PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Dmitry Alenichev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ryan Koppenhaver (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ryan Koppenhaver has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Alenichev
vs
Koppenhaver

200 cm
25
210 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

190 cm
22
210 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
KO power

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Tends to cut

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Dmitry Alenichev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ryan Koppenhaver!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Illya Tyunina and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Koppenhaver takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Koppenhaver misses with a body punch

and Alenichev counters by clinching up.
Koppenhaver drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Alenichev gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Koppenhaver prevents a body shot from Alenichev.
Alenichev managing to block the knees to the body from Koppenhaver.
Koppenhaver working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Koppenhaver pressing his opponent against the cage.
Alenichev stalling in the clinch but Koppenhaver improves position.
Alenichev lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Koppenhaver is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Koppenhaver changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Alenichev fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Koppenhaver misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Koppenhaver shoots in for a takedown but Alenichev shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Dmitry Alenichev has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ryan Koppenhaver.
Koppenhaver takes a kick to the side of the head.

It looks like Ryan Koppenhaver has been cut.
Alenichev keeps Koppenhaver at a distance using the push kick.
Alenichev rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Koppenhaver moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Alenichev tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Alenichev wants to clinch

and Koppenhaver counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Alenichev is looking to improve his position.
Koppenhaver is keen to just control but Alenichev is a slippery customer.

Koppenhaver looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Koppenhaver not doing much here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alenichev misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Alenichev slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Koppenhaver landing some decent shots from guard.
Alenichev keeping moving, preventing Koppenhaver from controlling successfully.
Alenichev knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Koppenhaver on the ground.
Koppenhaver engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alenichev wants to sweep here but Koppenhaver controlling him for the moment.

Koppenhaver drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Koppenhaver jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Koppenhaver sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Alenichev's guard.
Alenichev pushes Koppenhaver off looking to stand but Koppenhaver dives back in and keeps control.
Koppenhaver wants to lay and pray for a moment but Alenichev keeps working.
Alenichev wants to get back to full guard.
Koppenhaver slows the pace down in half guard.
Let's hope that Koppenhaver 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Koppenhaver uses his free foot to push down on Alenichev's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Alenichev.
Alenichev is squirming around, avoiding Koppenhaver's attempts to control the action.

Alenichev defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Koppenhaver.
Koppenhaver trying to control but he's not successful this time.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Alenichev has given up his back here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ryan Koppenhaver dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ryan Koppenhaver's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Koppenhaver drives through and clinches with Alenichev against the cage.
Alenichev throws an elbow but it misses.
Alenichev lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

Koppenhaver jumps guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Koppenhaver can do anything to dispel that myth.
Koppenhaver trying to keep a closed guard but Alenichev is proving a slippery customer.
Koppenhaver has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Alenichev has passed into side control.
Alenichev working away.
Alenichev landing a few strikes.
Alenichev is chipping away with strikes.
Koppenhaver on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Ryan Koppenhaver has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Koppenhaver wants to control but Alenichev postures up.
Koppenhaver sneaks back into half guard.

Alenichev gets to his feet - back to striking we go!
Alenichev tries a head kick but it misses.
Alenichev tries to close the distance and clinch but Koppenhaver swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Koppenhaver closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Alenichev misses with an elbow strike.
Alenichev lands on the inside with an uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alenichev is trying to stall.
Alenichev throws an elbow but it misses.

Koppenhaver escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Koppenhaver shoots for a double leg takedown but Alenichev sprawls well. He's pushed Koppenhaver's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Alenichev sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Koppenhaver scores with a leg kick.
Koppenhaver misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Koppenhaver tries to clinch but Alenichev is having none of it.
Koppenhaver shoots in but Alenichev avoids the takedown attempt easily.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Koppenhaver.
Dmitry Alenichev has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ryan Koppenhaver.
Koppenhaver closes the distance and clinches up with Alenichev, looking for a takedown. Koppenhaver pushes Alenichev against the cage but Alenichev circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alenichev lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Koppenhaver closes this distance looking for a takedown but Alenichev circles away.
Alenichev throws a head kick that Koppenhaver semi-blocks.

Koppenhaver closes the distance and clinches.
Alenichev lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Koppenhaver blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Alenichev is looking to control Koppenhaver's arms but Koppenhaver gets an underhook and turns him. Now Alenichev has his back to the cage.
Alenichev swings wildly with an uppercut but Koppenhaver uses good head movement to avoid it.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Koppenhaver as Alenichev tries to tie him up.

Koppenhaver has picked Alenichev up - he's going for a ride! Koppenhaver dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Koppenhaver decides to stand and escape the position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Alenichev swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Koppenhaver fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Koppenhaver takes a kick to the side of the head.
Koppenhaver throws a head kick that misses.
Koppenhaver misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Koppenhaver walks into a left hand.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Alenichev blocks the body kick.
Koppenhaver tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Koppenhaver walks forward, straight into a front kick from Alenichev.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Dmitry Alenichev will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ryan Koppenhaver's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Alenichev fails with an attempt to clinch.
Alenichev looks to clinch

and Koppenhaver counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Alenichev 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.
Koppenhaver wants to control from the top but Alenichev keeps moving.
Alenichev is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Koppenhaver is controlling him.
Koppenhaver wants to control from the top but Alenichev keeps moving.
Koppenhaver is pushing down on Alenichev's leg trying to pass to half guard. Alenichev is fighting to maintain full guard but Koppenhaver has managed to sneak the leg through.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Alenichev is not content to let Koppenhaver control the position.
Koppenhaver is taking a breather. Alenichev says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Koppenhaver lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Alenichev is trying to stand.
Alenichev has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Koppenhaver is working away from the top position though.
Well, if Koppenhaver is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Koppenhaver is trying to control the action in half guard but Alenichev is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Ryan Koppenhaver hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Alenichev tries to clinch up but Koppenhaver circles away and keeps his distance.
Koppenhaver throws a head kick that half lands.
Koppenhaver tries to clinch but Alenichev is having none of it.
Alenichev tries to clinch but Koppenhaver moves out of range.
Koppenhaver throws a wild body kick that Alenichev sees coming a mile off.
Dmitry Alenichev is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Koppenhaver tries for a takedown but Alenichev sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Alenichev swats away the attempt to clinch by Koppenhaver.
Koppenhaver shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Alenichev goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Koppenhaver closes the distance and clinches up with Alenichev, looking for a takedown. Koppenhaver pushes Alenichev against the cage but Alenichev circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Dmitry Alenichev has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ryan Koppenhaver.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Alenichev moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alenichev fails with an attempt to clinch.
A right-left combo lands from Alenichev.

Koppenhaver drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Koppenhaver working the ground and pound from side control.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.

Koppenhaver thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Koppenhaver trying to control the action but Alenichev is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alenichev is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Koppenhaver advances nicely into full mount.
Koppenhaver trying to control but Alenichev is having none of it.
Alenichev tries to hold on but Koppenhaver postures up.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Koppenhaver has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Alenichev's face.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ryan Koppenhaver comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Koppenhaver 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 28:29
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ryan Koppenhaver!