PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sith One (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aleksey Ivanov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). One's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, Sith . Sith One has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

One
vs
Ivanov

175 cm
25
190 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

180 cm
33
188 lbs
25 - 11 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Red Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Conquer

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 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Sith One!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Aleksey Ivanov!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, James Glass and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ivanov scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Ivanov trying to control the position but One is working away.
Ivanov is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

Ivanov goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, One rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Ivanov's guard! Nice work there by One!
One is looking to pass into half guard but Ivanov pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Ivanov is in guard.
Ivanov told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ivanov is looking to pass into half guard but One pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now One is in guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
One looking to pass the guard.

Ivanov is looking for a triangle but One pushes his legs off easily.
Ivanov looking to control.
One wants to control from the top but Ivanov keeps moving.

Ivanov working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because One has passed into half guard!
One is trying to control. Ivanov wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
One is controlling the pace.
Ivanov wants to improve his position but One is controlling well.
One trying to control the action but Ivanov is working from the bottom.

Ivanov looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
One is trying to control the action in half guard but Ivanov is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
One trying to pass the guard but Ivanov defending well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov is not content to let One control the position.

One is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
One wants to free his trapped foot but Ivanov is holding on for dear life with his legs.

Ivanov looking for submissions off his back.
Ivanov makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Ivanov.
One passes Ivanov's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
One wants to control but Ivanov is keeping him busy.

One is working for a kimura but Ivanov is defending it quite comfortably.
Ivanov is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Ivanov regains full guard. Nicely done.
One wants to control from the top but Ivanov keeps moving.
Ivanov keeping full guard, as One tries to pass.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
One trying to control but Ivanov is working from the bottom.
One won't allow Ivanov to sweep him here.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Ivanov is on top in guard.
One keeping full guard, as Ivanov tries to pass.

One working for submissions but it's allowed Ivanov to get to half guard.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
One wants to control but Ivanov is keeping busy.
Ivanov is trying to control the action in half guard but One is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Ivanov looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Ivanov stalling.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov is trying to control the action in half guard but One is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Ivanov looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Ivanov stalling away here and it's allowed One to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.

One looking for a guillotine here but Ivanov defends easily.
Ivanov trying to control but One is working from the bottom.
We've been hearing good reports from One's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aleksey Ivanov dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

One shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Ivanov counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Ivanov.
Ivanov trying to control the position from guard on top but One is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ivanov might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control One haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

Ivanov drops back, looking for a kneebar! One looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. One looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from One!
Aleksey Ivanov has got the better of the ground game so far.
One looking to control but instead Ivanov has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
One wants to pass the guard but Ivanov is defending well.

One is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Ivanov defends it well.
One wants to take a breather but Ivanov is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
One wants to pass the guard but Ivanov is defending well.
Ivanov trying to hold on to One's head to control him but One postures up.
Ivanov is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but One is staying active.
Ivanov wants to get back to full guard.
Ivanov works his way to full guard. Good work.
One trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Ivanov manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Ivanov pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. One is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov trying to control but One is working from the bottom.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

One shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Ivanov is trying to defend but One finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

One is trying to work for a kimura but Ivanov is defending well.

One is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
One trying to pass the guard but Ivanov defending well.

Ivanov is defending against the submission attempts here by One.

One is looking for a kimura here.
Ivanov wants to control the action here but instead One manages to pass to full mount!

That's five minutes gone in the round.

One working for a guillotine from mount but Ivanov is in no mood to give up.
One trying to control but he's not successful this time.

One goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Ivanov is on top in guard.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
One keeping moving, preventing Ivanov from controlling successfully.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Ivanov trying to control but One is working from the bottom.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Ivanov decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.

Ivanov is working for a submission of some sort.

Ivanov is working for a kimura but One is defending it quite comfortably.
Ivanov wants to lay and pray for a moment but One keeps working.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Ivanov wants to pass to mount but One is defending the position.
Ivanov is just content to waste time from the top position. One takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Ivanov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov trying to control the position from guard on top but One is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ivanov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. One swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Aleksey Ivanov wasn't active enough on the ground.

Ivanov closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Aleksey Ivanov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! 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.

One shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Ivanov defends it nicely.
One misses with a takedown attempt

and Ivanov counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in One's guard now.
Ivanov looking to sit in guard and control but One gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Ivanov lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for One!
Ivanov trying to control but he's not successful this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
One tries to hold on but Ivanov postures up.
Ivanov looking to control but One is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
One wants to control but Ivanov is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov wants to take One's back here but One is holding on to an arm, himself looking to escape.
Ivanov can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as One is looking to escape.
Ivanov controlling from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov trying to control but he's not successful this time.

Ivanov goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now One is on top in guard.
One trying to control but Ivanov is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Aleksey Ivanov has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Ivanov shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. One manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
One being controlled here, momentarily.
Ivanov trying to control but One is working from the bottom.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. One is keeping the position for now.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Aleksey Ivanov wasn't active enough on the ground.
One with a poor takedown

and Ivanov counters with a shoot takedown. One fights it but they end up in guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sith One. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ivanov trying to control the position from guard on top but One is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ivanov advances to half guard.
Ivanov trying to control the action but One is working from the bottom.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov is looking to stall here but One recovers full guard.
Ivanov looking to pass the guard.
Ivanov advances to half guard.
Sith One has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
One is looking to improve his position.

Ivanov is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. One doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Ivanov.
Ivanov trying to mount his opponent but One defends it.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Ivanov is trying to control the action in half guard but One is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Ivanov has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Ivanov trying to control but he's not successful this time.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
One regains half guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Ivanov is trying to work for a kimura but One is defending well.

And that's the end of the fight!
Aleksey Ivanov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Ivanov winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight for Aleksey Ivanov!
Judge James Glass scores the fight for Aleksey Ivanov!
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight for Aleksey Ivanov!

Aleksey Ivanov wins by unanimous decision!
A very excited looking Aleksey Ivanov made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.