PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Michael Blok (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alexander Gusev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Blok's entrance music is Bangarang. A fine choice. Alexander Gusev will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Blok
vs
Gusev

185 cm
21
192 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Michael Blok!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alexander Gusev!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Sergei Dronov and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Blok clinches.
Blok wants a takedown.

Blok tightens his grip and picks Gusev up, before dumping him to the ground. Gusev manages to land in guard.
Blok lands a couple of digs.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Gusev throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Blok sitting in guard here, content to control.
Blok's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Blok has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Michael Blok just wasn't active enough.

Blok shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Gusev's guard.
Blok scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Blok working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Gusev looking to control.
Gusev throws some shots to the body, keeping his opponent honest.
Blok content to stall in guard here.
Gusev looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gusev is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Blok slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Blok 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.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Blok scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
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!
Blok trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Blok is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Gusev throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Gusev changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Blok tries to avoid it but Gusev manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Blok to the ground. Blok escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Gusev with a lazy takedown attempt

and Blok counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Gusev looks winded!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blok makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Blok sitting in guard here, content to control.
Blok makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Blok postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Gusev wants to stand and escape but Blok is having none of it.
Blok works over Gusev with some ground and pound from guard.
Blok makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Blok lands a couple of elbows.
Blok controlling from the top position.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Blok's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Blok makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Blok is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Blok postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Blok's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Blok content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Blok working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Blok is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Blok lands a couple of elbows.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Blok dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Blok clinches up against the cage.
Blok tries to pull guard but Gusev forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Blok gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Gusev.

Blok gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Gusev regains guard.
Blok stays in close to Gusev's body and controls the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Blok lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Blok is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Gusev is trying to keep Blok in close.
Gusev can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Blok controls the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Michael Blok wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Gusev throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Blok scores with a takedown into Gusev's guard.
Gusev is breathing heavily.
Blok scoring with punches to the head and body.
Blok is working Gusev over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Gusev working a defensive guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Blok connects with a couple of short punches.
Blok is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Gusev working a defensive guard here.
Blok working some strikes from top position.
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!
Gusev looking to hit a scissor sweep but Blok is one step ahead there.
Blok is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Gusev can do to turn this around?
Gusev wants to stand up but Blok is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blok wanted to stand there but Gusev had control of the position.
Blok controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Michael Blok just wasn't active enough.
Gusev darts in trying to clinch

and Blok counters with a takedown into side control.
Gusev is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Blok is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Blok is in the full mount, landing strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Blok looking to control and managing it successfully.
Gusev wants to control but Blok is having none of it.
Blok controlling his opponent.

Blok is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Gusev has managed to escape the submission attempt.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Blok sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Michael Blok dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Gusev scoring well with a low kick there.
Gusev wants to clinch but Blok slips to the side

and Blok counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Blok cracks Gusev with a solid left hand.

Blok postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Gusev is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Blok, into his guard.
Blok is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Blok on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Blok tries to get out of the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gusev trying to stand up but can't free himself from Blok's guard.
Gusev takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Gusev lands a couple of elbows.
Gusev trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Blok controlling Gusev's posture.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Michael Blok wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Gusev closes the distance and clinches up with Blok, looking for a takedown. Gusev pushes Blok against the cage but Blok circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Gusev tries for a takedown but Blok circles away easily

and Blok counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Gusev's guard now.
Blok lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Blok lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Michael Blok overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Blok scoring with punches to the head and body.

Blok gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

Blok has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Blok throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

Blok has picked Gusev up - he's going for a ride! Blok dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Blok tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Blok working over Gusev with some ground and pound. Gusev looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Blok lands with a punch from half guard.
Well, if Blok is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Blok works his way into side control.
Gusev is looking for a sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gusev is working to avoid the ground and pound but Blok connects with a decent elbow.

Blok looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Blok taking a breather here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gusev taking punishment in the form of punches.

And that's the end of the fight!
Michael Blok showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Blok, 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Michael Blok!
A less than humble Michael Blok misjudged his post fight interview somewhat and came across a little too arrogant whilst trying to hype up his own abilities.