PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sanek Karelin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Valeriy Kozelkov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Karelin
vs
Kozelkov

185 cm
18
193 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sanek Karelin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Valeriy Kozelkov!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No luck for Karelin with that takedown attempt.

Kozelkov pushes Karelin up against the cage in a clinch.
Karelin is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Kozelkov gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Karelin drops down looking for an ankle pick but Kozelkov pulls his leg out and moves away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sanek Karelin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Karelin shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kozelkov pinned against the cage. Kozelkov gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Karelin doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Kozelkov lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Karelin misses with a series of wild punches.
Karelin fails with a takedown attempt.
Sloppy strikes from Kozelkov. Those never looked like landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kozelkov throws a head kick that misses.
Kozelkov lands with a right hand.

Karelin decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Kozelkov controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
Kozelkov is trying to stand up here but Karelin is controlling him well.
Karelin not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Kozelkov wants to get back to full guard but Karelin has passed into side control.
Karelin working the head with strikes.

Karelin tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Karelin is breathing heavily.
Kozelkov wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kozelkov is trying to control Karelin's posture but Karelin avoids it.
Karelin in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
An elbow from Karelin crashes against the mat.
Kozelkov managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Karelin.
Kozelkov is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Karelin off and has taken his back!
A bit of a pause in the action here. Kozelkov controlling the positon.
Karelin wriggles onto his back under a barage of strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kozelkov looking to control but Karelin is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Kozelkov looking to ground and pound but Karelin is blocking nicely.
Kozelkov sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Kozelkov looking to control but Karelin is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Kozelkov is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Kozelkov sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kozelkov moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Karelin has worked his arm free - good work by Karelin!
Kozelkov tries to stand but Karelin is controlling his head.

Kozelkov wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Karelin, who protects the arm well.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kozelkov is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Karelin will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Valeriy Kozelkov will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Kozelkov displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Karelin.
Karelin fails with a takedown attempt.
Kozelkov tries to clinch up.
Kozelkov scores with a jab. Karelin acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Karelin takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.

Kozelkov rushes Karelin and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Kozelkov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Karelin shoots in for a double leg but Kozelkov sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sanek Karelin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kozelkov throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Karelin stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Kozelkov connects with a nice looking jab.
Kozelkov tries to clinch up but Karelin circles away and keeps his distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kozelkov closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Kozelkov tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Kozelkov wants to control but Karelin is keeping him busy.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Karelin on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Karelin tries to get out of the position.
Kozelkov throws an elbow but Karelin slips to the side and avoids it well.
Valeriy Kozelkov has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kozelkov wants to control but Karelin is keeping him busy.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Karelin stops Kozelkov from passing to mount.
Karelin is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Kozelkov asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Karelin is being controlled here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Valeriy Kozelkov has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Kozelkov scores with the left hand. Karelin knows he should have avoided that one.
Karelin misses with a hook
and Kozelkov counters with a left and a right that stings Karelin.
Karelin has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Kozelkov.
Kozelkov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Valeriy Kozelkov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Kozelkov throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A punch combination from Kozelkov misses.
Kozelkov moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.

Karelin shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Kozelkov napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Kozelkov tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Karelin wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kozelkov isn't going anywhere.
Kozelkov on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kozelkov is looking to reverse the position.
Karelin lands a decent elbow from side control.
Kozelkov taking a bit of punishment here - Karelin scoring with strikes.
Kozelkov is working to avoid the ground and pound but Karelin connects with a decent elbow.
Karelin throws a strike aimed at the side of Kozelkov's head but Kozelkov avoids it well.
Karelin has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Kozelkov struggling a bit here.
Karelin landing a few strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Karelin misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Kozelkov is looking for a sweep.
Kozelkov is not content to let Karelin control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Valeriy Kozelkov will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Kozelkov scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Karelin looks for a takedown but Kozelkov sprawls well.
Karelin takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Kozelkov throws a leg kick but Karelin sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Kozelkov dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Karelin will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Karelin dives in and grabs Kozelkov's left leg, looking for a takedown. Kozelkov pushes down on Karelin's head and hops out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sanek Karelin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kozelkov moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Kozelkov misses with a head kick.
Kozelkov throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kozelkov rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Karelin moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Karelin shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Kozelkov as he avoids it easily.
Karelin on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Karelin shoots and misses
and Kozelkov cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
A right-left combo lands from Kozelkov.
Karelin shoots in for a takedown but Kozelkov shows good takedown defense.
Karelin looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.

Kozelkov clinches up with Karelin and pushes him back against the cage.
Kozelkov is trying to stall.

Kozelkov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kozelkov jabs at Karelin's body.
Kozelkov wants to clinch up but Karelin keeps it at a distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kozelkov closes the distance and lands a one-two.

Kozelkov clinches.

Karelin pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Karelin.
Kozelkov stalks Karelin and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Karelin's face. Karelin staggers backwards, shaken.
Karelin is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Kozelkov.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Karelin shoots in but no luck this time.
Kozelkov scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Karelin avoids the head kick by Kozelkov.
Kozelkov is looking to clinch.
Sanek Karelin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kozelkov comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Valeriy Kozelkov seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kozelkov lands a nice hook to Karelin's body. Karelin takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Kozelkov comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Kozelkov lands with a nice combination. Karelin backs away looking to recover.
Kozelkov scores with a nice right hand.
Kozelkov sizes up Karelin with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Karelin shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Kozelkov as he jumps to the side.
Kozelkov scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Kozelkov scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Karelin doesn't seem bothered though.
Karelin takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Kozelkov stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Kozelkov wants it to stay on the feet.
Kozelkov throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kozelkov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Kozelkov tries to clinch up.
Karelin pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Karelin shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Kozelkov but Kozelkov pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Kozelkov dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Kozelkov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
An inside leg kick lands from Kozelkov.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
No luck for Karelin with that takedown attempt.
Kozelkov lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Karelin circles away quickly and effectively.

And that's the end of the fight!
Valeriy Kozelkov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Kozelkov 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 27:30
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Valeriy Kozelkov!