PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Fedor Vovchanchyn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jeff Messer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Vovchanchyn
vs
Messer

190 cm
25
245 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
22
250 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Fedor Vovchanchyn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Jeff Messer!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vovchanchyn lands a nice shot that snaps Messer's head back.

It looks like Jeff Messer has been cut.
Vovchanchyn misses with a two punch combination.
Vovchanchyn looks for a takedown but Messer sprawls well.
Vovchanchyn misses with a takedown attempt - Messer sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Messer avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Vovchanchyn fails to land the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Fedor Vovchanchyn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Vovchanchyn throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Messer's waist but Messer gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Vovchanchyn off to one side.
Messer avoids the head kick by Vovchanchyn.
Messer throws a right and a left that Vovchanchyn avoids nicely.
Messer tries to bum rush Vovchanchyn with a series of wild strikes but Vovchanchyn uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Messer looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Messer should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Vovchanchyn fails to land with a series of punches.
Messer shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Vovchanchyn eats them both and turns towards Messer to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.

It looks like Fedor Vovchanchyn has been cut.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Messer tries to clinch there but Vovchanchyn circles away.
Messer is looking to clinch but Vovchanchyn is avoiding it.
The fight stays on the outside here - Vovchanchyn looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Messer dives in and grabs Vovchanchyn's left leg, looking for a takedown. Vovchanchyn pushes down on Messer's head and hops out.
Messer is looking to land body kicks.
Vovchanchyn tries to close the distance and clinch up but Messer swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Vovchanchyn lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Messer circles away quickly and effectively.
Vovchanchyn misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Messer throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Vovchanchyn counters with a stiff right hand.
Vovchanchyn keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Messer slips a jab and a cross from Vovchanchyn.
Messer pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Vovchanchyn back to the cage. Messer follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Messer lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Messer throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Vovchanchyn dips to his left and cracks Messer with an uppercut!
Vovchanchyn doesn't manage to clinch there - Messer circles away.
Messer shoots in for a double leg but Vovchanchyn sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Messer looks gassed!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Vovchanchyn throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Messer.
Messer looks to land a combination but Vovchanchyn avoids it well.
Messer throws a leg kick but Vovchanchyn moved away.
Messer misses with a wild combination.
Vovchanchyn tries to clinch up.
Messer waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Vovchanchyn.
Messer looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Messer misses with a series of wild punches.
Vovchanchyn throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Sloppy strikes from Messer. Those never looked like landing.
Vovchanchyn misses with a wild combination.
Vovchanchyn tries to clinch but Messer moves out of range.
Messer swinging wildly here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vovchanchyn wants to clinch.
Messer moves in looking to clinch but Vovchanchyn pushes him off.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Vovchanchyn.

Vovchanchyn clinches up with Messer and pushes him back against the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Vovchanchyn as Messer tries to tie him up.
Messer wants to break free but Vovchanchyn has control.
The referee calls for Vovchanchyn to work.
Vovchanchyn lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Vovchanchyn lands with a light punch inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vovchanchyn makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Messer is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Messer has had enough of the clinch but Vovchanchyn keeps him there for the moment.
Vovchanchyn has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Messer avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Vovchanchyn looking to slow down the pace here.

Messer breaks from the clinch.
A slow jab from Messer misses its intended target.
Messer throws a hook but Vovchanchyn avoids it easily.

Vovchanchyn scores with a takedown into Messer's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Vovchanchyn is in close to Messer's body, working some short punches and elbows.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Messer wants to stand but Vovchanchyn is controlling the position.
Vovchanchyn postures up in Messer's guard and throws a big left but Messer blocks it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Fedor Vovchanchyn will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Vovchanchyn is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Messer.
Messer throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Vovchanchyn dodges the punch combination from Messer.
Vovchanchyn ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

Vovchanchyn clinches up with Messer and pushes him back against the cage.
Vovchanchyn lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Messer tries to break free but Vovchanchyn pushes him back against the cage.
Messer wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Vovchanchyn has him pressed against the cage.
Vovchanchyn tries to score a body lock takedown but Messer shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Messer is trying to push Vovchanchyn away but Vovchanchyn has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

Vovchanchyn pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Messer lands the left hand.
Fedor Vovchanchyn is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Vovchanchyn connects with a good right hand that stumbles Messer. Messer circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Messer lands with a cross.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Messer avoids a punch combination nicely.

Vovchanchyn instigates a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vovchanchyn with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Messer wants to get back to striking at distance but Vovchanchyn won't allow it.
Vovchanchyn is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Messer pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Messer's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Vovchanchyn displaying some good clinch control by pressing Messer up against the cage.
Messer fails to pull guard.
Vovchanchyn using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Messer has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Messer wants to get back to striking at distance but Vovchanchyn won't allow it.
Vovchanchyn prevents a body shot from Messer.
Vovchanchyn looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Fedor Vovchanchyn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Vovchanchyn taking a breather.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vovchanchyn prevents Messer from breaking the clinch.
Messer wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Vovchanchyn has him pressed against the cage.
Messer prevents a takedown attempt there.
Messer prevents the takedown attempt.
Vovchanchyn can't find room to land a body shot as Messer controls the action.
Messer is trying to break the clinch but Vovchanchyn has him pressed against the cage.
Messer tries to break free but Vovchanchyn pushes him back against the cage.
Vovchanchyn tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Vovchanchyn.

Vovchanchyn breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Messer misses with a double jab.
Messer with a nice cross.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Messer fails with the takedown.
Messer has a takedown stuffed.
Messer is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vovchanchyn displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Messer throws out the jab.
Nice straight punches there by Vovchanchyn. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Vovchanchyn.
Vovchanchyn dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Messer shoots in looking for a takedown but Vovchanchyn manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Messer's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Messer throws out a loose jab but Vovchanchyn uses good head movement to avoid it.
Some wild striking there from Messer.

Vovchanchyn scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Vovchanchyn working the ground and pound from side control.
Vovchanchyn works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
An elbow from Vovchanchyn crashes against the mat.
Vovchanchyn has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Messer takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Vovchanchyn trying to control the position but Messer is working away.
Vovchanchyn is chipping away with strikes.
Messer taking a bit of punishment here - Vovchanchyn scoring with strikes.
Vovchanchyn looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Messer is avoiding damage well.

Vovchanchyn decides to stand back up.
Jeff Messer seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Messer tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Vovchanchyn manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Vovchanchyn slaps away a takedown attempt from Messer, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Vovchanchyn tries to bum rush Messer with a series of wild strikes but Messer uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fedor Vovchanchyn dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Messer avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Vovchanchyn will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Messer is looking to clinch but Vovchanchyn is avoiding it.
A left and a right from Vovchanchyn both land. Nice combination.
Messer misses with a jab, cross combination.
Messer throws a right and a left that Vovchanchyn avoids nicely.
Vovchanchyn dips to his left and cracks Messer with an uppercut!
Vovchanchyn throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Messer.
Messer tries to bum rush Vovchanchyn with a series of wild strikes but Vovchanchyn uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Messer fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Nice straight punches there by Vovchanchyn. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Vovchanchyn.
Vovchanchyn keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Vovchanchyn shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Messer napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Messer is not content to let Vovchanchyn control the position.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Messer can do anything to dispel that myth.
Messer takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Vovchanchyn is working Messer over with some ground and pound from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Vovchanchyn lands an elbow.
Messer parries the strikes from Vovchanchyn easily there. Vovchanchyn is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Messer to escape.
Messer really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Vovchanchyn. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Vovchanchyn misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Fedor Vovchanchyn overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Vovchanchyn throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Vovchanchyn misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Messer takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Vovchanchyn in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vovchanchyn misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Vovchanchyn with the ground and pound but Messer regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Vovchanchyn thows a big elbow that misses, also allowing Messer to regain full guard.
Vovchanchyn postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Vovchanchyn would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Messer wants to stand up but Vovchanchyn is controlling him.
Vovchanchyn throwing strikes from guard but Messer blocks nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vovchanchyn is working Messer over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Vovchanchyn loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Vovchanchyn working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Messer's head.
Vovchanchyn wants to pass the guard but Messer is keeping the position.

Vovchanchyn stands up from guard. Let's bang!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Messer slips a jab and a cross from Vovchanchyn.
Vovchanchyn misses with a two punch combination.
Messer scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Messer is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Vovchanchyn.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Vovchanchyn is defended easily by Messer.
Vovchanchyn has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
A combination from Messer does no damage.
Messer will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Vovchanchyn misses with a few strikes there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Vovchanchyn tries to score a power double leg takedown but Messer sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Vovchanchyn somewhat.
Vovchanchyn closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.

And that's the end of the fight!
Fedor Vovchanchyn showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Vovchanchyn, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Fedor Vovchanchyn!