PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ian Mueller (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Boris Rusev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Mueller
vs
Rusev

209 cm
24
194 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

182 cm
25
187 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Enjoys gardening

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ian Mueller!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Boris Rusev!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Dmitry Maklakov and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rusev moves out of range of the body kick from Mueller.
Rusev tries a head kick but it misses.
Rusev pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Rusev clinches with his opponent.

Rusev breaks the clinch.

Rusev gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rusev is pushing Mueller up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Mueller really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Rusev manages to break the clinch.

Mueller tries to keep at a distance but Rusev has taken the fight into the clinch.

Rusev breaks from the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mueller looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Rusev is fending him off so far but Mueller persists. Nope, Rusev circles away and we're back to standing.
Rusev unleashes a big counter combination but Mueller bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.

Rusev has managed to clinch.
The referee calls for Rusev to work.
Rusev will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Mueller up against the cage.
Mueller tries to pull guard but Rusev holds him up against the cage and eventually Mueller drops back down to his feet.
Rusev pressing his opponent against the cage.
Mueller fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ian Mueller. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Rusev's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Mueller keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Mueller tries to counter with a takedown but Rusev is quick to defend against it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Mueller.
Rusev tries to counter by closing the distance.

Rusev takes the fight into the clinch.

Rusev breaks the clinch.

Rusev clinches up with Mueller and pushes him back against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mueller jumps guard but Rusev turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Mueller is looking to break free of the clinch but Rusev has double underhooks.
Mueller unloads a knee to the mid-section.
The referee is keeping an eye on Rusev - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Rusev lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Rusev dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Rusev stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Mueller as Rusev tries to tie him up.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Boris Rusev.

Rusev darts in and clinches Mueller up against the cage.

Mueller pulls guard.
Mueller has his hands on Rusev's head, controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rusev trying to control but Mueller is working from the bottom.
Rusev has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Mueller is proving hard to escape from.
Mueller keeping moving, preventing Rusev from controlling successfully.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Boris Rusev dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Mueller shoots in looking for a takedown but Rusev manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Mueller's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Mueller takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Rusev is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Rusev taking a breather.
Stalling in the clinch from Rusev.
Rusev continues to stall. The referee tells him to work or he's going to break them up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rusev stalls.
Mueller is trying to pull guard but Rusev turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

Rusev's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Boris Rusev seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Rusev gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mueller tries to pull guard but Rusev holds him up against the cage and eventually Mueller drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ian Mueller. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rusev stalling against the cage.
Mueller jumps guard but Rusev turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Rusev lands a shot to the body.
Mueller is trying to pull guard but Rusev has him pressed against the cage.
Rusev is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Mueller is keeping busy.
Mueller is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Rusev to keep the fight standing.

Mueller jumps guard.
Rusev prevents Mueller from getting back to his feet.
Rusev must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Rusev trying to control the position from guard on top but Mueller is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mueller will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rusev has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Mueller wants to sweep but no luck.
Rusev trying to control but Mueller is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Rusev clinches up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mueller swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Boris Rusev seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

Mueller's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Rusev pivots, looking for a leg kick but Mueller is out of range and Rusev settles back down.
Mueller slaps away a takedown attempt from Rusev, before circling back to the center of the mat.
The fight stays on the outside here - Mueller looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Mueller shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Rusev sprawls well. Rusev wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Mueller gets slowly back to his feet.
Rusev is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.

That's four 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.
Rusev tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Mueller drops down looking for a counter takedown but Rusev sprawls and moves away.

Mueller gets a clinch.

Rusev pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rusev avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Rusev shoots in looking for a takedown but Mueller manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Rusev's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Boris Rusev showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

Rusev keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
A solid leg kick lands there for Rusev.
Rusev fails to land the takedown.
Mueller appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Rusev fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Mueller, pushing him back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mueller jumps guard.
Rusev trying to control the position from guard on top but Mueller is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rusev would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Rusev looking to pass the guard.
Rusev trying to control but Mueller is working from the bottom.
Rusev looking to pass the guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Mueller pulls Rusev in close to prevent any damage.
Rusev trying to move into half guard but instead Mueller has managed to sweep!

Rusev trying to control the position.
Rusev wants to stand but Mueller is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rusev is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Rusev moves into range and clinches up with Mueller.

Mueller pulls guard successfully.
Rusev wants to control from the top but Mueller keeps moving.
Rusev looking to pass the guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rusev trying to control the position from guard on top but Mueller is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Mueller tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Rusev wants to control from the top but Mueller keeps moving.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Mueller pulls Rusev in close to his closed guard and prevents Rusev from doing any damage or advancing position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Rusev rushes Mueller and presses him up against the cage.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Boris Rusev.
I've got Rusev winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 28:30
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 27:30
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Boris Rusev!