PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tokyel Gorushi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mirko Emelianenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tokyel Gorushi could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Mirko Emelianenko's chin.

Gorushi
vs
Emelianenko

177 cm
21
237 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

217 cm
18
235 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Determined

CEC Nutrition Q159 (*$75*)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tokyel Gorushi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mirko Emelianenko!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Hirohito Nitta and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Emelianenko moves into range and clinches up with Gorushi.
Emelianenko looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Gorushi pulls guard effortlessly.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Gorushi looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Emelianenko is fighting to break Gorushi's control of his arms but Gorushi is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Gorushi has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Gorushi throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Emelianenko is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Gorushi kicks Emelianenko off and gets to his feet.
Mirko Emelianenko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Emelianenko tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Gorushi paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Gorushi misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Emelianenko avoids the head kick by Gorushi.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Gorushi counters with a good low kick that Emelianenko was not able to check.

Emelianenko takes the fight into the clinch.

Gorushi breaks the clinch.
Nice sprawl there from Emelianenko as Gorushi shoots in.

Gorushi closes the distance and clinches.
Gorushi really is a fat lump.
Knees to the body from Gorushi.

Gorushi has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Emelianenko uses from the top position.
Gorushi is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Gorushi is on top in guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Gorushi stands up and waves to Emelianenko to follow him.
Gorushi will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gorushi shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Emelianenko as he avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tokyel Gorushi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gorushi circles away from the clinch attempt.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Gorushi.

Gorushi closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Emelianenko did well to prevent Gorushi getting side control.
Gorushi moves into side control, avoiding the strikes from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko is looking for a sweep.
A control attempt from Emelianenko but he's now mounted!
Gorushi looking to control and managing it successfully.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Emelianenko reaches up to try and control the position but Gorushi seems to have an arm triangle now! Uh oh! Emelianenko rolls and tries to escape and now Gorushi has his back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko wants to escape the position.
Emelianenko is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

Gorushi patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Gorushi has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Emelianenko's body.
Emelianenko is in bad spot here.

Gorushi working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
Gorushi missing with strikes from the back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko covering up well under a series of strikes from Gorushi.
Gorushi missing with punches from the back.
Gorushi 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.
A bit of a pause in the action here. Gorushi controlling the positon.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Gorushi has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Emelianenko has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
You can see the frustration on Emelianenko's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tokyel Gorushi dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Gorushi fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Tokyel Gorushi is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Gorushi.
Emelianenko defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Gorushi.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tokyel Gorushi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Gorushi.
Gorushi shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Emelianenko as he avoids it easily.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Emelianenko.
Gorushi throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Emelianenko's waist but Emelianenko gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Gorushi off to one side.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
A combination from Emelianenko does no damage.
Horrible takedown by Gorushi or perhaps it was just good defense by Emelianenko which made him look bad.
Emelianenko tries to clinch up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice sprawl there from Emelianenko as Gorushi shoots in.
Emelianenko wants to clinch but Gorushi slips to the side
and Gorushi makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Emelianenko really felt that one!

Gorushi darts in and clinches Emelianenko up against the cage.

Gorushi breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Gorushi throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Emelianenko's head.
Emelianenko closes the distance but Gorushi moves to the side
and Gorushi counters with a left to the body.
Emelianenko closes the distance but Gorushi moves to the side
and Gorushi counters with a thumping low kick.
Emelianenko circles away from the clinch attempt.
Gorushi closes this distance looking for a takedown but Emelianenko circles away.

Gorushi takes the fight into the clinch.
Gorushi scores with a shot to the side of Emelianenko's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Gorushi walks away with a smile on his face. Emelianenko gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Gorushi closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Gorushi drags the fight down to the ground.

Gorushi is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Tokyel Gorushi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Emelianenko wants to stand and escape but instead Gorushi has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gorushi keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Emelianenko's head.

Emelianenko is working an open guard so Gorushi takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

Gorushi gets a clinch.
Emelianenko is pressed up against the cage. Gorushi has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Emelianenko down to the mat. Emelianenko avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

Gorushi gets a clinch.

Gorushi breaks the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko wants to clinch up but Gorushi keeps it at a distance.
Gorushi throws a head kick but Emelianenko moves out of range.
Gorushi connects with a solid leg kick.
Emelianenko pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Emelianenko wants to clinch but Gorushi slips to the side
and Gorushi counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
A combination from Emelianenko does no damage.
Emelianenko fails with an attempt to clinch.
Gorushi tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Emelianenko swivels and escapes.
Emelianenko closes the distance but Gorushi moves to the side
and Gorushi counters with a lovely shot to the body.

Gorushi closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Gorushi wants a takedown.

Gorushi breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko darts in trying to clinch

and Gorushi counters by clinching up.
Gorushi is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Emelianenko pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Emelianenko tries to pull guard but Gorushi forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

Gorushi works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Emelianenko working a defensive guard here.
Gorushi is stalling in the full guard.
Emelianenko trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gorushi controlling from the top position.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Emelianenko trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tokyel Gorushi dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Gorushi swats away the attempt to clinch by Emelianenko.
Gorushi misses with a two punch combination.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Gorushi is defended easily by Emelianenko.
Gorushi swinging wildly here.
Emelianenko tries to clinch

and Gorushi moves into the clinch.

Gorushi manages to pull guard.
Emelianenko wants to stand but Gorushi has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Gorushi is on top in guard.
Gorushi controls from within his opponent's guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gorushi stopping the sweep attempt from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Gorushi throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Emelianenko works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Gorushi gets to his feet. Emelianenko looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Gorushi is trying hard to land a takedown here. Emelianenko sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Emelianenko tries to clinch but Gorushi moves out of range.
Gorushi looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Gorushi shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Emelianenko as he avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tokyel Gorushi. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Emelianenko keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

Emelianenko closes the distance and clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko tries to score a body lock takedown but Gorushi shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

Gorushi is trying to trip Emelianenko. He has hold of a leg but Emelianenko is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Gorushi persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Emelianenko is trying to control the position but Gorushi postures up.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Emelianenko keeping moving, preventing Gorushi from controlling successfully.
Emelianenko manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Gorushi manages to get himself to full guard.
Emelianenko would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Emelianenko wants to stand and escape but instead Gorushi has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gorushi stands and throws Emelianenko's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Emelianenko looking for a sweep but Gorushi has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Gorushi controlling from mount.
Gorushi moves to the back position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gorushi is not going to allow Emelianenko to sit and survive in this position.
Emelianenko covering up well and avoiding damage.
Gorushi controls the action.
Emelianenko wants to escape the position.

Emelianenko preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Gorushi.
Gorushi gets his hands free as Emelianenko looks to control.
Mirko Emelianenko has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tokyel Gorushi is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Emelianenko is really stuck here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Tokyel Gorushi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Gorushi has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 30:27
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tokyel Gorushi!