PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sergei In (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nonito Melo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for Sergei In has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

In
vs
Melo

190 cm
25
197 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

190 cm
25
185 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Knockout power

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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sergei In!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Nonito Melo!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Roosa Järviläinen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
In throws a left and a right that both miss

and Melo counters with a single leg into guard. In didn't expect that.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Melo thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Melo wants to control from the top but In keeps moving.
My spies in Nordic Top Team inform me that Melo has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
In has his hands on Melo's head, controlling the position.
Melo trying to control the position from guard on top but In is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Melo trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Melo trying to control the position from guard on top but In is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Nonito Melo.
In lands a head shot.
In thows a left - swing and a miss!
In leaves Melo with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Melo changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. In tries to avoid it but Melo manages to keep hold of a leg and drag In to the ground. In escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Sergei In is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
In connects with a single shot there.
In looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Melo slips a jab and a cross from In.
In misses with a double jab.
In displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Melo.
Sergei In has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nonito Melo.
In will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
In throws a series of punches but Melo moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
In stuffs the takedown.
This has been an exciting period of action!
In displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Melo.
Melo tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but In defends well and Melo ends up having to push In into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
In blocks the elbow strike.
In is trying to break free.
In gets underhooks to prevent Melo's takedown attempt.
Melo wants a takedown.
In wants to break free but Melo has control.
Melo has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. In is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
In prevents a takedown attempt there.

Melo lands a takedown into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melo trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
In working a defensive guard here.
In working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Melo.
In wants to sweep here but Melo controlling him for the moment.
In knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Melo on the ground.
Melo tries to free his leg and advance position but In is retaining full guard.
Melo won't allow In to get back to his feet.

Melo thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Melo wants to control from the top but In keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melo sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed In's guard.
Melo tries to pass to full mount but In defends it.

Melo looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
In has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.

Melo is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. In doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Melo.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Melo is looking for a kimura but In is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Melo to get the leverage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nonito Melo dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

In misses with the combination.
In fails to land with a series of punches.
Melo dodges the punch combination from In.
In throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
In throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

so Melo counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Melo wants to control from the top but In keeps moving.

Melo drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Melo jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
In wants to stand and escape but Melo is having none of it.
Melo wants to control from the top but In keeps moving.
Melo passes easily into side control. Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Melo tries for a kimura but In is defending well.
Melo is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down In's shoulder. That is not cool.
Melo trying to control the position but In is working away.
In is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Melo is controlling him well.
Melo working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

Melo looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Melo tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
In taking a bit of punishment here - Melo scoring with strikes.

Melo is trying to get an arm triangle but In is defending well.
The ground and pound from Melo seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

Melo is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. In knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Melo trying to control the action but In is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An elbow from Melo crashes against the mat.
In is looking for a sweep.

Melo is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, In has escaped the position, nice work there.
Melo sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but In is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Melo sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but In is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.

Melo is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. In knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Melo wants to control but In is keeping him busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Melo is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. In knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Melo trying to control the action but In is working from the bottom.
In can't do much from the bottom here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Melo tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Melo has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nonito Melo showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Melo on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
In wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
In lands a hook that stumbles Melo back into the cage. In follows up with a straight and another hook that land right on the button, dropping Melo to the canvas! In pounces and lands several unanswered shots - Melo has had enough and taps out! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:23 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Sergei In!
Our winner, Sergei In, 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.