PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rico Buck (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Evgeniy Cirfych (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Buck
vs
Cirfych

208 cm
18
278 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
19
220 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Can Moonwalk

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Rico Buck!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Evgeniy Cirfych!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Tarja Halkonen and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Buck throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Buck on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Evgeniy Cirfych seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Buck goes for a double leg but Cirfych avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Cirfych continues to drive forward.
Buck swings for the body but Cirfych moves out of range.

Cirfych scores with a takedown into Buck's guard.
Buck is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Cirfych is controlling him.
Cirfych must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Buck holds on and takes a little breather.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Buck is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Buck thows a huge punch but Cirfych dodges it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Buck keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Buck sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Cirfych defending well though.
Cirfych wants to get back to full guard.

Buck is looking for a kimura here.
Buck will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Cirfych on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

Buck seems to be looking for submissions.

Buck is looking for a kimura but Cirfych is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Buck to get the leverage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cirfych taking some punishment here, with Buck in his half guard.
Buck not doing much here.
Buck throws a strike but Cirfych avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cirfych working a defensive guard here.

Cirfych looking for a guillotine here but Buck defends easily.

Buck got a little sloppy there for a moment and Cirfych has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Buck has managed to get both his arms back between Cirfych's legs - danger averted.
Cirfych looks winded!
Cirfych is pulling down on Buck's head to control his posture.
Buck throwing strikes from guard but Cirfych blocks nicely.
Buck throwing strikes from guard but Cirfych blocks nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Buck scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Buck with a nice head shot there.

Buck is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Buck throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

Buck stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Cirfych looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Buck!

Buck throws his opponent off and manages to get back to his feet! Nicely done!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Buck fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Cirfych counters with a body kick.
Buck lands a head shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Buck is defended easily by Cirfych.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rico Buck. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Buck pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Cirfych keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Cirfych closes the distance and pushes Buck back into the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rico Buck 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.

Buck dives in and grabs Cirfych's left leg, looking for a takedown. Cirfych pushes down on Buck's head and hops out.
Buck shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Cirfych sprawls well. Cirfych wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Buck gets slowly back to his feet.

Cirfych shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Buck's guard.

Buck pushes Cirfych off and scrambles back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Buck gets caught flat footed, as Cirfych shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Cirfych is fighting to break Buck's control of his arms but Buck is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cirfych pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Buck is keeping the position for now.
Cirfych is breathing heavily.
Buck looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Cirfych trying to control the position from guard on top but Buck is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Buck wants to sweep but no luck.
Cirfych trying to control the position from guard on top but Buck is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Buck looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Buck wants to stand but Cirfych is controlling the position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Buck tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Buck tries to land a front kick but Cirfych steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Cirfych with the counter takedown but Buck avoids it easily.
Buck fakes the leg kick and cracks Cirfych in the body.
Buck throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Buck is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Cirfych can do to turn this around?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Buck fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rico Buck. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Cirfych fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Buck to the ground. Cirfych is now in Buck's guard.
Buck keeping moving, preventing Cirfych from controlling successfully.
Cirfych engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Buck wants to control but Cirfych passes easily into half guard.
Buck wants to control but Cirfych is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Cirfych is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Buck is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Buck wants to control but Cirfych is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Evgeniy Cirfych will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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!

Cirfych gets a takedown into half guard.

Buck manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Buck has a takedown stuffed.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Cirfych scores with a takedown into Buck's guard.
Cirfych trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Buck is trying to keep Cirfych in close.
Buck wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Cirfych is now in half guard.
Buck throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Buck is trying to control but can't.
Buck keeping control of the position.
Buck missing with punches from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Cirfych closes the distance and clinches.

Buck breaks the clinch.

Cirfych throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Buck tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Cirfych is in Buck's guard.
Cirfych is standing up over Buck. Buck looks to escape but Cirfych dives into side control.

Cirfych decides to take the fight back to the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice sprawl there from Cirfych as Buck shoots in.
Buck throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Cirfych counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Buck trying to hold on to Cirfych's head to control him but Cirfych postures up.
Rico Buck overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Cirfych seems to be working for a kimura but Buck defends the submission attempt.

Cirfych wants to work for an arm triangle but Buck is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Buck missing with punches from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Buck is looking to escape.
Buck flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.
Buck has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

Buck manages to create a bit of space in order to work his way back to his feet. Cirfych keeps hold of his opponent and drives him back against the cage.

Buck escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Buck throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Cirfych scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Buck gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Cirfych to score an easy takedown into full guard.

Buck has his feet on Cirfych's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rico Buck showed his dominance in that final round.
I have no idea who won that fight. Let's wait and see whether the judges are as confused as me! Time for a split decision perhaps?!. 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rico Buck!