PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Artem Bessmertin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shelton Harrell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Harrell has chosen Ellie Goulding - Burn as his entrance music. Artem Bessmertin had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Bessmertin
vs
Harrell

189 cm
28
183 lbs
19 - 9 - 0

180 cm
39
160 lbs
34 - 18 - 3

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Granite chin

GREEN!160
Fury Nutrition Inc.

GREEN!160

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 19 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Artem Bessmertin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 34 - 18 - 3, fighting out of New York, Shelton Harrell!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Lou da Vinci and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Bessmertin fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Harrell sprawls well initially but Bessmertin persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
We've been hearing that Bessmertin has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The fighters are battling for position here. Harrell manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Bessmertin being controlled here momentarily.

Harrell had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Bessmertin defends it easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bessmertin preventing the sweep.
Harrell working a defensive guard but Bessmertin manages to pass into side control anyway.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bessmertin postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Bessmertin misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Harrell is not content to let Bessmertin control the position.
Harrell is trying to improve his position.
Bessmertin trying to control the position but Harrell is working away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Who's going to make the next move?
Harrell tries to bench press Bessmertin off him but Bessmertin keeps the position.
Bessmertin is looking to take a break and control but Harrell is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Bessmertin tries to work over Harrell's front leg with a kick but Harrell checks it.
Bessmertin dives in for a single leg takedown but Harrell sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harrell misses with the head strike.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Bessmertin.

Harrell's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Bessmertin misses with a body shot
and Harrell counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Bessmertin takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Bessmertin swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Harrell makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Artem Bessmertin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bessmertin throws an overhand right that lands on Harrell's shoulder, as Harrell tries to avoid the shot.
Bessmertin scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Bessmertin misses with an uppercut. Harrell saw that one coming.
Harrell throws a right hand that misses

and Bessmertin counters with a single leg into guard. Harrell didn't expect that.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bessmertin postures up.
Bessmertin preventing the sweep.
Bessmertin postures up in Harrell's guard and throws a big left but Harrell blocks it.
Harrell looking for a sweep. Not yet Harrell, not yet.
Harrell lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Harrell content to stall in guard here.
Bessmertin is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

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

Artem Bessmertin dominated that round.
That's time! Bessmertin's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Harrell fails to land with a series of punches.
Harrell throws a leg kick

and Bessmertin counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Bessmertin throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Harrell has momentary wrist control but Bessmertin slips an elbow through the middle.
Harrell looking for a sweep. Not yet Harrell, not yet.
Bessmertin in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bessmertin postures up in Harrell's guard and throws a big left but Harrell blocks it.
Bessmertin is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Harrell wants to sweep but no luck.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bessmertin postures up.
Artem Bessmertin overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bessmertin throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Harrell is trying to keep Bessmertin in close.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Bessmertin misses with a shot to the body
and Harrell counters with a head kick. That will keep Bessmertin thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Bessmertin avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Bessmertin tries to close the distance and clinch up but Harrell swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Bessmertin fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Harrell looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
A head kick from Harrell lands but Bessmertin takes it in his stride.
Bessmertin's corner calls for a 1-2. Bessmertin obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Good leg kick by Bessmertin there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Harrell buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Harrell moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Bessmertin slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nice shot by Bessmertin.
Bessmertin is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Harrell can do to turn this around?
Harrell jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Bessmertin keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Harrell.
Harrell slips under a jab.
Bessmertin scores with a jab to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bessmertin swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Harrell counters with a nice leg kick.
A low kick from Harrell misses

and Bessmertin decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Harrell's guard.
Bessmertin working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Harrell's head.
Bessmertin throws a big elbow that misses.
Bessmertin throws a big elbow that misses.
Harrell looking for a sweep. Not yet Harrell, not yet.
Harrell trying to control the position.
Bessmertin postures up and lands a big shot to Harrell's brow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bessmertin is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Bessmertin postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Harrell avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Harrell can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Bessmertin controls the pace.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Harrell trying to control the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Bessmertin feints and then cracks Harrell's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Harrell down.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Artem Bessmertin dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Bessmertin connects with a looping right hand.

Bessmertin manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Harrell on his heels. He'll look to pass Harrell's guard now, I'm sure.
Bessmertin trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Harrell manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!

Bessmertin managing to control the position.
Bessmertin looking to hit a scissor sweep but Harrell is one step ahead there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bessmertin keeping moving, preventing Harrell from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bessmertin seems keen to control Harrell's posture.
Harrell forces his way into half guard.
Bessmertin is trying to maintain the position but Harrell is very close to passing his half guard.
Bessmertin wants to improve his position but Harrell is controlling well.
Shelton Harrell has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Artem Bessmertin is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Harrell trying to control from half guard but Bessmertin is working away.
Bessmertin has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Harrell is working away from the top position though.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Harrell loads up on a big right hand but Bessmertin slips the punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bessmertin scores with a hook to the body. Harrell takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Bessmertin chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Harrell can pounce on him.
Shelton Harrell is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A slow jab from Bessmertin misses its intended target.
Harrell lands a lovely overhand right.
Bessmertin is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Harrell scores with a leg kick.
Bessmertin changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Harrell throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Harrell looks to throw the jab but Bessmertin is out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harrell misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A nice inside leg kick there by Bessmertin. That's going to slow Harrell down.
Bessmertin scores with a sloppy right hand. Harrell should have avoided that one.
A cross from Bessmertin lands.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bessmertin slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Bessmertin fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Harrell manages to avoid it.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Bessmertin, as that shot connected.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Bessmertin tries to close the distance and clinch but Harrell swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Bessmertin checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.

And that's the end of the fight!
Artem Bessmertin showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Bessmertin has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 John Roberts scores the fight 30:27
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 30:27
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Artem Bessmertin!
Artem Bessmertin thanked the fans post fight for their support.