PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Fjodor Sychev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nik Volkov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Sychev
vs
Volkov

185 cm
21
144 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

176 cm
24
140 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Fjodor Sychev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nik Volkov!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Valeri Chadov and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Volkov displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Sychev.
Sychev uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Volkov.
Volkov throws a sloppy head kick and Sychev moves out of range easily.
Volkov keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Sychev misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Fjodor Sychev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sychev blocks a head kick by Volkov.
Volkov feints a jab promting Sychev to slip. Volkov then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Sychev slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Volkov swings away with a leg kick that misses.

Sychev closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Volkov to the mat! Volkov manages to get full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sychev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Volkov is looking to stand up but Sychev isn't so interested in that idea.

Volkov manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Volkov misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Volkov pulls out of a head kick attempt.
The fighters circling - Volkov throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Volkov misses with a body shot.
Volkov lunges at Sychev with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Sychev's hand.
Volkov throws a chopping leg kick but Sychev manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Some wild striking there from Volkov.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sychev shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Volkov's guard.
Sychev passes Volkov's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Volkov is trying to stand back up but Sychev is controlling him
Volkov keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Volkov avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Sychev.
Volkov wants to get back to his feet.
Sychev working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Sychev missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Sychev stops Volkov from getting back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sychev not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Sychev not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Volkov is trying to stand.
Sychev throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Volkov wants to get back to his feet.
Sychev really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Sychev working over Volkov with some ground and pound. Volkov looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

Volkov manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Volkov tries to land a leg kick but Sychev saw it coming and moves away.
Sychev avoids the head kick by Volkov.
Sychev takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Volkov misses with a few strikes there.
Volkov throws a leg kick which misses Sychev's front leg but catches the back leg as Sychev tries to avoid it.
Volkov misses with a double jab

and Sychev counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Volkov!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sychev raining down hammerfists from mount.
Sychev misses with a head shot.
Sychev controlling the pace for now.
Volkov is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
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 Fjodor Sychev will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Sychev fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Volkov avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Nik Volkov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nice uppercut lands for Volkov. That snapped Sychev's head back.

Sychev 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.

Volkov pushes Sychev off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Volkov fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sychev manages to avoid it.

Sychev decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Volkov wants to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Sychev lands a nice short elbow.
Sychev throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Volkov is trying to stand.
Sychev is trying to control the action in half guard but Volkov is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Sychev stops Volkov from getting back to his feet.
Sychev thows a huge punch but Volkov dodges it nicely.
Volkov is staying active underneath Sychev, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Sychev missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Sychev 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.
Sychev stops Volkov from getting back to his feet.
Sychev throwing shots but Volkov is blocking nicely.
Volkov is looking to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sychev seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Volkov does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Volkov is trying to stand.
Volkov is breathing heavily.
Sychev lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Sychev misses with a head shot. Volkov uses the momentum to regain guard.
Sychev wants to pass the guard but Volkov is keeping the position.
Sychev is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
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!
Volkov is looking to stand up but Sychev isn't so interested in that idea.
Sychev throwing strikes but missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sychev with a nice head shot there.
Sychev working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sychev trying to control but Volkov is working from the bottom.
Sychev keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Volkov's head.

Volkov pushes Sychev off and gets back to his feet.
Volkov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Sychev gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Volkov counters with a right hand to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Volkov scores with a jab to the body.
Volkov throws a head kick that misses.
Volkov looks to land a combination but Sychev avoids it well.
Volkov throws a leg kick but Sychev sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Volkov tries to score with a low kick but Sychev moves his leg out of the way.
Volkov clobbers Sychev with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
No joy there for Sychev, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Volkov missing with a left hand there. Sychev was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fjodor Sychev dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

A punch combination from Volkov misses.
Volkov is looking to land body kicks.
Sychev is trying hard to land a takedown here. Volkov sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Volkov with a jab.
Volkov with a hook.

Sychev looking to score a takedown here. Volkov is defending well but Sychev drives through and ends up in Volkov's guard.
Volkov wants to get back to his feet but Sychev is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Sychev lands a couple of digs.
Volkov wants to stand and escape but Sychev is having none of it.
Volkov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sychev with a nice head shot there.
Sychev postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sychev working some strikes from top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Volkov is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Sychev loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Sychev postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sychev postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Volkov keeping moving, preventing Sychev from controlling successfully.
Sychev prevents Volkov from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sychev scoring with punches to the head and body.
Fjodor Sychev overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Volkov is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Sychev is controlling him.

Sychev gets to his feet - Volkov follows without any prompting.
Sychev keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Some bone on bone action there as Sychev checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Volkov lands with a nice combination. Sychev backs away looking to recover.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sychev tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Volkov swivels and escapes.
Volkov fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Sychev manages to avoid it.
Volkov lands with an uppercut that bounces Sychev off the cage and back into rage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Volkov leaves Sychev with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Fjodor Sychev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Volkov fails to land with a series of punches.
Volkov pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Volkov scores with a hook.
Volkov moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Sychev misses with a double jab.
Volkov scores with the left hand. Sychev knows he should have avoided that one.

Sychev is rocked!
Volkov connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Oh Sychev is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Volkov throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Sychev gets clipped by a big right hand and goes down spinning to the canvas! Volkov gets the back mount and begins to drop bombs on his rocked foe! Sychev is too out of it to defend against the strikes and the referee jumps in to save him from the beatdown!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:09 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Nik Volkov!