PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Steve King (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alaxei Molotov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

King
vs
Molotov

175 cm
25
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

178 cm
21
210 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Great elbows
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Enjoys gardening

KAISER

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 London, Steve King!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Alaxei Molotov!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, Andrew Berry and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
King throws a series of punches but Molotov moves out of range.

Molotov closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Molotov crunches a lovely knee into King's ribcage.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.

Molotov breaks the clinch.

Molotov shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
King being controlled here, momentarily.

King is looking for a triangle but Molotov pushes his legs off easily.
Molotov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Molotov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. King swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Molotov preventing the sweep.
Molotov 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.
King not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
King wants to sweep but no luck.

Molotov gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Molotov closes the distance and clinches up with King, looking for a takedown. Molotov pushes King against the cage but King circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from King.
Nice sprawl there from Molotov as King shoots in.
King is breathing heavily.

Molotov shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in King's guard.
Molotov postures up.
Molotov scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Molotov engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
King working a defensive guard here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Molotov content to stall in guard here.
Molotov's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

Alaxei Molotov has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Molotov shoots in looking for a takedown but King manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Molotov's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
King showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Molotov.

Molotov shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Molotov in particular looking to stall.
Molotov throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
King tries to get to full guard but Molotov has control of the leg.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Molotov passes to side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Molotov controlling the position from side mount.

Molotov stands up and beckons King to his feet.

Molotov moves into range and clinches up with King.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Molotov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Molotov has taken the fight to the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alaxei Molotov dominated that round.
That's time! King's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Molotov fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging King to the ground. Molotov is now in King's guard.
Molotov is stalling in the full guard.
Molotov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
King trying to keep a closed guard but Molotov is proving a slippery customer.
Molotov looking to pass the guard.
Molotov works over King with some ground and pound from guard.
Molotov wants to get up but he can't break King's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Molotov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Molotov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. King swivels though and keeps the full guard.

King is looking for a triangle but Molotov pushes his legs off easily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Molotov lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Molotov controls from within his opponent's guard.
Molotov throwing strikes but missing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Molotov stands up from King's guard - Molotov perhaps looking for a knockout.
King tries to clinch up but Molotov circles away and keeps his distance.
Molotov displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Molotov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says King as he avoids it easily.
Molotov lands with a nice body punch.
King with a lazy takedown attempt
and Molotov counters with a right hand to the body.
Steve King is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Molotov looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Molotov is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
King wants to get back to full guard.
King pushes Molotov off looking to stand but Molotov dives back in and keeps control.
Molotov 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.
Molotov is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for King!
King is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Molotov controlling his opponent.
Molotov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with King. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
King throwing hammer fists to the chest of Molotov. What's that going to do exactly?
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Molotov looking to secure an arm triangle but King defends it well.
Molotov connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alaxei Molotov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

King shoots in for a takedown but Molotov shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Molotov is defended easily by King.
King tries to clinch up but Molotov circles away and keeps his distance.

Molotov rushes King and presses him up against the cage.

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

Molotov feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
King wants to sweep here but Molotov controlling him for the moment.
Molotov with a flurry of punches that miss.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
King not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
King wants to stand up but Molotov is controlling him.
Molotov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Molotov gets to his feet - King follows without any prompting.
Molotov defends well against a solid takedown attempt from King.

Molotov moves into the clinch.

Molotov lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.

Molotov stands up from half guard.
A head kick misses from King.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Molotov scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
King tries to bench press Molotov off him but Molotov keeps the position.
Molotov controls the position.
Molotov has control of an arm but King manages to advance to Molotov's back!
Molotov looking very determined here, making life difficult for King.
King is throwing shots to the body but Molotov manages to wriggle free. King pounces on him again and ends up in Molotov's guard.

Molotov looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Molotov keeping moving, preventing King from controlling successfully.
Molotov has King pulled in close to control his posture.

Molotov throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
King trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Molotov controlling King's posture.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Nice sprawl there from Molotov as King shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Steve King. That's going to take a lot out of him.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Molotov drives through with a takedown into King's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Steve King has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Alaxei Molotov is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Molotov engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alaxei Molotov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Molotov 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 27:30
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alaxei Molotov!