PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sergei Sokolov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cross Odenkirk (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Sokolov
vs
Odenkirk

188 cm
21
210 lbs
6 - 0 - 0

185 cm
28
215 lbs
9 - 9 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Russian Top Team Nutrition

SPARTA FIGHTWARE-GTI

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 6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sergei Sokolov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 9 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Cross Odenkirk!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Konstantin Menshow and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Odenkirk takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
The fight stays on the outside here - Odenkirk looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Sokolov misses with a straight left.
Sokolov cracks Odenkirk with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Odenkirk ducks under a wild hook from Sokolov.
Odenkirk tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Sokolov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Sokolov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Odenkirk dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Odenkirk moves into the clinch.

Odenkirk breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Sokolov missing with a left hand there. Odenkirk was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Odenkirk is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Odenkirk fails with a takedown attempt.
Odenkirk wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.

Odenkirk has managed to clinch.

Odenkirk breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Odenkirk looks to clinch
and Sokolov counters with a right hand to the body.
Odenkirk misses with a double jab
enabling Sokolov to counter with a crisp jab.
Sokolov lands with a cross.
Odenkirk slips a straight right by Sokolov.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Odenkirk shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Odenkirk showed some decent athleticism there.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Odenkirk wants to free his trapped foot but Sokolov is holding on for dear life with his legs.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Odenkirk wants to take a breather but Sokolov is having none of it.
Odenkirk thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Odenkirk keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Odenkirk wants to free his trapped foot but Sokolov is holding on for dear life with his legs.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Cross Odenkirk wasn't active enough on the ground.

Odenkirk clinches up with Sokolov and pushes him back against the cage.
Odenkirk goes for a takedown in the clinch but Sokolov prevents it.
Sokolov can't break the clinch.

Odenkirk manages to break the clinch.
Sokolov misses with a two punch combination.
Odenkirk moves out of range as Sokolov strikes.
Sokolov throws a jab but it's blocked by Odenkirk.
Sokolov scores with the left hand. Odenkirk knows he should have avoided that one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sokolov connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Sokolov throws a jab when Odenkirk was well out of range.
Sokolov misses with a straight left.
Sokolov jabs Odenkirk to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Odenkirk tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Odenkirk drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Odenkirk won't allow Sokolov to get back to his feet.
Odenkirk controls from within his opponent's guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Odenkirk wants to control from the top but Sokolov keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cross Odenkirk dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Odenkirk drives through and clinches with Sokolov against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Odenkirk.
A head punch on the inside from Odenkirk fails to land.
A nice left hand lands by Odenkirk.
Sokolov can't break the clinch.
A short right from Odenkirk on the inside.
Sokolov tries to circle away but Odenkirk has him pinned against the cage.
Odenkirk swings wildly with an uppercut but Sokolov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sokolov is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Sokolov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Sokolov gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Odenkirk to score an easy takedown into full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Odenkirk is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Odenkirk working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Odenkirk tries to free his leg and advance position but Sokolov is retaining full guard.
Odenkirk controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Cross Odenkirk.
The fight stays on the outside here - Odenkirk looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Sokolov throws an overhand right that lands on Odenkirk's shoulder, as Odenkirk tries to avoid the shot.

Odenkirk drives through with a takedown into guard.
Odenkirk throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Odenkirk sitting in guard here, content to control.
Odenkirk sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Sokolov's guard.
Odenkirk thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Odenkirk throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Odenkirk seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Sokolov does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Cross Odenkirk has got the better of the ground game so far.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Cross Odenkirk.
Sokolov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Nice takedown defense from Sokolov. No joy for Odenkirk on that attempt.
Odenkirk shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Sokolov sprawls well. Sokolov wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Odenkirk gets slowly back to his feet.
Odenkirk fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sokolov lands with an uppercut that bounces Odenkirk off the cage and back into range.
Odenkirk slips under a jab.
Sergei Sokolov is winning the standup battle so far.
Odenkirk tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sokolov swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Odenkirk fails with a takedown attempt.
Sergei Sokolov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Cross Odenkirk.
Sokolov lands a nice shot to the body.
Sokolov is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Odenkirk closes this distance looking for a takedown but Sokolov circles away.
A lazy left from Sokolov finds it's target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cross Odenkirk showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Sokolov throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Odenkirk throws the left hand but Sokolov avoids the punch easily.
Odenkirk shoots in and drives through. Sokolov sprawls well.

Odenkirk moves into the clinch.
Sokolov avoids a wild elbow strike from Odenkirk.

Odenkirk is trying to trip Sokolov. He has hold of a leg but Sokolov is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Odenkirk persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Sokolov is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Odenkirk is controlling him.
Odenkirk wants to control from the top but Sokolov keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sokolov wants to stand but Odenkirk is controlling the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Cross Odenkirk wasn't active enough on the ground.
Odenkirk is looking to clinch.
Odenkirk is trying hard to land a takedown here. Sokolov sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Odenkirk throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Sokolov's waist but Sokolov gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Odenkirk off to one side.
Sergei Sokolov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Cross Odenkirk.
Sokolov stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Sokolov looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Odenkirk tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Sokolov paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Odenkirk throws a big shot that misses.
Sokolov misses with a looping right.
Odenkirk jabs Sokolov to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Odenkirk misses with a wild combination.
Odenkirk displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Sokolov throws out the jab.
Odenkirk has a takedown stuffed.
Odenkirk is looking to clinch but Sokolov is avoiding it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Odenkirk darts in and clinches Sokolov up against the cage.
Sokolov tries to break free but Odenkirk pushes him back against the cage.
Odenkirk is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Sokolov is defending well.
Odenkirk misses with a punch on the inside.
Odenkirk effectively controlling the action here.
Odenkirk receives a warning from the referee for stalling.

Odenkirk manages to break the clinch.
Sergei Sokolov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Sokolov tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Odenkirk is able to avoid easily.
Sokolov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Odenkirk is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Sokolov.
Sokolov lands with a hook. Odenkirk tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Odenkirk throws out a loose jab but Sokolov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Odenkirk wants to clinch.

Odenkirk moves into the clinch.
Cross Odenkirk is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Sokolov tries to break free but Odenkirk pushes him back against the cage.

Odenkirk manages to break the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Odenkirk tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Sokolov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Cross Odenkirk is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Odenkirk dives in and scores a takedown into Sokolov's guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cross Odenkirk comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Odenkirk winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 27:30
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 27:30
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cross Odenkirk!
After winning the bout, Cross Odenkirk thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.