PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Pavel Malenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pavel Zarubin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be fireworks!

Malenko
vs
Zarubin

191 cm
27
194 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

176 cm
24
192 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Good elbows
Knockout power

[WOT] DTK Designs (Laundry)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Pavel Malenko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Pavel Zarubin!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Aleksandr Martynov and Konstantin Menshow.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Zarubin pushes Malenko up against the cage in a clinch.
Zarubin tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Malenko's elbow.
Zarubin tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Zarubin's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Malenko looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Zarubin misses with a body kick.

Zarubin pushes Malenko up against the cage in a clinch.

Zarubin breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Zarubin moves to clinch but Malenko breaks away
and Malenko counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

Zarubin closes the distance and clinches.
A right hook to the body lands for Zarubin.
Malenko looking for a takedown.
Zarubin makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Zarubin lands a left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short body shot lands from Zarubin as the two fighters clinch.
Zarubin is leaning against Malenko and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Zarubin creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Zarubin cracks Malenko with a nice body shot.
Malenko is breathing heavily.

Zarubin breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Zarubin feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Malenkos jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Zarubin tries to clinch up but Malenko circles away and keeps his distance.
Zarubin cracks Malenko with a right hand to the side of the head.

Zarubin pushes Malenko up against the cage in a clinch.
Malenko wants to take the fight to the mat but Zarubin manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Zarubin will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Malenko up against the cage.

Zarubin breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Zarubin gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Zarubin is leaning against Malenko and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Zarubin misses with a hook to the ribs.
A short uppercut from Zarubin.
Zarubin effectively controlling the action here.
Zarubin pushes Malenko back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
A right handed body shot lands from Zarubin.
Malenko prevents a body shot from Zarubin.
Malenko wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Zarubin has him pressed against the cage.
Zarubin pushes Malenko back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Zarubin.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zarubin listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Zarubin tries to clinch up.

Zarubin gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Nice body punch from Zarubin - that landed with a thud.
Malenko prevents a body shot from Zarubin.
Zarubin gets through Malenko's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Zarubin lands a right hand that snaps the head of Malenko backwards.
Malenko jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Zarubin walks away with a smile on his face. Malenko gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pavel Malenko. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Zarubin darts in and clinches Malenko up against the cage.
Malenko tries for a takedown but Zarubin manages to get underhooks.
Zarubin lands a hook to the side of the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Malenko jumps guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Zarubin wanted to stand there but Malenko had control of the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Malenko looking to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Zarubin decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Malenko, up you get!

Zarubin takes the fight into the clinch.
Zarubin stalling.
Zarubin tries to work over Malenko's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

Zarubin breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Malenko is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Zarubin throws a push kick but Malenko slaps the foot to one side.
Today's fight clock is brought to you by... OOOH that's a huge shot by Zarubin! Malenko is in big trouble here - the ref steps in to save him and this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:58 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Pavel Zarubin!
Pavel Zarubin took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, [WOT] DTK Designs (Laundry) for their support in the buildup to the fight.