PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Sigvard Aurelius (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mikel Skiel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Aurelius might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Jussi Björling - Una Furtiva Lagrima . Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Aurelius
vs
Skiel

156 cm
23
130 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

155 cm
25
140 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

Good wrestler
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sigvard Aurelius!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Mikel Skiel!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Aurelius fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Skiel sprawls well initially but Aurelius persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Skiel wants to get back to full guard.
Skiel wants to control but Aurelius is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Aurelius content to control rather than advance.
Skiel trying to get back to full guard but Aurelius takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
Skiel is desperately trying to improve his position but Aurelius has a good base and remains in mount.
Skiel is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Skiel wants to control but Aurelius is having none of it.
Aurelius controlling the pace for now.

That's two 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.
Skiel tries to lock up and control but Aurelius gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Skiel is looking to improve his position but Aurelius isn't that keen on the idea.
Aurelius avoids the attempt from Skiel to control.
Skiel is trying to escape the mount.
Skiel wants to control but Aurelius is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aurelius landing punches.
Skiel taking shots to the head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Aurelius controlling the pace for now.
Aurelius misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Skiel really trying hard to get back to half guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aurelius is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Skiel can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Aurelius controlling the position easily from mount.
Skiel is in a horrible position here. Aurelius smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sigvard Aurelius dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Skiel shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Aurelius counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Skiel's guard now.
Aurelius sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Skiel lands an upkick as Aurelius stands over him.

Skiel has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Aurelius is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for Skiel.
Aurelius controls the position from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Skiel tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Aurelius in side control lands a decent elbow.

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.
Aurelius trying to control the action but Skiel is working from the bottom.
Aurelius controls the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Sigvard Aurelius.
Skiel tries for a takedown but Aurelius circles away easily

and Aurelius counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Aurelius looking to pass the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aurelius is standing up over Skiel. Skiel looks to escape but Aurelius dives into side control.
Skiel is looking to reverse the position.
Aurelius controls the position from side control.
Skiel is looking for a sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Aurelius controlling from side mount.
Aurelius working away.
Aurelius happy to just control the position for now.
Aurelius wants to control but Skiel is keeping him busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Skiel darts in trying to clinch
and Aurelius counters with a stiff right hand.

It looks like Mikel Skiel has been cut.
Aurelius jabs Skiel right on the nose. Skiel blinks but takes it well.
Skiel has his takedown stuffed
and Aurelius counters with a lovely shot to the body.

Aurelius closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Aurelius creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Skiel sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Skiel is being controlled here.
Skiel takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Sigvard Aurelius.
Skiel misses with a low kick.
Skiel misses with a takedown

and Aurelius counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Aurelius.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aurelius forces his way into half guard.
Aurelius works his way into full mount!
Skiel is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Aurelius takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Sigvard Aurelius is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Aurelius prevents Skiel from getting the reversal.
Aurelius sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aurelius won't let Skiel get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Skiel tries to hold on but Aurelius pushes him away.
Aurelius controlling the pace for now.
Aurelius seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Skiel for as long as he can get away with.

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.
Skiel is wriggling around trying to escape.
Aurelius controlling the position easily from mount.
Aurelius's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sigvard Aurelius showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Aurelius has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:26
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:26
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sigvard Aurelius!