PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Zhambyl Tulepbergenov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Danil Muruk (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.

Tulepbergenov
vs
Muruk

177 cm
25
191 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
21
197 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Very confident

Cold Blooded Kemists ↑ 5x160Q
Namunamu Clothing

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Zhambyl Tulepbergenov!
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, Danil Muruk!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Vladimir Khabensky and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Tulepbergenov misses with a series of wild punches.
Tulepbergenov tries to clinch up
letting Muruk counter with a right hand.
Tulepbergenov wants to clinch but Muruk slips to the side

and Muruk counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Muruk sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Tulepbergenov avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Muruk.
Muruk looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Muruk is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Tulepbergenov has hold of Muruk's hands but Muruk slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Muruk seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Tulepbergenov does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Muruk throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Tulepbergenov to regain full guard.
Muruk is working Tulepbergenov over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Muruk throws a big elbow that misses.
Muruk trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Tulepbergenov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Muruk lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Muruk loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Tulepbergenov is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Muruk stands up over Tulepbergenov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Muruk with a nice head shot there.
Muruk is looking to work some ground and pound but Tulepbergenov has wrist control.
Tulepbergenov is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Muruk lands a couple of elbows.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Tulepbergenov can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Muruk controls the pace.
Muruk is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Muruk controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Muruk with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Muruk landing some decent shots from guard.
Muruk with a flurry of punches that miss.
Tulepbergenov preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Muruk sitting in guard here, content to control.
Muruk landing some decent shots from guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Muruk stands up over Tulepbergenov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Muruk works over Tulepbergenov with some ground and pound from guard.
Muruk stays in close to Tulepbergenov's body and controls the position.

Muruk has gone for a leg lock! Tulepbergenov slips out almost immediately though and dives into Muruk's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Muruk manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Muruk controlling the position easily from mount.
Muruk landing strikes from the mount and Tulepbergenov is in trouble!
Muruk is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Tulepbergenov can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Muruk putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Tulepbergenov tries to buck Muruk off but he can't manage it.
Muruk with the ground and pound from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Danil Muruk 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.

Muruk drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Muruk sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Let's hope that Muruk has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Muruk has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Muruk chips away with some ground and pound.
Muruk is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Muruk is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Tulepbergenov is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Tulepbergenov has escaped and now he's on top!
Muruk looking for a sweep. Not yet Muruk, not yet.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Muruk can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Muruk seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Danil Muruk.
Tulepbergenov throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Tulepbergenov swinging wildly here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Tulepbergenov wants to clinch
and Muruk counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Muruk circles away from the clinch attempt

and Muruk counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Tulepbergenov!
Muruk scores with punches from side control.
Muruk lands some shots froms side control.

Muruk is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Tulepbergenov is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Muruk taking a breather here.
Muruk cracks Tulepbergenov with a big right hand but Tulepbergenov just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Muruk scoring with punches from side control.
Muruk cracks Tulepbergenov with a big right hand but Tulepbergenov just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Muruk lands a nice forearm strike.
Tulepbergenov is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Muruk wants to lay and pray for a moment but Tulepbergenov keeps working.

Muruk goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Tulepbergenov rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Muruk's guard! Nice work there by Tulepbergenov!
Muruk has his hands on Tulepbergenov's head, controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Muruk's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Danil Muruk was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Muruk takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Danil Muruk showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Tulepbergenov tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Muruk counters with a nice uppercut.
Tulepbergenov tries to clinch
and Muruk counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Tulepbergenov wants to clinch but Muruk slips to the side
and Muruk counters with a series of strikes. Tulepbergenov will be more careful next time no doubt.
Tulepbergenov tries to clinch but Muruk moves away
and Muruk counters with a nice uppercut.
Zhambyl Tulepbergenov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Muruk dives in and scores a takedown into Tulepbergenov's guard.
Muruk is looking to work some ground and pound but Tulepbergenov has wrist control.
Danil Muruk has got the better of the ground game so far.
Muruk content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Muruk trying to control but Tulepbergenov is working from the bottom.
Tulepbergenov wants to stand up but Muruk is controlling him.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Muruk drops back, looking for a kneebar! Tulepbergenov looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Tulepbergenov looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Tulepbergenov!
Muruk is trying to buck Tulepbergenov off.
Muruk manages to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Muruk is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Muruk keeps trying to improve his position.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Muruk is looking to get back to full guard here but Tulepbergenov has managed to pass to side control instead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Muruk tries to buck Tulepbergenov off but Tulepbergenov is having none of it.
Danil Muruk is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Muruk controls the position for a moment.
Tulepbergenov tries to stand but Muruk is controlling his head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Muruk tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Tulepbergenov wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Tulepbergenov misses with a head kick.

Muruk drives through with a takedown into Tulepbergenov's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Muruk slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Danil Muruk comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Muruk has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 26:30
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Danil Muruk!