PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between St Petersburg Strangler (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Axel Best (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Strangler comes to the cage accompanied by Let Me Through by The Dead Weather. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Petersburg Strangler
vs
Best

174 cm
19
150 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

175 cm
18
152 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Very quick

Decent wrestler
Basic striking
Determined

Bushido Fightwear
GREEN!160

Dead Orbit (Laundry out of stock)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the featherweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, St Petersburg Strangler!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Axel Best!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Columbo Gatti and Dean Styles.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Strangler throws a body punch but Best moves out of range.
Best doesn't manage to clinch there - Strangler circles away.
Strangler throwing a counter right hand but Best manages to avoid it.

Best shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Best was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Best in side control, throwing shots but Strangler defends.
Strangler tries to improve position but can't.

Best tries for a kimura but Strangler is defending well.
Strangler knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Best on the ground.
Best throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Best looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Strangler is avoiding damage well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Best is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Strangler's coaches at LOD - Combat Fitness have been working on his defensive grappling in preparation for this fight so let's see if he can get out of this tricky position.
Best wants to control for a moment but Strangler uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.

Best is looking for a kimura but Strangler is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Best to get the leverage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Best is looking to take a break and control but Strangler is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Best throwing shots but Strangler is blocking nicely.
Best working Strangler over with strikes.
Best throwing shots but Strangler is blocking nicely.

Best is working for a kimura but Strangler is defending it quite comfortably.
Best works his way into full mount!
Strangler is desperately trying to improve his position but Best has a good base and remains in mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Best unloads with some shots from mount but Strangler bucks and avoids them well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Strangler is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

Strangler defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Best.
Strangler tries to hold on but Best pushes him away.
Best can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Strangler is looking to escape.
Best sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
A nice elbow there by Best.
Best looking to control but Strangler is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Strangler on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Strangler tries to get out of the position.
Poor strikes thrown by Best there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Best thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Best with the ground and pound from mount.
Best throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Best looking to finish Strangler with some ground and pound. This is bad for Strangler!
Best has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Best throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Best sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Best throwing strikes but Strangler uses the opportunity to regain half guard.

Best is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Strangler doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Best.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Best is looking for a kimura but Strangler is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Best to get the leverage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Best tries to pass to full mount but Strangler defends it.
Strangler is holding on to half guard well.

Best is working for a kimura here but Strangler manages to reverse the position and he's now in Best's guard.
Best working a defensive guard here.
Strangler stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Best swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Best is trying to control the position from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Best fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Strangler avoids it really well and circles away.
Best walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Best takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Best shoots in but no luck this time.
Best dives in for a single leg takedown but Strangler sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Strangler tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Best manages to circle out of the way.
St Petersburg Strangler has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Axel Best.
Best takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Nice uppercut lands for Strangler. That snapped Best's head back.
Strangler lands with a hook. Best tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.

Best is rocked!
Best checks a leg kick.
Best is still on wobbly legs! Can Strangler finish him?
Best moves forwards but Strangler connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Strangler takes a swing at Best's ribcage but misses.
Best looks up at the clock. Bad move! Strangler lands a right hand from hell, dropping Best. Strangler pounces and finishes the fight with a flurry of punches and elbows.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). St Petersburg Strangler!
St Petersburg Strangler retains his featherweight title!
After winning the bout, St Petersburg Strangler thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.