PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Monkey Luffy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vitali Popov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Popov has chosen Tupac - Last Muthafucka Breathin' as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Luffy
vs
Popov

170 cm
18
140 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

172 cm
19
144 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Very quick

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Monkey Luffy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Vitali Popov!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Ben Zyskovitsi and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Luffy looks to throw the jab but Popov is out of range.
Luffy waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Popov.
Popov shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Luffy sprawls well. Luffy wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Popov gets slowly back to his feet.
Luffy digs a good body shot into Popov's ribs.
Luffy bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Popov's head.
Luffy defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Popov.
Popov avoids the body shot from Luffy.
Luffy misses with an attempted mid kick.
Luffy stuffs the takedown.
Monkey Luffy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vitali Popov.
Popov takes one on the chin but seems OK.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Popov is defended easily by Luffy.
Popov avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Popov takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Luffy throws a hook to the side of Popov's head but Popov sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Luffy stuffs the takedown.
Popov fails to land the takedown.
Luffy connects with a leg kick. Popov looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Popov changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Luffy tries to avoid it but Popov manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Luffy to the ground. Luffy escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Popov shoots in looking for a takedown. Luffy tries to sprawl out of it but Popov keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Luffy manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Popov with a lazy takedown attempt
letting Luffy counter with a right hand.
Luffy fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Popov takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Popov on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Popov will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Popov shoots and misses
and Luffy counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Luffy misses with a series of wild punches.
Luffy connects with an inside leg kick.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Luffy lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Luffy feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Popov's calf.
Luffy lands with a good body shot.
Luffy swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Popov shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Luffy makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Luffy lands a right hook to the body.
Luffy cracks the inside of Popov's front leg.
Luffy lands a right hook to the body.
Luffy lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Vitali Popov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Popov doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Luffy counters with a nice uppercut.
Popov misses with a takedown
and Luffy counters with a right hand to the body.
Popov looks gassed!
Popov needs to keep his hands up - Luffy had a free shot at his head there.
Popov is trying desperately to land a takedown but Luffy is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Popov.
Popov tries for a takedown but Luffy sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Popov shoots in looking for a takedown. Luffy tries to sprawl out of it but Popov keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Luffy manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Popov is trying hard to land a takedown here. Luffy sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Popov shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Luffy counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Luffy connects with a right hand. Popov shakes it off.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A nice inside leg kick there by Luffy. That's going to slow Popov down.
Popov on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Luffy connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Luffy scores with a nice right hand.
Luffy with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Popov shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Luffy sprawls well. Luffy wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Popov gets slowly back to his feet.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Luffy throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Luffy connects with a single shot there.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Luffy bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Popov's head backwards.

Luffy gets caught napping as Popov dives in and scores a takedown. Luffy manages to retain guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Popov drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Popov jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Monkey Luffy dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Popov with a lazy takedown attempt
and Luffy counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Popov with a lazy takedown attempt
and Popov takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Popov fails to land the takedown.
Monkey Luffy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vitali Popov.
Luffy throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Popov shoots in looking for a takedown. Luffy tries to sprawl out of it but Popov keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Luffy manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Popov's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Popov shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Luffy as he jumps to the side.
Luffy with a hook.
Luffy scores with a leg kick.
Luffy scores with a crisp jab that stopped Popov in his tracks.
Popov tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Luffy swivels and escapes.
Monkey Luffy is winning the standup battle so far.
Popov is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Luffy clobbers Popov with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Luffy defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Popov.
Vitali Popov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Luffy gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Popov to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Popov wants to control from the top but Luffy keeps moving.

Popov drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Popov jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Popov stops Luffy from standing up.
Luffy keeping moving, preventing Popov from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Popov drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Popov jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

Popov drops back for a leg here. A bit of a high risk move... He's looking for a kneebar by the looks of things. Now both of them are looking for submissions. Popov seems to have locked his on tight now - Luffy screams in pain and taps out furiously! It certainly was a high risk move but it's paid off for Popov, as he picks up the win!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:33 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kneebar). Vitali Popov!
A very excited looking Vitali Popov made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.