PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Donnie Darko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ivan Slakov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Darko might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Gonna fly now. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Darko
vs
Slakov

225 cm
20
300 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

204 cm
22
300 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
KO power

Good takedowns
Decent boxing
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight 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, Donnie Darko!
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, Ivan Slakov!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Valeri Chadov and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Slakov fails to land with a series of punches.
Darko looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Slakov is fending him off so far but Darko persists. Nope, Slakov circles away and we're back to standing.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Darko.

Slakov drives through with a takedown into guard.
Darko throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Slakov postures up and lands a big shot to Darko's brow.
Darko lands with a heel strike from the guard.
Slakov trying to control the position from guard on top but Darko is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Slakov works over Darko with some ground and pound from guard.
Slakov tries to free his leg and advance position but Darko is retaining full guard.
Slakov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Slakov trying to control but Darko is working from the bottom.
Slakov wants to pass the guard but Darko is keeping the position.
Slakov working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Darko's head.
Slakov won't allow Darko to get back to his feet.
Darko 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Slakov's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Slakov working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Darko's head.
Slakov forces his way into half guard.
Slakov performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

Slakov is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Darko doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Slakov.
Slakov is tying to control. Darko wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Slakov landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Slakov drops an elbow to the side of Darko's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Darko trying to control but Slakov postures up.
Darko is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.
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. Slakov connects with a nice short shot to Darko's temple.
Slakov winds up and cracks Darko with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Darko is breathing heavily.
Darko taking some punishment here, with Slakov in his half guard.
Slakov looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Darko with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Darko trying to hold on to Slakov's head to control him but Slakov postures up.
Slakov is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

Slakov is looking for a kimura here.
Slakov keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Darko is trying to get back to full guard.
Slakov working Darko over with strikes.
Slakov slips a nice elbow through Darko's hands, connecting with Darko's forehead.
Darko trying to control here.
Slakov working the head and body with strikes.
Slakov looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Slakov seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Darko is trying to control but can't.
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. Slakov connects with a nice short shot to Darko's temple.
Slakov content to control rather than advance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Slakov is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Darko gets full guard.
Darko is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Slakov is controlling him.
Darko is trying to keep Slakov in close.
Slakov controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Slakov cracks Darko with a solid left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Slakov dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Darko fails with the takedown

and Slakov counters with a nice double leg into side control. Darko won't be happy with that.
Darko is trying to get back to his feet.
Darko is looking to reverse the position.
Darko is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Slakov lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

Darko is rocked!
Slakov lands a few punches from side control.
Oh Darko is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Darko tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Slakov lands a few punches from side control.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Slakov wants to control but Darko is keeping him busy.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Slakov lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Darko is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Slakov's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Darko seems to have got his legs back now.
Darko is refusing to be controlled, as Slakov sits in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Slakov lands strikes from half guard.
Darko on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ground and pound from Slakov.
Slakov scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Darko taking some punishment here, with Slakov in his half guard.
Darko taking some punishment here, with Slakov in his half guard.
Slakov passes to full mount!
A nice elbow there by Slakov.
Darko regains half guard.

Darko actively working from the bottom here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Darko gets back to full guard.
Slakov prevents Darko from getting back to his feet.
Darko controls Slakov momentarily but Slakov frees himself.
Slakov postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Darko not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Slakov makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Darko is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Slakov trying to control the position from guard on top but Darko is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Darko is looking for a triangle but Slakov pushes his legs off easily.
Slakov pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Darko is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Slakov slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Ivan Slakov has got the better of the ground game so far.
Slakov is putting a hurting on Darko here, landing some big shots from side control.
Darko is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Slakov is controlling him well.
Slakov trying to control the position but Darko is working away.
Darko wants to get back to his feet but Slakov drags him back down.
Darko struggling a bit here.
Darko manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Darko moves into full mount! Slakov won't be happy about that!
Darko pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Darko lands a heavy elbow.
Darko looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

Darko looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.
Slakov throwing hammer fists to the chest of Darko. What's that going to do exactly?
Darko postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Slakov looks a forlorn figure.
Darko will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Slakov is squirming around, avoiding Darko's attempts to control the action.
Slakov is wriggling around trying to escape.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Darko is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Slakov can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Slakov keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Slakov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. 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.

Slakov throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Donnie Darko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Darko misses with a takedown attempt

and Slakov counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Darko is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Slakov's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Slakov's back!
Slakov is covering up but some of the strikes from Darko are getting through and doing damage.
Slakov manages to reverse the position and now he's in Darko's guard. Nice work there by Slakov.
Slakov works over Darko with some ground and pound from guard.
Slakov scoring with some ground and pound.
Slakov preventing the sweep.
Slakov won't allow Darko to get back to his feet.
Darko looking for a sweep. Not yet Darko, not yet.
Darko is working hard here to advance position.
Slakov stands and throws Darko's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Slakov lands a decent elbow from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Darko tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Slakov grinds an elbow into Darko's temple.
Slakov looks up at the clock and then as Darko takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Slakov smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Darko tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Slakov wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Slakov wants to control but Darko is keeping him busy.
Darko is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Slakov off and has taken his back!
Will Darko go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
Slakov is trapped and Darko is scoring with shots to the head and body.

That's two 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.

Darko is looking for the choke from the back position but Slakov is controlling his hands well.
Darko is trying to stick to Slakov's back but Slakov is turning into Darko. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Darko's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Slakov.
Slakov with a nice head shot there.
Darko tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Slakov tries to free his leg and advance position but Darko is retaining full guard.
Slakov trying to control the position from guard on top but Darko is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Slakov chips away with some ground and pound.
Darko working a defensive guard here.
Darko is really struggling to control Slakov but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Darko looking for a sweep. Not yet Darko, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Darko misses with a takedown attempt

and Slakov counters with a takedown into side control.
Darko manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Darko is looking to escape.
Darko misses with some strikes from the bottom.
The fighters are battling for position here. Darko manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Darko manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Slakov manages to get himself to full guard.
Darko working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Slakov throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Darko wants to stand but Slakov has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Darko won't allow Slakov to sweep him here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Slakov is trying to keep Darko in close.
Slakov can't keep his opponent in guard - Darko advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Darko wants to control but Slakov is keeping him busy.
Slakov moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Slakov is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Darko won't allow Slakov to sweep him here.
Darko postures up.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Slakov bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Darko's guard.
Slakov stops Darko from standing up.
Slakov trying to control but Darko is working from the bottom.
Donnie Darko has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Darko looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ivan Slakov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Slakov has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ivan Slakov!