PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Craig Conor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bariga Gerich (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Craig Conor has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Conor
vs
Gerich

172 cm
25
162 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

170 cm
25
130 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Craig Conor!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Bariga Gerich!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Conor rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Gerich counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Gerich throwing strikes but missing.
Conor avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Gerich loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Conor trying to keep a closed guard but Gerich is proving a slippery customer.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Gerich accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Gerich postures up in Conor's guard and throws a big left but Conor blocks it.
Conor is looking to stand up but Gerich isn't so interested in that idea.
Gerich must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Gerich landing some decent shots from guard.
Gerich in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gerich throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Conor works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Gerich postures up in Conor's guard and throws a big left but Conor blocks it.
Gerich loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

Gerich drops back, looking for a kneebar! Conor looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Conor looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Conor!
Gerich is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Conor asserts his dominance and retains side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Gerich is not content to let Conor control the position.
Conor tries to stand but Gerich is controlling his head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Conor trying to control the action but Gerich is working from the bottom.
Conor wants to stand but Gerich has his arm trapped.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Conor wants to control but Gerich is keeping him busy.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Gerich wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bariga Gerich dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Conor slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Gerich lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Gerich takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Gerich misses with a kick to the body.
Conor throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A slapping body kick lands there for Gerich.
Conor throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Conor tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Gerich was well out of range. Poor timing from Conor.
Conor throws a body punch but Gerich moves out of range.
Gerich throws a body kick that misses.
Gerich misses with a head kick.
Gerich cracks the inside of Conor's front leg.
Conor tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Conor lands a right hook to the body.
Conor avoids the body shot from Gerich.
Conor ducks under a wild hook from Gerich.
Conor with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Nice body punch from Conor.
Gerich throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Conor wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Gerich tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Conor is able to avoid easily.
Conor is looking to wear down Gerich with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Gerich is breathing heavily.
Conor throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Conor throws out a powerful jab.
Conor tries to clinch but Gerich is having none of it.
Gerich lands a head shot.
Conor fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Gerich on the side of the head.
A jab from Conor misses.
Gerich throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Conor connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Conor getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Gerich throws a right hand that Conor ducks under and follows up with a left that Conor also avoids with ease.
Conor lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Conor misses with a body shot.
Conor changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Gerich throws a front kick aimed at Conor's knee but Conor avoids it well.
Gerich tries a head kick but it misses.
Conor wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Conor ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Conor moves into range and connects with a jab.
Gerich staying out of range there.
Conor tries to clinch up.
Gerich gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Conor wants to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Conor getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Conor fails with an attempt to clinch.
Conor swings for the body but Gerich moves out of range.
Gerich uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Conor.
Conor scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Conor throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Conor throws a shot from downtown. Gerich moves away and avoids it.
Conor misses with a looping right.
Conor swings for the body but Gerich moves out of range.
Conor scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Conor dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Conor scores with a crisp jab that stopped Gerich in his tracks.
Conor is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Conor tests Gerich's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Conor throws a body punch but Gerich moves out of range.
Bariga Gerich is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Conor scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Craig Conor is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Conor scores with a crisp jab that stopped Gerich in his tracks.
Conor throws out a loose jab but Gerich uses good head movement to avoid it.
Gerich walks into a stiff left hand from Conor.
Conor scores with a shot to the body.
Good exchange - Conor coming out on top.
Conor fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Conor scores with a jab to the jaw.
Conor digs a good hook to Gerich's body.
Conor ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Gerich moves away.
Conor scores with a jab to the body.
Gerich moves away from the strike by Conor.
Conor scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
The crowd cheers as Conor lands an impressive looking overhand right. Gerich doesn't seem phased though.
Gerich fails with a takedown attempt.
Gerich walks into a straight right hand from Conor.
Conor with a nice cross.
Conor takes a swing at Gerich's ribcage but misses.
Gerich doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Craig Conor is winning the standup battle so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Conor throws a body punch but Gerich moves out of range.
Gerich swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Conor tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gerich swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Gerich takes one on the button.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Conor looks to land a right hand but Gerich moved out of range.
Conor throws a jab when Gerich was well out of range.
Conor throws a lazy right hand but Gerich sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Conor connects with the punch.
Conor moves in looking to clinch but Gerich pushes him off.
Conor throws a body punch but Gerich moves out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Conor. Gerich does a little dance to reset his feet.
Conor scores with a decent looking hook.
Conor lands with an overhand left.
Conor fails with an attempt to clinch.
Gerich doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Conor throws a body punch but Gerich moves out of range.
Conor checks a leg kick.
Nice body punch from Conor.
Conor fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Gerich manages to avoid it.
Gerich slips a straight right by Conor.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Craig Conor dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Gerich's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Conor connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Gerich scrambles back to his feet.
Conor takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Nice defenses there by Gerich.
Conor tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in the close the distance. Gerich manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Gerich throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Gerich circles away from the clinch attempt.
Conor swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Gerich.
Gerich turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

Gerich throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Conor was covering up waiting for the punch and Gerich finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Gerich stopping the sweep attempt from Conor.
Gerich throwing strikes but missing.
Gerich takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Conor is looking for a triangle but Gerich pushes his legs off easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gerich postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Conor working a defensive guard here.
Gerich throwing strikes but missing.
Gerich postures up.
Gerich trying to control but Conor is working from the bottom.
Gerich postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Conor wants to get back to his feet but Gerich is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Gerich loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Conor wants to stand but Gerich is controlling the position.
Gerich throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Conor works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Gerich is looking to work some ground and pound but Conor has wrist control.
Conor working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Gerich.
Conor is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Gerich is controlling him.
Gerich throws a strike but Conor rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Conor stopping the sweep attempt from Gerich.
Gerich keeping full guard, as Conor tries to pass.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Conor wants to get up but he can't break Gerich's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Bariga Gerich.
I think Gerich 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 28:28
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 28:28
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 28:28

The fight is ruled a draw!