PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vladimir Drago (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ivan Dolbakov (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.

Drago
vs
Dolbakov

209 cm
18
300 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

193 cm
23
289 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight 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, Vladimir Drago!
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, Ivan Dolbakov!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Fedor Mirinova and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dolbakov misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Drago clinches up with Dolbakov and pushes him back against the cage.
Dolbakov lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Drago is trying to break the clinch but Dolbakov has him pressed against the cage.
Dolbakov lands a right hand.
Dolbakov prevents the takedown attempt.

Dolbakov manages to pull guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Dolbakov pushes Drago off and gets back to his feet.
Drago throws a half hearted mid kick.

Drago rushes Dolbakov and presses him up against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Dolbakov.
Dolbakov looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Dolbakov keeps control of Drago as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A short left from Dolbakov.
Drago can't break the clinch.

Dolbakov successfully pulls guard.

Dolbakov is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.

That's one minute gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Dolbakov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Drago goes for a takedown attempt but Dolbakov pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Dolbakov is looking to clinch.
Dolbakov tries to clinch up but Drago circles away and keeps his distance.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Drago.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vladimir Drago. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dolbakov wants to clinch up but Drago keeps it at a distance.
Drago tries a head kick but it misses.
Ivan Dolbakov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Drago is breathing heavily.
Dolbakov is looking to clinch.
Drago scores with the left hand. Dolbakov knows he should have avoided that one.
Dolbakov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Dolbakov tries to clinch up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dolbakov tries to clinch up but Drago circles away and keeps his distance.

Dolbakov darts in and clinches Drago up against the cage.
Dolbakov taking a breather.
Drago tries to pull guard but Dolbakov holds him up against the cage and eventually Drago drops back down to his feet.
Drago tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Dolbakov smiles and moves away.

Dolbakov clinches up against the cage.
Dolbakov lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Dolbakov pushes off an throws an elbow but Drago leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Dolbakov pulls guard successfully.
Dolbakov doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.

Dolbakov pushes Drago off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

Dolbakov takes the fight into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Dolbakov manages to break the clinch.
Dolbakov shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Drago defends it nicely.
Nice takedown defense from Drago. No joy for Dolbakov on that attempt.
Dolbakov tries to close the distance and clinch up but Drago swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Dolbakov moves in looking to clinch but Drago pushes him off.

Dolbakov gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Dolbakov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Still in the clinch, Dolbakov scores with a nice short uppercut.

Dolbakov breaks the clinch.

Dolbakov moves into the clinch successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Drago wants to take the fight to the mat but Dolbakov manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
A right hook to the body lands for Dolbakov.
A left hand lands to the body for Dolbakov.
Dolbakov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Dolbakov lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Dolbakov scores with a shoulder strike.
Drago takes a shot to the head.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Dolbakov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Dolbakov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Dolbakov lands a right hand that snaps the head of Drago backwards.
A nice left hand lands by Dolbakov.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Dolbakov manages to break the clinch.

Dolbakov has closed the distance and engaged Drago in a clinch.
Dolbakov gets through Drago's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Dolbakov 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.

Dolbakov gets a clinch.
Dolbakov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Drago tries to break the clinch but Dolbakov is controlling the position.
Drago trying to control the position but instead, Dolbakov has worked for underhooks and has pushed Drago into the cage.

Dolbakov manages to break the clinch.
Dolbakov throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Drago's waist but Drago gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Dolbakov off to one side.

Dolbakov gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Drago is trying to break the clinch but Dolbakov is controlling him.
Drago has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Dolbakov avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Dolbakov lands with a right to the head.
Dolbakov lands with a right to the head.

Dolbakov pulls guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Dolbakov manages to escape and get back to his feet.

Dolbakov moves into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Dolbakov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Vladimir Drago is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Drago avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Dolbakov has closed the distance and engaged Drago in a clinch.
Ivan Dolbakov seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Dolbakov lands with a light punch inside.
Drago is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Dolbakov to keep the fight standing.
Dolbakov scores with a shot to the side of Drago's head.
Drago's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Dolbakov lands a shoulder strike.
Drago is trying to break free.

Dolbakov breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Dolbakov swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Dolbakov moves into the clinch.
Dolbakov missing with knees to the body.
Dolbakov gets through Drago's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Dolbakov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Dolbakov has taken the fight to the clinch.
Dolbakov throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Dragos head.
Dolbakov lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Dolbakov lands an uppercut.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Dolbakov jumps guard.
Dolbakov is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Dolbakov throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Drago wants to get back to full guard but Dolbakov has passed into side control.

Dolbakov decides to stand back up.

Dolbakov closes the distance and clinches.
Dolbakov has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dolbakov lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Dolbakov lands a left hand that snaps the head of Drago backwards.
Dolbakov working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Dolbakov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Dolbakov lands a nice uppercut.
Dolbakov lands an uppercut.
Dolbakov scores with a shot to the side of Drago's head.
A short uppercut from Dolbakov.
Dolbakov softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Dolbakov lands on the inside with an uppercut.

Dolbakov drags the fight down to the ground.

Dolbakov manages to escape and get back to his feet.

Dolbakov has Drago up against the cage in a clinch.
Dolbakov lands with a right to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dolbakov looking for a takedown.
Drago is working for takedown but Dolbakov is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vladimir Drago. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dolbakov creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Dolbakov lands with a left to the head.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Dolbakov working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Drago wants to break the clinch but can't.
Dolbakov scores with an uppercut up the middle.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Dolbakov.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Dolbakov lands with a short head shot on the inside.

Dolbakov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Dolbakov wants to clinch up but Drago keeps it at a distance.
Dolbakov shoots for a takedown but Drago saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Dolbakov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Dolbakov doesn't manage to clinch there - Drago circles away.
Dolbakov tries to close the distance and clinch up but Drago swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Drago shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Dolbakov pinned against the cage. Dolbakov gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Dolbakov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Dolbakov tries to close the distance and clinch but Drago swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Dolbakov has closed the distance and engaged Drago in a clinch.

Dolbakov breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Dolbakov shoots in looking for a takedown. Drago tries to sprawl out of it but Dolbakov keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Drago manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Dolbakov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Dolbakov tries to clinch up.
Dolbakov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Dolbakov is looking to clinch but Drago is avoiding it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Drago moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Dolbakov shoots in for a takedown but Drago shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Drago tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Drago misses with a head kick.
Dolbakov tries to clinch but Drago moves out of range.
Drago stuffs the takedown.
Vladimir Drago has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ivan Dolbakov.
Drago lands a two punch combo.
Dolbakov tries to close the distance and clinch but Drago swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Dolbakov blocks a head kick by Drago.
The fight stays on the outside here - Dolbakov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Dolbakov fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Drago, pushing him back against the cage.

Dolbakov jumps into guard, dragging Drago to the mat.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dolbakov is looking to stand up but Drago isn't so interested in that idea.

Dolbakov pushes Drago off and scrambles back to his feet.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Drago gets tackled into the cage by Dolbakov. Dolbakov maintains the clinch.

Dolbakov has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Drago uses from the top position.

Dolbakov is looking for a triangle but Drago pushes his legs off easily.
Ivan Dolbakov has got the better of the ground game so far.
Drago stops Dolbakov from standing up.

Dolbakov pushes Drago off and scrambles back to his feet.

Dolbakov instigates a clinch.
Still in the clinch, Dolbakov scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A hook to the body from Dolbakov.
Drago jumps guard but Dolbakov turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

Dolbakov jumps guard.
Dolbakov trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!

Dolbakov manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Dolbakov fails with a takedown attempt.
Drago scores with a one two! Dolbakov had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Dolbakov stuffs the takedown.
Drago throws a head kick but Dolbakov moves out of range.
The fight stays on the outside here - Dolbakov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Dolbakov tries for a takedown but Drago sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Drago closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Dolbakov works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Dolbakov is looking to take this one to the mat.
Dolbakov has Drago pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Drago manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Dolbakov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.

Dolbakov breaks the clinch.

Drago has managed to clinch.
Dolbakov scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Dolbakov lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Drago backwards.

Dolbakov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Dolbakov tries to clinch but Drago is having none of it.
Dolbakov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Vladimir Drago has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ivan Dolbakov is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Dolbakov moves into range and clinches up with Drago.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ivan Dolbakov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Dolbakov has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 27:30
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ivan Dolbakov!