PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Benedikt Pushkar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Czesio Niemen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Benedikt Pushkar has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Pushkar
vs
Niemen

212 cm
28
285 lbs
12 - 7 - 0

196 cm
27
270 lbs
16 - 14 - 0

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 7 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Benedikt Pushkar!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 14 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Czesio Niemen!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Fedor Mirinova and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pushkar throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Niemen's waist but Niemen gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Pushkar off to one side.
Niemen throws a lazy uppercut

so Pushkar counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

Niemen manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Niemen swinging wildly here.
Pushkar throws a right hand that Niemen ducks under and follows up with a left that Niemen also avoids with ease.
Niemen leaves Pushkar with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Pushkar pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Niemen leaves Pushkar with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Benedikt Pushkar. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Pushkar scores a takedown into full mount!
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Niemen can do anything to dispel that myth.
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!
Pushkar dominating with strikes here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pushkar controlling the pace for now.
Pushkar sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Pushkar tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Pushkar throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Niemen because Pushkar loaded up on that one.
Pushkar trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Pushkar will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Niemen wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Pushkar sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Pushkar tries to control but Niemen wriggling away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pushkar throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Niemen because Pushkar loaded up on that one.
Pushkar trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Pushkar content just to control the position here.
You get the feeling that Niemen really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Pushkar wants to control the pace but Niemen is squirming around nicely.
Pushkar throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Pushkar is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Niemen has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Niemen!
Niemen must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Niemen is looking to stand up but Pushkar won't let him.
Pushkar 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.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Benedikt Pushkar just wasn't active enough.
A punch lands to the side of Niemen 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Pushkar moves out of range as Niemen strikes.
Niemen throws a shot from downtown. Pushkar moves away and avoids it.

Pushkar darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Pushkar looking for a submission but Niemen manages to get full guard, putting an end to that submission attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Benedikt Pushkar dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Pushkar takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Pushkar lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Niemen circles away quickly and effectively.

Pushkar decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

Pushkar is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Niemen is staying active underneath Pushkar, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Pushkar not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Pushkar throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Pushkar is working for a kimura here but Niemen manages to reverse the position and he's now in Pushkar's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Niemen is looking to stand up but Pushkar won't let him.
Niemen wants to stand and escape but instead Pushkar has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Pushkar not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Pushkar wants to control from the top but Niemen keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Pushkar postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Niemen is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Pushkar, into his guard.

Niemen decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
No luck for Pushkar with that takedown attempt.
Pushkar shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Decent striking displayed by Pushkar there.
Niemen misses with a wild body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Niemen.
Jab, jab by Niemen - just one landing.
A nice combination there by Pushkar.
Pushkar uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Niemen has time to react.
Czesio Niemen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A big left from Niemen misses.
A jab from Niemen misses.
Pushkar throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A big right from Pushkar misses.
Pushkar scores with a nice right hand.
Pushkar throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Pushkar steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Niemen.
Pushkar dives in and grabs Niemen's left leg, looking for a takedown. Niemen pushes down on Pushkar's head and hops out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Benedikt Pushkar. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pushkar takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

It looks like Benedikt Pushkar has been cut.
Pushkar tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Niemen swivels and escapes.
Niemen throws out a loose jab but Pushkar uses good head movement to avoid it.
Benedikt Pushkar seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Pushkar shoots in and gets a takedown into Niemen's guard.
Pushkar throws a big right hand that misses.
Benedikt Pushkar overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Niemen is looking to stand up but Pushkar isn't so interested in that idea.
Pushkar stays in close to Niemen's body and controls the position.
Niemen really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Pushkar. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Pushkar accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
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 Benedikt Pushkar will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Benedikt Pushkar's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Pushkar slips under a jab.
Niemen misses with a body kick.
Pushkar blocks a jab.
Niemen swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Pushkar fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Niemen is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Niemen misses with a body shot.
Benedikt Pushkar is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Niemen swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Czesio Niemen seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Niemen misses with a straight right.
Pushkar is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Pushkar tries for a takedown but Niemen sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Niemen throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Niemen attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Niemen, right into the meat.
Niemen misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pushkar shoots in looking for a takedown but Niemen manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Pushkar's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Benedikt Pushkar. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Pushkar fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Niemen to the ground. Pushkar is now in Niemen's guard.
Niemen is looking to stand up but Pushkar isn't so interested in that idea.
Pushkar in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Niemen has his feet on Pushkar's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Niemen enables Pushkar to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Niemen manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Pushkar loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pushkar trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Pushkar trying to control but Niemen is working from the bottom.
Pushkar tries to free his leg and advance position but Niemen is retaining full guard.
Pushkar wants to control from the top but Niemen keeps moving.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Niemen preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Niemen utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Pushkar passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Benedikt Pushkar is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pushkar looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Niemen is avoiding damage well.
Pushkar in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Pushkar working the head with strikes.
Niemen tries to get back to his feet but has found himself mounted instead. Damn, that's gotta suck.
Niemen in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Pushkar throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Pushkar jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Niemen manages to avoid the submission attempt.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Pushkar tries for a kimura but Niemen is defending well.
Pushkar advances nicely into full mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pushkar throws a sloppy strike and Niemen uses the opportunity to reverse the position! A bit of a scramble here and Niemen has ended up in Pushkar's guard.
Czesio Niemen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Niemen throwing strikes from guard but Pushkar blocks nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
Benedikt Pushkar showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Pushkar, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 30:27
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Benedikt Pushkar!
Benedikt Pushkar thanked the fans post fight for their support.