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). Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the fighters buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Short
vs
Volkov

160 cm
30
146 lbs
10 - 8 - 0

176 cm
27
140 lbs
13 - 7 - 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 10 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Damien Short!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Nik Volkov!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Shigeki Sano and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Volkov avoids the body shot from Short.
Short swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Short looks to score with a jab to the body but Volkov is just out of range.
Short misses with a hook. Volkov ducked under it nicely.
Short looks to throw the jab but Volkov is out of range.
Volkov fails to land the takedown.
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.

Volkov feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Volkov trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

Volkov is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Short is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Short has escaped and now he's on top!

Volkov working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Short doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Short manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Volkov has control of Short's left arm, preventing Short from doing any damage.
Volkov's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Short postures up.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Nik Volkov wasn't active enough on the ground.
Short connects with a nice looking jab.
Short scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Short slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Short tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Volkov was well out of range. Poor timing from Short.
Damien Short is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Volkov shoots in and drives through. Short sprawls well.
Damien Short has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nik Volkov.
Short fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Volkov manages to avoid it.
Short connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Volkov shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Volkov moves away from the strike by Short.
Short thows a body shot but no joy.
A looping hook to the body misses from Short. Volkov does a little dance to reset his feet.
Volkov fails to land the takedown.
Short throws out a powerful jab.
Volkov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Short as he avoids it easily.
Volkov shoots in for a takedown but Short shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Short misses with a shot to the body

and Volkov counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Volkov is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Short doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Volkov.
Short is trying to stand back up but Volkov is controlling him

Volkov is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Short is staying active underneath Volkov, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Volkov throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Volkov throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Volkov with the ground and pound but Short uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Volkov wants to control from the top but Short keeps moving.
Volkov might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Short kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Volkov forces his way into half guard.
Volkov seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Short does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Nik Volkov.
Short lands a right hook to the body.
Short swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Volkov has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Short finds it's way round the side to connect with Volkov's head.

Volkov shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Short napping and manages to drive through into side control!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Short is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Volkov asserts his dominance and retains side control.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.

Volkov is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Short is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Short is not content to let Volkov control the position.
Short avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Volkov.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Short is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Volkov asserts his dominance and retains side control.
An elbow from Volkov crashes against the mat.

Volkov is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Short has escaped the position, nice work there.
Volkov in side control, throwing shots but Short defends.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Short is pushing Volkov's head away, looking to escape. Volkov manages to hold on to the position though.
Volkov working the body and head with strikes.

Volkov looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Short is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Volkov has just dragged him back down to the mat.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Volkov trying to control the action but Short is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nik Volkov dominated that round.
That's time! 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.

Volkov shoots in for a takedown but Short shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Short moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Volkov fails to land the takedown.
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.
Damien Short has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nik Volkov.
Volkov has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Short finds it's way round the side to connect with Volkov's head.
Short misses the shot to the body.
Volkov fails with a takedown attempt.
Short uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Volkov has time to react.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Short throws out a powerful jab.
Short throws a hook but Volkov avoids it easily.
Volkov keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Short lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.

Volkov is rocked!
Short swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Volkov shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Short as he jumps to the side.
Short fails to land with a series of punches.
Volkov shoots in for a double leg but Short sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Short throws a big shot that misses.
Short fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Volkov manages to avoid it.
Volkov moves out of range of the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Volkov.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Volkov looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
An elbow from Volkov crashes against the mat.

Volkov tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Short takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Volkov trying to control the position but Short is working away.
Volkov in side control lands a decent elbow.
Volkov wants to control but Short is keeping him busy.
Volkov throws a strike aimed at the side of Short's head but Short avoids it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Volkov trying to control the action but Short is working from the bottom.
Short might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Volkov is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Short knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Volkov tries to score with some ground and pound. Short controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.

Volkov tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Volkov has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's five minutes gone in the round.

Volkov thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.

Volkov goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Short rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Volkov's guard! Nice work there by Short!
Volkov is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Short wants to stand but Volkov is controlling his posture from full guard.
Short stopping the sweep attempt from Volkov.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Volkov trying to control the position.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Nik Volkov wasn't active enough on the ground.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Volkov.
Damien Short is winning the standup battle so far.
Volkov avoids the body shot from Short.

That's eight 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 will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Short takes a swing at Volkov's ribcage but misses.
Short ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Volkov moves away.
Volkov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Short as he avoids it easily.

Volkov changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Short looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Volkov landing strikes.
Volkov fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Volkov trying to control the position but Short is working away.

Volkov goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Short rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Volkov's guard! Nice work there by Short!

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Volkov is trying to keep Short in close.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Nik Volkov hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Short misses with a wild body shot.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nik Volkov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight for Nik Volkov!
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight for Nik Volkov!
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight for Nik Volkov!

Nik Volkov wins by unanimous decision!
Nik Volkov was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.