PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Zivojin Miric (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aleksandr Karelin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Miric
vs
Karelin

193 cm
22
240 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

191 cm
19
287 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

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 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Zivojin Miric!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Aleksandr Karelin!
The judges for this bout are , Frank Antenori and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Miric darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Karelin trying to control from the bottom.
Miric is pressing down on Karelin's thigh, looking to free his foot. Karelin is holding on for now.
Miric trying to control from half guard but Karelin is working away.
Karelin tries to get to full guard but Miric has control of the leg.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Karelin goes for a high kick. It partially lands.

It looks like Zivojin Miric has been cut.
Miric tries to bum rush Karelin with a series of wild strikes but Karelin uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Karelin throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Miric scores with a hook.
Miric throws a hook but Karelin blocks it.
Miric looks to land a right hand but Karelin moved out of range.
Miric fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Karelin manages to avoid it.
Karelin takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Miric misses with a wild combination.
Miric uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Karelin.
Karelin is looking to land body kicks.
Karelin throws a hook but Miric avoids it easily.
Zivojin Miric seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Miric blocks the body kick.
Karelin lands a lovely overhand right.
Karelin misses with a body kick.
Miric takes a swing at Karelin's ribcage but misses.
Miric takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Miric misses with an uppercut.
Miric avoids the head kick by Karelin.

Miric shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Karelin is trying to maintain the position but Miric is very close to passing his half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karelin tries to roll over but Miric keeps him under control.
Miric lands strikes from half guard.
Miric wants to pass to mount but Karelin is defending the position.
Miric not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Miric not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Miric wants to pass the guard but Karelin is defending well.
Miric passes to side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Miric creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Karelin sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Aleksandr Karelin will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Zivojin Miric's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Karelin avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Miric throws a hook to the side of Karelin's head but Karelin sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Miric works the jab nicely.
Karelin throws out a loose jab but Miric uses good head movement to avoid it.
Karelin pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Miric fails to land with a series of punches.

Miric closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Karelin's guard.
Miric slips nicely into half guard.
Miric thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Karelin's head.
Miric trying to mount his opponent but Karelin defends it.
Karelin really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Miric. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Miric is working hard here to advance position.
Miric passes the guard and advances to mount!
Miric wants to control the pace but Karelin is squirming around nicely.
Miric misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karelin holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Miric tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Miric lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Miric trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Miric 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.
Karelin's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Miric landing punches.
Miric lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Karelin wants to control but Miric is having none of it.

Karelin tries to improve his position but Miric has taken his back! Miric has a choke - it's sunk in pretty tight... Will Karelin tap? No... maybe... yes! He's tapped! Miric pushes Karelin away and gets up to celebrate with his corner!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Zivojin Miric!
After winning the bout, Zivojin Miric thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.