PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Igor Iridium (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andrey Plyako (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Iridium
vs
Plyako

183 cm
18
175 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

176 cm
19
170 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Decent elbows
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Igor Iridium!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Andrey Plyako!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Plyako blocks a jab.
Plyako shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Iridium pinned against the cage. Iridium gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Iridium rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Plyako moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Plyako has managed to clinch.

Iridium breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Plyako rushes Iridium and presses him up against the cage.
Iridium keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Plyako's efforts to push away.
Iridium lands a hook to the side of the head.

Plyako breaks the clinch.
Plyako feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Iridium's calf.
Iridium throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Plyako.
Iridium throws a jab but it's blocked by Plyako.
Plyako lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Plyako showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Iridium.
Igor Iridium seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Plyako pushes Iridium up against the cage in a clinch.
Plyako connects with a nasty looking knee right to Iridium's face.
Iridium lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Plyako blocks a body shot from Iridium.
Plyako taking a breather.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Iridium.
Iridium looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Plyako has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Iridium is trying to break the clinch but Plyako has him pressed against the cage.
Plyako is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Plyako is looking to break free of the clinch but Iridium has double underhooks.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Iridium.

Iridium pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Igor Iridium is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The fight stays on the outside here - Plyako looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Plyako turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Iridium swinging wildly here.
Iridium takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Iridium circles away from the clinch attempt.
Iridium looks to land a combination but Plyako avoids it well.
Plyako slips a jab from Iridium.
Iridium throws a nice looking combination but Plyako bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's two 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.
Plyako tries to bum rush Iridium with a series of wild strikes but Iridium uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Iridium misses with a jab, cross combination.
Iridium takes a swing at Plyako's ribcage but misses.

Plyako is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Iridium's half guard.
Iridium is trying to stand up here but Plyako is controlling him well.
Plyako slows the pace down in half guard.
Iridium is trying to stand back up but Plyako is controlling him
Plyako is looking to take a break and control but Iridium is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Iridium looks like he's trying to stand up.
Iridium is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Andrey Plyako wasn't active enough on the ground.
Iridium works over Plyako's head and body with a nice combination.
Iridium takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Iridium avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
The fight stays on the outside here - Plyako looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Iridium on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Plyako. Plyako obviously looking to wear him down.
Plyako uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Iridium.

Plyako shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Iridium on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Iridium tries to get out of the position.

Plyako is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Iridium to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Iridium shrugs it off.

Plyako is standing up, even though he is in mount.
Plyako shoots in looking for a takedown. Iridium tries to sprawl out of it but Plyako keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Iridium manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Plyako fails in his attempt to clinch.
Plyako tries to move into range but Iridium moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Plyako showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Iridium.
Iridium swings for the body but Plyako moves out of range.

Plyako fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Iridium sprawls well initially but Plyako persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Iridium is looking to escape.
Plyako thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Iridium pushes Plyako off looking to stand but Plyako dives back in and keeps control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andrey Plyako 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.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Plyako lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Iridium prevents Plyako from breaking the clinch.
Plyako has had enough of the clinch but Iridium keeps him there for the moment.
Iridium digs a right hand into Plyako's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Plyako's gas tank.
Iridium is trying to force a seperation but Plyako has the dominant position.
Plyako tries for a takedown but Iridium manages to get underhooks.
Plyako throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Iridium blocks it with crossed arms.

Iridium pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Plyako takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Nice cross by Iridium.
Iridium takes a swing at Plyako's ribcage but misses.
Plyako bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Iridium throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Plyako counters with a big head kick but Iridium shrugs it off.
Iridium tries to clinch but Plyako moves out of range.
Plyako is breathing heavily.
Plyako on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Iridium throws a nice looking combination but Plyako bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Plyako tries a head kick but it misses.
Plyako attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Iridium throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Plyako shoots in but no luck this time.
Iridium misses with a combination
and Plyako counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Iridium cracks Plyako with a right hand to the side of the head.
Iridium with a hook.
Iridium steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Plyako. That one must have hurt.
Iridium connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Plyako momentarily.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Iridium, as that shot connected.
Iridium is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Iridium misses with a combination

and Plyako counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Plyako.
Iridium knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Plyako on the ground.
Iridium wants to stand and escape but Plyako is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Plyako thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Iridium is looking to stand up but Plyako isn't so interested in that idea.
Plyako sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Plyako in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Plyako won't allow Iridium to get back to his feet.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Plyako looking to pass the guard.
Plyako prevents Iridium from getting back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Plyako scoring well with a low kick there.
Iridium throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Iridium wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Iridium scores with the left hand. Plyako knows he should have avoided that one.
Plyako walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Some wild striking there from Iridium.
Iridium throws a right and a left that both miss.
Plyako is looking to clinch.
Plyako is looking to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Plyako pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Iridium throws a combination that misses
and Plyako counters with an inside leg kick.
Plyako avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Iridium throws an overhand right that lands on Plyako's shoulder, as Plyako tries to avoid the shot.
Plyako takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Iridium misses with a jab, cross combination.
Plyako keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Plyako fails in his attempt to clinch.
Iridium pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Igor Iridium is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Plyako takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Iridium throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Iridium swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Plyako counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

Plyako has closed the distance and engaged Iridium in a clinch.
Good body shot from Iridium.
Plyako crunches a lovely knee into Iridium's ribcage.
Plyako is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Iridium pulls him back up using the underhooks.
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 Igor Iridium will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. And we move into the final round!

Iridium scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
A combination from Iridium does no damage.
Iridium throws a series of punches but Plyako avoids them all with ease.
Iridium throws a hook to the side of Plyako's head but Plyako sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Iridium throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
A nice inside leg kick there by Plyako. That's going to slow Iridium down.
Iridium keeps the fight on the outside.
Plyako shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Iridium sprawls well. Iridium wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Plyako gets slowly back to his feet.
Iridium misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Plyako counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Plyako feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Iridium's calf.
Plyako throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Plyako.
Plyako takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Iridium misses with a double jab
and Plyako counters with an outside leg kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Iridium swings for the body but Plyako moves out of range.
Iridium lands a body shot.
Iridium fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Iridium tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Plyako was well out of range. Poor timing from Iridium.
Iridium tries to bum rush Plyako with a series of wild strikes but Plyako uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Plyako tries a head kick but it misses.
Iridium tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Plyako paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Plyako takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
A nice combination there by Iridium.
Iridium throws a jab but it's blocked by Plyako.
Iridium throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Plyako fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Iridium.
Iridium tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Plyako was well out of range. Poor timing from Iridium.
Iridium displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Plyako connects with a body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Plyako is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Iridium's half guard.
Plyako is trying to control. Iridium wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Iridium wants to get back to his feet.

Iridium manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Iridium looks to land a right hand but Plyako moved out of range.
Some wild striking there from Iridium.
Iridium misses with a few strikes there.
Plyako scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Iridium ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Iridium displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Plyako looks to land a combination. Iridium sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Plyako staying out of range there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Plyako shoots in but no luck this time.
Igor Iridium has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Andrey Plyako.
Iridium falls off balance throwing a combination
and Plyako counters with a low kick, right behind Iridium 's knee.
Iridium scores with a punch to the head.
Iridium cracks a nice hook into Plyako's ribs.
Iridium rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Plyako moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Plyako shoots in and drives through. Iridium sprawls well.
Iridium misses with the combination.
Iridium thows a body shot but no joy.
Iridium throws a series of strikes that have Plyako backpedaling.

Plyako clinches up against the cage.

Plyako works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Iridium is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Iridium trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Plyako thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Iridium wants to stand and escape but Plyako is having none of it.
Andrey Plyako has got the better of the ground game so far.
Plyako working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Plyako prevents Iridium from getting back to his feet.
Plyako trying to control but Iridium is working from the bottom.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Iridium wants to stand and escape but Plyako is having none of it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Igor Iridium showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Iridium 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 29:28
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Igor Iridium!