PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mirko Emelianenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mitch Rapp (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Emelianenko
vs
Rapp

179 cm
41
185 lbs
34 - 13 - 0

194 cm
35
270 lbs
21 - 18 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the super heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 34 - 13 - 0, fighting out of London, Mirko Emelianenko!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 18 - 1, fighting out of New York, Mitch Rapp!
The judges for this bout are Jorge Garcia, David Schapiro and Dean Styles.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Emelianenko throws a body kick that misses.
Emelianenko misses with a body shot.
A slow jab from Rapp misses its intended target.
Rapp has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Emelianenko is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Mirko Emelianenko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Good shot there by Rapp.

It looks like Mirko Emelianenko has been cut.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Emelianenko lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Rapp has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Rapp and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Emelianenko lands with a thumping leg kick.
Emelianenko throws a right hand that Rapp ducks under and follows up with a left that Rapp also avoids with ease.
Rapp throws out a loose jab but Emelianenko uses good head movement to avoid it.
Emelianenko throws a nice outside leg kick.
Rapp misses with a straight right.
Rapp throws a nice looking combination but Emelianenko bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Emelianenko throws a half hearted mid kick.
Emelianenko lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Rapp takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rapp avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Emelianenko moves in looking to clinch but Rapp pushes him off.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Emelianenko drives through and clinches with Rapp against the cage.
I was talking to Emelianenko's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Emelianenko lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Rapp looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Rapp blocks an uppercut.
Emelianenko misses with a short punch on the inside.
Emelianenko landing knees to the body.
Emelianenko misses with a knee strike.
Emelianenko misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Rapp.
Rapp lands an elbow inside that Emelianenko shrugs off.
A nice right hand lands inside from Rapp.
Emelianenko lands a knee to the head.

It looks like Mitch Rapp has been cut.
Rapp misses with an elbow over the top.
Emelianenko working aggressively here.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rapp has a couple of punches blocked by Emelianenko.
Emelianenko lands on the inside with an uppercut.

Rapp pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rapp throws a lazy right hand but Emelianenko sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Emelianenko fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rapp blocks a low kick nicely.
Rapp takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Rapp has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko tries to bum rush Rapp with a series of wild strikes but Rapp uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Emelianenko lands a glancing blow to the side of Rapp's head.
Rapp waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Emelianenko.
A solid leg kick lands there for Emelianenko.
Emelianenko avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

Emelianenko gets a clinch.
Emelianenko tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Rapp throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Rapp prevents a body shot from Emelianenko.
A short right from Emelianenko on the inside.

Rapp escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Emelianenko uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rapp.
Emelianenko throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Rapp throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Rapp throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Emelianenko dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Rapp. That did some damage!
Nice shot by Emelianenko.
Emelianenko is looking to slow Rapp down with leg kicks.
Rapp throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Emelianenko tries to clinch up
and Rapp counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Emelianenko throws out a leg kick but Rapp moves out of range and Emelianenko only half commits.
The fight stays on the outside here - Emelianenko looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Rapp throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Emelianenko sees it coming and avoids it easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rapp takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Emelianenko tries a head kick but it misses.
Emelianenko tries to clinch but Rapp is having none of it.
Rapp misses the shot to the body.
Emelianenko throws a head kick but Rapp moves out of range.
A bone on bone clash there as Rapp blocks the leg kick.
Rapp looks to land a left hand but Emelianenko moved out of range nicely.
Emelianenko tries a head kick but it misses.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Emelianenko misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Rapp looks to score with a jab to the body but Emelianenko is just out of range.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rapp throws a lazy right hand but Emelianenko sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Emelianenko scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Emelianenko connects with a crisp jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mirko Emelianenko dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Emelianenko throws a chopping leg kick but Rapp manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Emelianenko tries a head kick but it misses.
Emelianenko throws the left hand but Rapp avoids the punch easily.
Emelianenko throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
A head kick from Emelianenko lands but Rapp takes it in his stride.
Rapp misses with a hook
and Emelianenko makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Rapp really felt that one!
Emelianenko avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Rapp in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Emelianenko scoring well with a low kick there.
Emelianenko fails in his attempt to clinch.
Emelianenko connects with an inside leg kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nice uppercut lands for Emelianenko. That snapped Rapp's head back.
Rapp lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Emelianenko circles away quickly and effectively.
Emelianenko fails in his attempt to clinch.
Emelianenko fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Rapp.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko throws a push kick but Rapp slaps the foot to one side.
That kick from Emelianenko tenderised Rapp's leg. Rapp is trying to keep his angry face on.
Mirko Emelianenko is winning the standup battle so far.
Emelianenko pushes Rapp away with a front kick.
Emelianenko lands a high kick!
Emelianenko throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Emelianenko slips a jab and a cross from Rapp.
Rapp on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Emelianenko rushes Rapp and presses him up against the cage.
Emelianenko cracks Rapp with a nice body shot.
Emelianenko misses with some punches.
Emelianenko tries to land knees in the clinch but Rapp avoids the damage to the body.
Emelianenko lands a shoulder strike.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Rapp pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Emelianenko throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Rapp blocks it with crossed arms.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rapp misses with a hook to the ribs.
Emelianenko blocks an elbow strike.
Emelianenko keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Rapp's efforts to push away.
Rapp is trying to maintain a safe position but Emelianenko gets an underhook and turns Rapp into the cage.
Rapp avoiding damage as Emelianenko throws knees to the body.
Emelianenko lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Rapp backwards.

Rapp's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
A clash of legs there as Rapp blocks the low kick.
Emelianenko slips a jab and a cross from Rapp.
Rapp's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Rapp lands a head shot.
A good leg kick by Emelianenko.
Emelianenko explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Emelianenko tries to clinch
and Rapp counters with a two punch combo.
Emelianenko fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Emelianenko fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Rapp.
Rapp is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko scores with a leg kick.

Emelianenko closes the distance and clinches.
Emelianenko swings wildly with an uppercut but Rapp uses good head movement to avoid it.
Emelianenko goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Emelianenko has Rapp pressed against the cage, preventing Rapp from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Emelianenko is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rapp can do to turn this around?
Emelianenko throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Rapp blocks it with crossed arms.
Rapp can't find room to land a body shot as Emelianenko controls the action.
With the fighters up against the cage, Rapp throws an elbow but misses.
Rapp is struggling to control the position.
Emelianenko using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rapp has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Emelianenko blocks an elbow strike.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Emelianenko utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Emelianenko missing with knees to the body.
A nice right hand lands inside from Emelianenko.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Emelianenko throws a knee to the head but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rapp has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Emelianenko lands a knee to the body.
Emelianenko working Rapp over with knees to the body.
Emelianenko makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Emelianenko lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Rapp managing to block the knees to the body from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko struggles to land a body shot inside as Rapp controls his hands.
Emelianenko lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Rapp.
Emelianenko landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Emelianenko tries to land a knee to the head but Rapp blocks with his arms.
Rapp takes a knee right on the jaw!
Mirko Emelianenko has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Emelianenko throws a knee to the head but misses.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Emelianenko crunches a lovely knee into Rapp's ribcage.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Emelianenko scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Emelianenko connects with a knee to the head.

Rapp is rocked!
Rapp being controlled against the cage.
Rapp is still on wobbly legs! Can Emelianenko finish him?
Emelianenko unloads a knee to the mid-section. Rapp lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Emelianenko lands a nice shot to the body.
Emelianenko makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Emelianenko lands a right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mirko Emelianenko dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Emelianenko is looking to slow Rapp down with leg kicks.
Mirko Emelianenko is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rapp is starting to get sloppy and is letting his hands down. Emelianenko just took advantage and landed a stinging jab. Oh! Now a right hook, right on the button! Rapp has gone limp and this one is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:07 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punches). Mirko Emelianenko!
Mirko Emelianenko retains his super heavyweight title!
After winning the bout, Mirko Emelianenko thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.