PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Justin Monroe (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Roman Kazaev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Monroe
vs
Kazaev

156 cm
24
279 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

195 cm
25
266 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Tends to cut

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Justin Monroe!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Roman Kazaev!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Aleksandr Martynov and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Monroe tries for a takedown but Kazaev sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Kazaev is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Kazaev moves into the clinch.

Kazaev's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kazaev wants to clinch up but Monroe keeps it at a distance.
Kazaev is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Kazaev shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Monroe pinned against the cage. Monroe gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

Monroe looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Kazaev!
Kazaev takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Kazaev on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kazaev manages to work his way to half guard, despite Monroe's best efforts.
Kazaev wants to improve his position but Monroe is controlling well.
Kazaev trying to hold on to Monroe's head to control him but Monroe postures up.
Kazaev is trying to get back to full guard.
Monroe winds up and cracks Kazaev with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kazaev manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Kazaev throws a head kick that misses.

Kazaev shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kazaev trying to control but Monroe is working from the bottom.

Monroe looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Monroe looking for a guillotine here but Kazaev defends easily.

Monroe is looking for a triangle but Kazaev pushes his legs off easily.
Monroe could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Monroe is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Kazaev is aware though and is defending well.

Kazaev gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Kazaev wants to clinch

and Monroe counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kazaev wants to get back to his feet.
Kazaev is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Monroe's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Monroe's back!
Monroe is really stuck here.
Monroe might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kazaev is trying to stick to Monroe's back but Monroe is turning into Kazaev. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Kazaev's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Monroe.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kazaev has an active guard here but Monroe has managed to pass into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kazaev looks winded!
Monroe not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Monroe looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Kazaev tries to kick Monroe off but Monroe keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Monroe not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Kazaev preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Monroe is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Justin Monroe dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Kazaev misses with a hook to the body

so Monroe counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Monroe throwing strikes from guard but Kazaev blocks nicely.
Monroe working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Monroe has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Kazaev manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Monroe manages to get himself to full guard.
Kazaev is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Monroe wants to sweep but no luck.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Monroe looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Kazaev passes into side control.
Monroe regains half guard there - taking advantage of Kazaev's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kazaev is trying to control. Monroe wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

Kazaev decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Kazaev shoots in for a takedown but Monroe shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Kazaev misses with a few strikes there.
Monroe misses with a low kick as Kazaev jumps back.
Kazaev throws a jab when Monroe was well out of range.
Monroe closes the distance and clinches up with Kazaev, looking for a takedown. Monroe pushes Kazaev against the cage but Kazaev circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Justin Monroe is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Kazaev is defended easily by Monroe.
Kazaev is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Monroe gets a double leg takedown into Kazaev's guard.
Monroe postures up and lands a big shot to Kazaev's brow.
Monroe working some strikes from top position.

Monroe gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Kazaev.
The fight stays on the outside here - Kazaev looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Monroe looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Monroe on the wrong end of a nice hook.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Kazaev.
Justin Monroe has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Roman Kazaev.

Monroe moves into the clinch.
Kazaev wants a takedown but no success here.

Monroe is trying to trip Kazaev. He has hold of a leg but Kazaev is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Monroe persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Monroe is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Monroe postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Monroe would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Monroe prevents Kazaev from getting back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Monroe lands a couple of digs.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Monroe works over Kazaev with some ground and pound from guard.
Kazaev is looking to sweep but instead, Monroe has passed into half guard.
Ground and pound from Monroe.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Monroe connects with a nice short shot to Kazaev's temple.
Monroe looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Kazaev with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Kazaev misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Monroe working Kazaev over with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Justin Monroe dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Monroe avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Kazaev displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Monroe.

Monroe drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Monroe connects with a couple of short punches.
Kazaev is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Monroe looking for a kimura from the bottom but Kazaev passes into side control!

Kazaev stands up.
A head kick misses from Monroe.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Kazaev just leaning against Monroe, taking a breather.
Monroe has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Monroe's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kazaev thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Monroe if he has to take too many more of those.
Roman Kazaev seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kazaev connects with a leg kick. Monroe looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.

Kazaev takes the fight into the clinch.
Kazaev landing knees to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Kazaev has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Monroe uses from the top position.
Kazaev working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Monroe.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kazaev is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Monroe is defending against the submission attempts here by Kazaev.
Kazaev with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

Monroe is defending against the submission attempts here by Kazaev.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kazaev wants to control but Monroe is keeping him busy.
Kazaev throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Monroe makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

Monroe is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Kazaev's half guard.
Kazaev looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Monroe thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kazaev's head.
Kazaev slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Kazaev is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Monroe with a nice head shot there.
Roman Kazaev has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Justin Monroe is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Monroe connects with a couple of short punches.

And that's the end of the fight!
Roman Kazaev comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Monroe has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 29:28
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Justin Monroe!