PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between James Harvey (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vladimir Putin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Harvey
vs
Putin

190 cm
25
201 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

192 cm
26
205 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Big right hand

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, James Harvey!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Vladimir Putin!
The judges for this bout are Alyssa Summers, Steve Montenegro and David Schapiro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Harvey rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Putin moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Putin looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Harvey!
Putin controlling from mount.
Putin's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Putin can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Harvey is looking to escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Harvey avoids a series of strikes thrown by Putin.
Putin sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Harvey tries to hold on but Putin postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Putin raining down shots from the mount!
Putin is landing with some decent strikes but Harvey is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Putin punching from mount but Harvey doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Harvey blocking the ground and pound.
Putin content just to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harvey is trying to escape the mount.
Putin controlling from mount.

Putin goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Harvey is on top in guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

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.
Harvey preventing the sweep.

James Harvey has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Harvey falls off balance throwing a combination

and Putin moves into the clinch.
Harvey'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.

Putin's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vladimir Putin 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.

Harvey throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Putin thows a left - swing and a miss!
Putin thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Harvey if he has to take too many more of those.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Putin.
Harvey blocks a low kick nicely.
Harvey misses with a combination
and Putin counters with a thumping low kick.
Putin shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Harvey pinned against the cage. Harvey gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Putin shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Putin showed some decent athleticism there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Putin tries to pass to full mount but Harvey defends it.
Putin content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

Putin is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Harvey doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Putin.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Putin decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
Harvey swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Putin feints and as Harvey raises his hands in defense, Putin changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Putin is stalling in the full guard.

Harvey is working an open guard so Putin takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Harvey throws an off balance right hand

and Putin counters with a takedown into side control.
The referee asks Putin politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Putin prefers to stall for the moment though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes there by Putin.

Putin wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Harvey, who protects the arm well.

Putin tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Harvey is being controlled here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vladimir Putin showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Harvey throws a right hand that misses

and Putin holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Harvey wants to break the clinch but can't.
Harvey wants to stall.

Putin breaks the clinch.
Harvey falls off balance throwing a combination

so Putin counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Putin trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Putin preventing the sweep.
Harvey is looking to stand back up but Putin counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Harvey.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are battling for position here. Harvey manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Vladimir Putin has got the better of the ground game so far.
Putin throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Harvey works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Putin is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Putin looking to sit in guard and control but Harvey gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Putin is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Let's hope that Putin has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Putin is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Vladimir Putin hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Putin bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Putin tries to score with some ground and pound. Harvey controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Putin fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Harvey stops Putin from passing to mount.
Putin happy to just control the position for now.
Vladimir Putin is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Putin is looking to take a break and control but Harvey is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
James Harvey has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Putin has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vladimir Putin comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Putin has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Alyssa Summers scores the fight 26:30
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 27:30
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vladimir Putin!