PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Arden Betancourt (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Oleg Ljashko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Oleg Ljashko has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Betancourt
vs
Ljashko

188 cm
23
240 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

185 cm
23
265 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
Dangerous knees
Good gas tank

Max Octane Fight Wear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Arden Betancourt!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Oleg Ljashko!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Dmitry Maklakov and Vladimir Khabensky.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ljashko tries to close the distance and clinch up but Betancourt swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Ljashko wants to clinch.
Ljashko throws a right and a left that both miss.
Ljashko takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

Ljashko rushes Betancourt and presses him up against the ropes.
Betancourt tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ljashko lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

It looks like Arden Betancourt has been cut.
Ljashko putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Betancourt in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Ljashko lands a damaging elbow.
Ljashko looking to throw knees to the head but Betancourt is blocking nicely.

Ljashko's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ljashko tries to close the distance and clinch up but Betancourt swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Betancourt cracks Ljashko with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Ljashko wants to land a leg kick but Betancourt is out of range.
Ljashko fails with an attempt to clinch.
Betancourt appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Ljashko throws a left that rocks Betancourt and follows with a right that sends him tumbling to the canvas! Ljashko dives into side control, looking to finish! Can Betancourt regain composure!
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Betancourt tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Ljashko wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Ljashko is looking to take a break and control but Betancourt is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ljashko tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

Ljashko stands up.

Ljashko pushes Betancourt up against the ropes in a clinch.
Betancourt's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

Ljashko manages to break the clinch.
Betancourt's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Ljashko connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Betancourt scrambles back to his feet.
Ljashko fails in his attempt to clinch.

Ljashko moves into the clinch.
Betancourt has a couple of punches blocked by Ljashko.

Ljashko lands a big uppercut and Betancourt is down! He's in big trouble - Ljashko follows him to the mat!

Arden Betancourt's cut is getting worse.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ljashko wants to stand but Betancourt has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Betancourt tries to roll over but Ljashko keeps him under control.
Betancourt trying to control but Ljashko postures up.
Betancourt gets back to full guard.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Betancourt has control of Ljashko's left arm, preventing Ljashko from doing any damage.
Ljashko is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Betancourt seems keen to control Ljashko's posture.
Ljashko is looking to stand up but Betancourt won't let him.
Betancourt wants to stand up but Ljashko is controlling him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Betancourt working a defensive guard here.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Ljashko wants to stand but Betancourt is controlling his posture from full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Betancourt slips under a jab.
Ljashko fails in his attempt to clinch.
Betancourt blocks a jab.
Ljashko throws a shot from downtown. Betancourt moves away and avoids it.

Ljashko drives through and clinches with Betancourt against the ropes.

Ljashko's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Betancourt scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
A jab from Betancourt misses.
Ljashko takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Betancourt tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Ljashko was well out of range. Poor timing from Betancourt.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Oleg Ljashko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Betancourt misses with an uppercut.
A big left from Ljashko misses.
Betancourt avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A jab from Ljashko misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Betancourt throws out a loose jab but Ljashko uses good head movement to avoid it.

Betancourt moves into the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Betancourt pushes Ljashko back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Betancourt misses with the head strike.
Ljashko misses with a body punch.
Ljashko tries to throw a body punch but Betancourt avoids it by throwing Ljashko back against the ropes.
A shot in the inside from Betancourt.

Ljashko breaks from the clinch.
Betancourt needs to keep his hands up - Ljashko had a free shot at his head there.

Ljashko gets a clinch.
Betancourt throws a head punch that misses.
Betancourt misses with a hook to the ribs.
A right hand to the body from Ljashko.
Betancourt fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Betancourt lands a left hand that snaps the head of Ljashko backwards.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Betancourt wants to stall.
Ljashko blocks a body shot from Betancourt.
Betancourt misses with a punch on the inside.
Ljashko misses with a punch to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Oleg Ljashko dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Arden Betancourt's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Ljashko slips under a jab from Betancourt.

Ljashko darts in and clinches Betancourt up against the ropes.

Ljashko breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Ljashko pushes Betancourt up against the ropes in a clinch.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Ljashko in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Ljashko lands a nice knee to the body.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
A shot in the inside from Betancourt.
Ljashko has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ljashko is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Ljashko scores with a shot to the side of Betancourt's head.
Ljashko lands a good knee to the midsection. Betancourt won't want to take too many of those.

Ljashko escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Some wild striking there from Betancourt.
Betancourt circles away from the clinch attempt.
Betancourt tries to move into range but Ljashko moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.

Ljashko moves into the clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Stalling in the clinch from Ljashko.
Betancourt misses with a short punch on the inside.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ljashko displaying some good clinch control by pressing Betancourt up against the ropes.
Ljashko lands with a right to the head.
Ljashko is trying to stall.

Ljashko breaks the clinch.
Ljashko ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Betancourt moves away.
Ljashko lands with a cross.
Betancourt is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Ljashko.
Oleg Ljashko seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Betancourt swats away the attempt to clinch by Ljashko.
Betancourt avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Betancourt closes the distance and pushes Ljashko back into the ropes.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Ljashko misses with a knee strike.
Ljashko misses with a body punch.
Ljashko is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.

Ljashko pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ljashko wants to slow Betancourt down by chopping away at his legs.
An attempted straight right counter from Betancourt misses the target.
Betancourt takes a swing at Ljashko's ribcage but misses.
Ljashko throws a counter combo.
Betancourt throws a body shot but no joy.
Ljashko only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Ljashko misses with a straight left.
Ljashko throws a sloppy head kick and Betancourt moves out of range easily.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Ljashko lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Ljashko pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Ljashko closes the distance and pushes Betancourt back into the ropes.
Betancourt working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Betancourt pushes Ljashko back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Betancourt has a couple of punches blocked by Ljashko.
Ljashko lands with a left to the head.

Ljashko escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ljashko connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Betancourt's hands.
Arden Betancourt is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Betancourt takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Betancourt fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Ljashko, pushing him back against the ropes.
Ljashko unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Betancourt misses with some punches.
Betancourt struggles to land a body shot inside as Ljashko controls his hands.
Ljashko tries to stall but Betancourt uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

Ljashko escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ljashko connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Ljashko tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Betancourt paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Betancourt misses with an uppercut.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Betancourt tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

Ljashko pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Ljashko doesn't manage to clinch there - Betancourt circles away.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Betancourt.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Ljashko slowing the pace effectively.
Betancourt swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Oleg Ljashko seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Betancourt has a couple of punches blocked by Ljashko.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Betancourt.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ljashko struggles to land a body shot inside as Betancourt controls his hands.
Betancourt blocks a body shot from Ljashko.

Ljashko's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Betancourt looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
A slow jab from Ljashko misses its intended target.
Ljashko slips under a jab from Betancourt.
Ljashko tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Ljashko ducks under a wild hook from Betancourt.
Betancourt cracks Ljashko with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Betancourt bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Ljashko takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Ljashko jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Betancourt lands with a straight right. Ljashko didn't see that one coming.
Betancourt bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Oleg Ljashko showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Arden Betancourt's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Betancourt scores with a jab to the head.
Betancourt lands with a nice combination. Ljashko backs away looking to recover.

Ljashko has closed the distance and engaged Betancourt in a clinch.
Betancourt stalling in the clinch.
Ljashko scores with a shoulder strike.
Ljashko connects with a nasty looking knee right to Betancourt's face.
Betancourt taking a breather.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Ljashko as Betancourt tries to tie him up.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Ljashko crunches a lovely knee into Betancourt's ribcage.
Ljashko lands a nice knee to the body.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Betancourt as Ljashko tries to tie him up.
Betancourt wants to stall.
Ljashko stalling in the clinch but Betancourt improves position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Ljashko digs a right hand into Betancourt's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Betancourt's gas tank.
Ljashko lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the ropes.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ljashko pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A lazy left from Ljashko finds it's target.

Ljashko moves into range and throws a big uppercut. OH! Betancourt goes down! Can Ljashko finish him!?

Ljashko decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Betancourt, up you get!

Ljashko closes the distance and clinches.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ljashko lands an elbow just above Betancourt 's eye.

Betancourt is rocked!

Arden Betancourt's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ljashko.
Betancourt can't find room to land a body shot as Ljashko controls the action.
Ljashko scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Oh Betancourt is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Ljashko creates some distance for himself and unleashes a massive uppercut that sends Betancourt's eyes rolling into the back of his head! Betancourt drops to his knees and Ljashko pours it on with more strikes until the referee steps in to end the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:41 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Oleg Ljashko!