PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Benny Benassi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ivan Rugalov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Benassi
vs
Rugalov

193 cm
17
220 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

183 cm
25
230 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Basic striking
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Benny Benassi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ivan Rugalov!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Viktor Lagutenko and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rugalov checks the leg kick nicely there.
Rugalov displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Benassi.
Benassi misses with a low kick.

Rugalov drives through with a takedown into Benassi's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Rugalov passes Benassi's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Rugalov looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Benassi is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Rugalov is controlling the pace.
Rugalov trying to mount his opponent but Benassi defends it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rugalov not doing much here.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Ivan Rugalov.
Rugalov misses with a kick to the body.
Benassi throws out a leg kick but Rugalov moves out of range and Benassi only half commits.
Benassi circles away from the clinch attempt

and Benassi counters with a single leg into guard. Rugalov didn't expect that.
Rugalov throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Benassi looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Rugalov can do anything to dispel that myth.
Benassi being controlled here momentarily.
Benassi prevents Rugalov from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rugalov has Benassi pulled in close to control his posture.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Ivan Rugalov wasn't active enough on the ground.
Rugalov shoots in and drives through. Benassi sprawls well.

Rugalov scores with a takedown into Benassi's guard.
Benassi wants to control but Rugalov passes easily into half guard.
Benassi knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Rugalov on the ground.
Benassi strikes from the bottom but Rugalov passes into mount!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rugalov lands a big shot there that rocks Benassi but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Benassi is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
Rugalov is landing with some decent strikes but Benassi is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Rugalov landing strikes, looking to finish!
Benassi keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Rugalov takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Benassi is trying to escape the mount.
Rugalov content just to control the position here.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rugalov fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Rugalov with the ground and pound from mount.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Rugalov working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.
Benassi is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Benassi is working hard here to advance position.
Rugalov controlling from mount.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Rugalov dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Rugalov darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Benassi is looking for a sweep. Rugalov is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Rugalov tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Rugalov landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Benassi tries to get to full guard but Rugalov has control of the leg.
Rugalov performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.

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

Rugalov shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Benassi manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Rugalov won't allow Benassi to sweep him here.
Rugalov seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Rugalov pushes down on Benassi's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benassi is looking to improve his position.
Rugalov content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

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

Rugalov darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Benassi wants to control but Rugalov is keeping busy.
Rugalov takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rugalov tries to stand and escape but Benassi is controlling the position.
Rugalov prevents Benassi from improving his position.
Rugalov seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Ivan Rugalov.

Rugalov gets the takedown into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rugalov lands a few punches from side control.
Benassi looks to move to half guard but instead Rugalov has passed into mount! Damn!
Rugalov has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Benassi's face.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A nice elbow there by Rugalov.

Benassi is rocked!
Benassi is in all sorts of trouble here.
Oh Benassi is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Ivan Rugalov has got the better of the ground game so far.

Rugalov working for a guillotine from mount but Benassi is in no mood to give up.
Rugalov has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Rugalov looking to finish here with some ground and pound. He lands one big shot that has Benassi covering up... and two more big strikes land, forcing the referee to step in and put and end to proceedings! This fight is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:50 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Ivan Rugalov!