PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Cosmos Ivanov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vasgen Umarov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cosmos Ivanov is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Ivanov
vs
Umarov

189 cm
23
265 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

175 cm
19
228 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight 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, Cosmos Ivanov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Vasgen Umarov!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Sergei Dronov and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Umarov takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

Ivanov lands a left and a right that sends Umarov crashing to the canvas! Ivanov dives into mount looking to finish!

It looks like Vasgen Umarov has been cut.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ivanov has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Umarov's face.
Ivanov 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.
Ivanov controlling from the full mount.
Ivanov wants to control the pace but Umarov is squirming around nicely.
Ivanov controlling from mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ivanov is standing up, even though he is in mount.
Ivanov could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Nice takedown defense from Umarov. No joy for Ivanov on that attempt.
Ivanov takes a swing at Umarov's ribcage but misses.
Nice jab there from Ivanov.
Ivanov scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

Ivanov gets a takedown into half guard.
Ivanov is taking a breather. Umarov 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Umarov is refusing to be controlled, as Ivanov sits in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Ivanov trying to control but he's not successful this time.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Ivanov controlling the position easily from mount.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ivanov tries to control but Umarov wriggling away.

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.
Umarov bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Umarov throwing strikes from guard but Ivanov blocks nicely.
Umarov is looking to work some ground and pound but Ivanov has wrist control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Umarov is looking to work some ground and pound but Ivanov has wrist control.
Ivanov preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Umarov cracks Ivanov with a solid left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cosmos Ivanov dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Vasgen Umarov's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Umarov shoots in but Ivanov avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Ivanov scores with a decent looking hook.
Ivanov swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Ivanov misses with the combination.
Ivanov has his takedown stuffed

and Umarov counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Umarov.
Umarov won't allow Ivanov to sweep him here.
Ivanov is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Ivanov will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Umarov connects with a couple of short punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Umarov postures up and lands a big shot to Ivanov's brow.
Umarov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Ivanov manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Ivanov trying to control but Umarov is having none of it.
Ivanov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Ivanov'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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov wants to get back to his feet but Umarov is holding on tight.
Ivanov trying to control but he's not successful this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Umarov is trying to escape the mount.
Umarov wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Ivanov.

Ivanov get's back to his feet.
Ivanov tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Umarov was well out of range. Poor timing from Ivanov.

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.
Ivanov cracks a nice hook into Umarov's ribs.
Cosmos Ivanov is winning the standup battle so far.
Ivanov misses with a low kick as Umarov jumps back.
Umarov misses with a takedown attempt
and Ivanov counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Ivanov throws a front kick aimed at Umarov's knee but Umarov avoids it well.

Umarov shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Ivanov napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Ivanov is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Umarov is controlling him well.

Umarov goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Ivanov rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Umarov's guard! Nice work there by Ivanov!
Ivanov advances position into side control!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Vasgen Umarov will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Vasgen Umarov's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Umarov on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Ivanov. Ivanov obviously looking to wear him down.
Ivanov is looking to wear down Umarov with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Ivanov jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Ivanov works the jab nicely.
Ivanov dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Umarov tries to move into range but Ivanov moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.

That has opened up Vasgen Umarov's cut even more.
Ivanov shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Umarov counters with a takedown into side control.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ivanov is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Umarov working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ivanov wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Ivanov sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Umarov is trying to control the action in half guard but Ivanov is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Ivanov is trying to stand up here but Umarov is controlling him well.
Umarov misses with a head shot. Ivanov uses the momentum to regain guard.
Ivanov seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Umarov is in close to Ivanov's body, working some short punches and elbows.

Ivanov scrambles and gets back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

Umarov throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Ivanov was covering up waiting for the punch and Umarov finishes the takedown easily into guard.

Umarov postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Ivanov is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Umarov, into his guard.

Umarov is working an open guard so Ivanov takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Umarov with a poor takedown
and Ivanov connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
A decent looking cross lands there for Ivanov.
A combination from Ivanov does no damage.
Ivanov fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Umarov checks it well.
Umarov is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Ivanov.
Ivanov ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Cosmos Ivanov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A nice leg kick lands there from Ivanov.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov is looking to score with low kicks.
Ivanov stuns Umarov with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Ivanov lands with a nice combination. Umarov backs away looking to recover.
Ivanov is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.

Umarov closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Ivanov quickly recovers to half guard.
Umarov looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Ivanov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Umarov is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Umarov frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ivanov's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Ivanov is bucking up trying to escape but Umarov cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Cosmos Ivanov.
I think Ivanov has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Cosmos Ivanov!