PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ivaylo Stoimenov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and aTtaaas Lao Liikta (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stoimenov comes into the arena with The Game - 100 ft. Drake blaring out of the sound system. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Stoimenov
vs
Lao Liikta

190 cm
26
215 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

178 cm
26
218 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Powerful

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 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Ivaylo Stoimenov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, aTtaaas Lao Liikta!
The judges for this bout are Sandra Marshall, Dirk Anderson and Winston Alpacca.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stoimenov throws a right hand that misses

and Lao Liikta counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Stoimenov!
Stoimenov has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Stoimenov avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Lao Liikta.
Stoimenov on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Stoimenov tries to get out of the position.
Lao Liikta grinds an elbow into Stoimenov's temple.
An elbow from Lao Liikta crashes against the mat.
Stoimenov dodges the ground and pound from Lao Liikta.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Stoimenov is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Lao Liikta throws an elbow but Stoimenov slips to the side and avoids it well.
Stoimenov defending against the ground and pound.
Stoimenov defending against the ground and pound.
Lao Liikta wants to control but Stoimenov is keeping him busy.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lao Liikta is chipping away with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lao Liikta lands a nice forearm strike.
Lao Liikta throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Stoimenov takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Stoimenov knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Lao Liikta on the ground.
Lao Liikta sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Stoimenov is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Stoimenov tries to improve position but can't.
Lao Liikta working the body and head with strikes.
Lao Liikta tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Lao Liikta wants to control but Stoimenov is keeping him busy.
Lao Liikta tries to move to mount but Stoimenov blocks the move with his legs.
Lao Liikta creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Stoimenov sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lao Liikta scoring with punches and elbows.
Stoimenov is trying to get back to half guard.
Lao Liikta looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Stoimenov is avoiding damage well.
Stoimenov is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Lao Liikta lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Lao Liikta landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Lao Liikta in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Lao Liikta throws an elbow but Stoimenov slips to the side and avoids it well.
Lao Liikta has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
An elbow from Lao Liikta crashes against the mat.
Lao Liikta landing strikes.
Lao Liikta trying to control the position but Stoimenov is working away.
Lao Liikta cracks Stoimenov with a big right hand but Stoimenov just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Lao Liikta throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Stoimenov trying to control but Lao Liikta flips him over like a cheap hooker and has his back!
Lao Liikta misses with an elbow to the head.
Lao Liikta is punishing Stoimenov with strikes - can he finish him?!
Lao Liikta lands punches and elbows.
Lao Liikta connects with a series of strikes and the referee is calling for Stoimenov to escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lao Liikta punches the canvas rather than the man.
Lao Liikta lands shots from the back.
Stoimenov takes a big shot to the side of 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!
Lao Liikta missing with strikes from the back.
Good control from Lao Liikta.
Even with his hooks in, Lao Liikta manages to miss with strikes from the back.
Stoimenov is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

aTtaaas Lao Liikta dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Nice sprawl there from Stoimenov as Lao Liikta shoots in.
A swing and a miss from Stoimenov.
Stoimenov moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
aTtaaas Lao Liikta seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lao Liikta doesn't manage to clinch there - Stoimenov circles away.
Lao Liikta has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Lao Liikta fails with an attempt to clinch.

Lao Liikta looking to score a takedown here. Stoimenov is defending well but Lao Liikta drives through and ends up in Stoimenov's guard.
Lao Liikta throwing strikes from guard but Stoimenov blocks nicely.
Stoimenov controls Lao Liikta momentarily but Lao Liikta frees himself.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Lao Liikta accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Lao Liikta working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Lao Liikta trying to control but Stoimenov is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Lao Liikta accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Lao Liikta is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Lao Liikta trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Lao Liikta scoring with some ground and pound.
Lao Liikta in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Stoimenov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Lao Liikta.
Lao Liikta sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Lao Liikta working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Lao Liikta pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Stoimenov is keeping the position for now.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Stoimenov takes a swing at Lao Liikta's ribcage but misses.
Lao Liikta tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Stoimenov paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Lao Liikta will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
A little feinted left hand from Stoimenov on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Lao Liikta takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Stoimenov throws the left hand but Lao Liikta avoids the punch easily.

Lao Liikta shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Lao Liikta working the head and body with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lao Liikta slips a nice elbow through Stoimenov's hands, connecting with Stoimenov's forehead.
Lao Liikta looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Stoimenov with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Lao Liikta thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
aTtaaas Lao Liikta has got the better of the ground game so far.
Lao Liikta throwing shots but Stoimenov is blocking nicely.
Stoimenov wants to control but Lao Liikta is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Lao Liikta is stalling here. Stoimenov is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Lao Liikta seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Stoimenov has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Lao Liikta manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Stoimenov is looking to control Lao Liikta's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Stoimenov avoid being mounted?
Lao Liikta missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lao Liikta takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Lao Liikta thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Lao Liikta is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Lao Liikta trying to control the pace.
Lao Liikta winds up and cracks Stoimenov with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Lao Liikta perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Lao Liikta looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

aTtaaas Lao Liikta showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Lao Liikta tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stoimenov swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Lao Liikta has a takedown stuffed.
Stoimenov lunges at Lao Liikta with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Lao Liikta's hand.
Stoimenov leaves Lao Liikta with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Lao Liikta takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stoimenov keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Lao Liikta tries to clinch up.
Lao Liikta tries for a takedown but Stoimenov circles away easily
enabling Stoimenov to counter with a crisp jab.
Ivaylo Stoimenov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of aTtaaas Lao Liikta.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Decent striking displayed by Stoimenov there.
Jab from Stoimenov.
Stoimenov changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Stoimenov scores with the left hand. Lao Liikta knows he should have avoided that one.
Lao Liikta ducks right into an uppercut from Stoimenov.
Lao Liikta shoots in but no luck this time.
Stoimenov lunges at Lao Liikta with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Lao Liikta's hand.
Lao Liikta has his takedown stuffed
and Stoimenov connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Ivaylo Stoimenov is winning the standup battle so far.
Stoimenov fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Stoimenov is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Lao Liikta on the wrong end of a nice jab.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Lao Liikta drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Lao Liikta looking to pass the guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stoimenov has his hands on Lao Liikta's head, controlling the position.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Lao Liikta accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Lao Liikta trying to control the position from guard on top but Stoimenov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Lao Liikta might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Stoimenov haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Lao Liikta sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Ivaylo Stoimenov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lao Liikta scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Lao Liikta content to stall in guard here.
Lao Liikta working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

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.

Lao Liikta closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Lao Liikta misses with the ground and pound.
Lao Liikta throws a strike aimed at the side of Stoimenov's head but Stoimenov avoids it well.
Lao Liikta cracks Stoimenov with a big right hand but Stoimenov just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Lao Liikta lands an elbow.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Lao Liikta working the ground and pound.
Lao Liikta working the body and head with strikes.

Stoimenov is rocked!
Lao Liikta cracks Stoimenov with a big elbow.
Oh Stoimenov is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Lao Liikta lands some shots froms side control.
Lao Liikta cracks Stoimenov with a big elbow. Oh, he's hurt! Lao Liikta immediately mounts and start dropping bombs! Stoimenov is done! The referee jumps in and saves him from any more punishment - a quick and decisive finish by Lao Liikta!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). aTtaaas Lao Liikta!