PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Kix Rus (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kostya Tszyu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tszyu has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. Kostya Tszyu struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 147.2lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Kix Rus has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Rus
vs
Tszyu

186 cm
23
155 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

175 cm
22
161 lbs
10 - 5 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
World class MT
Good chin

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kix Rus!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kostya Tszyu!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Robert Twigg and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tszyu tries to clinch up.

Tszyu gets a clinch.
Rus misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tszyu.
Rus really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Rus looking to throw knees to the head but Tszyu is blocking nicely.
A body shot lands from Tszyu.
Rus with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Rus misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tszyu.
Tszyu on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Tszyu swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Knees to the body from Rus.
Tszyu looks gassed!
Rus misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tszyu.
Rus tries to land a knee to the head but Tszyu blocks with his arms.
Rus using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Tszyu has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Tszyu avoiding damage as Rus throws knees to the body.
Rus tries to land a knee to the head but Tszyu blocks with his arms.
Tszyu lands a hook to the side of the head.
Tszyu throws a punch but it's blocked by Rus.
Rus looking to throw knees to the head but Tszyu is blocking nicely.
Rus is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tszyu is defending well for now.
Rus is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tszyu is defending well for now.
Tszyu lands a right hand that snaps the head of Rus backwards.
Tszyu avoiding damage as Rus throws knees to the body.
Tszyu lands with a light punch inside.
Rus tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Rus tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Tszyu avoids it.
Rus lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Rus using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tszyu managing to block the knees to the body from Rus.
Tszyu on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Tszyu lands a left hand.
Rus misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tszyu.
Rus blocking some punches.
Tszyu pushes Rus back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Rus using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Tszyu has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Tszyu managing to block the knees to the body from Rus.
Rus misses with a knee strike.
Tszyu lands a left hand.
Tszyu lands a right hand.
Tszyu pressing his opponent against the cage.
Tszyu softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Tszyu digs a right hand underneath Rus's ribcage. Rus let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Tszyu tries to work over Rus's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Rus tries a knee to the head but Tszyu blocks it.
Rus using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Tszyu has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Rus is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tszyu is defending well for now.
Tszyu managing to block the knees to the body from Rus.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Rus misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tszyu.
Rus scores with a knee to the head.
Tszyu digs a right hand underneath Rus's ribcage. Rus let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Rus utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Rus misses with a knee strike.
Tszyu avoiding damage.
Tszyu lands a left hand that snaps the head of Rus backwards.
Rus misses with a knee strike.
Rus throws a knee to the head but misses.
Tszyu is trying to maintain a safe position but Rus gets an underhook and turns Tszyu into the cage.
Rus throws a knee to the head but misses.
Rus tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Rus misses with a knee to the head.
Rus trying to land knees to the body.
Rus tries a knee to the head but Tszyu blocks it.
Still in the clinch, Tszyu scores with a nice short uppercut.
Tszyu avoiding damage as Rus throws knees to the body.
A short right from Tszyu on the inside.
Rus trying to land knees to the body.
Tszyu pushes Rus back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rus misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tszyu.
Rus being controlled against the cage.
Tszyu throws a punch but it's blocked by Rus.
Tszyu lands with a right to the head.
Rus misses with a knee to the head.
Tszyu blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Rus tries to land knees in the clinch but Tszyu avoids the damage to the body.
Rus landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Tszyu taking a breather.
Rus throws a knee to the head but misses.
Tszyu lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Rus using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Tszyu has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Rus misses with a knee strike.
Tszyu misses with some punches.
Rus with an attempt at a knee that misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Tszyu.
A knee to the head by Rus.
Come on Tszyu - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Rus tries to land a knee to the head but Tszyu blocks with his arms.

That's four 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.
Tszyu doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Tszyu avoiding damage as Rus throws knees to the body.
Tszyu on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Tszyu on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Rus trying to land knees to the body.
Rus using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Tszyu has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Rus tries to land a knee to the head but Tszyu blocks with his arms.
Tszyu lands a right hand.
Rus tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Tszyu avoids it.
Tszyu lands a right hand that snaps the head of Rus backwards.
Tszyu digs a right hand underneath Rus's ribcage. Rus let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Rus looking to throw knees to the head but Tszyu is blocking nicely.
Rus misses with a knee strike.
Knees in the clinch landing for Rus.
Tszyu lands with a short shot to the head.
Tszyu lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Rus tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Tszyu avoids it.
Tszyu is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Rus is keeping busy.
Tszyu has a couple of punches blocked by Rus.
Rus unloads a knee to the mid-section. Tszyu lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Tszyu on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kostya Tszyu dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Tszyu has closed the distance and engaged Rus in a clinch.
Rus tries to land a knee to the head but Tszyu blocks with his arms.
Tszyu blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Rus with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Tszyu stalls.
Rus trying to land knees to the body.
Rus landing knees to the body.
Rus with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Rus tries to land a knee to the head but Tszyu blocks with his arms.
Rus is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tszyu is defending well for now.
Rus throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Tszyu blocks it with crossed arms.
Rus misses with a knee to the head.
A short left from Tszyu.
Rus landing some nice looking knees to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rus tries a knee to the head but Tszyu blocks it.
Rus tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Rus tries to land knees in the clinch but Tszyu avoids the damage to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rus tries a knee to the head but Tszyu blocks it.
Tszyu lands an uppercut.
Tszyu has a couple of punches blocked by Rus.
Tszyu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tszyu takes a knee to the side of the body.
Tszyu takes a knee right on the jaw!
Rus is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tszyu is defending well for now.
Rus lands a good knee to the midsection. Tszyu won't want to take too many of those.
Rus trying to land knees to the body.
Tszyu holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Rus misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tszyu.
Rus throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Tszyu blocks it with crossed arms.
Tszyu lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Tszyu tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Rus tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Tszyu avoids it.
Tszyu taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Tszyu managing to block the knees to the body from Rus.
Tszyu trying to control the position but instead, Rus has worked for underhooks and has pushed Tszyu into the cage.
Rus landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Rus tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Tszyu blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Tszyu on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Tszyu tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Rus with a knee to the head.
Rus using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Tszyu has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Tszyu displaying some good clinch control by pressing Rus up against the cage.
Rus misses with a knee strike.
Rus using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Tszyu has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Tszyu scores with a shot to the side of Rus's head.
Rus tries to land a knee to the head but Tszyu blocks with his arms.
Rus tries to land knees in the clinch but Tszyu avoids the damage to the body.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Tszyu takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Rus misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Tszyu.
Rus putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Tszyu in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Rus trying to land knees to the body.
Rus using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Tszyu has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Rus looking to throw knees to the head but Tszyu is blocking nicely.
A short right from Tszyu.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Tszyu.
Tszyu takes a knee right on the jaw!
Rus misses with a knee to the head.
Tszyu lands an uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tszyu is working Rus over against the cage.
Tszyu misses with a punch on the inside.
Tszyu misses with the head strike.
Rus is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Rus.
Tszyu throws a head punch that misses.
Rus landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Rus tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Tszyu avoids it.
Rus connects with a nasty looking knee right to Tszyu's face.
Tszyu avoiding damage as Rus throws knees to the body.
Rus misses with a knee to the head.
Rus throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Tszyu blocks it with crossed arms.
Tszyu managing to block the knees to the body from Rus.
A right hand to the body from Tszyu.
Rus with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
A nice left hand lands by Tszyu.
Tszyu on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A hook to the body from Tszyu.
Rus throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Tszyu blocks it with crossed arms.
Rus is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tszyu is defending well for now.
Tszyu lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Rus tries to land knees in the clinch but Tszyu avoids the damage to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Tszyu working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Rus lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
A nice right hand lands inside from Tszyu.
Rus tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Tszyu lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Rus throws a knee to the head but misses.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Tszyu.
Still in the clinch, Tszyu scores with a nice short uppercut.
Rus missing with knees to the body.
Knees to the body from Rus.
Rus misses with a knee to the head.
A nice left hand lands by Tszyu.
Rus throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Tszyu blocks it with crossed arms.
Still in the clinch, Tszyu scores with a nice short uppercut.
Tszyu blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Rus is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Tszyu is defending well for now.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Tszyu's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Rus misses with a knee to the head.
Tszyu lands a shot to the body.
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 Kix Rus will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Rus misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Rus tries a head kick but it misses.
No joy there for Tszyu, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A good leg kick by Rus.
Rus misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Rus misses with an attempted mid kick.
Rus thumps Tszyu with a low kick.
Rus throws a head kick but Tszyu moves out of range.
Tszyu takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Rus lands a high kick!
Rus lands a head kick!
Rus tries a head kick but it misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rus throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A head kick misses from Rus.
Rus thuds his shin into the meat of Tszyu's side.
Kostya Tszyu is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rus thows a body kick. Tszyu tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Rus pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Rus scores with a push kick.
Tszyu takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tszyu blocks a head kick by Rus.
Kix Rus seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rus throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Rus scores with a leg kick.
Tszyu keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Rus lands a front kick.
Rus throws a leg kick which misses Tszyu's front leg but catches the back leg as Tszyu tries to avoid it.
Tszyu blocks a head kick by Rus.
Tszyu on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Rus connects with a high kick.
Rus throws a head kick that misses.
Rus pulls out of a head kick attempt.
A solid leg kick lands there for Rus.
Rus tries a head kick but it misses.
Tszyu takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Rus tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Tszyu blocks a leg kick.
Rus throws a low kick but Tszyu avoids it.
Rus connects with a high kick.
Rus tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rus fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Tszyu.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tszyu takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Tszyu stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Rus.
Rus throws a body kick that misses.
Rus throws a sloppy head kick and Tszyu moves out of range easily.
Rus lands a front kick.
Rus scores with a nice body kick.
Rus throws a body kick that misses.
Rus lands a nice looking kick to the body. Tszyu takes a step back to recover.
Rus lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Rus lands a head kick!
Rus tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rus lands with a nice body kick.
Rus throws a nice inside leg kick.
Rus goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Rus tries a head kick but it misses.
Rus buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Tszyu's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Rus bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tszyu blocks a head kick by Rus.
Rus tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rus throws a head kick but Tszyu moves out of range.
Rus throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Rus dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Tszyu. That did some damage!
Rus tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rus throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Tszyu blocks a head kick by Rus.
Rus feints and then cracks Tszyu's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Tszyu down.
Rus throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A head kick from Rus lands but Tszyu takes it in his stride.
Rus throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Tszyu avoids the head kick by Rus.
Rus tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Tszyu blocks the body kick.
Rus lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Rus throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Tszyu avoids the head kick by Rus.
A head kick misses from Rus.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rus tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rus fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Tszyu checks it well.
Rus thows a body kick. Tszyu tries to catch it but that hurt him.
Tszyu has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Rus.
Rus misses with a head kick.
Rus throws a head kick but Tszyu moves out of range.
Rus throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Rus tries to land a front kick but Tszyu steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Rus misses with a kick to the body.
Rus throws a sloppy head kick and Tszyu moves out of range easily.
Tszyu tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Rus lets loose with a powerful body kick. Tszyu will feel that in the morning.
Rus pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Rus keeps Tszyu at a distance using the push kick.
Tszyu tries to clinch there but Rus circles away.
Rus lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Rus lands a head kick!
Rus lands a head kick. Tszyu smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Rus thumps Tszyu with a low kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kix Rus showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Rus 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 George Francis scores the fight 29:28
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kix Rus!