PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tommy Vice (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nikolay Baskov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Baskov has chosen Nikolay Baskov - You are far from me as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Vice
vs
Baskov

169 cm
24
215 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

189 cm
21
223 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Good kicks
Good gas tank

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 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Tommy Vice!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Nikolay Baskov!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Roosa Järviläinen and Tarja Halkonen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Baskov throws a jab when Vice was well out of range.

Vice shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Vice showed some decent athleticism there.
Baskov holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
Vice wants to take a breather but Baskov is having none of it.
Still in half guard, Vice seems content to control.
Baskov avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Vice.
Vice seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Baskov is staying active underneath Vice, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baskov wants to control but Vice is keeping busy.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Vice tries to close the distance and clinch but Baskov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Baskov moves into the clinch.
Vice is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Baskov displaying some good clinch control by pressing Vice up against the cage.
Baskov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Vice blocks an uppercut.
Baskov softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Baskov misses with the head strike.
Vice blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Vice changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Baskov fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Vice shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Baskov sprawls well. Baskov wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Vice gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tommy Vice. That's going to take a lot out of 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.
Baskov defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Vice.
Baskov leaves Vice with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Baskov clinches up against the cage.

Vice gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Baskov controlling the position.
Vice wants to control from the top but Baskov keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vice postures up in Baskov's guard and throws a big left but Baskov blocks it.
Baskov keeping moving, preventing Vice from controlling successfully.
Vice stopping the sweep attempt from Baskov.
Baskov pulls Vice in to control the position.
Vice trying to control but Baskov is working from the bottom.
Vice postures up in Baskov's guard and throws a big left but Baskov blocks it.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Vice shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Baskov is trying to defend but Vice finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vice wants to lay and pray for a moment but Baskov keeps working.
Vice has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Vice is taking a breather. Baskov 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.
Vice trying to control from half guard but Baskov is working away.
Vice is really struggling to control Baskov but he's trying to hold on to the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Vice drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Vice wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Baskov, who protects the arm well.
Vice is staying tight to Baskov's torso, preventing him from escaping.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Tommy Vice just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Vice closes the distance looking to clinch
and Baskov counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Vice misses with a takedown attempt
and Baskov counters with a leg kick.
Vice doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Vice takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vice wants to clinch.

Baskov fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Vice, pushing him back against the cage.
Vice is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Baskov pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tommy Vice. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Baskov lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
A hook to the body from Baskov.
Vice is trying to drag Baskov to the mat but Baskov just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
A head punch on the inside from Baskov fails to land.

Vice is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Baskov can't fight it off and eventually Vice manages to take the fight to the floor. Baskov looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Baskov trying to keep a closed guard but Vice is proving a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baskov keeping moving, preventing Vice from controlling successfully.
Baskov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vice sitting in guard here, content to control.
Vice postures up.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Vice misses with a takedown attempt
and Baskov makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Baskov closes the distance but Vice moves to the side

and Vice counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Baskov's guard now.
Baskov keeping moving, preventing Vice from controlling successfully.
Vice trying to move into half guard but instead Baskov has managed to sweep!
Vice wants to sweep but no luck.
Vice seems keen to control Baskov's posture.
Vice might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vice is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Baskov controls from within his opponent's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Tommy Vice will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Vice shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Vice was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Baskov tries to hold on but Vice pushes him away.
Vice trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Vice has control of Baskov's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Baskov regains control of the situation pretty easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Vice tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baskov avoids a series of strikes thrown by Vice.
Vice lands a heavy elbow.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Vice tries to control but Baskov wriggling away.
Vice controlling the pace for now.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Tommy Vice just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Vice blocks a head kick by Baskov.

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.

Vice scores with a takedown into Baskov's guard.
Nikolay Baskov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Vice trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Vice trying to control but Baskov is working from the bottom.
Vice wants to pass the guard but Baskov is keeping the position.
Baskov utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Baskov is on top in guard.
Vice pulls Baskov in to control the position.
Baskov wants to control from the top but Vice keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vice wants to sweep but no luck.
Vice is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Baskov wants to control from the top but Vice keeps moving.
Baskov is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Vice pulls Baskov in to control the position.
Baskov advances position into side control!
You can see the frustration on Vice's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

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.
Vice is looking to reverse the position.
Vice stuck in half guard on the bottom here.
Vice struggling a bit here.
Vice is looking for a sweep.
Vice can't do much from the bottom here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Vice is looking for a sweep.
Tommy Vice is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Vice manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tommy Vice showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Vice, 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tommy Vice!