PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between James Soloman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thor Ironman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Thor Ironman was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Soloman
vs
Ironman

190 cm
18
205 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

190 cm
24
205 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

Russian Top Team Nutrition

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, James Soloman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Thor Ironman!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Valeri Chadov and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ironman leaves Soloman with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Ironman will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Soloman shoots in for a takedown but Ironman shows good takedown defense.
Soloman wants to clinch.
Ironman gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Soloman counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Ironman's guard now.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Soloman with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ironman wants to stand but Soloman is controlling the position.
Ironman looks gassed!
Soloman throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Soloman wants to pass the guard but Ironman is keeping the position.
Soloman wants to control from the top but Ironman keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soloman throws a big elbow that misses.
Ironman keeping moving, preventing Soloman from controlling successfully.
Ironman not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Soloman working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Ironman's head.
Soloman wants to control from the top but Ironman keeps moving.
Ironman looking to control.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Ironman closes the distance looking to clinch

and Soloman counters with a takedown into side control.
Soloman tries to move into full mount but can't pass Ironman's legs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soloman scoring with punches and elbows.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
You can see the frustration on Ironman's face as Soloman controls the position.
Ironman takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Ironman is not content to let Soloman control the position.

Soloman thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Soloman lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

Soloman decides to stand back up. Soloman steps back and let's Ironman get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soloman shoots in and drives through. Ironman sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for James Soloman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Soloman shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Ironman but Ironman pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Soloman fails with a takedown attempt.
Ironman tries to clinch but Soloman is having none of it.
Soloman shoots in for a takedown but Ironman shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Ironman tries to clinch but Soloman is having none of it.
Thor Ironman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Soloman tries for a takedown but Ironman sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Soloman shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Ironman wants to control but Soloman is keeping busy.
Soloman wants to pass to mount but Ironman is defending the position.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Soloman is trying to control. Ironman wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Ironman wants to control but Soloman is keeping busy and won't allow it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Soloman frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Soloman trying to control but he's not successful this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Soloman dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

A telegraphed takedown attempt from Soloman is defended easily by Ironman.

Soloman scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Soloman not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Ironman is not content to let Soloman control the position.
Ironman is looking for a sweep. Soloman is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Ironman is breathing heavily.
Soloman not doing much here.
Soloman throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soloman 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.
James Soloman overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Soloman is pressing down on Ironman's thigh, looking to free his foot. Ironman is holding on for now.
Soloman throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Ironman is refusing to be controlled, as Soloman sits in half guard.
Soloman lands with a punch from half guard.
Soloman seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Ironman does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Soloman controlling the pace.
Soloman wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ironman keeps working.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. James Soloman wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Soloman 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.
Ironman has momentary wrist control but Soloman slips an elbow through the middle.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Soloman wants to pass the guard but Ironman is keeping the position.
Ironman utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Soloman wants to control from the top but Ironman keeps moving.
Soloman lands a couple of elbows.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Soloman accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ironman can't keep his opponent in guard - Soloman advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Ironman trying to hold on to Soloman's head to control him but Soloman postures up.
Soloman throwing shots but Ironman is blocking nicely.
Soloman throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Soloman stands up out of the half guard.

Soloman shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Soloman landing strikes from the mount and Ironman is in trouble!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soloman working Ironman over with strikes here.
Soloman is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ironman can do to turn this around?
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Soloman dominating with strikes here.
Ironman taking shots to the head.
Soloman working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Soloman lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Ironman hang on?
Soloman scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Soloman lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Soloman dominating with strikes here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Soloman working the ground and pound effectively.
Soloman content just to control the position here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Soloman dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Soloman looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Ironman is fending him off so far but Soloman persists. Nope, Ironman circles away and we're back to standing.
Soloman shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Soloman.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for James Soloman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ironman is looking to clinch.
Soloman shoots in looking for a takedown but Ironman manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Soloman's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Ironman takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Horrible takedown by Soloman or perhaps it was just good defense by Ironman which made him look bad.
Ironman throws a nice head kick!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Soloman keeps the fight on the outside.

Soloman scores a takedown into full mount!
Soloman prevents Ironman from getting the reversal.
Soloman lands with some strikes.
Soloman breaks from Ironman's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Soloman cracks Ironman with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Ironman is squirming around, avoiding Soloman's attempts to control the action.
Soloman looking to finish Ironman with some ground and pound. This is bad for Ironman!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Soloman working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Soloman landing strikes from the mount.
Soloman landing strikes from the mount.
Soloman lands a nice shot to the head.
Soloman can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Ironman is looking to escape.
Soloman with good strikes from the mount here!
Soloman trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Soloman with shots to the head and body - Ironman looks very uncomfortable down there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soloman scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Ironman is in a horrible position here. Soloman smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Ironman is in a horrible position here. Soloman smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Soloman with shots to the head and body - Ironman looks very uncomfortable down there.
Soloman lands a big shot there that rocks Ironman but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Soloman lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Ironman hang on?
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Soloman looking to finish Ironman with some ground and pound. This is bad for Ironman!

Ironman is rocked!
Soloman postures up and lands a whopping elbow - oh that's hurt Ironman bigstyle! Two more strikes land for Soloman and the fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:03 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). James Soloman!