PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Nikolai Kovalenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kenalemodisa Mabogo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mabogo comes into a darkened arena with his song building. 3 Doors Down - Duck and Run kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kovalenko
vs
Mabogo

205 cm
40
260 lbs
53 - 26 - 0

190 cm
26
215 lbs
16 - 15 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Mohito Fightwear
Spartan Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 53 - 26 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nikolai Kovalenko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 15 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Kenalemodisa Mabogo!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Igor Prikhodko and Konstantin Menshow.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kovalenko tries a head kick but it misses.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Mabogo has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Kovalenko throws a right and a left that Mabogo avoids nicely.
Mabogo fails to land with a series of punches.
Kovalenko scores with a head kick.
Mabogo throws a series of strikes that have Kovalenko backpedaling.
Mabogo lands a right hook to the body.
Mabogo lands a nice shot to the body.
Kovalenko connects with a jab.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Mabogo tries to bum rush Kovalenko with a series of wild strikes but Kovalenko uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Kovalenko looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Mabogo throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Kovalenko fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Mabogo misses with a body shot.
Mabogo misses with a wild combination.
Some wild striking there from Kovalenko.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovalenko takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Mabogo ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Mabogo looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Mabogo throws the kick towards the body but Kovalenko avoids it.
Mabogo lands with a straight right. Kovalenko didn't see that one coming.
Kovalenko fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

Kovalenko lands a left and a right that send Mabogo crashing to the mat, dazed. Kovalenko thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!

Mabogo is rocked!

It looks like Kenalemodisa Mabogo has been cut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mabogo throws a body shot but no joy.
Mabogo is still on wobbly legs! Can Kovalenko finish him?
Kovalenko fakes the leg kick and cracks Mabogo in the body.
Mabogo ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kovalenko moves away.
Mabogo seems to have recovered his senses.
Mabogo misses with a hook. Kovalenko ducked under it nicely.
Nikolai Kovalenko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kovalenko lands with a precision combination! Left, right, uppercut and Mabogo falls flat on his face, eyes wide open but he's out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:56 of round 1, we have a winner by way of KO (Punches). Nikolai Kovalenko!
An out of breath Nikolai Kovalenko thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.