PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ilya Dragunov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ludwig Manres (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dragunov comes to the cage accompanied by Long Live The King. The crowd seem to be enjoying Manres's choice of entrance music: Aqualung - Jethro Tull. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Dragunov
vs
Manres

185 cm
30
190 lbs
12 - 3 - 0

182 cm
35
187 lbs
25 - 25 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Red Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Perkele!
Conviction

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 12 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ilya Dragunov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 25 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ludwig Manres!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Arvi Lind and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Manres drives through with a takedown into guard.
Manres stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Dragunov swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Manres is looking to work some ground and pound but Dragunov has wrist control.
My spies in LOD Gym Now with StandUP inform me that Manres has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Dragunov looking to control.
Manres advances to half guard.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Manres connects with a nice short shot to Dragunov's temple.
Dragunov won't allow Manres to pass to mount.
Manres missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Dragunov is doing well to control the position and prevent Manres from advancing to side control.
Dragunov moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Manres looking to sit in guard and control but Dragunov gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dragunov controls from within his opponent's guard.
Dragunov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Manres swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's two 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.
Dragunov controlling from the top position.
Manres wants to stand but Dragunov is controlling the position.

Ilya Dragunov has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Manres with a poor takedown
and Dragunov counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Manres bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Dragunov feints and then cracks Manres's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Manres down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manres takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Manres tries for a takedown but Dragunov circles away easily
and Dragunov counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Dragunov misses with a leg kick.
Dragunov with a jab.
Manres shoots in but Dragunov avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Ilya Dragunov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ludwig Manres.
Manres has his takedown stuffed

and Dragunov counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Dragunov.

Manres ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Manres no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Dragunov avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dragunov wants to pass the guard but Manres is keeping the position.
Dragunov advances position into side control!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Manres is being controlled here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Dragunov misses with a combination

and Manres moves into the clinch.
Dragunov doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Manres has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Dragunov is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
A short body shot lands from Dragunov as the two fighters clinch.
Dragunov effectively controlling the action here.
Dragunov lands a shoulder strike.
Manres is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Dragunov to keep the fight standing.
Manres tries to pull guard but Dragunov forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Ilya Dragunov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ludwig Manres.
Dragunov scores with a nice hook to the head.
Manres tries to pull guard but Dragunov won't allow it.

Manres breaks the clinch.

Manres shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Manres was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Manres thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Dragunov is looking for a sweep.
Ludwig Manres has got the better of the ground game so far.

Manres goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Dragunov has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Manres but great work by Dragunov.

Dragunov looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Dragunov wants to stand but Manres is controlling his arm.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dragunov wants to control but Manres is keeping him busy.
Manres is looking for a sweep.
Dragunov controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dragunov trying to control the action but Manres is working from the bottom.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Dragunov is staying tight to Manres's torso, preventing him from escaping.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Ilya Dragunov.
Dragunov lands a really nice looking cross but Manres seems unphased.
Dragunov scores with the left hand. Manres knows he should have avoided that one.
Manres takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Ilya Dragunov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dragunov misses with a body kick.
Dragunov tries to close the distance and clinch but Manres swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Manres misses with a takedown
letting Dragunov counter with a right hand.
Dragunov looks to throw the jab but Manres is out of range.
Dragunov scores with a sloppy right hand. Manres should have avoided that one.
Ilya Dragunov is winning the standup battle so far.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Dragunov.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Manres with a lazy takedown attempt
and Dragunov counters with a straight right hand.
Manres closes the distance and clinches up with Dragunov, looking for a takedown. Manres pushes Dragunov against the cage but Dragunov circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ilya Dragunov dominated that second round.
That's time! Dragunov's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Dragunov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Manres with a lazy takedown attempt

and Dragunov holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Manres has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Dragunov is trying to keep an underhook but Manres manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Manres thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Dragunov's head.
Dragunov is controlling Manres's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Dragunov has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Manres trying to mount his opponent but Dragunov defends it.
Dragunov slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

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

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manres looking for a sweep but Dragunov has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Dragunov tries to stand up but he's trapped just for the moment.
Manres is trying to reverse the position but instead Dragunov has taken his back - oops!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dragunov is not going to allow Manres to sit and survive in this position.

Dragunov looking for the choke from the back.
Manres breaks Dragunov's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Dragunov seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.
Dragunov is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Manres lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manres stopping the sweep attempt from Dragunov.
Manres wants to control from the top but Dragunov keeps moving.
Manres trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Manres working some strikes from top position.
Manres connects with a couple of short punches.
Manres trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Dragunov has Manres pulled in close to control his posture.
Manres stopping the sweep attempt from Dragunov.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Manres loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Manres sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Dragunov's guard.
Dragunov manages to get to full guard.
Manres distracts Dragunov with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Dragunov keeping moving, preventing Manres from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Manres throws a big right hand that misses.
Ludwig Manres has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Manres stopping the sweep attempt from Dragunov.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ludwig Manres comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Dragunov has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 29:28
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ilya Dragunov!
Our winner, Ilya Dragunov, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.