PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Edgars Grundmanis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Uldis Bauska (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Grundmanis
vs
Bauska

190 cm
21
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

195 cm
21
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Inexperienced

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, Edgars Grundmanis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Uldis Bauska!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Igor Prikhodko and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Grundmanis closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Grundmanis lands in his opponent's guard.
Grundmanis pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Bauska is keeping the position for now.
Bauska is trying to keep Grundmanis in close.
Grundmanis passes Bauska's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Bauska is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Bauska trying to control here.
Grundmanis looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Bauska with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Still in half guard, Grundmanis seems content to control.

Grundmanis is looking for a kimura but Bauska is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Grundmanis to get the leverage.

Grundmanis is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Bauska wants to get back to full guard but Grundmanis has mounted him!
Grundmanis lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Grundmanis sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Grundmanis avoids the attempt from Bauska to control.
Bauska tries to control Grundmanis's body but Grundmanis pushes him off. Bauska squirms to his side and now Grundmanis has his back!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bauska wants to escape the position.
Bauska is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Bauska is trapped and Grundmanis is scoring with shots to the head and body.
I really don't envy Bauska right now.
Grundmanis gets his hands free as Bauska looks to control.
Grundmanis punishes Bauska with strikes from the back mount.
Bauska looks gassed!

Grundmanis is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Bauska has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Bauska is trying to get back to his feet but Grundmanis has full control of the position and if anything, Bauska has just worked his way into a worse spot.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grundmanis controls the position.
Grundmanis keeps control of the position as Bauska tries to break free.
Good control from Grundmanis.
Bauska trying to control but not successfully.

Grundmanis working for the choke.

That's four 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.
Grundmanis loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Bauska hold on?
Bauska trying to control the position but Grundmanis manages to sink in the hooks.
Grundmanis softening up his opponent with strikes here.
I would not like to be Bauska right now.

Grundmanis is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Bauska knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Bauska for a finish.
Grundmanis controlling well, preventing Bauska from escaping the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Edgars Grundmanis dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Bauska tries for a takedown but Grundmanis circles away easily

and Grundmanis counters with a shoot takedown. Bauska fights it but they end up in guard.
Grundmanis lands a couple of elbows.
Bauska can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Grundmanis controls the pace.
Grundmanis postures up.
Grundmanis sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Grundmanis sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Bauska's guard.
Bauska is breathing heavily.
Ground and pound from Grundmanis.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grundmanis takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Grundmanis wants to stand but Bauska has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Bauska trying to hold on to Grundmanis's head to control him but Grundmanis postures up.
Bauska keeping hold of Grundmanis's head, controlling as best he can.
Grundmanis slips a nice elbow through Bauska's hands, connecting with Bauska's forehead.

Grundmanis stands up and beckons Bauska to join him on the feet.

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.
Grundmanis shoots in for a takedown but Bauska shows good takedown defense.

Grundmanis rushes Bauska and presses him up against the cage.
Grundmanis wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Bauska has him pressed against the cage.

Grundmanis manages to break the clinch.
Bauska tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Grundmanis counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Grundmanis's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Grundmanis shoots in but no luck this time.

Grundmanis decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Bauska trying to control here.

Bauska kicks off Grundmanis and gets to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bauska shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Grundmanis counters with a shoot takedown. Bauska fights it but they end up in guard.
Grundmanis chips away with some ground and pound.
Grundmanis trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Grundmanis controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Grundmanis stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Bauska swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Grundmanis throwing strikes but missing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Bauska has an active guard here but Grundmanis has managed to pass into half guard.
Grundmanis controlling the action here.
Edgars Grundmanis overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bauska is trying to get back to full guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Grundmanis has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Edgars Grundmanis dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Grundmanis scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

Grundmanis is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Bauska has managed to free his arm - good work.
Bauska wants to control but Grundmanis passes into side.
Bauska tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Grundmanis looks up at the clock and then as Bauska takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Grundmanis smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grundmanis works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Bauska struggling a bit here.
Grundmanis trying to control the position but Bauska is working away.
Grundmanis is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Bauska will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Grundmanis lands some shots froms side control.
You can see the frustration on Bauska's face as Grundmanis controls the position.

Grundmanis decides to stand up, so the ref orders Bauska to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Grundmanis drives through and clinches with Bauska against the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Grundmanis's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Bauska is trying to stall.
Bauska fails to pull guard.
A nice right hand lands inside from Grundmanis.
Grundmanis is looking to break free of the clinch but Bauska has double underhooks.

Grundmanis breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Grundmanis changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Bauska looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Grundmanis taking a breather here.

Grundmanis is trying to get an arm triangle but Bauska is defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grundmanis wants to control but Bauska is keeping him busy.
Bauska struggling a bit here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Bauska tries to bench press Grundmanis off him but Grundmanis keeps the position.
Bauska prevents Grundmanis from moving into mount.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Bauska has his takedown stuffed

and Grundmanis counters with a shoot takedown. Bauska fights it but they end up in guard.

Grundmanis stands up and waves to Bauska to follow him.
Bauska closes the distance looking to clinch

and Grundmanis decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Bauska's guard.
Uldis Bauska has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Edgars Grundmanis is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Grundmanis is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Bauska can do to turn this around?
Grundmanis's corner is telling him to maintain position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Edgars Grundmanis showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Grundmanis, 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:26
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:26
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Edgars Grundmanis!