PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Viktor Tsoi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tom Pope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tsoi comes to the cage accompanied by Zvezda po Imeni Solnce. Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Tsoi
vs
Pope

169 cm
21
133 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

169 cm
22
145 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Viktor Tsoi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Tom Pope!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, George Francis and Alan Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pope on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Pope slips a straight right by Tsoi.
Tsoi lands with a kick to the ribs.
Tsoi moves out of range as Pope strikes.

Pope closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Pope just leaning against Tsoi, taking a breather.
Tsoi swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Pope digs a right hand into Tsoi's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Tsoi's gas tank.
Tsoi has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
A nice right hand lands inside from Pope.
Tsoi misses with some punches.
Tsoi misses with some punches.
Tsoi misses with some punches.
Tsoi throws a punch but it's blocked by Pope.
Pope struggles to land a body shot inside as Tsoi controls his hands.
Tsoi lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Pope backwards.
Pope lands a nice shot to the body.
Pope prevents a body shot from Tsoi.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tsoi tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Pope blocks a punch to the side of the head.
A frustrated look appears on Pope's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Pope blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Pope wants to break free but Tsoi has control.
Pope has had enough of the clinch but Tsoi keeps him there for the moment.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Tsoi is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Tsoi tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A right hook to the body lands for Pope.
Tsoi throws a punch but it's blocked by Pope.
Tsoi misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pope blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Pope prevents a body shot from Tsoi.

Pope escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Pope closes the distance and clinches.
Tsoi is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Pope has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Tsoi misses with a short punch on the inside.
Tsoi tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Pope's elbow.
Tsoi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Pope blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Tsoi stalling against the cage.
Pope blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Pope blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Tsoi blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Tsoi fails to land.
Tsoi prevents a body shot from Pope.
Tsoi throws a head punch that misses.
Tsoi blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

Tsoi manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Pope wants to get up but he can't break Tsoi's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Tsoi looking for a guillotine here but Pope defends easily.
Tsoi controls Pope momentarily but Pope frees himself.

Pope has a momentary lapse of concentration, allowing Tsoi to throw up a leg and lock on what appears to be a pretty tight triangle! Pope is fighting it off but it's all too little too late - Tsoi pulls down on the head and he's put Pope to sleep! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Viktor Tsoi!
A relieved looking Viktor Tsoi thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.