PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Artem Dukovskiy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ivan Grozni (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.

Dukovskiy
vs
Grozni

191 cm
18
252 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

220 cm
25
265 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Artem Dukovskiy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ivan Grozni!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Dmitry Maklakov and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Excellent takedown into side control there by Dukovskiy.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Dukovskiy prevents Grozni from escaping the position.
Dukovskiy trying to control the action but Grozni is working from the bottom.
Grozni tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Dukovskiy wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Dukovskiy knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Grozni on the ground.
Grozni gets back to half guard.
Grozni is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Dukovskiy seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Grozni does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Grozni manages to get to full guard.
Dukovskiy preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grozni keeps trying to improve his position.
Grozni utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Dukovskiy wants to stand but Grozni has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Dukovskiy is looking to work some ground and pound but Grozni has wrist control.
Dukovskiy pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Grozni is keeping the position for now.
Dukovskiy trying to control but Grozni is working from the bottom.
Dukovskiy has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Dukovskiy tries to free his leg and advance position but Grozni is retaining full guard.
Dukovskiy preventing the sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dukovskiy prevents Grozni from getting back to his feet.
Dukovskiy passes Grozni's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Grozni slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Dukovskiy trying to control the position from guard on top but Grozni is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Dukovskiy drops back, looking for a kneebar! Grozni looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Grozni looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Grozni!

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Grozni looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Grozni is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Grozni looks winded!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Grozni trying to control the position but Dukovskiy is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dukovskiy is trying to get back to half guard.
Dukovskiy can't do much from the bottom here.
Grozni is putting a hurting on Dukovskiy here, landing some big shots from side control.

Grozni decides to stand back up.

Dukovskiy decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Grozni has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Dukovskiy is on him like a limpet, forcing Grozni back against the cage.
Grozni drops down looking for an ankle pick but Dukovskiy pulls his leg out and moves away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Dukovskiy gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Dukovskiy pulls guard effortlessly.
Grozni postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Dukovskiy looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Dukovskiy is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Grozni stopping the sweep attempt from Dukovskiy.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Dukovskiy seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Artem Dukovskiy will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Grozni will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Grozni scores with a takedown into Dukovskiy's guard.
Dukovskiy working a defensive guard here.
Grozni won't allow Dukovskiy to get back to his feet.
Grozni trying to stand up but can't free himself from Dukovskiy's guard.
Dukovskiy is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Grozni is breathing heavily.

Dukovskiy has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Grozni can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Grozni is stalling in the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grozni trying to control but Dukovskiy is working from the bottom.
Dukovskiy could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Dukovskiy looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Dukovskiy working a defensive guard here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Grozni blocks a head kick by Dukovskiy.
Grozni shoots in for a takedown but Dukovskiy shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Grozni dives in for a single leg takedown but Dukovskiy sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Artem Dukovskiy has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ivan Grozni.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Dukovskiy manages to break the clinch.

Dukovskiy gets a double leg takedown into Grozni's guard.
Dukovskiy has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Grozni is proving hard to escape from.
Dukovskiy preventing the sweep.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Grozni is on top in guard.
Grozni working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Dukovskiy's head.

Dukovskiy has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Grozni can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Grozni pushes down on Dukovskiy's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grozni is thwarting Dukovskiy's attempts to control the position.
Dukovskiy is trying to stand up here but Grozni is controlling him well.
Dukovskiy is looking to control Grozni's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Dukovskiy avoid being mounted?
Dukovskiy is trying to stand.

Grozni is looking for a kimura but Dukovskiy is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Grozni to get the leverage.
Dukovskiy desperately trying to maintain half guard.
Dukovskiy is looking to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Grozni seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Dukovskiy does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Dukovskiy is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Dukovskiy wants to control but Grozni is keeping busy.

Artem Dukovskiy has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Grozni tries to clinch there but Dukovskiy circles away.
Grozni shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Dukovskiy counters by moving into the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Dukovskiy gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Grozni regains guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Grozni looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Artem Dukovskiy will probably get the nod.
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. This is the final round!

Grozni fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Dukovskiy sprawls well initially but Grozni persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Grozni is keen to just control but Dukovskiy is a slippery customer.
Grozni works his way into side control.

Grozni is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Dukovskiy has escaped the position, nice work there.
Dukovskiy manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Dukovskiy seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Grozni does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Grozni flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Still in half guard, Dukovskiy seems content to control.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Dukovskiy is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grozni controls Dukovskiy momentarily but Dukovskiy frees himself.
Dukovskiy might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Grozni looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Dukovskiy content to stall in guard here.
Dukovskiy trying to control the position from guard on top but Grozni is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Artem Dukovskiy wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Grozni dodges the punch combination from Dukovskiy.
Dukovskiy tries to clinch up but Grozni circles away and keeps his distance.
Grozni blocks a head kick by Dukovskiy.

Grozni gets caught flat footed, as Dukovskiy shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Dukovskiy would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Dukovskiy content to stall in guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Grozni has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Dukovskiy has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
Grozni jumps guard but Dukovskiy stands there with Grozni around his waist. Grozni gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Dukovskiy is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Grozni can't fight it off and eventually Dukovskiy manages to take the fight to the floor. Grozni looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Dukovskiy working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Grozni's head.
Grozni has a closed guard, preventing Dukovskiy from standing up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Grozni is on top in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dukovskiy looking for a sweep. Not yet Dukovskiy, not yet.
Dukovskiy working a defensive guard here.
Ivan Grozni has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Grozni throws a strike but Dukovskiy rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Grozni escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Dukovskiy gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Grozni had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Dukovskiy defends it easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Ivan Grozni.
Well Dukovskiy 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 Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:28
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Artem Dukovskiy!