PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kareem Rollins (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aleksei Kharitonov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Aleksei Kharitonov is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Rollins
vs
Kharitonov

183 cm
22
279 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

193 cm
23
281 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

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, Kareem Rollins!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Aleksei Kharitonov!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Viktor Lagutenko and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice straight punches there by Kharitonov. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Kharitonov.

It looks like Kareem Rollins has been cut.
Rollins walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Kharitonov checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Rollins swats away the attempt to clinch by Kharitonov.
Kharitonov throws a sloppy head kick and Rollins moves out of range easily.
Kharitonov fails with an attempt to clinch.
Rollins avoids the head kick by Kharitonov.
Kharitonov tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Rollins decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Kharitonov's guard.
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!
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Rollins keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Kharitonov's head.
Rollins postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Kharitonov can do anything to dispel that myth.
Rollins postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Kharitonov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rollins working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Kharitonov wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Rollins manages to pass to side control.
Rollins lands strikes from half guard.
Nice strikes from Rollins there.
Rollins working over Kharitonov with some ground and pound. Kharitonov looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Kharitonov is trying to stand up here but Rollins is controlling him well.
Rollins is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Rollins lands a nice short elbow.
Rollins drops an elbow to the side of Kharitonov's head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rollins winds up and cracks Kharitonov with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Kharitonov looks winded!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Rollins lands a nice short elbow.
Kharitonov has hold of Rollins's hands but Rollins slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
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. Rollins connects with a nice short shot to Kharitonov's temple.
Rollins looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Kharitonov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Rollins seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Rollins seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Rollins looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Kharitonov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Kharitonov has hold of Rollins's hands but Rollins slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Kharitonov wants to get back to his feet.
Rollins winds up and cracks Kharitonov with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rollins working over Kharitonov with some ground and pound. Kharitonov looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Rollins could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Rollins working the head and body with strikes.
Rollins lands with a punch from half guard.
Rollins is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Rollins lands with a punch from half guard.
Rollins looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Kharitonov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Rollins seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Rollins looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Kharitonov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Rollins drops an elbow to the side of Kharitonov's head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ground and pound from Rollins.
Rollins lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rollins working Kharitonov over with strikes.
Nice strikes from Rollins there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kharitonov has hold of Rollins's hands but Rollins slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Kharitonov taking some punishment here, with Rollins in his half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Rollins lands a nice short elbow.
Rollins takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Rollins drops an elbow to the side of Kharitonov's head.
Rollins is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Rollins lands strikes from half guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rollins working over Kharitonov with some ground and pound. Kharitonov looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rollins takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
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. Rollins connects with a nice short shot to Kharitonov's temple.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kareem Rollins dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Kareem Rollins's cut.
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.

Rollins clinches up with Kharitonov and pushes him back against the cage.
Kharitonov misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Rollins is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Kharitonov to keep the fight standing.
Rollins tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Rollins is trying to break the clinch but Kharitonov is controlling him.
Rollins blocks an elbow strike.
A nice left hand lands by Kharitonov.
A short right from Kharitonov on the inside.
Rollins utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.

Rollins manages to pull guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kharitonov wanted to stand there but Rollins had control of the position.
Kharitonov is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Kharitonov is breathing heavily.
Rollins is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Kharitonov wants to stand but Rollins has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Rollins pulls Kharitonov in close to prevent any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Kareem Rollins wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Kharitonov misses with a head kick.
Kharitonov throws a big shot that misses.
Kharitonov wants to clinch.
Kharitonov misses with a hook.
Rollins keeps the fight on the outside.
Kharitonov misses with a left hand

and Rollins counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Kharitonov's guard now.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Rollins stands and steps away. Kharitonov gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Kharitonov checks a leg kick.
Rollins is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Kharitonov can do to turn this around?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kharitonov misses the jab.
Rollins fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Kharitonov swats away the attempt to clinch by Rollins.
Kharitonov checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Rollins lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Rollins lands a really nice looking cross but Kharitonov seems unphased.
Rollins tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Rollins darts in and clinches Kharitonov up against the cage.
Rollins blocks an uppercut.
Rollins works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rollins tries to land knees in the clinch but Kharitonov avoids the damage to the body.
Rollins trying to land knees to the body.
Rollins managing to block the knees to the body from Kharitonov.
Rollins goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Rollins lands a body shot in the clinch.
Rollins stalling against the cage.

Rollins pulls guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rollins bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Kharitonov's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rollins is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kareem Rollins dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Kareem Rollins's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Rollins throws a right and a left that both miss.
Kharitonov misses with a hook

and Rollins moves into the clinch.
Kharitonov creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Rollins blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Rollins has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Kharitonov uses from the top position.
Kharitonov is fighting to break Rollins's control of his arms but Rollins is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Rollins is on top in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kharitonov wants to stand but Rollins is controlling the position.
Kharitonov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rollins scoring with punches to the head and body.
Rollins stands up over Kharitonov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Rollins is in close to Kharitonov's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Rollins postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Rollins working some strikes from top position.
Rollins postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Rollins working some strikes from top position.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Rollins's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rollins lands a couple of elbows.
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!
Rollins with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Kharitonov wants to improve his position but instead Rollins has moved into half guard.
Rollins takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Rollins looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Kharitonov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Rollins slips a nice elbow through Kharitonov's hands, connecting with Kharitonov's forehead.
Kharitonov has hold of Rollins's hands but Rollins slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Rollins drops an elbow to the side of Kharitonov's head.
Rollins takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Rollins working Kharitonov over with strikes.
Kareem Rollins overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rollins working the head and body with strikes.
Rollins working Kharitonov over with strikes.
Rollins is nestled in close to Kharitonov, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Rollins drops an elbow to the side of Kharitonov's head.
Kharitonov is looking to get back to is feet but Rollins passes into side control.
Rollins creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Rollins lands a few punches from side control.
Rollins works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Rollins working the ground and pound.
Rollins works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rollins landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Check out the look on Rollins's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Kharitonov on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Rollins looks up at the clock and then as Kharitonov takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Rollins smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Rollins scores with a couple of short elbows.
Rollins looks up at the clock and then as Kharitonov takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Rollins smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Rollins scores with a couple of short elbows.
Rollins scores with punches from side control.
Rollins in side control lands a decent elbow.
Kharitonov taking punishment in the form of punches.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rollins lands an elbow.
Aleksei Kharitonov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kareem Rollins is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Rollins working the ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kareem Rollins showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Rollins, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:26
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:26
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kareem Rollins!