PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Felipe Cirkunov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and TJ Till (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). TJ Till struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 156.2lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Cirkunov
vs
Till

179 cm
25
156 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

179 cm
25
167 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Solid chin

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 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Felipe Cirkunov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, TJ Till!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, Yves DeLean and William Peck.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Cirkunov takes the fight into the clinch.
Till tries to circle away but Cirkunov has him pinned against the cage.
Till is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Till tries to pull guard but Cirkunov holds him up against the cage and eventually Till drops back down to his feet.
Cirkunov tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Till smiles and moves away.
Till tries for a takedown but Cirkunov sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Felipe Cirkunov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of TJ Till.
Till tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Till tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Cirkunov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Cirkunov is looking to counter the offense by Till and move into the clinch.
Till throws a leg kick but Cirkunov moved away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Till tries to clinch but Cirkunov is having none of it.
A head kick misses from Cirkunov.

Cirkunov clinches.

Cirkunov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Cirkunov shoots for a double leg takedown but Till sprawls well. He's pushed Cirkunov's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
A countering left hand to the body from Till misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cirkunov goes for a double leg but Till avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Till continues to drive forward.
Till misses with a body shot.

Cirkunov gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Cirkunov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Till avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Cirkunov throws a right hand that Till ducks under and follows up with a left that Till also avoids with ease.
Cirkunov throws a head kick but Till moves out of range.
Cirkunov stuffs the takedown attempt from Till. Till gets slowly back to his feet.
Cirkunov shoots in looking for a takedown but Till manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Cirkunov's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Cirkunov steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Till. That one must have hurt.
Till tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Cirkunov paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Cirkunov appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cirkunov has picked Till up - he's going for a ride! Cirkunov dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Till makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Till.
Cirkunov trying to control but Till is working from the bottom.
Cirkunov tries to free his leg and advance position but Till is retaining full guard.
Till trying to strike off his back.
Cirkunov controlling from the top position.
Till has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Cirkunov working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cirkunov controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Cirkunov is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Till is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Till can do anything to dispel that myth.
Till being controlled here, momentarily.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

That's four 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.
Cirkunov looking to pass the guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Cirkunov leaves Till with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Cirkunov shoots for a double leg takedown but Till sprawls well. He's pushed Cirkunov's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Cirkunov fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Till looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Cirkunov drives through with a takedown into guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Felipe Cirkunov dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Till throws a one two combo.
Felipe Cirkunov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Till closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Cirkunov's guard.
Cirkunov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Till wants to control from the top but Cirkunov keeps moving.
Cirkunov is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Till controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Till wanted to stand there but Cirkunov had control of the position.

Cirkunov is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Till is aware though and is defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cirkunov throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Till escapes and throws Cirkunov's legs to the side, diving into side control!

Till is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Cirkunov has escaped the position, nice work there.
Till is looking to take a break and control but Cirkunov is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Cirkunov wants to control but Till postures up.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Cirkunov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Till throws a nice head kick!
Cirkunov fails with a takedown attempt.
Till throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Cirkunov's head.
Cirkunov stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Cirkunov wants it to stay on the feet.
Cirkunov tries to score a power double leg takedown but Till sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Cirkunov somewhat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Till shoots for a takedown but Cirkunov saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Till tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Cirkunov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Cirkunov doesn't manage to clinch there - Till circles away.
Till fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Felipe Cirkunov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of TJ Till.

Cirkunov shoots in and gets a takedown into Till's guard.
Till being controlled here, momentarily.
Till controls Cirkunov momentarily but Cirkunov frees himself.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cirkunov passes into half guard.
Cirkunov slows the pace down in half guard.
Till is refusing to be controlled, as Cirkunov sits in half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

TJ Till showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

A chopping leg kick lands by Till.
Cirkunov showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Till.
Cirkunov tries to close the distance and clinch but Till swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Cirkunov moves into range and clinches up with Till.
Cirkunov tries to score a body lock takedown but Till shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Till blocks an uppercut.

Till breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Till shoots in but no luck this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Till tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Till wants to clinch up but Cirkunov keeps it at a distance.
Cirkunov closes this distance looking for a takedown but Till circles away.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Till.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Till shoots in but no luck this time.
Felipe Cirkunov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of TJ Till.
Till takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Cirkunov clinches with his opponent.
Cirkunov on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Till breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Till moves into the clinch.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Cirkunov controlling the action here for a moment.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cirkunov is looking to take this one to the mat.
Cirkunov is working for takedown but Till is calmly controlling the position for now.
Till displaying some good clinch control by pressing Cirkunov up against the cage.
Till tries to pull guard but Cirkunov won't allow it.
Cirkunov drops down looking for an ankle pick but Till pulls his leg out and moves away.
Till closes this distance looking for a takedown but Cirkunov circles away.
Till throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Till shoots in looking for a takedown but Cirkunov manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Till's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Cirkunov throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Till tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Cirkunov is in Till's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cirkunov postures up and lands a big shot to Till's brow.
Cirkunov wants to stand but Till has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Cirkunov advances position into side control!
Cirkunov trying to control the action but Till is working from the bottom.
Till is trying to buck Cirkunov off.

Cirkunov tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.

Cirkunov tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Cirkunov has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Till sneaks back into half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Till taking some punishment here, with Cirkunov in his half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Felipe Cirkunov showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Cirkunov 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 Elvis Blanc scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 29:28
Judge William Peck scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Felipe Cirkunov!