PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Kostya Tszyu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gustav Graves (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tszyu comes to the cage accompanied by Badstreet Atlanta Ga. 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.

Tszyu
vs
Graves

178 cm
27
163 lbs
11 - 2 - 0

180 cm
27
161 lbs
15 - 3 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Hell's Balls Recovery

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kostya Tszyu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Gustav Graves!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, Tiny Johnson and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tszyu throws a right hand that Graves ducks under and follows up with a left that Graves also avoids with ease.
Graves ducks under a wild hook from Tszyu.
Tszyu throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Graves throws a low kick, looking for Tszyu's leg but Tszyu calmly moves out of range.
Graves throws a solid leg kick but Tszyu takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Graves.
A slapping leg kick lands for Graves.
Tszyu misses with a series of wild punches.
Graves lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Tszyu swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Graves slips a straight right by Tszyu.
Tszyu misses the jab.
Tszyu keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Graves fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Tszyu throws a low kick but it's checked well by Graves.
Tszyu pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Nice defenses there by Graves.
Graves ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Tszyu moves away.
Graves throws out a leg kick but Tszyu moves out of range and Graves only half commits.

Graves fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Tszyu sprawls well initially but Graves persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The fighters are battling for position here. Tszyu manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves trying to control but Tszyu is working from the bottom.
Graves postures up.
Tszyu keeping moving, preventing Graves from controlling successfully.
Tszyu wants to stand up but Graves is controlling him.
Tszyu controls Graves momentarily but Graves frees himself.
Tszyu tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Tszyu keeping moving, preventing Graves from controlling successfully.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Tszyu stuffs the takedown.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Graves throws a hook but Tszyu avoids it easily.
Tszyu looks to land a right hand but Graves moved out of range.
Graves blocks a jab.
Tszyu throws out a loose jab but Graves uses good head movement to avoid it.
Good leg kick by Graves there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Tszyu waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Graves.
Tszyu lands an overhand right.
Tszyu avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Tszyu scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Graves moves away from the strike by Tszyu.
Graves throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Graves stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Tszyu.
Tszyu fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Tszyu misses with an uppercut.
Tszyu throws a hook to the side of Graves's head but Graves sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Graves throws a head kick that Tszyu semi-blocks.
Tszyu misses with an uppercut.
Graves will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tszyu throws a shot from downtown. Graves moves away and avoids it.
Tszyu looks to score with a jab to the body but Graves is just out of range.
Graves steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Tszyu.
Tszyu throws a series of punches but Graves avoids them all with ease.
Graves closes the distance and clinches up with Tszyu, looking for a takedown. Graves pushes Tszyu against the cage but Tszyu circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Kostya Tszyu has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gustav Graves.
Tszyu tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Graves was well out of range. Poor timing from Tszyu.
Tszyu takes a swing at Graves's ribcage but misses.
Tszyu throws a jab when Graves was well out of range.
Graves moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Tszyu takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Graves lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Graves waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Tszyu.
Graves avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Graves moves away from the strike by Tszyu.
Tszyu throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Graves bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
A combination from Tszyu does no damage.
Tszyu darts in and out, connecting with a jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A punch lands to the side of Tszyu 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Tszyu misses with a hook. Graves ducked under it nicely.
Tszyu takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Graves staying out of range there.
Tszyu throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Graves tries to score a power double leg takedown but Tszyu sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Graves somewhat.
Tszyu looks to land a right hand but Graves moved out of range.
Graves uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Tszyu.
Graves throws a front kick aimed at Tszyu's knee but Tszyu avoids it well.
Tszyu misses with a hook.
Graves lands with a kick to the temple. Tszyu shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tszyu avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tszyu waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Graves.
Tszyu digs a good body shot into Graves's ribs.
Graves throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Tszyu throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Graves on the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gustav Graves dominated that 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.

Tszyu throws a right and a left that both miss.
Tszyu scores with a jab to the head.
Graves slips under a jab from Tszyu.
Graves throws a shot from downtown. Tszyu moves away and avoids it.
Graves tries to clinch but Tszyu moves out of range.
A slow jab from Tszyu misses its intended target.
Graves tries to clinch up but Tszyu circles away and keeps his distance.
Tszyu slips under a jab from Graves.
Graves lands a body shot.
Graves keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Tszyu.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Graves, right into the meat.
Graves gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Tszyu.
Tszyu looks to land a combination. Graves sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Graves misses with a head kick.
Tszyu missing with a left hand there. Graves was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Tszyu swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Tszyu throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Gustav Graves seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Tszyu throws a shot from downtown. Graves moves away and avoids it.
Graves missing with a left hand there. Tszyu was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves slips under a jab from Tszyu.
Tszyu works over Graves's head and body with a nice combination.
Tszyu looks to throw the jab but Graves is out of range.
Tszyu throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Graves lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Graves tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Graves ducks under a wild hook from Tszyu.
Graves ducks under a wild hook from Tszyu.
Tszyu sizes up Graves with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Graves throws a nice looking combination but Tszyu bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Graves misses with a head kick.
Graves shoots in for a takedown but Tszyu shows good takedown defense.
Graves avoids a punch combination nicely.
Graves tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Tszyu was well out of range. Poor timing from Graves.
Tszyu looks to throw the jab but Graves is out of range.
Tszyu swings for the body but Graves moves out of range.
Tszyu takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tszyu keeps the fight on the outside.
Graves misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Graves fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Tszyu avoids it really well and circles away.
Tszyu walks into a left hand.
Graves throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Tszyu fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Graves looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Tszyu throws a good cross that connects.
Graves tries to land a leg kick but Tszyu saw it coming and moves away.
Tszyu looks to land a combination but Graves avoids it well.
A jab from Tszyu misses.
Graves shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Tszyu but Tszyu pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Kostya Tszyu has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gustav Graves.
Good standup being displayed there by Tszyu as he connects with a hook.
Tszyu throws a lazy right hand but Graves sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Tszyu thows a left - swing and a miss!
Tszyu throws a hook but Graves blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tszyu looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Graves connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Tszyu's hands.
Graves wants to clinch.
Tszyu connects with a single shot there.
Kostya Tszyu is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Graves lands a head kick. Tszyu smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
A lazy left from Tszyu finds it's target.
Tszyu looks to score with a jab to the body but Graves is just out of range.
Tszyu misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Graves.
A slow jab from Tszyu misses its intended target.
Tszyu jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Tszyu throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Graves takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Graves throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Tszyu sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Graves ducks under a wild hook from Tszyu.
A punch combination from Tszyu misses.
Tszyu lands a glancing blow to the side of Graves's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Graves waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Tszyu.
Tszyu misses with a looping right.
Tszyu cracks Graves with a right hand to the side of the head.
Kostya Tszyu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tszyu avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Graves.
Graves misses with an uppercut.
Graves darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Graves scores with a body shot.
Tszyu avoids the head kick by Graves.
Tszyu throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Graves delivers a nice body kick.
Jab from Tszyu.
Graves wants to clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tszyu lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Graves at a distance.
Tszyu moves forwards but Graves connects with a nice, crisp jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gustav Graves showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Graves throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Graves tries to score a power double leg takedown but Tszyu sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Graves somewhat.
Tszyu uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Graves.
Decent striking displayed by Tszyu there.
Tszyu checks a low kick from Graves.
Tszyu lands with a nice body punch.
Graves uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Tszyu.
Tszyu misses with an uppercut.
Graves tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Tszyu paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Tszyu scores with a shot to the body.
Graves closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Tszyu misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Tszyu dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Graves slips a straight right by Tszyu.
The fighters circling - Tszyu throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Tszyu throws out a loose jab but Graves uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Graves moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Graves misses with a straight right.
Graves delivers a nice body kick.
Graves takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

Graves closes the distance and clinches.
Graves goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Graves gets through Tszyu's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Graves has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Graves misses with a hook from the clinch.
Tszyu looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Graves lands a body shot.
Graves is leaning against Tszyu and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Graves presses Tszyu against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Tszyu prevents the takedown attempt.
Graves swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Graves lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Gustav Graves is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Graves lands with a light punch inside.
Tszyu is looking to break free of the clinch but Graves has double underhooks.

Tszyu escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Graves misses with a straight right.
Graves throws a hook but Tszyu blocks it.
Tszyu slips a jab from Graves.
Kostya Tszyu has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tszyu listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Tszyu misses the shot to the body.

Graves clinches up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tszyu tries to circle away but Graves has him pinned against the cage.
Tszyu lands a nice shot to the body.
Tszyu tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Tszyu leaning against his opponent.
Tszyu is trying to force a seperation but Graves has the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Tszyu can't find room to land a body shot as Graves controls the action.
Graves lands with a right to the head.
Tszyu goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Graves keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Tszyu's efforts to push away.
Graves fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Tszyu tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Graves's elbow.
Graves prevents a body shot from Tszyu.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kostya Tszyu showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Graves 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 Cecil Peabody scores the fight 28:29
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 28:29
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gustav Graves!