PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Leo Cristophe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Birigiz Ignatiev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Leo Cristophe has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Cristophe
vs
Ignatiev

168 cm
26
148 lbs
12 - 6 - 0

160 cm
23
145 lbs
9 - 1 - 1

Good wrestling
World class MT
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Syndicate Nutrition (DUS)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Leo Cristophe!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Birigiz Ignatiev!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Eliza Hachem and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A low kick from Ignatiev is predictable there
and Cristophe counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Ignatiev is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Cristophe blocks a leg kick.
Ignatiev tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Cristophe tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Ignatiev manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Cristophe avoids the head kick by Ignatiev.
Cristophe tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Ignatiev manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Cristophe tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Ignatiev counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Ignatiev misses with a body kick.
Cristophe tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ignatiev swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Cristophe tries to clinch up.
Ignatiev turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Ignatiev lands with a slapping head kick.
Cristophe tries to clinch up
and Ignatiev counters with a good low kick that Cristophe was not able to check.
Ignatiev misses with a takedown attempt - Cristophe sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Cristophe fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cristophe moves into the clinch.
Cristophe misses with an elbow strike.
Cristophe stalling against the cage.
Cristophe is trying to stall.
Ignatiev is trying to pull guard but Cristophe has him pressed against the cage.
A bit of stalling here from Ignatiev.
Cristophe trying to land knees to the body.
Cristophe throws an elbow that misses.
Cristophe lands an elbow just above Ignatiev 's eye.
Cristophe blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Ignatiev pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ignatiev looks for the body kick but Cristophe saw that one coming.
Cristophe tries to close the distance and clinch but Ignatiev swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Cristophe stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Ignatiev.

Cristophe closes the distance and clinches.
Ignatiev scores a nice knee to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ignatiev holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Cristophe throws an elbow but it misses.
Cristophe looking to slow down the pace here.
Cristophe misses with some punches.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Cristophe pushes off an throws an elbow but Ignatiev leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Ignatiev takes a shot to the head.
Cristophe trying to land knees to the body.
Ignatiev lands an uppercut.
Ignatiev on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Cristophe prevents a body shot from Ignatiev.
Ignatiev blocks an elbow strike from Cristophe.
Cristophe throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Cristophe lands a nice elbow.
Ignatiev taking a breather.
Ignatiev blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Ignatiev stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cristophe pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ignatiev.
Cristophe scores with a shot to the side of Ignatiev's head.
Cristophe taking a breather.
Cristophe misses with an elbow strike.
Cristophe creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Ignatiev misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ignatiev scores a nice knee to the body.
Ignatiev looking to slow down the pace here.
A shot in the inside from Ignatiev.
Ignatiev taking a breather.
Ignatiev dodges an elbow strike from Cristophe.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Ignatiev.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ignatiev avoids a wild elbow strike from Cristophe.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cristophe gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Ignatiev.
Leo Cristophe has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Birigiz Ignatiev.

Ignatiev escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ignatiev swings for the body but Cristophe moves out of range.
Cristophe tries to clinch up but Ignatiev circles away and keeps his distance.
Leo Cristophe seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cristophe tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Cristophe takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Ignatiev looks to score with a jab to the body but Cristophe is just out of range.
A leg kick checked by Cristophe.
Ignatiev lands a head kick!
Ignatiev delivers a nice body kick.
Ignatiev shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Cristophe but Cristophe pushes him off and we're back to square one.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cristophe is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Cristophe defending well as Ignatiev loads up on a big left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Birigiz Ignatiev 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.

Cristophe tries to clinch up but Ignatiev circles away and keeps his distance.
Cristophe tries to clinch up.
Cristophe tries to clinch up.
Cristophe is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Cristophe fails with an attempt to clinch.
A good leg kick by Ignatiev.
Ignatiev throws a body kick that misses.
An inside leg kick from Ignatiev misses.
Cristophe tries to clinch there but Ignatiev circles away.
Ignatiev looks to land a combination but Cristophe avoids it well.
Ignatiev scores with a hook to the body. Cristophe takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Ignatiev turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Cristophe tries to clinch but Ignatiev is having none of it.
Cristophe darts in trying to clinch

and Ignatiev counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Cristophe wants to stand and escape but Ignatiev is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ignatiev with a nice head shot there.

Cristophe has his foot on Ignatiev's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Ignatiev works his way back into a safe position though.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ignatiev accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ignatiev is looking to work some ground and pound but Cristophe has wrist control.
Ignatiev throws a strike but Cristophe rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Ignatiev working a defensive guard here.
Ignatiev is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Ignatiev wants to sweep but no luck.
Ignatiev is trying to control the position but Cristophe postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ignatiev is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Ignatiev wants to sweep here but Cristophe controlling him for the moment.

Birigiz Ignatiev has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Ignatiev throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Cristophe closes the distance but Ignatiev moves to the side
and Ignatiev counters with a big head kick but Cristophe shrugs it off.
Ignatiev misses with a low kick.
Ignatiev avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A clash of legs there as Cristophe blocks the low kick.
Cristophe wants to clinch up but Ignatiev keeps it at a distance.
Ignatiev bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A looping hook to the body misses from Cristophe. Ignatiev does a little dance to reset his feet.
Ignatiev circles away from the clinch attempt
and Ignatiev counters with a slapping leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ignatiev misses with an attempted mid kick.
Cristophe doesn't manage to clinch there - Ignatiev circles away.
Ignatiev plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Cristophe tries to clinch up but Ignatiev circles away and keeps his distance.
Ignatiev lands with a nice combination. Cristophe backs away looking to recover.
Ignatiev throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Ignatiev pushes Cristophe away with a front kick.
A swing and a miss from Cristophe.
Cristophe tries to clinch but Ignatiev moves out of range.
Ignatiev shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Cristophe pinned against the cage. Cristophe gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Cristophe wants to clinch up but Ignatiev keeps it at a distance.
Cristophe tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Cristophe takes the fight into the clinch.
Cristophe lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Ignatiev escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Cristophe tries to close the distance and clinch but Ignatiev swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Cristophe tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Ignatiev counters with a body kick.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Ignatiev swats away the attempt to clinch by Cristophe.
Cristophe takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Ignatiev gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Ignatiev misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Cristophe taking a breather.
Cristophe takes a knee to the side of the body.
Birigiz Ignatiev seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Cristophe throws an elbow but it's blocked.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cristophe blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ignatiev misses with some punches.
Ignatiev managing to block the knees to the body from Cristophe.
Cristophe taking a breather.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Birigiz Ignatiev showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Ignatiev scores with a head kick.
Ignatiev tries a low kick but Cristophe avoids it.
Ignatiev throws a chopping leg kick but Cristophe manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Cristophe moves in looking to clinch but Ignatiev pushes him off.
Cristophe tries to clinch up.
Ignatiev tries to work over Cristophe's front leg with a kick but Cristophe checks it.
Cristophe tries to clinch but Ignatiev is having none of it.
Ignatiev shoots in looking for a takedown. Cristophe tries to sprawl out of it but Ignatiev keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Cristophe manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Ignatiev tries a head kick but it misses.
Cristophe closes the distance looking to clinch
and Ignatiev counters with a good low kick that Cristophe was not able to check.
Ignatiev tries a head kick but it misses.

Cristophe moves into the clinch successfully.
Cristophe trying to control the position but instead, Ignatiev has worked for underhooks and has pushed Cristophe into the cage.
Cristophe looks to throw an elbow but misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cristophe blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Cristophe lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Cristophe leaning against his opponent.
Ignatiev looking to throw knees to the head but Cristophe is blocking nicely.
Cristophe tries a body shot but Ignatiev blocks it.
Ignatiev missing with knees to the body.
Cristophe trying to stall but Ignatiev improves his position.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Cristophe just misses with a elbow thrown towards Ignatiev's brow.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Ignatiev tries to land a knee to the head but Cristophe blocks with his arms.
The referee is keeping an eye on Ignatiev - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Still in the clinch, Ignatiev scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ignatiev tries to stall but Cristophe uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Cristophe just misses with a elbow thrown towards Ignatiev's brow.
Ignatiev lands a body punch.
Ignatiev tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Ignatiev throws a knee to the head but misses.
Leo Cristophe has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Cristophe takes a knee to the side of the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ignatiev using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Cristophe has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Cristophe just misses with a elbow thrown towards Ignatiev's brow.
Cristophe lands an elbow that stopped Ignatiev in his tracks for a moment.
Knees in the clinch landing for Cristophe.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Cristophe just misses with a elbow thrown towards Ignatiev's brow.
Ignatiev looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Cristophe pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Ignatiev just leaning against Cristophe, taking a breather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Ignatiev.
Cristophe's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Cristophe creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Cristophe tries to land knees in the clinch but Ignatiev avoids the damage to the body.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Cristophe just misses with a elbow thrown towards Ignatiev's brow.
Ignatiev fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Leo Cristophe has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Birigiz Ignatiev.
Cristophe throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Cristophe throws an elbow but it misses.
Cristophe stalling in the clinch.
Ignatiev tries for a takedown. No joy.
Ignatiev avoids a wild elbow strike from Cristophe.
Cristophe is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Ignatiev is keeping busy.
Ignatiev unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Knees in the clinch landing for Ignatiev.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ignatiev tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

Ignatiev escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Leo Cristophe is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Cristophe wants to clinch up but Ignatiev keeps it at a distance.

Cristophe takes the fight into the clinch.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Ignatiev has a couple of punches blocked by Cristophe.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ignatiev lands with a short shot to the head.
Cristophe swings wildly with an uppercut but Ignatiev uses good head movement to avoid it.

Ignatiev breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Cristophe takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ignatiev with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Nice defenses there by Ignatiev.
Cristophe is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Cristophe chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Ignatiev can pounce on him.
Cristophe throws a leg kick which misses Ignatiev's front leg but catches the back leg as Ignatiev tries to avoid it.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Birigiz Ignatiev.
Well Ignatiev 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 Bruno Hogan scores the fight 27:30
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 27:30
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Birigiz Ignatiev!