PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Marat Gafurov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bogdan Trojan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gafurov comes to the ring accompanied by Queen – I Want To Break Free. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Gafurov
vs
Trojan

175 cm
24
154 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

165 cm
25
164 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

GREEN!160

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Marat Gafurov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Bogdan Trojan!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Arvi Lind and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Trojan misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Trojan has Gafurov up against the ropes in a clinch.
Gafurov lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Gafurov definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Trojan blocks an uppercut.
The referee is keeping an eye on Gafurov - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.

Trojan breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Gafurov has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gafurov defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Trojan.
Gafurov misses with a straight left.
Trojan tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Gafurov paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Gafurov pivots, looking for a leg kick but Trojan is out of range and Gafurov settles back down.
Trojan tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gafurov swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Trojan wants to clinch.
Horrible takedown attempt by Trojan or perhaps it was just good defense by Gafurov, which made it look bad.
Marat Gafurov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bogdan Trojan.

Trojan clinches.
Gafurov is pressed up against the ropes. Trojan has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Gafurov down to the mat. Gafurov avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Trojan has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Gafurov is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Trojan fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Gafurov pivots, looking for a leg kick but Trojan is out of range and Gafurov settles back down.
Trojan misses with a two punch combination.
Trojan tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gafurov swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Gafurov feinted with a counter takedown.
Trojan shoots in looking for a takedown. Gafurov tries to sprawl out of it but Trojan keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Gafurov manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gafurov with a nice cross.
Trojan tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Gafurov paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Trojan looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Gafurov gets full guard.
Gafurov keeping moving, preventing Trojan from controlling successfully.
Trojan with a flurry of punches that miss.
Trojan preventing the sweep.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gafurov keeping full guard, as Trojan tries to pass.
Gafurov has his hands on Trojan's head, controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Trojan forces his way into half guard.
Gafurov moves into full guard.
Gafurov working a defensive guard here.
Gafurov manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Trojan manages to get himself to full guard.

Gafurov with a flurry of punches that miss.
Gafurov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gafurov won't allow Trojan to sweep him here.
Gafurov throwing strikes from guard but Trojan blocks nicely.
Gafurov passes into half guard.
Trojan wants to control but Gafurov is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Gafurov passes to full mount!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Gafurov working for a submission but Trojan is keeping him at bay.

Gafurov has control of Trojan's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Trojan regains control of the situation pretty easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marat Gafurov dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Trojan tries to clinch but Gafurov moves out of range.
Trojan tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in to close the distance. Gafurov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Gafurov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Trojan can do to turn this around?
Trojan shoots for a takedown but Gafurov saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Gafurov attempts a counter takedown but Trojan avoids it well and moves away.
Gafurov throws a leg kick but Trojan sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Trojan looks for a takedown but Gafurov sprawls well.
Trojan fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Marat Gafurov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bogdan Trojan.
Gafurov loads up on a big right hand but Trojan slips the punch.
Trojan throws a big shot that misses.
Gafurov half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Trojan closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the ropes.

Trojan has hold of one of Gafurov's legs. Gafurov is fighting the takedown attempt but Trojan gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Gafurov looking for a sweep. Not yet Gafurov, not yet.

Gafurov working for a triangle but Trojan defends it easily.
Gafurov keeping full guard, as Trojan tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gafurov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Gafurov is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Trojan is refusing to be controlled, as Gafurov sits in half guard.
Trojan is in trouble now - Gafurov has advanced to mount!
Trojan avoids a series of strikes thrown by Gafurov.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gafurov thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Trojan tries to hold on but Gafurov postures up.
Trojan is trying to escape the mount.
Gafurov content just to control the position here.
Gafurov wants to control the pace but Trojan is squirming around nicely.
Gafurov looking to finish Trojan with some ground and pound. This is bad for Trojan!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gafurov avoids the attempt from Trojan to control.
Gafurov sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Trojan is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Trojan is squirming around, avoiding Gafurov's attempts to control the action.

Gafurov goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Trojan turns into him and now he's in Gafurov's guard.
Gafurov lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gafurov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Trojan avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Marat Gafurov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Trojan not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Gafurov trying to control but Trojan is working from the bottom.
Gafurov works a leg free and moves into half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gafurov works his way into full mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marat Gafurov dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Trojan tries to clinch up but Gafurov circles away and keeps his distance.
Gafurov looks for a takedown but Trojan sprawls well.
And Trojan tries to counter it with a takedown but Gafurov pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Trojan wants to clinch up but Gafurov keeps it at a distance.
Gafurov throws a body shot but no joy.
Trojan with the counter takedown but Gafurov avoids it easily.
Gafurov walks into a straight right hand from Trojan.
Marat Gafurov is winning the standup battle so far.
Trojan looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Gafurov tries to counter with a takedown but Trojan is quick to defend against it.
Trojan closes the distance looking to clinch

and Gafurov counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Trojan!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gafurov 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.
Trojan struggling a bit here.
Trojan is looking for a sweep.
Trojan takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Trojan takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Gafurov tries to score with some ground and pound. Trojan controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Trojan is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Gafurov is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Gafurov looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Gafurov wants to control the pace but Trojan is squirming around nicely.
Gafurov 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.
Gafurov looking to control and managing it successfully.
Gafurov dominating with strikes here.
Gafurov throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Trojan because Gafurov loaded up on that one.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gafurov controlling his opponent.

Gafurov has control of Trojan's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Trojan regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Gafurov sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Gafurov looking to control but Trojan is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

Gafurov is working for a guillotine from mount but Trojan frees his head quite easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gafurov throwing strikes here but Trojan is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Bogdan Trojan has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Trojan is squirming around, avoiding Gafurov's attempts to control the action.
Gafurov throwing strikes but Trojan bucks up and reverses the position. He's now in guard on top.
Marat Gafurov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Gafurov wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Trojan looking to pass the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gafurov can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Trojan controls the pace.
Gafurov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Trojan looking to sit in guard and control but Gafurov gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Trojan throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Gafurov escapes and throws Trojan's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Gafurov happy to just control the position for now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gafurov seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Trojan for as long as he can get away with.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marat Gafurov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gafurov, 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 30:27
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marat Gafurov!
Marat Gafurov managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, GREEN!160, into his post fight interview.