PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Cross Odenkirk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nikoli Popov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nikoli Popov has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Cross Odenkirk's chin.

Odenkirk
vs
Popov

185 cm
23
215 lbs
2 - 3 - 1

190 cm
27
214 lbs
6 - 5 - 2

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

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 2 - 3 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Cross Odenkirk!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 2, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nikoli Popov!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Dmitry Maklakov and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No joy there for Odenkirk, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Odenkirk misses with a double jab.
Odenkirk tries to close the distance and clinch but Popov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Nice body punch from Odenkirk.
Odenkirk misses with a series of wild punches.
Some wild striking there from Odenkirk.
Odenkirk throws a series of punches but Popov avoids them all with ease.
Odenkirk throws a looping overhand right but Popov ducks down to avoid it.
Odenkirk throws a series of punches but Popov avoids them all with ease.
A combination from Odenkirk does no damage.
Odenkirk misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Odenkirk tries to bum rush Popov with a series of wild strikes but Popov uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Popov keeps the fight on the outside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Odenkirk throws a head kick that misses.
Odenkirk tries to land a front kick but Popov steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Odenkirk swinging wildly here.
Cross Odenkirk seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Odenkirk is breathing heavily.

Popov has Odenkirk up against the cage in a clinch.
Popov landing knees to the body.
Popov stalls.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Popov.
Popov on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Odenkirk takes a knee right on the jaw!
Popov landing knees to the head.
Popov connects with a nasty looking knee right to Odenkirk's face.
Popov misses with a knee to the head.
Popov tries a knee to the head but Odenkirk blocks it.
Odenkirk being controlled against the cage.
Popov lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Popov misses with a knee strike.
Odenkirk takes a knee right on the jaw!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Odenkirk takes an elbow to the temple.
Popov unloads a knee to the mid-section. Odenkirk lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Popov with a knee to the head.
Odenkirk throws a head punch that misses.
Popov will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Odenkirk up against the cage.
Popov connects with a knee to the head.
Popov scores with a knee to the head.
Popov misses with a knee to the head.
Odenkirk wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Popov using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Odenkirk has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Odenkirk is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Odenkirk is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Odenkirk tries a body shot but Popov blocks it.
Popov tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Odenkirk swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Odenkirk lands with a left to the head.
Popov lands a knee to the head.
The referee is keeping an eye on Odenkirk - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Odenkirk working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Odenkirk swings wildly with an uppercut but Popov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Odenkirk is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Popov looking to throw knees to the head but Odenkirk is blocking nicely.
Odenkirk softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Odenkirk scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Popov with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Popov tries a knee to the head but Odenkirk blocks it.
Odenkirk is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Popov throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Odenkirk looking to slow down the pace here.
Nice body punch from Odenkirk.
Popov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Odenkirk blocks it with crossed arms.
Odenkirk throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Popov prevents Odenkirk from breaking the clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Popov just misses with a elbow thrown towards Odenkirk's brow.

That's four 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.

Odenkirk escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Odenkirk misses with the combination.
Odenkirk tries a head kick but it misses.
Odenkirk fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Popov fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Odenkirk, pushing him back against the cage.
A head punch on the inside from Odenkirk fails to land.
Popov with a knee to the head.
Popov connects with a nasty looking knee right to Odenkirk's face.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Odenkirk.
Popov using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Odenkirk has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Popov is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Popov throws a knee to the head but misses.
Odenkirk taking a breather.
Odenkirk lands a left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nikoli Popov dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Odenkirk throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Odenkirk looks for the body kick but Popov saw that one coming.
A telegraphed right hand from Odenkirk misses the target.
Popov closes the distance but Odenkirk moves to the side
and Odenkirk counters with a one-two to the body.
Popov moves in looking to clinch but Odenkirk pushes him off.
Odenkirk misses with a wild combination.
Popov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Odenkirk.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Odenkirk looks to clinch

and Popov counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Popov.
Popov looking to throw knees to the head but Odenkirk is blocking nicely.
Popov creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Odenkirk looking to stall.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Popov tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Popov tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Odenkirk lands a nice uppercut.
Popov scores with a knee to the head.
Odenkirk is looking to control Popov's arms but Popov gets an underhook and turns him. Now Odenkirk has his back to the cage.
Popov connects with a knee to the head.
Odenkirk blocks an elbow strike from Popov.
Odenkirk tries to circle away but Popov has him pinned against the cage.
Odenkirk has a couple of punches blocked by Popov.
A nice right hand lands inside from Odenkirk.
Popov with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Odenkirk working hard to break the clinch.
Odenkirk looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Popov looking to throw knees to the head but Odenkirk is blocking nicely.
Odenkirk lands with a right to the head.
Odenkirk is looking to control Popov's arms but Popov gets an underhook and turns him. Now Odenkirk has his back to the cage.
Popov letting Odenkirk take a breather here.
Odenkirk is leaning against Popov and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Popov looking to throw knees to the head but Odenkirk is blocking nicely.
Popov letting Odenkirk take a breather here.
Odenkirk wants to break free but Popov has control.

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.
Odenkirk wants to stall.
Maybe Odenkirk would be better served going for some more strikes rather than trying to control so much.
Odenkirk slows down the pace here.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Cross Odenkirk.
Odenkirk wants to clinch but Popov slips to the side
and Popov counters with a thumping low kick.

Popov rushes Odenkirk and presses him up against the cage.
Popov blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Popov tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Popov lands a nice knee to the body.
Popov with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Odenkirk lands a body shot.
Odenkirk tries to break free but Popov pushes him back against the cage.
Odenkirk lands a hook that snaps the head of Popov backwards.
Odenkirk is trying to break the clinch but Popov has him pressed against the cage.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Odenkirk.
Odenkirk takes a knee right on the jaw!
Popov keeps control of Odenkirk as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Odenkirk is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Popov is keeping busy.
Popov utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Popov has Odenkirk pressed against the cage, preventing Odenkirk from circling away and getting back to striking at range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Odenkirk lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Popov lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Popov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Odenkirk blocks it with crossed arms.
Odenkirk is trying to break the clinch but Popov is controlling him.
Popov keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Odenkirk's efforts to push away.
Odenkirk throws a punch but it's blocked by Popov.
Popov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Odenkirk as Popov tries to tie him up.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Odenkirk creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Popov misses with a knee strike.
Good body shot from Odenkirk.
Odenkirk wants to get back to striking at distance but Popov won't allow it.
Odenkirk is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Popov throws a knee to the head but misses.
Odenkirk throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Odenkirk wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Popov lands a damaging elbow.
Odenkirk lands with a right to the head.
Popov lands an elbow just above Odenkirk 's eye.
Odenkirk lands a right hand.

That's four 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.

Odenkirk breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Popov tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Odenkirk paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Popov darts in trying to clinch
and Odenkirk counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Popov checks a leg kick nicely.
Popov showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Odenkirk.
Odenkirk swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Popov counters with a nice uppercut.
Odenkirk throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Popov sees it coming and avoids it easily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Odenkirk throws a jab when Popov was well out of range.
Popov stuns Odenkirk with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Popov tries to close the distance and clinch up but Odenkirk swats him away and circles back towards the center.
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 Cross Odenkirk will probably get the nod.
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. This is the final round!

Odenkirk pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Cross Odenkirk is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Popov has taken the fight to the clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Popov with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Good body shot from Odenkirk.
Odenkirk has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Odenkirk's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
No joy there for Odenkirk, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Odenkirk misses with a double jab

and Popov counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Popov.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Odenkirk as Popov tries to tie him up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Odenkirk takes an elbow to the forehead.
The referee is keeping an eye on Popov - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Odenkirk wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Popov has him pressed against the cage.
Odenkirk takes a knee right on the jaw!
A knee to the head by Popov.
Popov is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Odenkirk is keeping busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A right hand to the body from Odenkirk.
Popov tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Odenkirk working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Odenkirk blocks the elbow strike.
Popov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Odenkirk blocks it with crossed arms.
Odenkirk is trying to break free.
Popov throws a knee to the head but misses.
Odenkirk scores with a shoulder strike.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Odenkirk.
Odenkirk is pushing Popov up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
A nice right hand lands inside from Odenkirk.
A nice right hand lands inside from Odenkirk.
Popov looking to throw knees to the head but Odenkirk is blocking nicely.
Odenkirk wants to get back to striking at distance but Popov won't allow it.
A short left from Odenkirk.
Come on Odenkirk - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Odenkirk has had enough of the clinch but Popov keeps him there for the moment.
Popov is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Odenkirk is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Popov is keeping busy.

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.
Odenkirk lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Popov throws a knee to the head but misses.
Odenkirk scores with a shot to the side of Popov's head.
A short right from Odenkirk.

Odenkirk breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Odenkirk tries to clinch but Popov moves away

and Popov moves into the clinch.

Odenkirk manages to break the clinch.
Popov is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Odenkirk.

Popov closes the distance and clinches.
Odenkirk tries to break the clinch but Popov is controlling the position.
Popov landing knees to the head.

Odenkirk breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Odenkirk throws a left and a right that both miss
and Popov counters with a two punch combo.
Popov ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Odenkirk misses with a straight right.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Odenkirk throws a combination that misses
and Popov counters with a one-two to the body.
Odenkirk goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

Popov instigates a clinch.
Popov lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Popov prevents a body shot from Odenkirk.
Popov misses with an elbow strike.
Popov tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

Odenkirk manages to break the clinch.
Odenkirk lunges at Popov with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Popov's hand.
Odenkirk clinches but Popov breaks the clinch

and Popov counters by clinching up.
Odenkirk misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Popov throws a knee to the head but misses.
Odenkirk lands with a light punch inside.

Odenkirk's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Popov uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Odenkirk.

Odenkirk forces Popov back against the cage and clinches.
Popov stalling in the clinch.
Odenkirk creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Odenkirk lands with a short shot to the head.
Popov throws an elbow but it misses.
Odenkirk working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
A nice left hand lands by Odenkirk.
A short right from Odenkirk on the inside.
Popov swings wildly with an uppercut but Odenkirk uses good head movement to avoid it.
Popov stalling in the clinch but Odenkirk improves position.
Odenkirk is trying to break free.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Odenkirk is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Popov has Odenkirk pressed against the cage, preventing Odenkirk from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Odenkirk lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Popov.
Popov throws a knee to the head but misses.
Nikoli Popov seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Popov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Odenkirk blocks it with crossed arms.
Odenkirk lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Nikoli Popov.
I think Popov has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 for Nikoli Popov!
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight for Nikoli Popov!
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight for Nikoli Popov!

Nikoli Popov wins by unanimous decision!