PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Leonid Rublev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tamerlan Steel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Steel has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. Tamerlan Steel looks lathargic as he enters the arena. Wake up son, you're about to have a fight!

Rublev
vs
Steel

225 cm
26
300 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

210 cm
20
280 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

Decent wrestler
Good kicks
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Leonid Rublev!
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, Tamerlan Steel!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Sergei Dronov and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A good leg kick by Rublev.
Steel looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Rublev shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Rublev was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Rublev wants to take Steel's back but he can't do it this time.
Rublev knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Steel on the ground.
Rublev controlling the pace for now.
Rublev seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Steel for as long as he can get away with.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Leonid Rublev wasn't doing enough on the ground.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Steel enables Rublev to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Steel manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

Rublev gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Rublev clinches up against the cage.
Knees to the body from Rublev.

Rublev breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Rublev shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Rublev looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Steel trying to hold on to Rublev's head to control him but Rublev postures up.
Rublev looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Leonid Rublev.
Rublev fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Steel.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Rublev shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Rublev was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Steel is wriggling around trying to escape.
Rublev pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Rublev scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Steel?
Rublev breaks from Steel's wrist control and lands an elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rublev takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

Rublev stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.
Steel 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.

Rublev shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Rublev was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Rublev lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Steel's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Rublev sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Rublev pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rublev content just to control the position here.
Steel is looking to get to half guard.
Steel wants to get back to his feet.
Rublev looking to control and managing it successfully.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Steel is in all sorts of trouble here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Rublev closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Steel did well to prevent Rublev getting side control.
Rublev prevents Steel from improving his position.
Rublev stalling.
Steel wants to get back to full guard.

Rublev stands up out of the half guard.
Rublev scores with a head kick.

Rublev feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Rublev stopping the sweep attempt from Steel.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rublev wants to pass the guard but Steel is keeping the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Steel is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Rublev controls from within his opponent's guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Tamerlan Steel was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Rublev scores with a spinning back kick!

Rublev shoots in and gets a takedown into Steel's guard.
Rublev preventing the sweep.
Rublev is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Leonid Rublev has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Rublev looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Steel!
Rublev fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Rublev controlling from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Steel is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Rublev controlling the pace for now.
Steel is looking to get to half guard.
Steel bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Leonid Rublev overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Steel won't allow Rublev to get back to his feet.

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.
Steel tries to stand but Rublev is controlling from the bottom.
Rublev is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Steel wanted to stand there but Rublev had control of the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Leonid Rublev wasn't doing enough on the ground.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Rublev is defended easily by Steel.
Steel throws a head kick that misses

and Rublev counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Steel!
Rublev tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Steel is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leonid Rublev dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Steel throws a sloppy head kick

so Rublev counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Rublev sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Steel's guard.
Rublev trying to control the pace.
Steel wants to control but Rublev is keeping busy.
Rublev is pressing down on Steel's thigh, looking to free his foot. Steel is holding on for now.
Still in half guard, Rublev seems content to control.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Leonid Rublev wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Rublev is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Steel's half guard.
Rublev is pressing down on Steel's thigh, looking to free his foot. Steel is holding on for now.
Steel is looking to control Rublev's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Steel avoid being mounted?
Rublev is pressing down on Steel's thigh, looking to free his foot. Steel is holding on for now.

Rublev postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Steel to stand up.
Rublev plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Leonid Rublev is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Rublev fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Steel sprawls well initially but Rublev persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Steel is pressing down on Rublev's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Rublev prevents Steel from getting back to his feet.
Steel not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Rublev stays in close to Steel's body and controls the position.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Steel throws a combination that misses

so Rublev counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rublev stops Steel from standing up.
Rublev trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rublev not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Steel pushes Rublev off and scrambles back to his feet.
Tamerlan Steel seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Steel looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Rublev is looking for a sweep. Steel is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Steel is trying to control the action in half guard but Rublev is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Rublev is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Steel's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Steel's back!
Steel wants to get back to his feet.
Rublev is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Rublev is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Steel can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rublev wants to control but Steel is keeping busy.
Rublev biding his time, looking for the opening.
Rublev scores with punches from the back.
I would not like to be Steel right now.
Steel looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rublev is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
Steel wants to get back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Leonid Rublev showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Rublev 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:26
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:26
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Leonid Rublev!