PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Artem Irhin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Darren Lockyer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Irhin
vs
Lockyer

180 cm
28
200 lbs
11 - 9 - 0

189 cm
41
198 lbs
37 - 18 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Artem Irhin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 37 - 18 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Darren Lockyer!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Aleksandr Martynov and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lockyer throws the left hand but Irhin avoids the punch easily.
Lockyer getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

Irhin moves into the clinch.
Lockyer blocking some punches.
Lockyer blocks an elbow strike from Irhin.
Lockyer is trying to break the clinch but Irhin has him pressed against the cage.
Lockyer misses with a knee strike.
Irhin is looking for a takedown.
Irhin working Lockyer over with knees to the body.
Irhin is trying to drag Lockyer to the mat but Lockyer just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Irhin tries to land a knee to the head but Lockyer blocks with his arms.
Irhin has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Lockyer after a bit of a struggle.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Artem Irhin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Lockyer is trying to push Irhin away but Irhin has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Irhin misses with a knee to the head.
Irhin slows down the pace here.
We've been informed that Lockyer has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.

Lockyer breaks from the clinch.
Lockyer misses with a wild body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Irhin takes the fight into the clinch.
Irhin landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Irhin misses with a knee strike.
Irhin tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Lockyer avoids it.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Lockyer has had enough of the clinch but Irhin keeps him there for the moment.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Lockyer creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Lockyer wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Irhin has him pressed against the cage.
Irhin connects with a nasty looking knee right to Lockyer's face.
Irhin misses with a knee to the head.
Knees to the body from Irhin.
Irhin lands a knee to the head.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Lockyer trying to control the position but instead, Irhin has worked for underhooks and has pushed Lockyer into the cage.
Irhin is trying to drag Lockyer to the mat but Lockyer just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Irhin lands a knee to the body.

Lockyer breaks from the clinch.
Irhin seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Lockyer misses with a body shot.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Irhin changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Lockyer tries to avoid it but Irhin manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Lockyer to the ground. Lockyer escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Lockyer loads up on a big right hand but Irhin slips the punch.
Lockyer lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Lockyer swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Lockyer tries a head kick but it misses.
A chopping leg kick lands by Lockyer.
Lockyer feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Irhins jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Artem Irhin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lockyer throws a looping overhand right but Irhin ducks down to avoid it.

Irhin moves into range and clinches up with Lockyer.
Lockyer is looking to break free of the clinch but Irhin has double underhooks.
Irhin looking to throw knees to the head but Lockyer is blocking nicely.
Irhin misses with a hook to the ribs.
Irhin throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Lockyer blocks it with crossed arms.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Irhin looking to throw knees to the head but Lockyer is blocking nicely.
Lockyer is stalling here.
Irhin throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Lockyer scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Irhin tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Irhin tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Lockyer tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Irhin's elbow.
Irhin taking a breather.
Lockyer working hard to break the clinch.

Lockyer manages to break the clinch.
Irhin dips to his left and cracks Lockyer with an uppercut!
Lockyer cracks Irhin with a good jab.
Lockyer connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Lockyer throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Lockyer lands with an uppercut that bounces Irhin off the cage and back into range.
Lockyer throws a series of punches but Irhin avoids them all with ease.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Lockyer swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Irhin ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Lockyer moves away.
A jab from Lockyer does it's job there.
Irhin scores with a jab to the head.
A jab from Lockyer does it's job there.
Lockyer lands a nice shot to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Irhin. Lockyer does a little dance to reset his feet.
Lockyer swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Nice straight punches there by Lockyer. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Lockyer.
Irhin tries to clinch but Lockyer moves out of range.
Lockyer throws a jab but it's blocked by Irhin.
The fight stays on the outside here - Irhin looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Irhin connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Lockyer momentarily.
Irhin uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lockyer.

Irhin looking to score a takedown here. Lockyer is defending well but Irhin drives through and ends up in Lockyer's guard.

Lockyer wriggles free and stands up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Darren Lockyer will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Lockyer connects with a right hand. Irhin shakes it off.
Irhin cracks Lockyer with a good jab.
Lockyer throws a body punch but Irhin moves out of range.
Irhin throws a series of punches but Lockyer moves out of range.
Irhin backing away here, and Lockyer unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Lockyer misses with a two punch combination.

Irhin closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Lockyer did well to prevent Irhin getting side control.
Irhin controlling the action here.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Irhin seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Lockyer for as long as he can get away with.
Irhin is looking to stall here but Lockyer recovers full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lockyer is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Irhin stops Lockyer from standing up.
Lockyer keeping moving, preventing Irhin from controlling successfully.
Lockyer is trying to keep Irhin in close.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Lockyer looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Irhin checks a low kick from Lockyer.
A telegraphed right hand from Lockyer misses the target.

That's two 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.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Irhin is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Lockyer pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Lockyer lands a nice uppercut.
Lockyer throws a knee to the head but misses.
Irhin lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Lockyer gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Irhin.

Lockyer breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Irhin shoots in and drives through. Lockyer sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Artem Irhin. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lockyer throws a lazy right hand but Irhin sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Irhin throws a push kick but Lockyer slaps the foot to one side.
Irhin uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lockyer.
The fight stays on the outside here - Irhin looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Lockyer misses the jab.
Irhin uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lockyer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Irhin wants to clinch up but Lockyer keeps it at a distance.
Lockyer throws a nice looking combination but Irhin bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Lockyer on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Irhin wants to clinch but Lockyer slips to the side
and Lockyer makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
A head kick misses from Irhin.
Lockyer displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Irhin throws out the jab.
Lockyer avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A jab from Irhin misses.
Irhin tries to clinch up but Lockyer circles away and keeps his distance.
Lockyer staying out of range there.
Jab from Irhin.
Lockyer looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Lockyer avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Lockyer walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Irhin tries to clinch there but Lockyer circles away.
A bone on bone clash there as Irhin blocks the leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lockyer scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lockyer checks a leg kick nicely.
Lockyer is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Irhin.
Irhin feinted there with a counter leg kick.
Irhin moves out of range as Lockyer strikes.
Lockyer misses with a right hand
and Irhin counters with a straight right hand.
Irhin fails in his attempt to clinch.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Irhin.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Irhin checks a leg kick.
Lockyer tries to move into range but Irhin moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Irhin missing with a left hand there. Lockyer was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Irhin throws a jab when Lockyer was well out of range.
Lockyer circles away from the clinch attempt
and Lockyer counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Irhin takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Darren Lockyer will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Irhin motions for Lockyer to come forward. Irhin throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Lockyer loads up on a big right hand but Irhin slips the punch.
Irhin keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Irhin misses with an uppercut
and Irhin takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Lockyer gets cracked there but stands up to it.
A jab from Lockyer misses.
Lockyer misses the shot to the body.
Irhin ducks under a wild hook from Lockyer.
Darren Lockyer seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A swing and a miss from Irhin.
Lockyer lands a head shot.
Irhin cracks Lockyer with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Irhin tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Lockyer counters with a right hand to the body.
Nice defenses there by Irhin.
Irhin swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.

Irhin clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Irhin has Lockyer pressed against the cage, preventing Lockyer from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Irhin keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Lockyer's efforts to push away.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Lockyer.
Come on Irhin - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Irhin looking to slow down the pace here.
Irhin tries a knee to the head but Lockyer blocks it.
Lockyer takes an elbow to the temple.
A knee to the head by Irhin.
Lockyer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.

Lockyer pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Lockyer throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Lockyer shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Irhin eats them both and turns towards Lockyer to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.

Irhin darts in and clinches Lockyer up against the cage.
Irhin scores with a knee to the head.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
A frustrated look appears on Lockyer's face as he tries to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Lockyer's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Irhin misses with an uppercut.
A swing and a miss from Lockyer.
Irhin is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Lockyer takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Lockyer keeps the fight on the outside.
Lockyer connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Irhin momentarily.
Lockyer jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Lockyer tries a head kick but it misses.

Irhin closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Irhin with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Irhin is trying to stall.

Lockyer's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Irhin checks a leg kick.
Lockyer rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Irhin counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Irhin moves out of range of the strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Irhin tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Lockyer paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Irhin works the jab nicely.
Lockyer walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Irhin throws a leg kick but Lockyer checks it.

Irhin moves into the clinch.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Irhin throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Lockyer blocks it with crossed arms.

Irhin escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Lockyer connects with a solid leg kick.
Irhin keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Irhin scores with a push kick.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Irhin, as that shot connected.
Irhin tries to clinch up but Lockyer circles away and keeps his distance.
Irhin tries to clinch but Lockyer moves out of range.
Lockyer throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Irhin slips a jab and a cross from Lockyer.
Irhin tries to clinch there but Lockyer circles away.
Lockyer is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Artem Irhin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Irhin darts in and clinches Lockyer up against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Irhin looking to throw knees to the head but Lockyer is blocking nicely.
Irhin holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Darren Lockyer is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Lockyer escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Lockyer throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Irhin sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Irhin dips to his left and cracks Lockyer with an uppercut!
Lockyer lands a lovely overhand right.
Lockyer steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Irhin.
Lockyer displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Irhin throws out the jab.
Lockyer lands a glancing blow to the side of Irhin's head.
Irhin is looking to clinch but Lockyer is avoiding it.
Lockyer scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Irhin throws a jab when Lockyer was well out of range.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Artem Irhin.
I think Lockyer has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Darren Lockyer!
A victorious Darren Lockyer thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.