PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Heydar Aliyev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jason Hardy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Aliyev comes to the cage accompanied by 'Let's Get It On' by Marvin Gaye. Hardy has chosen Coming home -Dirty money as his entrance music. The key to victory for Heydar Aliyev has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Aliyev
vs
Hardy

179 cm
32
160 lbs
25 - 6 - 2

180 cm
29
160 lbs
11 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Dangerous knees
Very quick

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Hopkins Athletics

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 25 - 6 - 2, fighting out of St Petersburg, Heydar Aliyev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jason Hardy!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Dmitry Maklakov and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hardy misses the shot to the body.
Aliyev just misses with a punch to the body.
Aliyev throws an overhand right that lands on Hardy's shoulder, as Hardy tries to avoid the shot.
Aliyev misses with a leg kick
and Hardy counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Aliyev thinking.
Aliyev pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Hardy throws a jab but it's blocked by Aliyev.
Hardy just misses with a punch to the body.
Aliyev throws a series of punches but Hardy moves out of range.
Hardy moves out of range as Aliyev strikes.

Aliyev tries to keep at a distance but Hardy has taken the fight into the clinch.
Hardy takes a shot to the head.
Aliyev lands a shot to the body.
Aliyev misses with an elbow strike.
Aliyev slowing the pace effectively.
Aliyev lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Aliyev using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Hardy has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Aliyev has a couple of punches blocked by Hardy.
Nice body punch from Hardy - that landed with a thud.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hardy takes a knee to the side of the body.
Aliyev tries a knee to the head but Hardy blocks it.
Hardy being controlled against the cage.
Aliyev misses with a punch to the body.
Hardy takes a knee right on the jaw!
Aliyev lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Hardy backwards.
Hardy misses with a hook from the clinch.
Aliyev has Hardy pushed against the cage.
Hardy throws a head punch that misses.
Hardy working aggressively here.
Aliyev tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hardy's elbow.
Hardy leaning against his opponent.
Aliyev tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Aliyev can't find room to land a body shot as Hardy controls the action.
Aliyev stalling in the clinch.
Aliyev connects with a knee to the head.
Hardy throws a punch but it's blocked by Aliyev.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardy throws a punch but it's blocked by Aliyev.
Hardy misses with a short punch on the inside.
Hardy blocks a body shot from Aliyev.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A head punch on the inside from Aliyev fails to land.
Hardy throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Aliyevs head.
Hardy scores with a nice hook to the head.
Aliyev blocking some punches.
Aliyev with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Hardy tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Hardy lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Aliyev is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Hardy is keeping busy.
Hardy misses with the head strike.
Hardy effectively controlling the action here.
Hardy on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Hardy misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aliyev has a couple of punches blocked by Hardy.
Hardy misses with a body punch.
Hardy works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Hardy working aggressively here.
Hardy misses with a hook to the ribs.
Hardy blocks a body shot from Aliyev.
Hardy misses with the head strike.
Aliyev lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Hardy takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Hardy lands a hook to the side of the head.
Hardy doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Hardy pushes Aliyev back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Aliyev can't find room to land a body shot as Hardy controls the action.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Aliyev.
Aliyev swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A short uppercut from Hardy.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hardy tries to stall but Aliyev uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Hardy blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Hardy leaning his opponent against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardy misses with a punch on the inside.
Hardy tries to throw a body punch but Aliyev avoids it by throwing Hardy back against the cage.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Hardy creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Hardy gets through Aliyev's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Aliyev blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Hardy swings wildly with an uppercut but Aliyev uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hardy is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Aliyev landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Aliyev blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Hardy misses with a short punch on the inside.
Aliyev stalling in the clinch but Hardy improves position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Aliyev lands a good knee to the midsection. Hardy won't want to take too many of those.
Aliyev lands a left hand that snaps the head of Hardy backwards.
Aliyev lands a nice uppercut.
Hardy misses with a punch on the inside.
Aliyev utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Aliyev throws a front kick aimed at Hardy's knee but Hardy avoids it well.
Aliyev cracks a nice hook into Hardy's ribs.
Aliyev slips under a jab.
Aliyev is looking to land body kicks.
Heydar Aliyev seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hardy uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Aliyev.
Aliyev will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Good work by Hardy as he checks the leg kick.
Sloppy strikes from Aliyev. Those never looked like landing.
Hardy throws an overhand right that lands on Aliyev's shoulder, as Aliyev tries to avoid the shot.
Aliyev throws a body kick that misses.
Aliyev missing with a left hand there. Hardy was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Aliyev connects with a body shot.
Aliyev tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hardy closes the distance and clinches.
Jason Hardy seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Aliyev swings wildly with an uppercut but Hardy uses good head movement to avoid it.
Hardy lands a hook to the side of the head.
Aliyev misses with a hook to the ribs.
Hardy tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Aliyev working Hardy over with knees to the body.
Aliyev misses with a body punch.
Knees to the body from Aliyev.
Aliyev is leaning against Hardy and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Hardy in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Aliyev working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Aliyev scores with a nice hook to the head.
Hardy doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Hardy lands a left hand that snaps the head of Aliyev backwards.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hardy tries to work over Aliyev's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Hardy scores with a shot to the side of Aliyev's head.
Hardy misses with a short punch on the inside.
Aliyev lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Hardy or not.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hardy tries to work over Aliyev's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Hardy lands with a light punch inside.
Hardy goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Aliyev is trying to maintain a safe position but Hardy gets an underhook and turns Aliyev into the cage.
Aliyev gets through Hardy's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Hardy throws a punch but it's blocked by Aliyev.
Aliyev is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Hardy is defending well for now.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Hardy as Aliyev tries to tie him up.
A nice right hand lands inside from Aliyev.
Hardy misses with some punches.
Aliyev tries to work over Hardy's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Aliyev tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Aliyev.
Hardy struggles to land a body shot inside as Aliyev controls his hands.
Aliyev tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Aliyev goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Hardy misses with a shot to the kidneys.
A short right from Hardy on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hardy tries to throw a body punch but Aliyev avoids it by throwing Hardy back against the cage.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Aliyev blocking some punches.
Aliyev working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Hardy struggles to land a body shot inside as Aliyev controls his hands.
Hardy is trying to stall.
Aliyev has Hardy pushed against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Hardy.
Aliyev gets through Hardy's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Aliyev tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Hardy misses with a punch to the body.
Hardy misses with the head strike.
Hardy misses with the head strike.
Aliyev throws a punch but it's blocked by Hardy.
Aliyev scores with a knee to the head.
Hardy lands on the inside with an uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aliyev stalling the fight.
Hardy tries to throw a body punch but Aliyev avoids it by throwing Hardy back against the cage.
Aliyev blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A right hand to the body from Aliyev.
Hardy lands a nice shot to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hardy cracks Aliyev with a nice body shot.
A head punch on the inside from Hardy fails to land.
A knee to the head by Aliyev.
Hardy misses with a punch on the inside.
Hardy trying to stall but Aliyev improves his position.
Aliyev tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hardy's elbow.
Hardy swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Aliyev crunches a lovely knee into Hardy's ribcage.
Hardy misses with a body punch.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Aliyev blocking some punches.
Aliyev tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hardy's elbow.
Good body shot from Aliyev.
Aliyev throws a punch but it's blocked by Hardy.
Hardy misses with a hook from the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Heydar Aliyev will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Hardy avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A slow jab from Hardy misses its intended target.
Hardy avoids the body shot from Aliyev.
Aliyev dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Hardy closes the distance and pushes Aliyev back into the cage.
Hardy tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Aliyev misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Aliyev misses with a short punch on the inside.
Hardy fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Hardy has a couple of punches blocked by Aliyev.
Hardy misses with a hook from the clinch.
Hardy lands a left hand that snaps the head of Aliyev backwards.
Hardy blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Hardy misses with a punch on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Aliyev.
Hardy works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
A body shot lands from Hardy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aliyev tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hardy's elbow.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Aliyev blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Aliyev tries to throw a body punch but Hardy avoids it by throwing Aliyev back against the cage.
Hardy blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Hardy misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Hardy is trying to stall.
Aliyev blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Aliyev tries a body shot but Hardy blocks it.
Aliyev stalling.
Aliyev swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Hardy can't find room to land a body shot as Aliyev controls the action.
A right hand to the body from Hardy.
Hardy misses with a punch on the inside.
Aliyev taking a breather.
Hardy tries a body shot but Aliyev blocks it.
Aliyev throws a head punch that misses.
Aliyev lands a body punch.
Hardy misses with a body punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aliyev misses with a hook to the ribs.
Come on Hardy - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Hardy throws a head punch that misses.
Hardy misses with a hook from the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Aliyev as Hardy tries to tie him up.
Hardy throws a punch but it's blocked by Aliyev.
Hardy stalling.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Aliyev blocking some punches.
A short left from Aliyev.
Hardy misses with some punches.
Aliyev tries to land knees in the clinch but Hardy avoids the damage to the body.
Aliyev tries to stall but Hardy uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Aliyev misses with a body punch.
Hardy lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Aliyev throws a knee to the head but misses.
Aliyev blocking some punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aliyev tries a body shot but Hardy blocks it.
Aliyev misses with a punch on the inside.
Hardy blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Hardy tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Hardy stalling the fight.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Aliyev.
Still in the clinch, Aliyev scores with a nice short uppercut.
Hardy lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Aliyev backwards.
Aliyev lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Hardy or not.
Hardy blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Aliyev with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Hardy.
Hardy lands with a light punch inside.
Aliyev has a couple of punches blocked by Hardy.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Hardy.
A left hand lands to the body for Hardy.
Hardy lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A short right from Hardy on the inside.
Hardy makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A short right from Hardy on the inside.
Aliyev tries to throw a body punch but Hardy avoids it by throwing Aliyev back against the cage.
Hardy blocks a body shot from Aliyev.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Aliyev.
Nice body punch from Hardy - that landed with a thud.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Aliyev.
Hardy misses with a body punch.
Hardy softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Hardy lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
A nice left hand lands by Hardy.
Hardy lands a left hand that snaps the head of Aliyev backwards.
Hardy lands a right hand.
Aliyev prevents a body shot from Hardy.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Aliyev misses with a body punch.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Hardy.
Hardy tries a body shot but Aliyev blocks it.
A short left from Hardy.
A right hand to the body from Hardy.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jason Hardy comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Hardy has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 29:29
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 29:29
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a draw!