PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Nikola Veljanovski (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kamil Gadzhiev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kamil Gadzhiev is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Veljanovski
vs
Gadzhiev

182 cm
26
227 lbs
18 - 8 - 0

193 cm
23
279 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Experienced

Good takedowns
Brawler
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 18 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Nikola Veljanovski!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kamil Gadzhiev!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Dmitry Maklakov and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Veljanovski gets caught napping as Gadzhiev dives in and scores a takedown. Veljanovski manages to retain guard.
Veljanovski trying to control the position.
Gadzhiev forces his way into half guard.
Veljanovski wants to get back to full guard.
Gadzhiev is thwarting Veljanovski's attempts to control the position.
Gadzhiev moves nicely into side control.
Gadzhiev wants to stand but Veljanovski has his arm trapped.
Gadzhiev trying to control the position but Veljanovski is working away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Veljanovski seems a little lost for a moment, as Gadzhiev dominates the positioning.
Gadzhiev looking to control but instead Veljanovski has slipped a leg in, to regain half guard.
Veljanovski is trying to control but can't.
Veljanovski wants to get back to full guard.
Veljanovski might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Gadzhiev is looking for a kimura here.
Gadzhiev trying to control the action but Veljanovski is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Veljanovski is trying to maintain the position but Gadzhiev is very close to passing his half guard.
Gadzhiev wants to take a breather but Veljanovski is having none of it.

Gadzhiev is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Veljanovski doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Gadzhiev.
Veljanovski is looking to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Veljanovski is trying to control but can't.
Veljanovski wants to get back to his feet.
Gadzhiev is keen to just control but Veljanovski is a slippery customer.
Veljanovski tries to get to full guard but Gadzhiev has control of the leg.
Veljanovski tries to kick Gadzhiev off but Gadzhiev keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Veljanovski closes the distance and pushes Gadzhiev back into the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Veljanovski breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Gadzhiev shoots for a takedown but Veljanovski saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Gadzhiev doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Veljanovski counters with a shoot takedown. Gadzhiev fights it but they end up in guard.
Gadzhiev is trying to control the position but Veljanovski postures up.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Veljanovski wants to control from the top but Gadzhiev keeps moving.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Veljanovski accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Veljanovski is stalling in the full guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gadzhiev keeping moving, preventing Veljanovski from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Nikola Veljanovski will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Veljanovski.
Gadzhiev tries for a takedown but Veljanovski sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Veljanovski shoots for a double leg takedown but Gadzhiev sprawls well. He's pushed Veljanovski's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Gadzhiev shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Veljanovski counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Gadzhiev being controlled against the cage.
Veljanovski seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
Gadzhiev looking for a takedown.
Nikola Veljanovski has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kamil Gadzhiev.
Veljanovski is stalling here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Veljanovski is pressed up against the cage. Gadzhiev has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Veljanovski down to the mat. Veljanovski avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Nikola Veljanovski is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Gadzhiev slaps away a takedown attempt from Veljanovski, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Veljanovski shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Gadzhiev pinned against the cage. Gadzhiev gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Veljanovski decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Gadzhiev trying to hold on to Veljanovski's head to control him but Veljanovski postures up.
Veljanovski scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Veljanovski is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Veljanovski is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Veljanovski thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Gadzhiev's head.
Gadzhiev is trying to get back to full guard.
Gadzhiev is not content to let Veljanovski control the position.
Nikola Veljanovski overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gadzhiev tries to roll over but Veljanovski keeps him under control.
Veljanovski missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Veljanovski working over Gadzhiev with some ground and pound. Gadzhiev looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Gadzhiev is trying to stand up here but Veljanovski is controlling him well.
Veljanovski trying to pass the guard but Gadzhiev defending well.

Veljanovski is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Veljanovski here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.
Veljanovski is trying to control the action in half guard but Gadzhiev is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Veljanovski is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Gadzhiev defends it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Veljanovski working over Gadzhiev with some ground and pound. Gadzhiev looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
The fighters are battling for position here. Gadzhiev manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Gadzhiev should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Gadzhiev controls Veljanovski momentarily but Veljanovski frees himself.

Veljanovski has gone for a leg lock! Gadzhiev slips out almost immediately though and dives into Veljanovski's guard.
Veljanovski trying to control the position here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nikola Veljanovski dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Veljanovski closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Gadzhiev quickly recovers to half guard.
Veljanovski wants to take a breather but Gadzhiev is having none of it.
Gadzhiev is trying to maintain the position but Veljanovski is very close to passing his half guard.

Veljanovski is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Gadzhiev wants to control but Veljanovski is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Veljanovski is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Veljanovski is thwarting Gadzhiev's attempts to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Veljanovski is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Gadzhiev is just riding it out for now. Veljanovski eventually gives up the hold.
Veljanovski throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Gadzhiev wants to get back to full guard.
Gadzhiev trying to control from the bottom.

Veljanovski is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Gadzhiev has managed to free his arm - good work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Veljanovski stops Gadzhiev from getting back to his feet.
Gadzhiev has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Veljanovski is working away from the top position though.
Veljanovski scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Veljanovski sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Gadzhiev defending well though.
Veljanovski not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Gadzhiev is staying active underneath Veljanovski, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Gadzhiev has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Veljanovski is working away from the top position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Veljanovski is pressing down on Gadzhiev's thigh, looking to free his foot. Gadzhiev is holding on for now.

Veljanovski is actively looking for submissions here but good counter grappling here from Gadzhiev as he works his way to full guard.

Gadzhiev is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Veljanovski missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Veljanovski trying to control the position from guard on top but Gadzhiev is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Gadzhiev is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Veljanovski stands and throws Gadzhiev's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Veljanovski throws an elbow but Gadzhiev slips to the side and avoids it well.
Gadzhiev on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Veljanovski wants to control but Gadzhiev is keeping him busy.
Kamil Gadzhiev has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nikola Veljanovski is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Veljanovski misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nikola Veljanovski showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Veljanovski has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nikola Veljanovski!