PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Matiss Briedis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Niclas Ekman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Niclas Ekman has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Briedis
vs
Ekman

179 cm
22
200 lbs
4 - 4 - 1

193 cm
23
205 lbs
3 - 5 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Solid 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 4 - 4 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Matiss Briedis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Niclas Ekman!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Igor Prikhodko and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ekman misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Nice sprawl there from Briedis as Ekman shoots in.

Briedis drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Briedis fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Briedis is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Ekman's shoulder. That is not cool.
Briedis lands a few punches from side control.
Ekman tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Briedis wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Briedis working away.
Ekman is looking for a sweep.
Briedis is looking to take a break and control but Ekman is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Briedis wants to stand but Ekman is controlling his arm.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Briedis working the head and body with strikes.
Ekman sneaks back into half guard.
Ekman is looking for a sweep. Briedis is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Ekman gets back to full guard.
Briedis looking to pass the guard.

Ekman has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Briedis can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Ekman controls Briedis momentarily but Briedis frees himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ekman keeping moving, preventing Briedis from controlling successfully.

Ekman escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Briedis gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Ekman looks gassed!
Briedis trying to stand up but can't free himself from Ekman's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Briedis accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ekman is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Briedis is aware though and is defending well.
Ekman looking to hit a scissor sweep but Briedis is one step ahead there.
Briedis trying to stand up but can't free himself from Ekman's guard.
Briedis might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Briedis trying to control but Ekman is working from the bottom.
Briedis has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Ekman working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Briedis.

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.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Briedis shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Ekman is trying to control but can't.
Briedis wants to stand but Ekman has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Briedis lands strikes from half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ekman is looking to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matiss Briedis dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Ekman misses with a takedown
and Briedis counters with a straight right hand.
Ekman gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Briedis counters with a single leg into guard. Ekman didn't expect that.
Briedis is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Briedis lands a couple of elbows.
Briedis is looking to work some ground and pound but Ekman has wrist control.
Briedis is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Briedis knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Ekman on the ground.
Briedis wants to pass the guard but Ekman is keeping the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ekman working a defensive guard here.

Ekman had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Briedis defends it easily.
Briedis trying to control the position from guard on top but Ekman is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ekman is trying to control the position but Briedis postures up.
Briedis seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Briedis shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Briedis was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Briedis takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Ekman wants to hold on but Briedis pushes him away.
Briedis controlling the pace for now.
Briedis pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Briedis scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Briedis trying to control but Ekman is having none of it.
Briedis controlling his opponent.
Ekman takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Ekman tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Briedis lands a big shot there that rocks Ekman but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Matiss Briedis overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ekman tries to lock up and control but Briedis gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Briedis looking to control and managing it successfully.
Ekman sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Briedis tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Ekman trying to control from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matiss Briedis dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Briedis rushes Ekman and presses him up against the cage.

Briedis is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Ekman can't fight it off and eventually Briedis manages to take the fight to the floor. Ekman looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Ekman looking to control.
Ekman keeping moving, preventing Briedis from controlling successfully.
Ekman working a defensive guard here.
Briedis stopping the sweep attempt from Ekman.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Briedis got a little sloppy there for a moment and Ekman has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Briedis has managed to get both his arms back between Ekman's legs - danger averted.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ekman tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Ekman not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Briedis thows a big elbow that misses.
Ekman avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Briedis is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Briedis wants to stand but Ekman has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Briedis controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Briedis stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ekman swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Briedis tries for a takedown but Ekman circles away easily

and Ekman decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Briedis's guard.
Ekman trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Briedis wants to stand up but Ekman is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ekman trying to control the position from guard on top but Briedis is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ekman won't allow Briedis to get back to his feet.
Ekman wants to control from the top but Briedis keeps moving.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Ekman closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Briedis to the mat! Briedis manages to get full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ekman seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Ekman trying to control the position from guard on top but Briedis is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Briedis is looking to stand back up but Ekman counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Briedis.
Ekman tries to pass the half guard into mount. Briedis knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Niclas Ekman has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Matiss Briedis is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

And that's the end of the fight!
Niclas Ekman comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Briedis 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 29:28
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matiss Briedis!