PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Mohammad Epoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Moai Burns (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Epoto
vs
Burns

195 cm
24
175 lbs
10 - 1 - 0

180 cm
26
180 lbs
12 - 5 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Good elbows
Powerful

[CBK] Smashwear Clothing
MADE IN GERMANY

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 10 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mohammad Epoto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Moai Burns!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Konstantin Menshow and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Burns misses with an uppercut. Epoto saw that one coming.
Epoto tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Epoto rushes Burns and presses him up against the cage.
Epoto trying to land knees to the body.
Epoto tries to land knees in the clinch but Burns avoids the damage to the body.

Burns breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Epoto moves away from the strike by Burns.
Epoto looks for the body kick but Burns saw that one coming.
Burns looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Epoto.
Epoto lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Epoto misses with a low kick.
Burns moves to clinch but Epoto breaks away
and Epoto counters with a slapping leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Epoto lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Burns looks gassed!
Epoto feints and then cracks Burns's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Burns down.
Epoto thumps Burns with a low kick.
Burns misses with a hook.
Good leg kick by Epoto there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Epoto throws a nice head kick!
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Burns takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
A head kick from Epoto lands but Burns takes it in his stride.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Epoto connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burns takes a kick to the side of the head.
Burns on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Burns's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Epoto throws a nice inside leg kick.

Epoto closes the distance and clinches.
Burns wants to break free but Epoto has control.
Epoto leaning his opponent against the cage.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Epoto for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
Epoto really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Epoto putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Burns in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Epoto landing knees to the body.
Epoto lands a nice knee to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Epoto lands a nice knee to the body.
Epoto working Burns over with knees to the body.
Epoto landing knees to the body.
Epoto leaning his opponent against the cage.
Epoto tries to land knees in the clinch but Burns avoids the damage to the body.
Epoto putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Burns in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Epoto has Burns pushed against the cage.
Epoto landing knees to the head.
Epoto misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Burns.
Epoto unloads a knee to the mid-section. Burns lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Epoto content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Epoto tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Burns avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burns takes a knee right on the jaw!
Epoto landing some nice looking knees to the body.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Epoto misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Burns.
Epoto missing with knees to the body.
Epoto landing knees to the body.
Burns takes a knee to the side of the body.
Epoto is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Epoto landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Burns avoiding damage as Epoto throws knees to the body.
Burns blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Burns avoiding damage as Epoto throws knees to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mohammad Epoto dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Epoto throws a quick inside leg kick.
Epoto pulls out of a head kick attempt.
A thudding body kick lands there by Epoto!
Nice body kick there by Epoto.
Epoto with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Epoto throws a head kick that half lands.
A nice inside leg kick there by Epoto. That's going to slow Burns down.
Burns wants to clinch
and Epoto counters with a nice leg kick.
Burns is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Epoto wants to clinch up but Burns keeps it at a distance.
A nice inside leg kick there by Epoto. That's going to slow Burns down.
Burns fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Epoto manages to avoid it.
Epoto fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Burns.
Epoto lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.

Epoto fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Burns, pushing him back against the cage.
Epoto utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Epoto putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Burns in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Epoto tries to land knees in the clinch but Burns avoids the damage to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Epoto trying to land knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Epoto.
Epoto missing with knees to the body.
Epoto landing knees to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Epoto lands a nice knee to the body.
Epoto is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Burns is defending well for now.
Epoto stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Epoto connects with a knee to the head.
Epoto slowing the pace effectively.
Epoto is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Epoto tries to land knees in the clinch but Burns avoids the damage to the body.
Epoto crunches a lovely knee into Burns's ribcage.
Epoto is stalling here.
Epoto is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Burns is defending well for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Epoto is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Mohammad Epoto has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Burns takes a knee right on the jaw!
Epoto landing knees to the head.
Burns on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Burns manages to break the clinch.
Epoto lands a head kick. Burns smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Burns throws a body punch but Epoto moves out of range.
Burns pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Epoto lands a nice leg kick that just misses Burns's sensitive parts.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Epoto closes the distance and pushes Burns back into the cage.
Burns missing with knees to the body.
Burns on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Epoto with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Burns working aggressively here.
Knees to the body from Epoto.
Epoto trying to land knees to the body.
Epoto is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Burns blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Burns manages to break the clinch.
Burns tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Epoto counters with a good low kick that Burns was not able to check.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mohammad Epoto dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Burns closes the distance but Epoto moves to the side
and Epoto counters with a low kick, right behind Burns 's knee.

Epoto closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Epoto is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Burns can do to turn this around?
Epoto tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Burns avoids it.
Epoto stalls.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Epoto keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Burns's efforts to push away.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Epoto scores with a knee to the head.
Burns looking to stall.
Burns takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Epoto is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Knees in the clinch landing for Epoto.
Epoto unloads a knee to the mid-section. Burns lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Epoto stalling against the cage.
Epoto with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Epoto tries to land a knee to the head but Burns blocks with his arms.
A knee to the head by Epoto.
Epoto putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Burns in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Stalling in the clinch from Epoto.
Epoto with an attempt at a knee that misses.
The referee is keeping an eye on Epoto - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Epoto tries to land a knee to the head but Burns blocks with his arms.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Epoto is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Burns is defending well for now.
Epoto'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.
Burns avoiding damage as Epoto throws knees to the body.
Burns wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Epoto has him pressed against the cage.
Epoto tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Epoto throws a knee to the head but misses.

Burns breaks the clinch.
Epoto avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Epoto tried to score with a low kick but Burns checks it.
Burns throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Epoto.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burns misses with a combination

and Epoto counters by moving into the clinch.
Epoto stalls.
Burns avoiding damage as Epoto throws knees to the body.
Epoto trying to land knees to the body.
Epoto trying to land knees to the body.
Burns stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Burns avoiding damage as Epoto throws knees to the body.
Knees to the body from Epoto.

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.
Epoto unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Epoto leaning his opponent against the cage.
Epoto is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

Burns's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Epoto tries to land a leg kick but Burns saw it coming and moves away.
Moai Burns has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Mohammad Epoto is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Burns keeps the fight on the outside.
Burns swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Epoto counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The fight stays on the outside here - Epoto looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Epoto cracks the inside of Burns's front leg.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mohammad Epoto showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Epoto 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:25
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:25
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mohammad Epoto!