PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Vrando Vraganza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vitaliy Shunkov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Vraganza
vs
Shunkov

180 cm
33
163 lbs
12 - 11 - 0

175 cm
26
164 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Cardio machine

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Vrando Vraganza!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Vitaliy Shunkov!
The judges for this bout are Matheus Silva, Emerson Jorge and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vraganza lands with a good body shot.
Shunkov misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Shunkov shoots in but no luck this time.
Vraganza scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

It looks like Vitaliy Shunkov has been cut.
Vraganza throws a head kick that misses.

Vraganza closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Shunkov to the mat! Shunkov manages to get full guard.

Vraganza thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Vraganza wants to control from the top but Shunkov keeps moving.
Shunkov trying to control the position.
Shunkov keeping full guard, as Vraganza tries to pass.
Vraganza stopping the sweep attempt from Shunkov.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Shunkov is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Vraganza is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Shunkov has momentary wrist control but Vraganza slips an elbow through the middle.

Vraganza drops back looking for a leg! Shunkov is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Shunkov manages to kick Vraganza off! Vraganza jumps back into Shunkov's guard.
Vraganza advances to half guard.

Vraganza wants to work for an arm triangle but Shunkov is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shunkov is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Vraganza wants to lay and pray for a moment but Shunkov keeps working.
Vraganza lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Shunkov wants to control but Vraganza is keeping busy.

Vraganza is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Shunkov defends it well.
Shunkov is looking to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vraganza trying to control from half guard but Shunkov is working away.

Vraganza seems to be working for a kimura but Shunkov defends the submission attempt.
Shunkov regains full guard. Nicely done.
Shunkov keeping moving, preventing Vraganza from controlling successfully.
Vraganza throwing strikes from guard but Shunkov blocks nicely.

Vraganza has gone for a leg lock! Shunkov slips out almost immediately though and dives into Vraganza's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shunkov wants to control from the top but Vraganza keeps moving.
Shunkov passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Shunkov swings around for an armbar but Vraganza sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Shunkov's guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Vraganza trying to control but Shunkov is working from the bottom.

Shunkov is looking for a triangle but Vraganza pushes his legs off easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vrando Vraganza dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Vitaliy Shunkov's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Sloppy strikes from Vraganza. Those never looked like landing.
Vraganza connects with a high kick.
Vraganza stuffs the takedown attempt from Shunkov. Shunkov gets slowly back to his feet.

Vraganza scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

Vraganza is looking for a kimura but Shunkov is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Vraganza to get the leverage.

Vraganza is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Shunkov has managed to free his arm - good work.

Vraganza is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Shunkov defends it well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shunkov regains full guard. Nicely done.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Vraganza drops back, looking for a kneebar! Shunkov looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Shunkov looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Shunkov!

Shunkov tries to stand but Vraganza is controlling his head.
Vraganza is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Shunkov has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Shunkov tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Vraganza wants to control but Shunkov postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Vraganza explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Vraganza looks to land a combination but Shunkov avoids it well.
Shunkov showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Vraganza.
A head kick misses from Vraganza.
Shunkov dodges the punch combination from Vraganza.

Vraganza shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shunkov wants to get back to his feet.
Vraganza trying to control from half guard but Shunkov is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Vraganza seems to be looking for submissions.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Vraganza is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Shunkov sees it coming and defends easily.
Vraganza trying to control from half guard but Shunkov is working away.

Shunkov is defending against the submission attempts here by Vraganza.

Shunkov looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Vraganza is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Shunkov sees it coming and defends easily.

Vraganza is working for a submission of some sort.

Vraganza is trying to work for a kimura but Shunkov is defending well.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Vraganza is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Shunkov is just riding it out for now. Vraganza eventually gives up the hold.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vrando Vraganza dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Vitaliy Shunkov's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Vraganza throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Vrando Vraganza seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Vraganza lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Shunkov at a distance.
Shunkov darts in looking for a takedown but Vraganza gets double underhooks and turns Shunkov into the cage.
Shunkov can't get the takedown.
Vraganza's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Shunkov tries for a takedown. No joy.
Vrando Vraganza has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Vitaliy Shunkov.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Shunkov gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Vraganza regains guard.
Vrando Vraganza overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Vraganza is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Shunkov is aware though and is defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shunkov looking to sit in guard and control but Vraganza gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Vraganza wants to pass the guard but Shunkov is keeping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Shunkov keeping moving, preventing Vraganza from controlling successfully.

Vraganza drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Vraganza jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Vraganza throws a big elbow that misses.
Vraganza sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Shunkov's guard.
Shunkov tries to get to full guard but Vraganza has control of the leg.
Vraganza keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

Vraganza is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

Vraganza 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vraganza throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Vrando Vraganza is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Vraganza is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Shunkov defends it well.
Shunkov trying to control from the bottom.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Vraganza scores with a takedown into Shunkov's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shunkov looking to control.
Shunkov has a closed guard, preventing Vraganza from standing up.
Vraganza is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Shunkov can do to turn this around?
Vraganza is looking to work some ground and pound but Shunkov has wrist control.
Shunkov can't keep his opponent in guard - Vraganza advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Shunkov is trying to maintain the position but Vraganza is very close to passing his half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Vraganza looking for a submission but Shunkov manages to get full guard, putting an end to that submission attempt.
Vitaliy Shunkov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Shunkov looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vrando Vraganza showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Vraganza 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 Matheus Silva scores the fight 30:27
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vrando Vraganza!