PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Todd Cannon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Levan Kvirkvelia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Cannon
vs
Kvirkvelia

180 cm
20
181 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

173 cm
19
175 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Experienced

Good takedowns
Good kicks
Determined

Mohito Fightwear
Voodoo Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Todd Cannon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Levan Kvirkvelia!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Aleksandr Martynov and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cannon tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Cannon blocks the body kick.
Cannon half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.
Kvirkvelia scores with a punch to the head.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Kvirkvelia.
Kvirkvelia fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Cannon.

Kvirkvelia feints and as Cannon raises his hands in defense, Kvirkvelia changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Cannon keeping full guard, as Kvirkvelia tries to pass.
Kvirkvelia content to stall in guard here.

Cannon escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Kvirkvelia gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Cannon can't keep his opponent in guard - Kvirkvelia advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kvirkvelia is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Kvirkvelia sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Kvirkvelia passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Cannon!
Kvirkvelia with good strikes from the mount here!
Cannon looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.
Kvirkvelia controlling from mount.
Cannon is looking to improve his position but Kvirkvelia isn't that keen on the idea.
Kvirkvelia controlling his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cannon tries to hold on but Kvirkvelia pushes him away.
Kvirkvelia controlling the pace for now.
Cannon reaches up to try and control the position but Kvirkvelia seems to have an arm triangle now! Uh oh! Cannon rolls and tries to escape and now Kvirkvelia has his back!
Kvirkvelia trying to secure his dominant position for a moment - making sure Cannon doesn't escape.
Well, with Kvirkvelia on his back, surely it's only a matter of time before Cannon is tapping out... Can he escape the position?
Cannon looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kvirkvelia biding his time, looking for the opening.
I really don't envy Cannon right now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kvirkvelia lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.
Can Cannon hold on?! Kvirkvelia is landing more strikes to his hapless foe.

Kvirkvelia is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
What can Cannon do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

Kvirkvelia is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Cannon defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
I really don't envy Cannon right now.
Kvirkvelia avoiding Cannon 's attempts to control his hands.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
Let's hope that Kvirkvelia has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cannon wants to control his opponent's hands but Kvirkvelia gets his hands free.
Kvirkvelia has good solid back control here.
Kvirkvelia lands a shot to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Levan Kvirkvelia dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Kvirkvelia throws a lazy body kick

and Cannon counters with a single leg into guard. Kvirkvelia didn't expect that.
Cannon looking to pass the guard.
Kvirkvelia keeping moving, preventing Cannon from controlling successfully.

Kvirkvelia is looking for a triangle but Cannon pushes his legs off easily.
Kvirkvelia keeping moving, preventing Cannon from controlling successfully.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cannon is fighting to break Kvirkvelia's control of his arms but Kvirkvelia is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Cannon preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cannon slips nicely into half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Kvirkvelia manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Cannon wants to control from the top but Kvirkvelia keeps moving.
Kvirkvelia bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Cannon's guard.

Kvirkvelia is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Kvirkvelia with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Kvirkvelia pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Cannon is keeping the position for now.
Kvirkvelia has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Kvirkvelia is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kvirkvelia passes Cannon's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Kvirkvelia landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Kvirkvelia seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Kvirkvelia working the head and body with strikes.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Kvirkvelia connects with a nice short shot to Cannon's temple.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cannon gets full guard.
Cannon is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kvirkvelia controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Kvirkvelia pushes down on Cannon's leg and manages to get into half guard.

Cannon looking for submissions off his back.
Kvirkvelia controlling the action here.
Kvirkvelia trying to pass the guard but Cannon defending well.
Cannon tries to get to full guard but Kvirkvelia has control of the leg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Cannon is trying to maintain the position but Kvirkvelia is very close to passing his half guard.
Kvirkvelia controlling the action here.

Kvirkvelia is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Cannon defends it well.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Cannon wants to get back to full guard.

Cannon looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Levan Kvirkvelia showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Kvirkvelia swings for the body but Cannon moves out of range.
An attempted straight right counter from Cannon misses the target.
Cannon sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Kvirkvelia scores with a punch to the head.
Cannon takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Cannon takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Kvirkvelia thuds a left hand into Cannon's body.
Crunch! Kvirkvelia slams his shin into Cannon's torso.
Kvirkvelia scores with the left hand. Cannon knows he should have avoided that one.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kvirkvelia scores with a push kick.
Kvirkvelia dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Kvirkvelia scores with a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kvirkvelia explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Kvirkvelia misses with an uppercut
and Cannon cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Cannon on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Kvirkvelia. Kvirkvelia obviously looking to wear him down.

Kvirkvelia takes the fight into the clinch.
Kvirkvelia lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Kvirkvelia digs a right hand underneath Cannon's ribcage. Cannon let out a lung full of air as it connected.

Kvirkvelia manages to break the clinch.

Kvirkvelia closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Cannon quickly recovers to half guard.
Kvirkvelia controlling the pace.
Kvirkvelia prevents Cannon from improving his position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Kvirkvelia in particular looking to stall.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Kvirkvelia working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.
Cannon works his way to full guard. Good work.

Cannon has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Kvirkvelia can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Kvirkvelia sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Cannon had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Kvirkvelia defends it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kvirkvelia works a leg free and moves into half guard.

Kvirkvelia is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Cannon defends it well.
Kvirkvelia slows the pace down in half guard.
Cannon flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Kvirkvelia trying to pass the guard but Cannon defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Kvirkvelia winds up and cracks Cannon with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Levan Kvirkvelia has got the better of the ground game so far.
Kvirkvelia lands with a punch from half guard.
Kvirkvelia is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Cannon tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Cannon is working hard here to advance position.
Kvirkvelia controlling the pace for now.
Kvirkvelia's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

And that's the end of the fight!
Levan Kvirkvelia comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Kvirkvelia has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 26:30
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 25:30
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Levan Kvirkvelia!
Levan Kvirkvelia decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.