PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Luiz Soto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vladimir Putin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vladimir Putin has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Luiz Soto's chin.

Soto
vs
Putin

173 cm
26
145 lbs
17 - 7 - 0

180 cm
33
148 lbs
16 - 9 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

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 17 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Luiz Soto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Vladimir Putin!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Putin swings and misses with a shot to the body

and Soto counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Putin keeping moving, preventing Soto from controlling successfully.
Putin wants to stand and escape but Soto is having none of it.
Soto stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Putin swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Soto not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Putin is looking to stand up but Soto isn't so interested in that idea.
Putin working a defensive guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Putin throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Putin loads up on a big right hand but Soto slips the punch.
Soto lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Putin backs up against the cage.
Soto works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Vladimir Putin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Soto misses with a takedown attempt - Putin sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Putin misses the body punch

and Soto counters by clinching up.
Putin has had enough of the clinch but Soto keeps him there for the moment.
Putin wants to break the clinch but can't.
Soto goes for a takedown attempt but Putin pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Putin uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Soto.
Putin misses with a straight left.
Putin misses with a double jab
and Soto counters with a nice uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Putin fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Putin scores with a takedown into Soto's guard.
Soto pulls Putin in close to his closed guard and prevents Putin from doing any damage or advancing position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Soto is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Putin wanted to stand there but Soto had control of the position.
Putin trying to move into half guard but instead Soto has managed to sweep!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soto content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Soto controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Putin is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Soto is stalling in the full guard.
Putin is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Soto is controlling him.
Putin looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Soto pushing down on Putin's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Soto stops Putin from getting back to his feet.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Soto connects with a nice short shot to Putin's temple.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Soto in particular looking to stall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Putin is trying to stand.
Soto stalling.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Soto frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Soto raining down hammerfists from mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Putin is looking to improve his position but Soto isn't that keen on the idea.
Putin wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luiz Soto dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Soto ducks under a wild hook from Putin.
Putin thuds a left hand into Soto's body.

Soto shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Soto stalling.
Putin is trying to stand back up but Soto is controlling him
Putin is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Soto wants to advance to full mount but Putin doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Putin keeping full guard, as Soto tries to pass.
Putin is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Soto accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Soto stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Putin swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Soto controlling from the top position.
Putin has a butterfly guard looking to sweep but Soto has passed into side control.
Soto trying to control the action but Putin is working from the bottom.
Putin wants to get back to his feet but Soto drags him back down.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soto working away.
Putin is working to avoid the ground and pound but Soto connects with a decent elbow.
Putin prevents Soto from improving position.
Soto trying to control the action but Putin is working from the bottom.
Putin tries to escape but Soto is in control.
Soto wants to lay and pray for a moment but Putin keeps working.
Luiz Soto overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Soto is staying tight to Putin's torso, preventing him from escaping.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Putin is trying to buck Soto off.
Soto slows the pace down.
Putin wants to get back to his feet.
Putin tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Soto presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Putin is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Soto looking to control but Putin is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soto controlling the position easily from mount.
Putin really wants to buck Soto off and get back to his feet.
Soto lands a big shot there that rocks Putin but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Putin is in a horrible position here. Soto smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Soto manages to capitalize on a mistake by Putin to take his back!
Putin is trying to stand back up.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luiz Soto dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Soto lands with an overhand left.

Soto has closed the distance and engaged Putin in a clinch.

Soto escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Putin throws the left hand but Soto avoids the punch easily.

Soto instigates a clinch.
Soto tries to pull guard but Putin holds him up against the cage and eventually Soto drops back down to his feet.
Putin tries to break the clinch but Soto is controlling the position.
Soto tries to pull guard but Putin holds him up against the cage and eventually Soto drops back down to his feet.
Soto has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Putin avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Luiz Soto. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Putin manages to break the clinch.
Luiz Soto is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Soto moves out of range as Putin strikes.
Putin throws a body punch but Soto moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Putin lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Soto shoots in for a takedown but Putin shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Soto fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
A swing and a miss from Putin.
Soto slaps away a takedown attempt from Putin, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Putin slips a jab and a cross from Soto.
Putin misses with a wild combination.
Soto staying out of range there.
Soto will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Putin misses with a two punch combination.

Soto shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Putin manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Putin is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Soto gets full guard.

Putin stands up from Soto's guard - Putin perhaps looking for a knockout.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Soto avoids the body shot from Putin.
Soto ducks under a wild hook from Putin.
Putin misses with a double jab.
Putin takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Soto looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Soto is pushing down on Putin's leg trying to pass to half guard. Putin is fighting to maintain full guard but Soto has managed to sneak the leg through.
Soto keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Soto prevents Putin from standing back up.
Well, if Soto is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

We're going to have a standup here because Luiz Soto wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Soto drives through with a takedown into Putin's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Putin is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Soto pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Putin is keeping the position for now.
Vladimir Putin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Soto looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Soto forces his way into half guard.
Luiz Soto is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Soto seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Soto passes to side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Putin is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Luiz Soto showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Soto, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Luiz Soto!