PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Damien Short (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nik Volkov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Damien Short has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Short
vs
Volkov

160 cm
29
146 lbs
9 - 7 - 0

176 cm
26
140 lbs
11 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Damien Short!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Nik Volkov!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Kenichi Hosakawa and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Short misses with a wild combination.
Volkov shoots in looking for a takedown. Short tries to sprawl out of it but Volkov keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Short manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Volkov fails with the takedown.
Volkov dives in and grabs Short's left leg, looking for a takedown. Short pushes down on Volkov's head and hops out.
Damien Short has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nik Volkov.

Volkov shoots in and bounces Short off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Volkov wants to pass the guard but Short is keeping the position.
Volkov postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Volkov throws a strike but Short rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Volkov wants to sweep but no luck.
Short is looking to stand up but Volkov won't let him.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Volkov holds on and takes a little breather.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Damien Short wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Volkov misses with a takedown attempt
and Short cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Short thows a body shot but no joy.
Volkov misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Volkov shoots for a double leg takedown but Short sprawls well. He's pushed Volkov's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Volkov.
Volkov shoots for a double leg takedown but Short sprawls well. He's pushed Volkov's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Short throws a jab when Volkov was well out of range.
Volkov fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A looping hook to the body misses from Short. Volkov does a little dance to reset his feet.
Volkov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Short as he avoids it easily.
Short tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Volkov was well out of range. Poor timing from Short.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Volkov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Short.
Short looks to land a right hand but Volkov moved out of range.
Nice takedown defense from Short. No joy for Volkov on that attempt.
Short swings and misses with a shot to the body

and Volkov counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Volkov stops Short from standing up.
Volkov slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Short wants to stand up but Volkov is controlling him.
Volkov forces his way into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Volkov is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Short!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Volkov looking to control but Short is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Volkov controlling the position easily from mount.
Short holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Volkov tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Volkov cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Volkov raining down shots from the mount!
Volkov punching from mount but Short doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Volkov dominating with strikes here.
Volkov can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Short is looking to escape.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Volkov unloads with some shots from mount but Short bucks and avoids them well.
Volkov raining down hammerfists from mount.
Volkov working Short over with strikes here.

Volkov has hold of Short's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Short manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Volkov tries to control but Short wriggling away.
Volkov has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Volkov putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Volkov is landing with some decent strikes but Short is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Short blocking the ground and pound.
Volkov lands a nice shot to the head.

Volkov working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Volkov misses with a head shot.

Volkov working for a guillotine from mount but Short is in no mood to give up.
Volkov with a couple of short strikes.
Volkov looking to control but Short is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Volkov thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Volkov unloading with bombs!
Volkov throws a strike there. Short manages to avoid it well and slips a leg under to get to half guard.
Volkov wants to advance to full mount but Short doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Volkov trying to control the position from guard on top but Short is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Volkov accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nik Volkov dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Short connects with a crisp jab.
Volkov shoots in looking for a takedown. Short tries to sprawl out of it but Volkov keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Short manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Volkov shoots for a takedown but Short saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Volkov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Damien Short has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nik Volkov.
Short works Volkov's body with a nice hook.
Nik Volkov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Volkov fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Volkov looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Short is fending him off so far but Volkov persists. Nope, Short circles away and we're back to standing.
Volkov fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Volkov fails with a takedown attempt.
Damien Short is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Short misses with a looping right.
Volkov is breathing heavily.
Short lands with a right hand.
Volkov closes the distance and clinches up with Short, looking for a takedown. Volkov pushes Short against the cage but Short circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Short just misses with a punch to the body.
Volkov takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Short bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Volkov's head.
Short stuffs the takedown attempt from Volkov. Volkov gets slowly back to his feet.
Short throws a body punch but Volkov moves out of range.
Volkov shoots in looking for a takedown but Short manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Volkov's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Short scores with a jab to the jaw.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Volkov looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Short!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Short wants to try and get back to his feet.

Volkov swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Short is now in Volkov's guard. A big mistake from Volkov there, giving up the dominant position!

Volkov has his foot on Short's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Short works his way back into a safe position though.

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

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Short misses with a looping right.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Volkov shoots and misses
and Short counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Short misses with an uppercut.
Horrible takedown by Volkov or perhaps it was just good defense by Short which made him look bad.
Short takes a swing at Volkov's ribcage but misses.
Volkov fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Volkov shoots in for a takedown but Short shows good takedown defense.
Short swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Short tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Volkov was well out of range. Poor timing from Short.
Short lands an overhand right.
Volkov slips under a jab from Short.
Short looks to score with a jab to the body but Volkov is just out of range.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Horrible takedown by Volkov or perhaps it was just good defense by Short which made him look bad.
Short jabs Volkov to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Volkov uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Short.
Short misses with a body shot.
Short uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Volkov has time to react.
Volkov is trying hard to land a takedown here. Short sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Short scores with a body shot.
Volkov takes one to the chin there.
Volkov shoots in for a takedown but Short shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Short misses the shot to the body.

Volkov scores a takedown into full mount!

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Volkov controlling the position easily from mount.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Volkov looking to control but Short is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Volkov thowing shots but they're missing.
Short wants to get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Volkov trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Volkov lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Volkov with good strikes from the mount here!
Volkov breaks from Short's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Volkov wants to control the pace but Short is squirming around nicely.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Volkov landing strikes, looking to finish!
Volkov punching from mount but Short doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Volkov throws a strike there. Short manages to avoid it well and slips a leg under to get to half guard.
Damien Short has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Volkov works his way into full mount!
Volkov can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Short is looking to escape.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Volkov postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Short looks a forlorn figure.
Volkov lands a nice shot to the head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Volkov is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Short can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Volkov trying to control but Short is having none of it.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Nik Volkov.
I think Volkov 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 2 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight for Nik Volkov!
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight for Nik Volkov!
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight for Nik Volkov!

Nik Volkov wins by unanimous decision!
In his post fight interview, Nik Volkov started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.