PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Mikhail Tarasov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bart Finkelton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tarasov's entrance music is The Ecstasy of Gold - Ennio Morricone . A fine choice. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Bart Finkelton was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Tarasov
vs
Finkelton

171 cm
26
158 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

174 cm
18
161 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Mikhail Tarasov!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Bart Finkelton!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Finkelton throws a jab when Tarasov was well out of range.
Finkelton with a jab.
Some wild striking there from Tarasov.
Finkelton lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Tarasov circles away quickly and effectively.
Finkelton throws a right hand that misses
and Tarasov counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
A big right from Finkelton misses.
Finkelton misses with a straight right.
Finkelton jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Finkelton misses with a straight left.
Bart Finkelton seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Finkelton misses with a series of wild punches.
Finkelton throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Finkelton misses with a series of wild punches.
Finkelton throws a hook but Tarasov blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Finkelton swinging wildly here.
Finkelton throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Tarasov.
Tarasov ducks under a wild hook from Finkelton.
Nice shot lands for Tarasov.
Tarasov throws a jab when Finkelton was well out of range.
Finkelton throws a series of punches but Tarasov avoids them all with ease.
Tarasov lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
A slow jab from Finkelton misses its intended target.
Tarasov uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Finkelton.
No joy there for Tarasov, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Finkelton moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Tarasov throws a shot from downtown. Finkelton moves away and avoids it.
Nice defenses there by Tarasov.
Some wild striking there from Finkelton.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Finkelton fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Tarasov on the side of the head.
A looping hook to the body misses from Tarasov. Finkelton does a little dance to reset his feet.
Finkelton bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Finkelton closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Finkelton ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Tarasov moves away.
Finkelton uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Tarasov.
Finkelton on the wrong end of a nice hook.

It looks like Bart Finkelton has been cut.
Finkelton avoids a punch combination nicely.
Finkelton misses with a body shot.
Tarasov throws a right and a left that Finkelton avoids nicely.
Finkelton throws a right and a left that Tarasov avoids nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Finkelton takes a swing at Tarasov's ribcage but misses.
Tarasov avoids the body shot from Finkelton.
Tarasov lands with a shot to the body.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Tarasov, as that shot connected.
Nice uppercut lands for Tarasov. That snapped Finkelton's head back.
A shot to the liver by Tarasov. Beautiful body shot.
Finkelton misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Tarasov avoids the body shot from Finkelton.
Finkelton throws a left and a right that both miss
and Tarasov counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Finkelton misses with an uppercut. Tarasov saw that one coming.
Finkelton throws a lazy uppercut
and Tarasov counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Finkelton looks to score with a jab to the body but Tarasov is just out of range.
Decent striking displayed by Tarasov there.
Tarasov takes one on the chin but keeps coming.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tarasov connects with the punch.
Tarasov is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Finkelton misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Finkelton throws a right and a left that Tarasov avoids nicely.
Tarasov scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

Finkelton is rocked!
Tarasov will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Finkelton rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Tarasov moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Tarasov fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Finkelton rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Tarasov moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A big left from Finkelton misses.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Finkelton misses with a straight right.
Finkelton falls off balance throwing a combination
and Tarasov counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mikhail Tarasov dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Bart Finkelton's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Finkelton swings widly with a right hand
and Finkelton takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Tarasov scores with a decent looking hook.
Finkelton is still on wobbly legs! Can Tarasov finish him?
Finkelton misses with a double jab
and Tarasov counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Finkelton throws a right and a left that Tarasov avoids nicely.
Finkelton seems to have recovered his senses.
Finkelton throws the left hand but Tarasov avoids the punch easily.
Tarasov throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Finkelton sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Mikhail Tarasov is winning the standup battle so far.
Finkelton slips a jab and a cross from Tarasov.
Tarasov throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Finkelton.
Tarasov keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Finkelton.
Finkelton throws out a powerful jab.
Tarasov on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Tarasov throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Finkelton stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Tarasov ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Tarasov uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Finkelton.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tarasov uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Finkelton.
A big left from Finkelton misses.
Finkelton misses with an uppercut. Tarasov saw that one coming.
Finkelton walks into a stiff left hand from Tarasov.

That has opened up Bart Finkelton's cut even more.
Finkelton misses with a body punch
and Tarasov counters with a left and a right that stings Finkelton.
Finkelton fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Tarasov looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Finkelton on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Finkelton misses with a series of wild punches.
Finkelton throws a left and a right that both miss
and Tarasov counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Finkelton thinking.
Finkelton swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Finkelton is breathing heavily.
Finkelton showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Tarasov.
Tarasov connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Finkelton rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Tarasov counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Finkelton takes a swing at Tarasov's ribcage but misses.
Finkelton thuds a left hand into Tarasov's body.
Tarasov lands a right hook to the body.
Finkelton misses with a combination
and Tarasov counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Finkelton ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Tarasov moves away.
Finkelton throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Finkelton takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Tarasov connects with a body shot that sends Finkelton's belly button to the back.

Tarasov lands a big uppercut and Finkelton crumbles to the floor! The ref thinks about stopping the fight but Finkelton looks OK. Tarasov waves Finkelton back to his feet!

The cut above Bart Finkelton's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Finkelton gets caught by a big overhand right and goes down! Tarasov gets on top of him and starts throwing some serious punches until the ref intervenes and stops the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Mikhail Tarasov!
Mikhail Tarasov is the new lightweight champion!
Mikhail Tarasov spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.