PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Dongstae Friend (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Will Ferrell (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.

Friend
vs
Ferrell

190 cm
24
265 lbs
3 - 1 - 1

195 cm
25
265 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Self confident

Good takedowns
Brawler
Intelligent

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 3 - 1 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Dongstae Friend!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Will Ferrell!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Ivan Kurochkin and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ferrell tries to keep at a distance but Friend has taken the fight into the clinch.

Friend pulls guard effortlessly.
Friend keeping moving, preventing Ferrell from controlling successfully.

Ferrell stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Ferrell shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Friend pinned against the cage. Friend gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Ferrell has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Friend is landing a low percentage of strikes.

Friend looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Ferrell looking for submissions off his back.

Friend looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ferrell is looking for a sweep. Friend is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Friend passes the guard and advances to mount!
Friend tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

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.
Ferrell is looking to get to half guard.
Ferrell keeps trying to improve his position.
Friend trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Friend unloads with some shots from mount but Ferrell bucks and avoids them well.
Friend looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ferrell is trying to stand up.
Ferrell is trying to escape the mount.
Friend wants to take Ferrell's back here but Ferrell is holding on to an arm, himself looking to escape.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Friend sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Ferrell tries to hold on but Friend pushes him away.
Ferrell is controlling an arm, preventing Friend from taking his back. Although keeping him in mount is no better to be honest.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Friend takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Ferrell wants to control but Friend is having none of it.
Friend controlling from the full mount.
Ferrell wants to control but Friend is having none of it.
Ferrell is looking to improve his position but Friend isn't that keen on the idea.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ferrell wants to hold on but Friend pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dongstae Friend dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Excellent takedown into side control there by Ferrell.
Friend is not content to let Ferrell control the position.
Friend is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Ferrell is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Friend is trying to escape the mount.
Ferrell controlling the pace for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Friend regains half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ferrell lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Ferrell wants to control but Friend is keeping him busy.
Friend tries to roll over but Ferrell keeps him under control.
Friend is trying to maintain the position but Ferrell is very close to passing his half guard.
Friend is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ferrell can do to turn this around?
Ferrell is taking a breather. Friend says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Friend is trying to maintain the position but Ferrell is very close to passing his half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Ferrell lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Ferrell not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ferrell works his way into side control.
Friend can't do much from the bottom here.
Ferrell creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ferrell working away.
Ferrell wants to lay and pray for a moment but Friend keeps working.
Friend is looking to regain half guard here but Ferrell keeps moving and retains side control.
Friend manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Ferrell passes to full mount!
Friend tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ferrell postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Friend looks a forlorn figure.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Friend is in a horrible position here. Ferrell smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Friend is trying desperately to improve position.
Ferrell lands a couple of good shots and Friend has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Will Ferrell has got the better of the ground game so far.

Friend defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Ferrell's arms.
Ferrell is punishing Friend with strikes - can he finish him?!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Will Ferrell showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Ferrell misses with a takedown attempt

and Friend moves into the clinch.

Friend gets control of Ferrell's arms and successfully pulls guard. Friend will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Friend holds on and takes a little breather.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Ferrell stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Friend gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Ferrell throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Ferrell tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Friend smiles and moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ferrell tries to close the distance and clinch but Friend swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ferrell closes the distance and clinches up with Friend, looking for a takedown. Ferrell pushes Friend against the cage but Friend circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Friend attempts a counter takedown but Ferrell avoids it well and moves away.
Dongstae Friend has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Will Ferrell.

Friend gets a clinch.
Ferrell misses with an elbow over the top.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Friend jumps guard and drags Ferrell to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Friend wants to sweep here but Ferrell controlling him for the moment.
Ferrell wants to stand but Friend is controlling his posture from full guard.
Ferrell missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Ferrell trying to control the position from guard on top but Friend is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Friend is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Friend controlling the action here.
Friend is thwarting Ferrell's attempts to control the position.
Well, if Friend 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.
Friend seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Ferrell wants to control but Friend is keeping busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Friend wants to control but Ferrell is keeping him busy.
Ferrell tries to get to full guard but Friend has control of the leg.
Friend looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Friend seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Ferrell for as long as he can get away with.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Friend fails with the takedown.
Ferrell is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Friend throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Ferrell's waist but Ferrell gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Friend off to one side.
Friend shoots in but Ferrell avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

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.
Ferrell tries to clinch up.

Ferrell shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Ferrell trying to control the position from guard on top but Friend is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Friend could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Friend looking for a sweep. Not yet Friend, not yet.
Ferrell trying to control the position from guard on top but Friend is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Friend pulls Ferrell in close to his closed guard and prevents Ferrell from doing any damage or advancing position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Friend has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dongstae Friend showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Friend has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dongstae Friend!