PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ken Masters (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Toktogulovich Bakiyev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Masters comes to the cage accompanied by Simply the Best. Toktogulovich Bakiyev will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Masters
vs
Bakiyev

176 cm
29
168 lbs
12 - 4 - 1

171 cm
21
163 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Great low kicks
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

The Empire Clothing and Laundry

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 - 4 - 1, fighting out of London, Ken Masters !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Toktogulovich Bakiyev!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, Donald Grub and Paul Tew.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The fight stays on the outside here - Masters looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Masters closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Bakiyev escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Bakiyev bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Masters 's head.
Masters wants to slow Bakiyev down by chopping away at his legs.
Bakiyev fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Masters manages to avoid it.
Masters tried to counter with a leg kick but Bakiyev avoided it.
Masters wants to clinch up but Bakiyev keeps it at a distance.
Masters tries to clinch but Bakiyev moves away
and Bakiyev counters with a lovely shot to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fight stays on the outside here - Masters looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Masters moves into the clinch.
Masters pushes off an throws an elbow but Bakiyev leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Masters has a couple of punches blocked by Bakiyev.
Masters misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Masters misses with a body punch.
Masters is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Bakiyev is defending well for now.
Bakiyev managing to block the knees to the body from Masters .
Masters throws an elbow that misses.
Masters swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Masters lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

Masters manages to break the clinch.
Bakiyev with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Masters swings away with a body shot that misses
and Bakiyev counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Bakiyev keeps the fight on the outside.
It seemed like Bakiyev was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Masters ducks under a wild hook from Bakiyev.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bakiyev slaps away a takedown attempt from Masters , before circling back to the center of the mat.
Masters takes one to the side of the head.
Masters takes a swing at Bakiyev's ribcage but misses.
Good work by Bakiyev as he checks the leg kick.
Masters tries to clinch up.
A little jabbing left from Bakiyev on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Masters lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Masters jabs Bakiyev right on the nose. Bakiyev blinks but takes it well.

Masters gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Masters lands an uppercut.
Masters pushes off an throws an elbow but Bakiyev leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Masters throws an elbow but it misses.

Masters manages to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bakiyev with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Masters wants to land a leg kick but Bakiyev is out of range.
Masters looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Bakiyev lands a nice shot that snaps Masters 's head back.
Masters throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Masters tries to clinch there but Bakiyev circles away.
Bakiyev doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Masters takes one to the side of the head.
Bakiyev uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Masters .
Bakiyev scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Toktogulovich Bakiyev is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Bakiyev circles away from the clinch attempt
enabling Bakiyev to counter with a crisp jab.
Bakiyev checks the leg kick.
Bakiyev appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Masters uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Bakiyev.
A little feinted left hand from Masters on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Masters comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Masters closes the distance looking to clinch
and Masters takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bakiyev changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Masters rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Bakiyev counters with a stiff right hand.
Masters tries to close the distance and clinch but Bakiyev swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Masters closes the distance looking to clinch
and Bakiyev counters with a stiff right hand.
Masters tries to clinch there but Bakiyev circles away.

Masters fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Bakiyev, pushing him back against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Masters .
Masters fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A bit of stalling here from Masters .
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Toktogulovich Bakiyev will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Bakiyev fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Bakiyev uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Masters .

Masters feints and as Bakiyev raises his hands in defense, Masters changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
We've been hearing that Masters has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
Masters controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Bakiyev wants to stand but Masters is controlling the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Masters content to stall in guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bakiyev has a closed guard, preventing Masters from standing up.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Masters advances position into side control!
Masters prevents Bakiyev from escaping the position.
Masters is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Bakiyev is trying to buck Masters off.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Ken Masters seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Masters looks to clinch
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
and Bakiyev counters with a nice uppercut.

Masters moves into the clinch.
Bakiyev avoiding damage as Masters throws knees to the body.
Masters slows down the pace here.
Masters holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Bakiyev blocks an uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Masters controlling the action here for a moment.

Masters 's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Masters moves into range and clinches up with Bakiyev.
Masters lands a damaging elbow.

It looks like Toktogulovich Bakiyev has been cut.
Masters swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Bakiyev wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Masters leaning his opponent against the cage.
Bakiyev blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A frustrated look appears on Bakiyev's face as he tries to break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Masters stalls.
Bakiyev blocks the elbow strike.
Masters misses with an elbow strike.
Masters trying to land knees to the body.
Bakiyev letting Masters take a breather here.
Bakiyev wants to break free but Masters has control.
Masters tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Bakiyev avoids it.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Masters swings wildly with an uppercut but Bakiyev uses good head movement to avoid it.
Masters misses with some punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ken Masters dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Toktogulovich Bakiyev's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Masters catches Bakiyev with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!

Masters forces Bakiyev back against the cage and clinches.
Masters missing with knees to the body.
Masters is struggling to control the position.
Bakiyev tries to break free but Masters pushes him back against the cage.
Bakiyev has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Bakiyev.
Masters is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Masters misses with a knee strike.
Masters missing with knees to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Masters is pushing Bakiyev up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Bakiyev.
Masters is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Bakiyev is defending well for now.
Masters working aggressively here.
Masters misses with the head strike.
Bakiyev managing to block the knees to the body from Masters .
Bakiyev blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A short left from Masters .
Bakiyev wants to break free but Masters has control.
Bakiyev letting Masters take a breather here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Masters lands on the inside with an uppercut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Bakiyev.
Masters lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Masters looking to slow down the pace here.
Bakiyev blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Masters '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.
Masters throws a punch but it's blocked by Bakiyev.
Masters working aggressively here.
Masters lands with a short head shot on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Masters missing with knees to the body.
Bakiyev letting Masters take a breather here.
Masters stalling in the clinch but Bakiyev improves position.
Masters is struggling to control the position.
Masters content to slow the pace in the clinch.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ken Masters .
Bakiyev scores with a jab to the body.
A lazy body kick from Masters
letting Bakiyev counter with a right hand.
Bakiyev scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Masters shoots and misses
and Bakiyev counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Bakiyev dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Masters rushes Bakiyev and presses him up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bakiyev blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Masters misses with a knee to the head.
Masters keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Bakiyev's efforts to push away.
Masters is trying to drag Bakiyev to the mat but Bakiyev just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Bakiyev tries to circle away but Masters has him pinned against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Masters .
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Bakiyev is trying to push Masters away but Masters has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ken Masters showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Masters 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 Chris Edwards scores the fight 29:28
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 29:28
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ken Masters !
Ken Masters decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.