PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Zack Hobbs (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alexsandr Slemenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Slemenko's choice of entrance music: Небо Славян. Both fighters will be looking to make this an exciting fight for the fans, I'm sure!

Hobbs
vs
Slemenko

211 cm
24
194 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
180 lbs
0 - 1 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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, Zack Hobbs!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alexsandr Slemenko!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Vladimir Khabensky and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hobbs tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Slemenko counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Slemenko won't allow Hobbs to sweep him here.
Hobbs really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Hobbs working a defensive guard here.
Slemenko stopping the sweep attempt from Hobbs.
Hobbs is trying to control the position but Slemenko postures up.
Hobbs tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Hobbs throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Slemenko stops Hobbs from standing up.
Slemenko with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hobbs looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Slemenko puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Hobbs looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hobbs works his way to full guard. Good work.
Hobbs is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Slemenko wants to pass the guard but Hobbs is keeping the position.
Hobbs wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Hobbs tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Hobbs wants to improve his position but instead Slemenko has moved into half guard.
Hobbs is refusing to be controlled, as Slemenko sits in half guard.
Slemenko prevents Hobbs from improving his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hobbs is positioning himself well to prevent Slemenko advancing to mount.
Hobbs regains full guard. Nicely done.
Hobbs is trying to control the position but Slemenko postures up.
Hobbs preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Hobbs throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Slemenko won't allow Hobbs to sweep him here.
Slemenko is looking to work some ground and pound but Hobbs has wrist control.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Slemenko passes into half guard.
Hobbs trying to control from the bottom.
Slemenko wants to free his trapped foot but Hobbs is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Slemenko tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hobbs is refusing to be controlled, as Slemenko sits in half guard.
Hobbs gets full guard.
Slemenko wants to control from the top but Hobbs keeps moving.
Hobbs wants to stand up but Slemenko is controlling him.
Hobbs keeping full guard, as Slemenko tries to pass.
Slemenko stopping the sweep attempt from Hobbs.
Hobbs working a defensive guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Hobbs has taken the fight to the clinch.
Slemenko tries to break free but Hobbs pushes him back against the cage.
Slemenko tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Slemenko trying to control the position but instead, Hobbs has worked for underhooks and has pushed Slemenko into the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Hobbs manages to pull guard.
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 Zack Hobbs will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Hobbs is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Slemenko circles away from the clinch attempt

and Slemenko counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Slemenko.
Hobbs tries to pull guard but Slemenko holds him up against the cage and eventually Hobbs drops back down to his feet.
Slemenko working hard to break the clinch.

Slemenko wants the takedown. Hobbs is fighting it off but Slemenko persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Hobbs's guard against the cage.
Hobbs bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Slemenko's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hobbs's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Hobbs's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Slemenko keeping moving, preventing Hobbs from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Zack Hobbs just wasn't active enough.
Slemenko circles away from the clinch attempt

and Slemenko counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Hobbs kicks off Slemenko and gets to his feet.
Hobbs darts in trying to clinch

and Slemenko counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hobbs not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Hobbs is really struggling to control Slemenko but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Slemenko prevents Hobbs from getting back to his feet.
Slemenko trying to stand up but can't free himself from Hobbs's guard.
Hobbs looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Hobbs managing to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Zack Hobbs wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Hobbs fails in his attempt to clinch.
A looping hook to the body misses from Slemenko. Hobbs does a little dance to reset his feet.
Hobbs tries to clinch up.

Slemenko rushes Hobbs and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Slemenko pulls Hobbs into guard.
Hobbs would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hobbs with a flurry of punches that miss.
Hobbs trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Hobbs missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Hobbs gets in close and instigates a clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hobbs tries to pull guard but Slemenko holds him up against the cage and eventually Hobbs drops back down to his feet.

Hobbs pulls guard effortlessly.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Alexsandr Slemenko will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Slemenko scores with a body shot.
Slemenko misses with the combination.
Hobbs fails with an attempt to clinch.
Hobbs tries to clinch up

and Slemenko counters by moving into the clinch.

Hobbs manages to pull guard.
Hobbs wants to sweep but no luck.
Hobbs is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Slemenko works over Hobbs with some ground and pound from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Slemenko pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hobbs is keeping the position for now.
Hobbs is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Hobbs is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Slemenko throwing strikes but missing.
Hobbs wants to improve his position but instead Slemenko has moved into half guard.
Hobbs is not content to let Slemenko control the position.
Hobbs is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Slemenko prevents Hobbs from standing back up.
Slemenko is trying to control the action in half guard but Hobbs is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Alexsandr Slemenko.
Hobbs moves in looking to clinch but Slemenko pushes him off.
Hobbs tries to clinch there but Slemenko circles away.

Slemenko shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Hobbs is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Hobbs is trying to control the position but Slemenko postures up.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hobbs looking for a sweep. Not yet Hobbs, not yet.
Slemenko scoring with some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Slemenko postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Hobbs looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Hobbs keeping moving, preventing Slemenko from controlling successfully.
Hobbs wants to sweep but no luck.
Alexsandr Slemenko has got the better of the ground game so far.
Hobbs wants to get back to his feet but Slemenko is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Slemenko pushes down on Hobbs's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Slemenko working the head and body with strikes.
Hobbs is trying to maintain the position but Slemenko is very close to passing his half guard.
Hobbs is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Slemenko tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Slemenko missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Hobbs trying to control here.
Slemenko wants to take a breather but Hobbs is having none of it.

We're going to have a standup here because Zack Hobbs wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Slemenko scores with a takedown into Hobbs'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!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Slemenko pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hobbs is keeping the position for now.
Slemenko stopping the sweep attempt from Hobbs.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexsandr Slemenko comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Slemenko has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 28:30
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexsandr Slemenko!
Alexsandr Slemenko took to the mic after the fight and begged the organizational hierarchy for a shot at the title.