PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Gevorg Petrosyan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lizandro Ibarra (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Petrosyan comes into the arena with No Turning Back - Stand and Fight blaring out of the sound system. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Petrosyan
vs
Ibarra

185 cm
25
216 lbs
8 - 7 - 1

190 cm
24
220 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
World class MT
Granite chin

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 8 - 7 - 1, fighting out of London, Gevorg Petrosyan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Lizandro Ibarra!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, James Ackerman and Richard Clark.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ibarra throws a head kick that misses.
Ibarra fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ibarra avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Petrosyan lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Petrosyan tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Ibarra forces Petrosyan back against the cage and clinches.
Ibarra lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

It looks like Gevorg Petrosyan has been cut.
Ibarra is trying to break the clinch but Petrosyan has him pressed against the cage.
Petrosyan blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Ibarra misses with a knee strike.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ibarra wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Ibarra using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Petrosyan has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Ibarra has had enough of the clinch but Petrosyan keeps him there for the moment.
Nice elbow from Ibarra.
Ibarra with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Petrosyan tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A short uppercut from Petrosyan.
Ibarra takes an elbow to the temple.
Petrosyan scores with a nice hook to the head.
Petrosyan will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Ibarra up against the cage.

Ibarra pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Petrosyan lands with a nice combination. Ibarra backs away looking to recover.
Petrosyan throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Petrosyan misses with a series of wild punches.
Ibarra wants to clinch up but Petrosyan keeps it at a distance.
Petrosyan scores with a shot to the body.
Petrosyan throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Ibarra closes the distance but Petrosyan moves to the side

and Petrosyan counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Petrosyan content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Petrosyan takes a knee right on the jaw!
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Ibarra obliges.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Petrosyan lands a damaging elbow.
Petrosyan misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Ibarra blocks an elbow strike from Petrosyan.
Ibarra lands an elbow that stopped Petrosyan in his tracks for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ibarra tries to land a knee to the head but Petrosyan blocks with his arms.
Ibarra wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Petrosyan lands with a light punch inside.
Petrosyan lands with a short shot to the head.

Ibarra escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Petrosyan's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Petrosyan duly obliges.
Ibarra dives in for a single leg takedown but Petrosyan sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Ibarra missing with knees to the body.
Ibarra misses with an elbow strike.
Petrosyan is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Ibarra is defending well for now.
Petrosyan lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Ibarra with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Petrosyan tries to land a knee to the head but Ibarra blocks with his arms.
Ibarra tries a knee to the head but Petrosyan blocks it.
Ibarra misses with a knee to the head.
Petrosyan tries a body shot but Ibarra blocks it.
Petrosyan trying to land knees to the body.

Petrosyan breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Ibarra moves in looking to clinch but Petrosyan pushes him off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Petrosyan dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Ibarra.
Ibarra looks winded!
Jab from Petrosyan.
Ibarra tries to clinch but Petrosyan moves out of range.
Ibarra is looking to clinch but Petrosyan is avoiding it.
Ibarra takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Ibarra fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Gevorg Petrosyan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lizandro Ibarra.
Ibarra takes a head kick and keeps coming.

It looks like Lizandro Ibarra has been cut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Petrosyan dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Petrosyan tests Ibarra's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Petrosyan scores with a decent looking hook.
Nice shot by Petrosyan.

Ibarra is rocked!

Petrosyan looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Ibarra!
Ibarra is still in real trouble! Can Petrosyan finish him?
An elbow from Petrosyan crashes against the mat.
Ibarra seems to have recovered his senses.

Petrosyan tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Petrosyan has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ibarra tries to improve position but can't.

Petrosyan working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

Petrosyan tries for a kimura but Ibarra is defending well.
Sloppy strikes there by Petrosyan.

Petrosyan is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Ibarra is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.

Petrosyan is trying to get an arm triangle but Ibarra is defending well.
Ibarra felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Petrosyan wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Ibarra, who protects the arm well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gevorg Petrosyan dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Petrosyan moves into the clinch.
Still in the clinch, Petrosyan scores with a nice short uppercut.
Petrosyan misses with some punches.
Ibarra connects with a knee to the head.
Petrosyan misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ibarra connects with a knee to the head.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Petrosyan using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Ibarra has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

Petrosyan breaks from the clinch.
Petrosyan throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Ibarra sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Petrosyan lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Petrosyan staying out of range there.
Petrosyan ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Ibarra moves away.
Ibarra moves to clinch but Petrosyan breaks away
and Petrosyan counters with a nice uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Petrosyan will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Petrosyan avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Petrosyan fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Ibarra looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Ibarra lands a high kick!
Petrosyan tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Ibarra swivels and escapes.
Ibarra tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
No joy there for Petrosyan, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Ibarra throws a head kick but Petrosyan moves out of range.
Petrosyan wants to clinch up but Ibarra keeps it at a distance.
Ibarra tries a head kick but it misses.
Ibarra doesn't manage to clinch there - Petrosyan circles away.
Ibarra takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Gevorg Petrosyan is winning the standup battle so far.

Petrosyan moves into the clinch.
Ibarra lands a knee to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ibarra throws a knee to the head but misses.
Ibarra is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Petrosyan keeps control of Ibarra as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Ibarra breaks from the clinch.
Ibarra slips a straight right by Petrosyan.
Ibarra tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Petrosyan counters with a two punch combo.

Ibarra drives through and clinches with Petrosyan against the cage.
Ibarra avoids a wild elbow strike from Petrosyan.
Ibarra has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Ibarra breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Petrosyan has taken the fight to the clinch.
A right hook to the body lands for Petrosyan.
Petrosyan prevents Ibarra from breaking the clinch.
Petrosyan misses with a knee strike.
Ibarra scores with a knee to the head.
Petrosyan avoiding damage as Ibarra throws knees to the body.
Petrosyan using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Ibarra has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Ibarra blocks an uppercut.
Petrosyan misses with a knee strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Petrosyan misses with a knee to the head.
Petrosyan tries a knee to the head but Ibarra blocks it.
Ibarra misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Petrosyan.
Petrosyan misses with a hook from the clinch.

Petrosyan escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ibarra tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Ibarra avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Petrosyan tries to land a leg kick but Ibarra saw it coming and moves away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ibarra looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Petrosyan takes a swing at Ibarra's ribcage but misses.
Petrosyan misses with a hook.
Ibarra slaps away a takedown attempt from Petrosyan, before circling back to the center of the mat.
It looks like Petrosyan has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
Nice sprawl there from Petrosyan as Ibarra shoots in.
Ibarra throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Petrosyan cracks Ibarra with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ibarra misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Ibarra misses with a head kick.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Petrosyan looks to land a combination but Ibarra avoids it well.
Petrosyan throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Ibarra throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Petrosyan misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Ibarra uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Petrosyan.
Ibarra tries to score a power double leg takedown but Petrosyan sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Ibarra somewhat.
Good standup being displayed there by Petrosyan as he connects with a hook.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Petrosyan punishes Ibarra's body with a nice straight punch.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Petrosyan swinging wildly here.
Petrosyan shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Ibarra eats them both and turns towards Petrosyan to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Ibarra wants to clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gevorg Petrosyan dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

No joy there for Petrosyan, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Some wild striking there from Petrosyan.
Ibarra tries to clinch but Petrosyan moves away
and Petrosyan counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Ibarra tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Petrosyan was well out of range. Poor timing from Ibarra.
Ibarra tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Petrosyan manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Ibarra tries to keep at a distance but Petrosyan has taken the fight into the clinch.
Petrosyan misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Petrosyan with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
A frustrated look appears on Ibarra's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Petrosyan tries a knee to the head but Ibarra blocks it.
Ibarra landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Ibarra.
Petrosyan lands a left hand.
Ibarra scores with a knee to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ibarra tries to break free but Petrosyan pushes him back against the cage.
Ibarra tries to land knees in the clinch but Petrosyan avoids the damage to the body.
Ibarra blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Petrosyan throws a punch but it's blocked by Ibarra.
Ibarra looking to throw knees to the head but Petrosyan is blocking nicely.
Ibarra tries to land a knee to the head but Petrosyan blocks with his arms.
Ibarra missing with knees to the body.
Ibarra misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Petrosyan.
Ibarra looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Petrosyan missing with knees to the body.
Ibarra avoids a wild elbow strike from Petrosyan.

Ibarra escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ibarra throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Petrosyan's waist but Petrosyan gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Ibarra off to one side.
Ibarra avoids a punch combination nicely.
Ibarra walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ibarra walks into a jab.

Petrosyan closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Petrosyan misses with an elbow strike.

Ibarra breaks the clinch.
Petrosyan keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Petrosyan scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Ibarra throws a head kick that misses.
Petrosyan scores with a shot to the body.
Petrosyan misses with a body shot.
Ibarra uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Petrosyan.
Ibarra goes for a double leg but Petrosyan avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Petrosyan continues to drive forward.
Petrosyan managing to block the knees to the body from Ibarra.
A short uppercut from Petrosyan.
A right handed body shot lands from Petrosyan.
Ibarra is trying desperately to land a takedown but Petrosyan is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Ibarra.
Knees in the clinch landing for Petrosyan.

Petrosyan manages to break the clinch.
A slapping leg kick lands for Petrosyan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ibarra doesn't manage to clinch there - Petrosyan circles away.
Petrosyan avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Petrosyan closes the distance and clinches.
Ibarra misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Petrosyan.
Ibarra throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Petrosyan avoiding damage as Ibarra throws knees to the body.
Lizandro Ibarra has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ibarra is trying to break the clinch but Petrosyan is controlling him.

Petrosyan escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ibarra takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.

Ibarra shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Petrosyan napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Petrosyan is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Petrosyan wants to control but Ibarra postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Petrosyan is looking for a sweep.
Ibarra with the ground and pound but Petrosyan regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Petrosyan is looking for a sweep. Ibarra is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Ibarra is working for a kimura but Petrosyan is defending it quite comfortably.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Petrosyan avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Ibarra.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gevorg Petrosyan showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Petrosyan, 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 William Gold scores the fight for Gevorg Petrosyan!
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight for Gevorg Petrosyan!
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight for Gevorg Petrosyan!

Gevorg Petrosyan wins by unanimous decision!
After winning the bout, Gevorg Petrosyan thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.