PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Yermolai Sokoloff (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Van Damme (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Damme has chosen Fight to Survive as his entrance music. Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Sokoloff
vs
Damme

189 cm
26
202 lbs
11 - 4 - 1

186 cm
34
199 lbs
25 - 12 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Milwaukee's Best 160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Yermolai Sokoloff!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Van Damme!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sokoloff shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Damme as he avoids it easily.
Sokoloff takes one on the button.
Both fighters circling a little - Damme finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Damme getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Sokoloff thows a left - swing and a miss!
Sokoloff walks into a left hand.
A chopping leg kick lands by Damme.
Sokoloff looks to throw the jab but Damme is out of range.
Sokoloff checks the leg kick.
Van Damme seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Damme looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Sokoloff tries a low kick but Damme avoids it.
Damme tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Sokoloff was well out of range. Poor timing from Damme.
Damme misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A jab from Damme misses.
Damme does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Sokoloff throws a sloppy head kick and Damme moves out of range easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damme avoids the body shot from Sokoloff.
Damme stuffs the takedown attempt from Sokoloff. Sokoloff gets slowly back to his feet.
Damme plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
A clash of legs there as Damme blocks the low kick.
Damme tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Sokoloff is able to avoid easily.
Damme thuds his right hand into Sokoloff's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Sokoloff misses with a low kick.
A nice inside leg kick there by Damme. That's going to slow Sokoloff down.
Damme's jab looks to have found its range, popping Sokoloff under the eye.
Damme blocks the body kick.
Damme scoring well with a low kick there.
Damme looks to land a right hand but Sokoloff moved out of range.
A low kick from Sokoloff misses
and Damme counters with a nice uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sokoloff slips under a jab.
Sokoloff swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sokoloff has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Damme.
Sokoloff scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
A decent looking cross lands there for Sokoloff.
Sokoloff takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Damme goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Sokoloff lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Damme has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Damme and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Sokoloff has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Damme.
Damme misses with a looping right.
An inside leg kick lands from Damme.
Damme misses with a leg kick.
Damme tries to land a front kick but Sokoloff steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Damme displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Damme stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Damme throws a leg kick but Sokoloff moved away.
Damme clobbers Sokoloff with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Nice cross by Sokoloff.
Damme chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Damme throws a head kick that Sokoloff semi-blocks.
Damme checks the leg kick.
Damme throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Nice defenses there by Sokoloff.
Good exchange - Sokoloff coming out on top.
A head kick misses from Sokoloff.
Damme uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Sokoloff.
Damme is looking to chop away at Sokoloff's legs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damme throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Damme throws a nice head kick!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Damme looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Sokoloff's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Damme connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Sokoloff scrambles back to his feet.
Sokoloff moves away from the strike by Damme.
Damme swings and misses with a shot to the body

and Sokoloff counters with a takedown into side control.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Sokoloff lands an elbow.
Damme is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Sokoloff is looking to take a break and control but Damme is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sokoloff in side control, throwing shots but Damme defends.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Van Damme dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Damme needs to keep his hands up - Sokoloff had a free shot at his head there.
Damme thumps Sokoloff with a low kick.
Sokoloff bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Damme's head backwards.

Sokoloff lands a high kick to the side of Damme's head that stuns him and send him tumbling down to the canvas! Sokoloff dives into guard, looking to finish.

Damme is rocked!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sokoloff throws a big elbow that misses.
Damme is still in real trouble! Can Sokoloff finish him?
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sokoloff throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
We've been hearing good reports from Sokoloff'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.
Sokoloff throwing strikes from guard but Damme blocks nicely.
Sokoloff throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Damme works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Damme seems to have recovered his senses.
Sokoloff passes Damme's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Damme makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Damme digs a good body shot into Sokoloff's ribs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A jab lands there for Damme.
Nice body kick from Damme.
Van Damme is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sokoloff misses with a leg kick.
Sokoloff pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sokoloff walks into a stiff left hand from Damme.
Damme on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Damme tries a head kick but it misses.
Damme blocks a leg kick.
A chopping leg kick lands by Damme.
Sokoloff rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Damme moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A big left from Sokoloff misses.
Sokoloff avoids a punch combination nicely.
Sokoloff swings for the body but Damme moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sokoloff throws a front kick aimed at Damme's knee but Damme avoids it well.
Damme scores with a hook.
Damme throws a low kick but it's checked well by Sokoloff.
Sokoloff cracks a nice hook into Damme's ribs.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Damme swinging wildly here.
Sokoloff throws a hook but Damme blocks it.
Damme keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Sokoloff takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Damme lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Damme feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Sokoloff's calf.
Damme jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Sokoloff is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sokoloff throws a front kick aimed at Damme's knee but Damme avoids it well.
Damme slips under a jab.
Van Damme seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Damme misses with a jab, cross combination.
A punch lands to the side of Damme 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Sokoloff misses with a low kick.
Sokoloff uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Damme.
Damme lands a nice leg kick that just misses Sokoloff's sensitive parts.
Damme keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Damme darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Damme moves out of range as Sokoloff strikes.
Sokoloff connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Damme's hands.
Damme rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Sokoloff moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damme misses the jab.
Sokoloff tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Damme is able to avoid easily.
Sokoloff misses with an uppercut. Damme saw that one coming.
Damme connects with an inside leg kick.
Sokoloff tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sokoloff misses with an uppercut
and Damme counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Sokoloff uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Damme.
A good leg kick by Sokoloff.
Sokoloff swings for the body but Damme moves out of range.
A big left from Sokoloff misses.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
A nice leg kick lands there from Damme.
Damme throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Sokoloff's head.
Sokoloff takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yermolai Sokoloff dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Sokoloff takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Damme keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Sokoloff throws a low kick but Damme avoids it.
Sokoloff on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Damme throws a quick inside leg kick.
Sokoloff misses with a leg kick.
Damme connects with a leg kick. Sokoloff looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Damme with a jab.
Sokoloff smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Damme cracks the inside of Sokoloff's front leg.
Sokoloff missing with a left hand there. Damme was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Damme misses with a low kick.
Sokoloff is looking to chop away at Damme's legs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Damme steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Sokoloff.
Sokoloff throws a low kick, looking for Damme's leg but Damme calmly moves out of range.
A lazy body kick from Sokoloff
enabling Damme to counter with a crisp jab.
Damme stuffs the takedown attempt from Sokoloff. Sokoloff gets slowly back to his feet.
Damme fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Sokoloff is out of range.
Damme throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Damme paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Damme scores with a jab.
Sokoloff lands with a cross.
A big left from Sokoloff misses.
Damme has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Sokoloff fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Sokoloff takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A jab lands there for Damme.
Sokoloff takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
A cross from Damme lands.
Sokoloff scores with a spinning back kick!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sokoloff feints and then cracks Damme's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Damme down.
Sokoloff takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Damme keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Damme moves out of range of the strikes.
A low kick from Damme misses
and Sokoloff counters with a nice leg kick.
Sokoloff drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Sokoloff tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Sokoloff blocks a head kick by Damme.
A head kick by Damme misses

and Sokoloff counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sokoloff trying to control from Damme's half guard. Damme has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Sokoloff sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Sokoloff with a flurry of punches that miss.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Damme utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Sokoloff trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Damme keeping moving, preventing Sokoloff from controlling successfully.

Damme uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Damme looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Damme missing with a left hand there. Sokoloff was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Damme wants to slow Sokoloff down by chopping away at his legs.
Damme moves out of range of the body kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Damme tries to work over Sokoloff's front leg with a kick but Sokoloff checks it.
Sokoloff tries to score with a low kick but Damme moves his leg out of the way.
Damme throws a head kick that misses.
Damme throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Van Damme.
I think Damme has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:28
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 28:29
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Van Damme!
Jumping up and down and very excited, Van Damme waved his t-shirt featuring Divinity 160Q for $150's logo in front of the cameras.