PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Sergey Chernishev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Negan Finnigan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Chernishev might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to MC Hovanskiy - Father in the building. Sergey Chernishev is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Chernishev
vs
Finnigan

173 cm
20
165 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

178 cm
26
165 lbs
6 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sergey Chernishev!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Negan Finnigan!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, Daniel Bishop and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Chernishev throws a shot to the body.
We've been hearing reports that Chernishev has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Chernishev scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Chernishev is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Finnigan.
Finnigan doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Chernishev stuns Finnigan with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Nice straight punches there by Finnigan. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Finnigan.
Chernishev avoids a punch combination nicely.
Chernishev throws a shot from downtown. Finnigan moves away and avoids it.
Chernishev throws a hook but Finnigan blocks it.
Sergey Chernishev seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Chernishev shoots in and bounces Finnigan off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Chernishev scoring with some ground and pound.
Chernishev with a flurry of punches that miss.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Chernishev is in close to Finnigan's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Chernishev with a flurry of punches that miss.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Chernishev accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chernishev pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Finnigan is keeping the position for now.
Chernishev loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Finnigan avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Chernishev throws a big right hand that misses.
Finnigan looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Finnigan avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Chernishev with a flurry of punches that miss.
Finnigan keeping moving, preventing Chernishev from controlling successfully.
Chernishev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Finnigan wants to sweep here but Chernishev controlling him for the moment.
Chernishev scoring with some ground and pound.
Chernishev working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chernishev distracts Finnigan with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Finnigan working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Chernishev.
Chernishev trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Chernishev works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Chernishev thows a huge punch but Finnigan dodges it nicely.
Finnigan keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Chernishev is keen to just control but Finnigan is a slippery customer.
Finnigan blocking the ground and pound attempt from Chernishev.
Finnigan keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Finnigan really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Chernishev. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Chernishev thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Chernishev throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Chernishev seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Finnigan trying to hold on to Chernishev's head to control him but Chernishev postures up.
Chernishev passes to side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chernishev in side control, throwing shots but Finnigan defends.
Chernishev scores with punches from side control.
Chernishev misses with the ground and pound.
Finnigan takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Finnigan tries to buck Chernishev off but Chernishev is having none of it.
Chernishev grinds an elbow into Finnigan's temple.
Chernishev in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Chernishev landing strikes.
Chernishev lands some shots froms side control.
Chernishev working the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Chernishev lands some shots froms side control.
Finnigan is not content to let Chernishev control the position.
Finnigan defending against the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chernishev scoring with punches and elbows.
Chernishev connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Finnigan some visible discomfort.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Chernishev scores with punches from side control.
Finnigan takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Chernishev lands a few punches from side control.
Chernishev cracks Finnigan with a big right hand but Finnigan just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Finnigan dodges the ground and pound from Chernishev.
Finnigan managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Chernishev.
Chernishev working the ground and pound.
Chernishev connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Finnigan some visible discomfort.
Chernishev looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Finnigan is avoiding damage well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sergey Chernishev dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Chernishev shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Chernishev showed some decent athleticism there.
Chernishev 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.
Chernishev sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Finnigan defending well though.
Chernishev working the head and body with strikes.
Finnigan tries to kick Chernishev off but Chernishev keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Chernishev drops an elbow to the side of Finnigan's head.
Chernishev is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Finnigan can do to turn this around?
Finnigan has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Chernishev is working away from the top position though.
Chernishev working over Finnigan with some ground and pound. Finnigan looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Chernishev lands with a punch from half guard.
Chernishev missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Finnigan has hold of Chernishev's hands but Chernishev slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Chernishev scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Nice strikes from Chernishev there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chernishev throwing shots but Finnigan is blocking nicely.
Chernishev seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Finnigan does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Chernishev is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Finnigan still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Finnigan has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
Finnigan trying to control the position but Chernishev is working away.
Sergey Chernishev overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Finnigan tries to stand but Chernishev is controlling his head.
Finnigan trying to control the position but Chernishev is working away.
Chernishev gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Chernishev manages to get to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chernishev looking for a sweep. Not yet Chernishev, not yet.
Chernishev looking to control.
Finnigan throws a big right hand that misses.
Chernishev lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Chernishev postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Chernishev with a flurry of punches that miss.
Chernishev scoring with some ground and pound.
Chernishev is looking to work some ground and pound but Finnigan has wrist control.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Finnigan can do anything to dispel that myth.
Chernishev with a flurry of punches that miss.
Chernishev working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Finnigan keeping moving, preventing Chernishev from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chernishev throwing strikes but missing.
Chernishev scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Chernishev lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Chernishev working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Chernishev loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Chernishev postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

Chernishev thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Chernishev lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Finnigan keeping moving, preventing Chernishev from controlling successfully.
Chernishev postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Finnigan looking for a sweep. Not yet Finnigan, not yet.
Finnigan keeping moving, preventing Chernishev from controlling successfully.
Chernishev throws a big elbow that misses.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Chernishev's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Chernishev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Chernishev throwing strikes from guard but Finnigan blocks nicely.
Chernishev slips nicely into half guard.
Chernishev looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Chernishev thows a huge punch but Finnigan dodges it nicely.
Chernishev is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sergey Chernishev dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Chernishev lands a right hook to the body.
Chernishev fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Finnigan manages to avoid it.
Finnigan lands a nice shot to the body.
Chernishev misses the shot to the body.
It seemed like Finnigan was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Chernishev shoots in looking for a takedown but Finnigan manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Chernishev's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Finnigan slaps away a takedown attempt from Chernishev, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Despite the aggression on Finnigan's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Chernishev misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Finnigan.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Chernishev swings for the body but Finnigan moves out of range.
It seemed like Finnigan was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Chernishev fails with a takedown attempt.
Finnigan lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sergey Chernishev. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Finnigan throws a hook but Chernishev blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Finnigan scores with a jab to the jaw.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Finnigan enables Chernishev to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Finnigan manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Chernishev trying to control the position from guard on top but Finnigan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Chernishev throws a big elbow that misses.
Chernishev scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Chernishev accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Finnigan managing to control the position.
Chernishev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Chernishev connects with a couple of short punches.
Chernishev postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chernishev cracks Finnigan with a solid left hand.
Chernishev lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Chernishev with a flurry of punches that miss.
Finnigan is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Finnigan avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Chernishev keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Finnigan's head.
Chernishev scoring with some ground and pound.
Chernishev keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Finnigan's head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Chernishev missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Chernishev trying to control the position from guard on top but Finnigan is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Chernishev content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Chernishev with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Chernishev connects with a couple of short punches.
Finnigan keeping moving, preventing Chernishev from controlling successfully.
Chernishev working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Chernishev throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Finnigan works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Chernishev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Chernishev scoring with punches to the head and body.
Chernishev scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Chernishev engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Chernishev stands up over Finnigan, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Chernishev postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Chernishev scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Chernishev content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Chernishev is pushing down on Finnigan's leg trying to pass to half guard. Finnigan is fighting to maintain full guard but Chernishev has managed to sneak the leg through.
Chernishev landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Chernishev winds up and cracks Finnigan with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Chernishev throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Chernishev lands a nice short elbow.
Sergey Chernishev is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Chernishev thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Chernishev working Finnigan over with strikes.
Negan Finnigan has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Finnigan takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Chernishev looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Chernishev tries to pass the half guard into mount. Finnigan knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Chernishev trying to control the action but Finnigan is working from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sergey Chernishev showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Chernishev, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sergey Chernishev!
A pretty intense looking Sergey Chernishev took the opportunity post-fight to ask for a shot at the title.