PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vort Under (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Timur Rafkatovich (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Timur Rafkatovich is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Under
vs
Rafkatovich

188 cm
18
206 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

182 cm
24
210 lbs
3 - 15 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light 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, Vort Under!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 15 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Timur Rafkatovich!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Dmitry Maklakov and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Under looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Rafkatovich looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Under shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Rafkatovich sprawls well. Rafkatovich wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Under gets slowly back to his feet.
Under shoots for a double leg takedown but Rafkatovich sprawls well. He's pushed Under's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vort Under. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Under shoots in but no luck this time.

Rafkatovich gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Under to score an easy takedown into full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Rafkatovich controls Under momentarily but Under frees himself.
Under working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

Under is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Under won't allow Rafkatovich to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Under working some strikes from top position.
Under chips away with some ground and pound.
Under missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Rafkatovich preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Rafkatovich should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Rafkatovich is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Under is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Under wants to control from the top but Rafkatovich keeps moving.
Rafkatovich preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Under missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Under with a nice head shot there.
Under is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Under wants to control from the top but Rafkatovich keeps moving.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Under drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Under jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Under is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Rafkatovich being controlled here, momentarily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Vort Under wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Under fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Under fails with the takedown.
Under throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Rafkatovich's waist but Rafkatovich gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Under off to one side.
Under tries for a takedown but Rafkatovich sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Rafkatovich is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Under looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Rafkatovich is fending him off so far but Under persists. Nope, Rafkatovich circles away and we're back to standing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Under dives in and grabs Rafkatovich's left leg, looking for a takedown. Rafkatovich pushes down on Under's head and hops out.
Nice sprawl there from Rafkatovich as Under shoots in.
Under swats away the attempt to clinch by Rafkatovich.
Under dives in and grabs Rafkatovich's left leg, looking for a takedown. Rafkatovich pushes down on Under's head and hops out.
Under misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Under tries for a takedown but Rafkatovich circles away easily
and Rafkatovich makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Under really felt that one!

Rafkatovich gets a clinch.

Under gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Under throws a strike but Rafkatovich avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Rafkatovich not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Under trying to control but Rafkatovich is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vort Under 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.

Under shoots in for a takedown but Rafkatovich shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Under keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Under shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Rafkatovich as he avoids it easily.
Rafkatovich throws a head kick but Under moves out of range.

Under fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Rafkatovich sprawls well initially but Under persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Under is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

Under is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Rafkatovich sees it coming and defends easily.
Under drops an elbow to the side of Rafkatovich's head.

Under is working for a kimura but Rafkatovich is defending it quite comfortably.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Under landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Under looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Under working the head and body with strikes.
Under stalling.
Under lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Under stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Under is keen to just control but Rafkatovich is a slippery customer.
Under is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

Under is working for a kimura but Rafkatovich is defending it quite comfortably.

Under is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Rafkatovich defends it well.
Under seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Under stalling away here and it's allowed Rafkatovich to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

Under stands up and waves to Rafkatovich to follow him.
Vort Under seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Under dives in and scores a takedown into Rafkatovich's guard.
Under throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Under's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Rafkatovich is trying to keep Under in close.
Rafkatovich is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Under wants to control from the top but Rafkatovich keeps moving.
Vort Under overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Rafkatovich 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.
Under has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Rafkatovich looking to control.
Under connects with a couple of short punches.
Rafkatovich can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Under controls the pace.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Under shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Under working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vort Under dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Under looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

Under looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Rafkatovich!
Under dominating with strikes here.
Under landing punches.

Under wants to finish this one by submission but Rafkatovich is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Under.

Under looking to secure an arm triangle but Rafkatovich defends it well.
Rafkatovich is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Under looking to control and managing it successfully.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Under lands a nice shot to the head.
Under looking to finish Rafkatovich with some ground and pound. This is bad for Rafkatovich!
Rafkatovich is in a horrible position here. Under smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

Under with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

Under with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Under working the ground and pound effectively.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rafkatovich is looking to improve his position but Under isn't that keen on the idea.

Under is giving the impression that he's looking to ground and pound but he switches suddenly into a beautiful far side armbar! Rafkatovich is forced to tap! Great finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:38 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Vort Under!