PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Nikolay Burdyalov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cortland Cartwright (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Burdyalov kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is To The Metal. Cartwright has chosen St. Anger as his entrance music. Nikolay Burdyalov has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Burdyalov
vs
Cartwright

185 cm
23
220 lbs
10 - 5 - 0

173 cm
30
219 lbs
15 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Good elbows
Good gas tank

GREEN!160
Bad Man Clothing (Nothing Over $40)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nikolay Burdyalov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Cortland Cartwright!
The judges for this bout are Kenichi Hosakawa, Ren Mimura and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cartwright stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Burdyalov.

Cartwright rushes Burdyalov and presses him up against the cage.

Burdyalov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Burdyalov misses with a two punch combination.
Burdyalov with a jab.
No luck for Cartwright with that takedown attempt.
Burdyalov scores with a jab to the jaw.
Burdyalov lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.

Cartwright drives through with a takedown into guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cartwright looking to pass the guard.
Cartwright working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Cartwright scoring with punches to the head and body.
Cartwright is fighting to break Burdyalov's control of his arms but Burdyalov is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Burdyalov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cartwright stops Burdyalov from standing up.
Burdyalov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Cartwright throwing strikes from guard but Burdyalov blocks nicely.
Burdyalov working a defensive guard here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cartwright wants to pass the guard but Burdyalov is keeping the position.
Burdyalov will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Cartwright engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Cartwright in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Burdyalov is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Cartwright is controlling him.
Burdyalov avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Burdyalov has his hands on Cartwright's head, controlling the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Burdyalov throws a nice outside leg kick.
Burdyalov works the jab nicely.
Burdyalov scores with a nice strike.
Burdyalov lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Cartwright drops his hands momentarily and Burdyalov takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Burdyalov misses with the combination.
Burdyalov throws a leg kick

and Cartwright counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Cartwright throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Cartwright thows a huge punch but Burdyalov dodges it nicely.
Cartwright has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burdyalov is trying to get back to full guard.
Cartwright wants to take a breather but Burdyalov is having none of it.

Cartwright is working for a submission of some sort.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Burdyalov manages to get to full guard.
Cartwright pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Burdyalov is keeping the position for now.
Burdyalov looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Cartwright won't allow Burdyalov to get back to his feet.
Cartwright keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Burdyalov's head.
Burdyalov wants to get back to his feet but Cartwright is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Burdyalov working a defensive guard here.
Cartwright content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Cartwright postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Cartwright trying to control but Burdyalov is working from the bottom.
Cartwright forces his way into half guard.
Cartwright looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Burdyalov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Burdyalov is staying active underneath Cartwright, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Cartwright is working for a submission of some sort.
Burdyalov holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Cortland Cartwright will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Cartwright shoots in for a double leg but Burdyalov sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Nikolay Burdyalov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cartwright shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Burdyalov pinned against the cage. Burdyalov gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Burdyalov scores with a nice head shot.
Sloppy strikes from Burdyalov. Those never looked like landing.
Cartwright looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Burdyalov is fending him off so far but Cartwright persists. Nope, Burdyalov circles away and we're back to standing.
Nikolay Burdyalov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Cortland Cartwright.
Cartwright takes one to the chin there.
Burdyalov is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cartwright doesn't manage to clinch there - Burdyalov circles away.
The fighters circle momentarily. Burdyalov darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Burdyalov cracks Cartwright with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.

Cartwright is rocked!
Nikolay Burdyalov is winning the standup battle so far.
Cartwright checks the leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cartwright shoots and misses
and Burdyalov counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Cartwright misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Jab, jab by Burdyalov - just one landing.
Cartwright is still on wobbly legs! Can Burdyalov finish him?
Burdyalov misses the shot to the body.
Cartwright seems to have recovered his senses.

Burdyalov sends Cartwright crashing to the mat with a devastating uppercut! Burdyalov is motioning to the referee to let Cartwright up. He wants to try and finish this one on the feet!
Burdyalov is throwing a storm of strikes! Right hook, left hook and follows it up with a spinning back fist! Cartwright hits the canvas like a rag doll! And just like that, this one is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:39 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Nikolay Burdyalov!
Nikolay Burdyalov seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.
The defeated Cortland Cartwright had this to say: 'My opponent was a worth adversary. I will get better and come again.'.