PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alexander Karelin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Karkov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Karelin comes to the cage accompanied by Terminator 2. Alex Karkov has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Karelin
vs
Karkov

194 cm
23
286 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

200 cm
23
300 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alexander Karelin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alex Karkov!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Konstantin Menshow and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Karelin keeps the fight on the outside.
Karkov tries to clinch up.
Karkov wants to clinch up but Karelin keeps it at a distance.
Karelin keeps the fight on the outside.
Karkov wants to clinch up but Karelin keeps it at a distance.
Karkov looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Karelin fails to land the takedown.
Karelin shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Karkov as he jumps to the side.
Karkov fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Karkov tries to clinch but Karelin is having none of it.
Karelin looks for a takedown but Karkov sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alexander Karelin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Karkov tries to close the distance and clinch but Karelin swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Karkov tries to clinch but Karelin is having none of it.
Karkov is looking to clinch.
Karelin shoots in for a double leg but Karkov sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karkov is looking to clinch but Karelin is avoiding it.
Karkov has his takedown stuffed

and Karelin counters with a single leg into guard. Karkov didn't expect that.
Karelin trying to control but Karkov is working from the bottom.
Karelin is looking to work some ground and pound but Karkov has wrist control.
Karelin trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Karelin thows a big elbow that misses.
Karkov wants to stand up but Karelin is controlling him.
Karkov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Karelin stands and throws Karkov's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Karkov is trying to control Karelin's posture but Karelin avoids it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Karelin shoots for a double leg takedown but Karkov sprawls well. He's pushed Karelin's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Karelin circles away from the clinch attempt

and Karelin counters with a takedown into side control.
Karelin is breathing heavily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Karelin tries to advance to mount but can't.
Karelin working the ground and pound.
Karelin landing a few strikes.
Karkov prevents Karelin from improving position.
Karelin misses with the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karkov is looking to reverse the position.
Karkov taking a bit of punishment here - Karelin scoring with strikes.
Karkov avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Karelin.
Karelin moves into full mount!
Karelin punishing his opponent with strikes.
Karelin landing strikes from the mount.
Karkov tries to lock up and control but Karelin gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Karelin is landing with some decent strikes but Karkov is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Karelin looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin tries to control but Karkov wriggling away.
Karelin punishing his opponent with strikes.
Karelin looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Karkov is squirming around, avoiding Karelin's attempts to control the action.
Karelin cracks Karkov with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Karelin trying to control but Karkov is having none of it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Karelin is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Karkov can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Karelin dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Karelin looks for a takedown but Karkov sprawls well.

Karelin shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Karelin is pressing down on Karkov's thigh, looking to free his foot. Karkov is holding on for now.
Alexander Karelin overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Karkov moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Karkov is trying to control the position but Karelin postures up.
Karelin throws a strike but Karkov rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Karelin is on top in guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin looking to pass the guard.
Karkov wants to get back to his feet but Karelin is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Karelin lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Karelin is pushing down on Karkov's leg trying to pass to half guard. Karkov is fighting to maintain full guard but Karelin has managed to sneak the leg through.
Karelin is looking to pass Karkov's guard but actually Karkov recovers to full guard.
Karelin working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Karkov's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karkov has momentary wrist control but Karelin slips an elbow through the middle.
Karelin slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Karelin scores with punches from side control.
Karelin prevents Karkov from escaping the position.
Karelin in side control lands a decent elbow.
Karkov bucks up and tries to throw Karelin off but instead Karelin has got his back!
Karelin scores with punches to the body.
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Karelin.
I really don't envy Karkov right now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karelin lands punches and elbows.
Karelin lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.
Karelin trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
Karkov is taking damage to the body and head.
Karelin gets his hooks in and is throwing strikes.
Karelin cracks Karkov with a big shot to body and one to the head - really punishing Karkov from the back mount here, looking to soften him up.
Karelin has Karkov flattened out and is raining down punches.
Karelin lands shots from the back.
Karkov trying to control the hands but Karelin won't let him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karkov covers up after taking a massive shot to the side of the head.
Karkov prevents Karelin from getting a body triangle.
Karkov is trapped and Karelin is scoring with shots to the head and body.
Karelin throwing strikes from the back - he gets a warning from the referee for striking the back of the head but all these shots are hurting Karkov!
Karkov controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Karelin cracks Karkov with a big shot to body and one to the head - really punishing Karkov from the back mount here, looking to soften him up.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The referee is taking a good look at Karkov as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Karelin!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Karelin dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Karelin gets the takedown into side control.
Karelin is putting a hurting on Karkov here, landing some big shots from side control.
Karelin in side control lands a decent elbow.
Karkov sneaks back into half guard.
Karkov has hold of Karelin's hands but Karelin slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Karelin is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Karelin tries to pass the half guard into mount. Karkov knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Karelin drops an elbow to the side of Karkov's head.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Karelin is pressing down on Karkov's thigh, looking to free his foot. Karkov is holding on for now.
Karelin 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
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. Karelin connects with a nice short shot to Karkov's temple.
Karelin lands strikes from half guard.
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. Karelin connects with a nice short shot to Karkov's temple.
Karelin working over Karkov with some ground and pound. Karkov looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Karkov is looking to escape.
Karelin is nestled in close to Karkov, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Karelin is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Karkov pushes Karelin off looking to stand but Karelin dives back in and keeps control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karkov taking some punishment here, with Karelin in his half guard.
Karelin tries to pass the half guard into mount. Karkov knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Karkov is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Karelin scores with a couple of nice shots.
Karelin lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Karelin slips a nice elbow through Karkov's hands, connecting with Karkov's forehead.
Karelin looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Karelin trying to pass the guard but Karkov defending well.
Karelin lands strikes from half guard.
Karelin is trying to control the action in half guard but Karkov is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Karelin.
Karelin landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Karelin throwing shots but Karkov is blocking nicely.
Karelin thows a big elbow that misses, also allowing Karkov to regain full guard.
Karelin in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Karelin throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Karkov works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Karelin throws a big right hand that misses.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Karelin misses with a takedown attempt - Karkov sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Karkov lands with an uppercut that bounces Karelin off the cage and back into rage.
Karkov wants to clinch

and Karelin counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Karkov's guard now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin landing some decent shots from guard.
Karkov preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Karelin throws a strike but Karkov rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Karkov preventing the sweep.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Karelin is striking from the bottom but Karkov uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.
Alex Karkov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Karelin is looking for a sweep. Karkov is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexander Karelin showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Karelin, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexander Karelin!