PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Anton Meshkov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Roberto Salaxam (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.

Meshkov
vs
Salaxam

180 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

191 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Can Moonwalk

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Anton Meshkov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Roberto Salaxam!
The judges for this bout are Richard Clark, James Ackerman and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Salaxam tries to close the distance and clinch but Meshkov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Meshkov keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Salaxam tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Meshkov wants to slow Salaxam down by chopping away at his legs.
Salaxam fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Salaxam is looking to clinch but Meshkov is avoiding it.
Meshkov jabbing away but nothing is landing.

Salaxam gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Meshkov has a couple of punches blocked by Salaxam.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Meshkov tries to work over Salaxam's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Salaxam tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Meshkov misses with a punch to the body.
Meshkov working aggressively here.
Meshkov working aggressively here.
Meshkov swings wildly with an uppercut but Salaxam uses good head movement to avoid it.
Meshkov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Salaxam throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Meshkov tries to break the clinch but Salaxam is controlling the position.
Salaxam tries a knee to the head but Meshkov blocks it.
Salaxam pushes off an throws an elbow but Meshkov leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Meshkov swings away with an uppercut that misses.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Salaxam misses with an elbow strike.
Meshkov misses with a hook from the clinch.
Salaxam misses with a knee strike.
Meshkov blocks an elbow strike.
Meshkov blocks an elbow strike.
Meshkov has had enough of the clinch but Salaxam keeps him there for the moment.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Salaxam.
Meshkov tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Meshkov working aggressively here.
Meshkov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Meshkov fails to land.

Salaxam escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salaxam takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Salaxam doesn't manage to clinch there - Meshkov circles away.
Salaxam blocks a jab.
Meshkov throws a hook but Salaxam blocks it.
Meshkov throws a hook but Salaxam avoids it easily.
The fight stays on the outside here - Salaxam looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Meshkov throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Salaxam sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Roberto Salaxam seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Salaxam looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Meshkov desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Meshkov trying to hold on to Salaxam's head to control him but Salaxam postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Meshkov is pressing down on Salaxam's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Salaxam wants to control from the top but Meshkov keeps moving.
Meshkov seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

Meshkov is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Salaxam is aware though and is defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salaxam showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Meshkov bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Salaxam's guard.
Meshkov is stalling in the full guard.

Salaxam throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Salaxam looks winded!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Meshkov sitting in guard here, content to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Meshkov dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Salaxam tries to clinch there but Meshkov circles away.
Meshkov throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Salaxam stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Meshkov scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Meshkov misses with a looping left.
Salaxam tries to clinch up but Meshkov circles away and keeps his distance.
Meshkov keeps the fight on the outside.
Salaxam tries to clinch up but Meshkov circles away and keeps his distance.
Meshkov throws a shot from downtown. Salaxam moves away and avoids it.
Salaxam is looking to clinch.
Salaxam tries to clinch but Meshkov moves out of range.
Meshkov connects with a solid leg kick.

Salaxam closes the distance and clinches.
Salaxam looks to throw an elbow but misses.

Salaxam breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Nice uppercut lands for Meshkov. That snapped Salaxam's head back.
Roberto Salaxam is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Meshkov ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Salaxam moves away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Meshkov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Meshkov lands with a thumping leg kick.
Salaxam tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Meshkov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Salaxam wants to clinch.
Meshkov ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Salaxam tries to clinch up but Meshkov circles away and keeps his distance.
Meshkov throws a jab when Salaxam was well out of range.
Salaxam keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Meshkov.
Nice cross by Meshkov.
Meshkov digs a good hook to Salaxam's body.
Meshkov throws a looping overhand right but Salaxam ducks down to avoid it.
Salaxam wants to clinch.
Salaxam will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Salaxam is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Salaxam wants to clinch up but Meshkov keeps it at a distance.
Meshkov slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Meshkov throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A slow jab from Meshkov misses its intended target.

Salaxam instigates a clinch.
Meshkov has a couple of punches blocked by Salaxam.
Meshkov avoids the elbow strike from Salaxam, against the cage.
Salaxam looks to throw an elbow but misses.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Meshkov.
Meshkov misses with a short punch on the inside.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Salaxam throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Salaxam blocks an uppercut.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Meshkov.
Meshkov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salaxam working hard to break the clinch.
Salaxam blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Salaxam blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Meshkov throws a head punch that misses.
A head punch on the inside from Meshkov fails to land.
Meshkov doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
With the fighters up against the cage, Salaxam throws an elbow but misses.
Meshkov can't break the clinch.
Meshkov lands a left hand that snaps the head of Salaxam backwards.

Salaxam works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Meshkov manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Salaxam manages to get himself to full guard.
Meshkov might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Meshkov is pushing down on Salaxam's leg trying to pass to half guard. Salaxam is fighting to maintain full guard but Meshkov has managed to sneak the leg through.
Meshkov is looking to advance position but Salaxam won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Meshkov not doing much here.
Meshkov'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.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anton Meshkov dominated that second round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Meshkov looks to score with a jab to the body but Salaxam is just out of range.
Salaxam ducks under a wild hook from Meshkov.
Salaxam doesn't manage to clinch there - Meshkov circles away.
A looping hook to the body misses from Meshkov. Salaxam does a little dance to reset his feet.
Salaxam doesn't manage to clinch there - Meshkov circles away.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Meshkov, right into the meat.
Nice defenses there by Salaxam.
Salaxam walks into a straight right hand from Meshkov.
Salaxam keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Meshkov.
Salaxam tries to clinch but Meshkov moves out of range.
Meshkov keeps the fight on the outside.
Salaxam ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Meshkov missing with a left hand there. Salaxam was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Meshkov throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salaxam doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Salaxam tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Meshkov paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Meshkov bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Salaxam's head backwards.
Salaxam tries to clinch there but Meshkov circles away.
Salaxam tries to clinch but Meshkov moves out of range.
Anton Meshkov is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Salaxam throws a body punch but Meshkov moves out of range.
Meshkov swings for the body but Salaxam moves out of range.

Salaxam closes the distance and clinches.
Salaxam takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Meshkov wants to get back to striking at distance but Salaxam won't allow it.
Meshkov wants to stall.
Meshkov misses with a hook from the clinch.
Salaxam is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Meshkov misses with a hook to the ribs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Meshkov lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Meshkov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Meshkov avoids the elbow strike from Salaxam, against the cage.
Salaxam blocking some punches.
Meshkov trying to control the position but instead, Salaxam has worked for underhooks and has pushed Meshkov into the cage.
Meshkov dodges an elbow strike from Salaxam.
Meshkov misses with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Meshkov fails to land.
Meshkov swings wildly with an uppercut but Salaxam uses good head movement to avoid it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Salaxam effectively controlling the action here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Meshkov is trying to stall.
Salaxam has Meshkov pressed against the cage, preventing Meshkov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Meshkov.
Salaxam looks to throw an elbow but misses.
A head punch on the inside from Meshkov fails to land.
Salaxam has Meshkov pressed against the cage, preventing Meshkov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Salaxam looking to slow down the pace here.
Meshkov lands a body shot in the clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Salaxam just misses with a elbow thrown towards Meshkov's brow.
Meshkov pressing his opponent against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Salaxam is trying to trip Meshkov. He has hold of a leg but Meshkov is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Salaxam persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Meshkov is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Meshkov trying to keep a closed guard but Salaxam is proving a slippery customer.
Roberto Salaxam has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Meshkov is controlling Salaxam's posture.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Meshkov is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Salaxam throws a strike but Meshkov rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anton Meshkov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Meshkov has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anton Meshkov!
Anton Meshkov tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.