PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Hatsu Masai (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Markus Kaliniev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Masai is coming into this fight with a significant injury, which will no doubt have an effect on his cardio. Hatsu Masai has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Masai
vs
Kaliniev

170 cm
18
160 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

179 cm
26
155 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Hatsu Masai!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Markus Kaliniev!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Chris Downing and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kaliniev has taken the fight to the clinch.
Kaliniev misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Masai.
Nice elbow from Kaliniev.

It looks like Hatsu Masai has been cut.
Masai is breathing heavily.
Kaliniev landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Kaliniev lands an elbow inside that Masai shrugs off.
Knees in the clinch landing for Kaliniev.
Kaliniev putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Masai in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Kaliniev.
Kaliniev lands an elbow that stopped Masai in his tracks for a moment.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Knees to the body from Kaliniev.
Kaliniev creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Masai's defenses.
Kaliniev working Masai over with knees to the body.
Masai takes an elbow to the forehead.
Kaliniev utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Kaliniev lands a nice knee to the body.
Kaliniev crunches a lovely knee into Masai's ribcage.
Kaliniev scores a nice knee to the body.
Masai jumps guard but Kaliniev stands there with Masai around his waist. Masai gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Kaliniev scores with a knee to the head.

Hatsu Masai's cut is getting worse.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kaliniev is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Masai takes a knee right on the jaw!
A knee to the head by Kaliniev.
Kaliniev with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Kaliniev crunches a lovely knee into Masai's ribcage.
Kaliniev using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Kaliniev utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Kaliniev lands a knee to the head.
Kaliniev lands a good knee to the midsection. Masai won't want to take too many of those.
Kaliniev utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Kaliniev landing knees to the head.
Kaliniev connects with a knee to the head.
Kaliniev with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kaliniev unloads a knee to the mid-section.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kaliniev scores with a knee to the head.
Kaliniev lands a nice knee to the body.
Kaliniev lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Kaliniev is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Kaliniev landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Kaliniev obliges.
Knees to the body from Kaliniev.
Kaliniev lands an elbow that stopped Masai in his tracks for a moment.
Kaliniev lands a good knee to the midsection. Masai won't want to take too many of those.
Kaliniev scores with a knee to the head.
Kaliniev is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Kaliniev creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Masai's defenses.
Kaliniev lands a knee to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kaliniev utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Knees to the body from Kaliniev.
Kaliniev scores a nice knee to the body.
Masai takes a knee to the side of the body.
Kaliniev connects with a knee to the head.
Kaliniev lands a nice knee to the body.
Kaliniev landing knees to the head.
Kaliniev trying to land knees to the body.
Masai takes a knee to the side of the body.
Masai is trying to maintain a safe position but Kaliniev gets an underhook and turns Masai into the ropes.
Kaliniev lands an elbow inside that Masai shrugs off.
Kaliniev lands a good knee to the midsection. Masai won't want to take too many of those.
Kaliniev comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Kaliniev landing knees to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kaliniev landing knees to the head.
Kaliniev lands an elbow just above Masai 's eye.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Kaliniev obliges.
Kaliniev lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Kaliniev with a knee to the head.
Kaliniev with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Masai is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Kaliniev lands a knee to the body.
Kaliniev scores with a knee to the head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kaliniev lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Masai is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Kaliniev lands a knee to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Markus Kaliniev dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Hatsu Masai's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Kaliniev forces Masai back against the ropes and clinches.
Kaliniev landing knees to the body.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Kaliniev utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Kaliniev scores a nice knee to the body.
Kaliniev is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Markus Kaliniev seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Kaliniev scores a nice knee to the body.
Masai takes a knee to the side of the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kaliniev landing knees to the head.
Kaliniev lands an elbow just above Masai 's eye.
Kaliniev is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kaliniev using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Kaliniev with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Knees in the clinch landing for Kaliniev.
Kaliniev landing knees to the body.
Kaliniev unloads a knee to the mid-section. Masai lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kaliniev crunches a lovely knee into Masai's ribcage.
Masai takes a knee to the side of the body.
Masai is trying to push Kaliniev away but Kaliniev has him pressed against the ropes, so he's going nowhere.
Kaliniev putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Masai in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Kaliniev scores with a knee to the head.
Kaliniev scores a nice knee to the body.
Kaliniev with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Kaliniev lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

Masai pulls guard.
Kaliniev tries to free his leg and advance position but Masai is retaining full guard.
Kaliniev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Masai is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kaliniev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kaliniev preventing the sweep.
Masai is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Masai looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kaliniev loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Masai can't keep his opponent in guard - Kaliniev advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Kaliniev is pressing down on Masai's thigh, looking to free his foot. Masai is holding on for now.
Kaliniev thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Masai knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Kaliniev on the ground.
Kaliniev sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Masai defending well though.
Kaliniev moves into full mount! Masai won't be happy about that!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kaliniev thowing shots but they're missing.
Kaliniev has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Masai in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Kaliniev landing strikes, looking to finish!
Kaliniev looking to ground and pound but Masai is blocking nicely.
Kaliniev working Masai over with strikes here.
Kaliniev looking to ground and pound but Masai is blocking nicely.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Kaliniev cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Kaliniev unloads with some shots from mount but Masai bucks and avoids them well.
Kaliniev looking to finish with strikes here!
Kaliniev throwing strikes here but Masai is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Kaliniev 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kaliniev thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Kaliniev lands a nice shot to the head.
Kaliniev throws some wild stikes that Masai manages to avoid easily.
Kaliniev unloads with some shots from mount but Masai bucks and avoids them well.
Masai is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Kaliniev misses with a head shot.
Kaliniev thowing shots but they're missing.
Kaliniev raining down shots from the mount!
Kaliniev thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Kaliniev looking to ground and pound but Masai is blocking nicely.
Kaliniev looking to finish with strikes here!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Markus Kaliniev showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Hatsu Masai's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Kaliniev gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Kaliniev lands an elbow inside.
Nice elbow from Kaliniev.
Masai takes an elbow to the temple.
Masai drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Kaliniev gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Knees to the body from Kaliniev.
Kaliniev lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Kaliniev lands an elbow inside.
Kaliniev utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Kaliniev unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kaliniev scores with a knee to the head.
Knees to the body from Kaliniev.
Kaliniev unloads a knee to the mid-section.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kaliniev scores a nice knee to the body.
Kaliniev with a knee to the head.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Kaliniev obliges.
Kaliniev unloads a knee to the mid-section. Masai lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Kaliniev obliges.
Kaliniev unloads a knee to the mid-section. Masai lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Kaliniev misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Masai.
Masai looking for a takedown.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Kaliniev obliges.
Kaliniev with a knee to the head.
Masai managing to block the knees to the body from Kaliniev.
Kaliniev is pressed up against the ropes. Masai has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Kaliniev down to the mat. Kaliniev avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hatsu Masai. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Kaliniev has Masai up against the ropes in a clinch.
Kaliniev landing knees to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kaliniev scores a nice knee to the body.
Kaliniev stops a takedown attempt from Masai.
Kaliniev connects with a nasty looking knee right to Masai's face.
Masai drops down looking for an ankle pick but Kaliniev pulls his leg out and moves away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Kaliniev gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Kaliniev tries a knee to the head but Masai blocks it.

Kaliniev is fighting off a takedown attempt but Masai is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Kaliniev to the mat. Kaliniev regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Masai stops Kaliniev from standing up.
Masai controlling from the top position.

Masai drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Kaliniev manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Masai has Kaliniev in his guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kaliniev trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Kaliniev slips nicely into half guard.
Kaliniev uses his free foot to push down on Masai's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Masai.
Masai is working to get back to half guard.
Kaliniev thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kaliniev with good strikes from the mount here!
Masai is trying to escape the mount.
Poor strikes thrown by Kaliniev there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Kaliniev throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Kaliniev unloads with some shots from mount but Masai bucks and avoids them well.
The referee warns Masai that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Kaliniev throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Masai can't escape the position.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kaliniev unloads with some shots from mount but Masai bucks and avoids them well.
Kaliniev thowing shots but they're missing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kaliniev punching from mount but Masai doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Hatsu Masai has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Markus Kaliniev is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Masai is squirming around, avoiding Kaliniev's attempts to control the action.

And that's the end of the fight!
Markus Kaliniev comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Kaliniev 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 Gwen Towbar scores the fight 26:30
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 26:30
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Markus Kaliniev!
A pretty intense looking Markus Kaliniev took the opportunity post-fight to ask for a shot at the title.