PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Blaine Sweet (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Salehin Shourov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Sweet
vs
Shourov

184 cm
25
279 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

196 cm
22
220 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Solid chin

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 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Blaine Sweet!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Salehin Shourov!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Alexandre Firmino and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shourov throws a body punch but Sweet moves out of range.

Shourov gets a takedown into half guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Shourov wants to stand up but Sweet has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Shourov passes the guard and advances to mount!
Sweet tries to lock up and control but Shourov gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Shourov punching from mount but Sweet doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Shourov avoids the attempt from Sweet to control.
Sweet is looking to improve his position but Shourov isn't that keen on the idea.
Shourov controlling from the full mount.
Sweet avoids a series of strikes thrown by Shourov.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sweet avoids a series of strikes thrown by Shourov.

Shourov is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Sweet can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Sweet avoids a series of strikes thrown by Shourov.
Shourov throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Shourov has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Shourov gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!
Sweet shoots in but Shourov avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Shourov gets a clinch.
Sweet has Shourov pressed against the cage, preventing Shourov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Shourov keeps control of Sweet as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Shourov manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sweet wants to stand but Shourov is controlling his posture from full guard.
Sweet won't allow Shourov to sweep him here.
Sweet trying to control but Shourov is working from the bottom.
Sweet really is a fat lump.
Sweet wants to stand but Shourov is controlling his posture from full guard.

Shourov is looking for a triangle but Sweet pushes his legs off easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shourov trying to control the position here.
Shourov looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Sweet puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Well, if Sweet is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Sweet stops Shourov from getting back to his feet.
Shourov trying to hold on to Sweet's head to control him but Sweet postures up.

Shourov is defending against the submission attempts here by Sweet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shourov wants to get back to his feet.
Shourov tries to kick Sweet off in order to stand up. Sweet Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Shourov is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Sweet asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Shourov looks winded!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Shourov looks to move to half guard but instead Sweet has passed into mount! Damn!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Salehin Shourov dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Sweet goes for a double leg but Shourov avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Shourov continues to drive forward.
Sweet struggles to land a body shot inside as Shourov controls his hands.

Sweet manages to break the clinch.
Sweet misses with a double jab
and Shourov counters with a body kick that stops Sweet in his tracks momentarily.

Shourov closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Sweet to the mat! Sweet manages to get full guard.
Shourov missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Shourov wants to pass the guard but Sweet is keeping the position.
Sweet wants to sweep but no luck.
Shourov wants to get up but he can't break Sweet's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Salehin Shourov has got the better of the ground game so far.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sweet looking for a sweep. Not yet Sweet, not yet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shourov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Shourov gets to his feet - Sweet follows without any prompting.

Sweet tries to sprawl but Shourov drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Sweet might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Shourov prevents Sweet from improving his position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Shourov is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Shourov sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Sweet is wriggling around trying to escape.
Sweet is working hard here to advance position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sweet regains half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shourov trying to control the action but Sweet is working from the bottom.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sweet is looking to improve his position.
Shourov not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Shourov passes to side control.
Sweet tries to escape but Shourov is in control.
Sweet is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Shourov's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Sweet trying to hold on to Shourov's head to control him but Shourov postures up.
Shourov seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sweet trying to control but Shourov postures up.
Shourov is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Sweet!
Shourov throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Shourov throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Sweet working to try and regain half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shourov wants to control the pace but Sweet is squirming around nicely.
Sweet gets back to half guard.
Sweet is looking to improve his position.
Shourov is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Sweet!
Sweet blocking the ground and pound.
Sweet is desperately trying to improve his position but Shourov has a good base and remains in mount.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shourov trying to control but Sweet is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Salehin Shourov 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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Shourov lands with a nice combination. Sweet backs away looking to recover.
Shourov keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.

It looks like Blaine Sweet has been cut.

Shourov gets a takedown into half guard.

Shourov escapes and gets back to his feet.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Sweet enables Shourov to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Sweet manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
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!

Sweet had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Shourov defends it easily.
Shourov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Shourov wants to control from the top but Sweet keeps moving.

Sweet looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Shourov passes into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sweet wants to get back to full guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Sweet manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Shourov looking to pass the guard.
Shourov slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Sweet looking to hit a scissor sweep but Shourov is one step ahead there.
Sweet keeping moving, preventing Shourov from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sweet is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Sweet is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Shourov is trying to control but can't.
Sweet tries to stand and escape but Shourov is controlling the position.
Sweet trying to control from half guard but Shourov is working away.
Sweet throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Sweet shoots in for a takedown but Shourov shows good takedown defense.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Shourov has closed the distance and engaged Sweet in a clinch.

Shourov breaks from the clinch.
Salehin Shourov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Shourov rushes Sweet and presses him up against the cage.

Shourov lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Sweet is trying to get back to full guard.
Shourov wants to pass to mount but Sweet is defending the position.
The fighters are battling for position here. Sweet manages to regain full guard. Nice work.

Sweet working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Shourov doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Shourov manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Sweet looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shourov wants to control from the top but Sweet keeps moving.
Shourov is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Shourov trying to control the position from guard on top but Sweet is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Sweet wants to sweep but no luck.

Salehin Shourov has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Shourov pushes Sweet up against the cage in a clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sweet holding his opponent close, against the cage.

Shourov manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

And that's the end of the fight!
Salehin Shourov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Shourov 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 Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 27:30
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 27:30
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Salehin Shourov!