PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Zakhar Chkalov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andre Falcao (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Andre Falcao has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Chkalov
vs
Falcao

178 cm
24
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

191 cm
25
198 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Self confident

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Zakhar Chkalov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Andre Falcao!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Vladimir Khabensky and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Chkalov keeps the fight on the outside.
Falcao gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Chkalov counters with a shoot takedown. Falcao fights it but they end up in guard.
Chkalov trying to control the position from guard on top but Falcao is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Chkalov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Falcao swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Chkalov working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Falcao working a defensive guard here.
Chkalov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Falcao keeping full guard, as Chkalov tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Zakhar Chkalov just wasn't active enough.
An inside leg kick lands from Chkalov.
Falcao has his takedown stuffed

and Chkalov counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Chkalov is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Falcao not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Chkalov is looking to stand up but Falcao won't let him.
Falcao looking to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Zakhar Chkalov wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Falcao tries for a takedown but Chkalov circles away easily

and Chkalov decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Falcao's guard.
Zakhar Chkalov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Andre Falcao.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Falcao is trying to hold Chkalov in close to prevent damage but Chkalov has managed to pass into half guard.
Falcao wants to control but Chkalov is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Falcao moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Chkalov might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Falcao is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Chkalov wants to stand and escape but instead Falcao has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Chkalov wants to stand but Falcao is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Falcao trying to control but Chkalov is working from the bottom.
Falcao's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Falcao wants to control from the top but Chkalov keeps moving.

Falcao drops back, looking for a kneebar! Chkalov looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Chkalov looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Chkalov!
Chkalov misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Falcao stops Chkalov from passing to mount.
Chkalov controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Falcao tries to improve position but can't.
Falcao sneaks back into half guard.
Chkalov tries to stand and escape but Falcao is controlling the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Chkalov is looking to pass Falcao's guard but actually Falcao recovers to full guard.
Falcao trying to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zakhar Chkalov 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.

Falcao doesn't manage to clinch there - Chkalov circles away.
Nice sprawl there from Chkalov as Falcao shoots in.
Falcao shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Chkalov holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Chkalov works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Chkalov wants to pass the guard but Falcao is keeping the position.
Falcao trying to keep a closed guard but Chkalov is proving a slippery customer.
Chkalov would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Falcao trying to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Andre Falcao was stalling too much, according to the referee.
A head kick misses from Chkalov.

Chkalov moves into the clinch.
Falcao tries to pull guard but Chkalov forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Zakhar Chkalov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Andre Falcao.
Falcao tries to pull guard but Chkalov won't allow it.
Chkalov is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Falcao is defending well for now.
Falcao is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Chkalov to keep the fight standing.

Chkalov has Falcao pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Chkalov pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Falcao tumbling to the mat - Chkalov dives into Falcao's guard.
Falcao trying to keep a closed guard but Chkalov is proving a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Chkalov wants to control from the top but Falcao keeps moving.
Chkalov looking to pass the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Andre Falcao.
Falcao fails with the takedown

so Chkalov counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Chkalov working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Chkalov sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Falcao is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Falcao preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Falcao controls Chkalov momentarily but Chkalov frees himself.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Falcao working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Chkalov.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Falcao is trying to control the position from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Andre Falcao.
Falcao shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Chkalov but Chkalov pushes him off and we're back to square one.

Chkalov throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Falcao tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Chkalov is in Falcao's guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Chkalov looking to pass the guard.
Chkalov has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Falcao controls Chkalov momentarily but Chkalov frees himself.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Falcao is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Zakhar Chkalov dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Chkalov stuffs the takedown attempt from Falcao. Falcao gets slowly back to his feet.
Falcao changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Chkalov tries to avoid it but Falcao manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Chkalov to the ground. Chkalov escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Chkalov scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Falcao is looking for a sweep.
Chkalov tries to move to mount but Falcao blocks the move with his legs.
Falcao is trying to control Chkalov's posture but Chkalov avoids it.
A lull in the action here.
Chkalov wants to lay and pray for a moment but Falcao keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Falcao manages to work his way to half guard, despite Chkalov's best efforts.
Falcao is looking to control Chkalov's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Falcao avoid being mounted?
Chkalov controlling the pace.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Zakhar Chkalov.

Chkalov scores a takedown into full mount!
Falcao is wriggling around trying to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chkalov wants to control the pace but Falcao is squirming around nicely.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Chkalov avoids the attempt from Falcao to control.
Chkalov looking to finish with strikes here!
Falcao is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Chkalov looking to finish with strikes here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chkalov misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Chkalov trying to control but Falcao is having none of it.
Chkalov punching from mount but Falcao doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Falcao wants to control but Chkalov is having none of it.
Chkalov throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Falcao tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Falcao is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Chkalov avoids the attempt from Falcao to control.
Falcao sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Falcao is looking to improve his position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Falcao makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Falcao.

And that's the end of the fight!
Zakhar Chkalov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Chkalov has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zakhar Chkalov!
During a confident post fight interview, Zakhar Chkalov thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.