes from Dragov there.
Dragov is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Dragov scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
naprotiv trying to control here.
Dragov keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
naprotiv on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Dragov trying to control the pace.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
naprotiv trying to control here.
Dragov is controlling the pace.

Despite being in the dominant position, Oleg Dragov just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Dragov.

And that's the end of the fight!
Oleg Dragov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Dragov has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 26:30
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 26:30
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Oleg Dragov!