PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Khalid Rusiav (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Sean (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Rusiav
vs
Sean

177 cm
20
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
21
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Inexperienced

Good wrestler
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Khalid Rusiav!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, John Sean!
The judges for this bout are Reed Andrews, Bruno Lombardi and Steve Montenegro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rusiav shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Sean pinned against the cage. Sean gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Rusiav throws a right and a left that both miss.

Sean feints and as Rusiav raises his hands in defense, Sean changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rusiav controls Sean momentarily but Sean frees himself.
Sean is stalling in the full guard.
Rusiav preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sean slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

Sean stands up from guard. Let's bang!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sean tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Rusiav swivels and escapes.

Sean moves into range and clinches up with Rusiav.
Sean is trying to pull guard but Rusiav turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Rusiav is trying to drag Sean to the mat but Sean just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

Rusiav escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
A head kick misses from Sean.

Sean closes the distance and clinches.

Rusiav pulls guard effortlessly.

Rusiav is working an open guard so Sean takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sean tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rusiav seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Sean.
Khalid Rusiav has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Sean.

Sean closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Sean is struggling to control the position.
Rusiav is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Sean to keep the fight standing.

Rusiav has picked Sean up - he's going for a ride! Rusiav dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.

Sean manages to escape and get back to his feet!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rusiav shoots in for a takedown but Sean shows good takedown defense.
Sean wants to counter with a clinch but Rusiav pushes him away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sean decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Rusiav is breathing heavily.
Rusiav tries to roll over but Sean keeps him under control.
Rusiav is trying to control but can't.
Well, if Sean is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Sean wants to free his trapped foot but Rusiav is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Rusiav trying to control here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sean seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sean working over Rusiav with some ground and pound. Rusiav looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Sean prevents Rusiav from improving his position.
Rusiav landing rabbit punches to the side of Sean's head. Not doing much damage but still scoring a few points.
Sean is looking to pass Rusiav's guard but actually Rusiav recovers to full guard.
Sean tries to free his leg and advance position but Rusiav is retaining full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Sean dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Sean throws a head kick that misses.
Sean tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Rusiav defends well and Sean ends up having to push Rusiav into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Some wild striking there from Rusiav.

Sean gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Sean has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Rusiav gets underhooks to prevent Sean's takedown attempt.
Rusiav wants a takedown but no success here.
Sean blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Rusiav jumps guard.
Sean stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Rusiav swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Sean got a little sloppy there for a moment and Rusiav has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Sean has managed to get both his arms back between Rusiav's legs - danger averted.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sean sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Sean wants to pass the guard but Rusiav is keeping the position.
Sean stands up over Rusiav, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

That's two 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.
Rusiav can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Sean controls the pace.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Rusiav trying to control the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Rusiav shoots in looking for a takedown. Sean tries to sprawl out of it but Rusiav keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Sean manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Rusiav misses the shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sean fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Rusiav to the ground. Sean is now in Rusiav's guard.
Sean scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Rusiav keeping full guard, as Sean tries to pass.

Rusiav working for a triangle but Sean defends it easily.
Sean looking to pass the guard.
Sean is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Sean is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Sean really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Rusiav. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sean tries to free his leg and advance position but Rusiav is retaining full guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Sean's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Sean looking to pass the guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Sean drives through and clinches with Rusiav against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Sean showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Sean misses with a jab, cross combination.
Rusiav shoots in for a takedown but Sean shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Rusiav fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Sean sprawls well initially but Rusiav persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Sean manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Sean looks to score with a jab to the body but Rusiav is just out of range.
Sean throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Sean darts in looking for a takedown but Rusiav gets double underhooks and turns Sean into the cage.
Sean on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sean tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Rusiav swivels and escapes.
Sean misses with a takedown attempt - Rusiav sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Khalid Rusiav has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Sean.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Sean looks for a takedown but Rusiav sprawls well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rusiav tries to close the distance and clinch but Sean swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Sean feints the counter takedown.
Rusiav with a poor takedown

and Sean counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Rusiav is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Rusiav wants a takedown.
Sean lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Rusiav or not.
Sean is trying to push Rusiav away but Rusiav has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Sean is trying to push Rusiav away but Rusiav has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Rusiav is trying to force a seperation but Sean has the dominant position.

Sean works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

Rusiav has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Sean has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sean lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Sean keeps control of Rusiav as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Sean tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Rusiav smiles and moves away.
Sean dives in and grabs Rusiav's left leg, looking for a takedown. Rusiav pushes down on Sean's head and hops out.
Rusiav appears to be looking for a big counter.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rusiav fails with a takedown attempt.
It seemed like Sean was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.

Sean shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Sean sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rusiav manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Sean manages to get himself to full guard.

Sean is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Rusiav preventing the sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Rusiav trying to control the position from guard on top but Sean is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sean is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Rusiav is looking to stand up but Sean won't let him.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Rusiav being controlled here momentarily.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
A looping hook to the body misses from Sean. Rusiav does a little dance to reset his feet.
Rusiav went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Horrible takedown attempt by Rusiav or perhaps it was just good defense by Sean, which made it look bad.
Sean is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to John Sean.
I've got Sean 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 Reed Andrews scores the fight for John Sean!
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight for John Sean!
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight for John Sean!

John Sean wins by unanimous decision!