PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Alexander Volkov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and David McFadden (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Volkov might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Major Lazer & DJ Snake - Lean On (feat. MØ). The crowd seem to be enjoying McFadden's choice of entrance music: Sevendust - Enemy. Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Volkov
vs
McFadden

190 cm
25
192 lbs
7 - 12 - 0

187 cm
30
198 lbs
10 - 13 - 1

Powerful takedowns
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Voodoo Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 12 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alexander Volkov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 13 - 1, fighting out of New York, David McFadden!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Russell Pearce and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Volkov fakes high and swings low for a body shot but McFadden manages to avoid it.
McFadden misses with a head kick.

McFadden clinches with his opponent.
McFadden trying to land knees to the body.
McFadden landing some nice looking knees to the body.
McFadden working Volkov over with knees to the body.
McFadden tries to land knees in the clinch but Volkov avoids the damage to the body.
Volkov managing to block the knees to the body from McFadden.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. McFadden obliges.
Volkov is breathing heavily.
Knees in the clinch landing for McFadden.
McFadden tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Volkov avoids it.
McFadden crunches a lovely knee into Volkov's ribcage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by McFadden as Volkov tries to tie him up.
Volkov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
McFadden looking to throw knees to the head but Volkov is blocking nicely.
Volkov wants to break the clinch but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McFadden misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Volkov.
McFadden tries to land knees in the clinch but Volkov avoids the damage to the body.
Volkov wants to break free but McFadden has control.
Volkov managing to block the knees to the body from McFadden.
McFadden lands a right hand that snaps the head of Volkov backwards.
McFadden tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Volkov avoids it.
Volkov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
McFadden misses with a knee to the head.
McFadden has Volkov pressed against the cage, preventing Volkov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
McFadden throws a knee to the head but misses.
Stalling in the clinch from Volkov.
Volkov managing to block the knees to the body from McFadden.
McFadden is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Volkov is defending well for now.

McFadden pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
McFadden tries to clinch but Volkov moves out of range.
Volkov connects with the punch.

It looks like David McFadden has been cut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McFadden will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
McFadden throws a head kick but Volkov moves out of range.
McFadden pulls out of a head kick attempt.
McFadden tries to clinch there but Volkov circles away.
Volkov looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
McFadden throws a hook to the side of Volkov's head but Volkov sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Volkov works the jab nicely.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Volkov checks the leg kick.

McFadden scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Volkov is looking for a sweep.
Volkov manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Volkov is keen to just control but McFadden is a slippery customer.
Volkov is looking to stall here but McFadden recovers full guard.
McFadden utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McFadden is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

McFadden scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Volkov throws a big shot that misses.

McFadden clinches up with Volkov and pushes him back against the cage.
Volkov is trying to force a seperation but McFadden has the dominant position.
McFadden is working Volkov over against the cage.
McFadden misses with a knee strike.
McFadden misses with a knee to the head.
Volkov jumps guard but McFadden turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
McFadden tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

McFadden manages to break the clinch.
A right-left combo lands from McFadden.

It looks like Alexander Volkov has been cut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McFadden goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Volkov moves out of range as McFadden strikes.
McFadden tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Volkov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Volkov attempts a counter takedown but McFadden avoids it well and moves away.
McFadden tries to close the distance and clinch but Volkov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
McFadden wants to clinch.
McFadden is looking to clinch but Volkov is avoiding it.
McFadden misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Volkov tries to counter with a takedown but McFadden is quick to defend against it.
Volkov darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Volkov throws a jab when McFadden was well out of range.
McFadden moves in looking to clinch but Volkov pushes him off.

McFadden moves into range and clinches up with Volkov.

Volkov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
McFadden connects with a body shot.

McFadden gets a clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

David McFadden dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Volkov shoots in but McFadden avoids the takedown attempt easily.
McFadden tries to close the distance and clinch but Volkov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Volkov avoids the head kick by McFadden.
Volkov attempts a counter takedown but McFadden avoids it well and moves away.
McFadden tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Volkov paws at him with a jab and circles away.

McFadden rushes Volkov and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
McFadden missing with knees to the body.
McFadden connects with a knee to the head.
McFadden throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Volkov blocks it with crossed arms.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
McFadden tries to land knees in the clinch but Volkov avoids the damage to the body.
McFadden is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Volkov is defending well for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Volkov avoiding damage as McFadden throws knees to the body.
McFadden misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Volkov.
McFadden has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
McFadden misses with a knee strike.
Volkov wants to stall.
McFadden tries a knee to the head but Volkov blocks it.
David McFadden seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
McFadden landing knees to the head.
McFadden throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Volkov blocks it with crossed arms.
Volkov holding his opponent close, against the cage.
McFadden tries to land knees in the clinch but Volkov avoids the damage to the body.
McFadden lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
McFadden misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Volkov.
McFadden missing with knees to the body.
Volkov is trying to maintain a safe position but McFadden gets an underhook and turns Volkov into the cage.
McFadden trying to land knees to the body.
McFadden struggles to land a body shot inside as Volkov controls his hands.
McFadden trying to land knees to the body.

Volkov breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Volkov scores with a nice right hand.
McFadden misses with an uppercut.
David McFadden seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Volkov pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
The fighters circling - Volkov throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
McFadden throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
McFadden fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Volkov has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
McFadden tries to clinch but Volkov moves out of range.
McFadden throws a body shot but no joy.
Volkov feinted with a counter takedown.
David McFadden seems to be getting the better of the standup.
McFadden tries a head kick but it misses.
McFadden fails in his attempt to clinch.
Volkov throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck McFadden on the side of the head.
McFadden fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
McFadden is breathing heavily.
Volkov lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Volkov throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
McFadden fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McFadden is looking to clinch but Volkov is avoiding it.
Volkov scores with a hook.
Volkov throws an overhand right that lands on McFadden's shoulder, as McFadden tries to avoid the shot.
McFadden throws a nice looking combination but Volkov bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
McFadden tries to clinch but Volkov is having none of it.
McFadden changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Volkov tries to avoid it but McFadden manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Volkov to the ground. Volkov escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

McFadden drives through and clinches with Volkov against the cage.
McFadden tries to land knees in the clinch but Volkov avoids the damage to the body.
McFadden is trying to break the clinch but Volkov has him pressed against the cage.
Volkov is trying to work for a single leg takedown but McFadden pulls him back up using the underhooks.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Volkov takes a knee to the side of the body.
McFadden tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
McFadden landing knees to the body.
McFadden trying to land knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McFadden missing with knees to the body.
McFadden tries to land a knee to the head but Volkov blocks with his arms.
McFadden misses with a knee strike.
McFadden keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Volkov's efforts to push away.
Volkov looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
McFadden tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Volkov avoids it.
McFadden using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Volkov prevents a body shot from McFadden.
McFadden misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Volkov.
McFadden cracks Volkov with a nice body shot.
A frustrated look appears on Volkov's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Volkov's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

David McFadden showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

McFadden throws a head kick that misses.
Volkov is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by McFadden.
McFadden fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
McFadden closes the distance looking to clinch

and Volkov counters with a single leg into guard. McFadden didn't expect that.
Volkov wants to control from the top but McFadden keeps moving.
Volkov stops McFadden from standing up.
Volkov advances to half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Volkov is looking for a kimura here.
McFadden pushes Volkov off looking to stand but Volkov dives back in and keeps control.
McFadden takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Volkov tries to pass to full mount but McFadden defends it.

Volkov is trying to work for a kimura but McFadden is defending well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

McFadden is defending against the submission attempts here by Volkov.
McFadden wants to get back to his feet.
Volkov trying to control the action but McFadden is working from the bottom.

McFadden kicks off Volkov and gets to his feet.
David McFadden is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

McFadden fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Volkov, pushing him back against the cage.
McFadden tries to land knees in the clinch but Volkov avoids the damage to the body.
McFadden tries to land knees in the clinch but Volkov avoids the damage to the body.
Volkov on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
McFadden tries to land a knee to the head but Volkov blocks with his arms.

Volkov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Volkov misses with a double jab.
David McFadden is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
McFadden tries a head kick but it misses.
McFadden moves in looking to clinch but Volkov pushes him off.
McFadden throws a nice looking combination but Volkov bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Volkov swings widly with a right hand
and McFadden counters with a lovely shot to the body.
A slow jab from Volkov misses its intended target.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
McFadden tries to clinch up

and Volkov counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Volkov trying to advance position but McFadden counters by regaining guard.
Volkov trying to control the position from guard on top but McFadden is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
David McFadden has got the better of the ground game so far.
Volkov postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Volkov postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Volkov lands a couple of elbows.
Volkov's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Volkov trying to control but McFadden is working from the bottom.
McFadden wants to stand up but Volkov is controlling him.

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.
Volkov trying to control the position from guard on top but McFadden is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
McFadden wants to stand up but Volkov is controlling him.
Volkov trying to control but McFadden is working from the bottom.
McFadden is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Alexander Volkov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Volkov is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
McFadden closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

McFadden closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
McFadden misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Volkov.
McFadden crunches a lovely knee into Volkov's ribcage.

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 Alexander Volkov.
I think McFadden 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 Jonathan Paton scores the fight 28:29
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 27:30
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... David McFadden!
A relieved looking David McFadden thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.