PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Francisco Holder (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aleksey Rykov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rykov has chosen Насик as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Holder
vs
Rykov

197 cm
18
151 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

176 cm
20
150 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Francisco Holder!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Aleksey Rykov!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Fedor Mirinova and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rykov scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

Rykov swings around for an armbar but Holder sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Rykov's guard.
Rykov trying to control the position.
Holder is stalling in the full guard.
Rykov working a defensive guard here.
Holder is working Rykov over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Holder sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Holder lands a couple of elbows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holder controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Holder's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holder preventing the sweep.
Holder scoring with some ground and pound.
Holder lands a couple of elbows.
Holder postures up.

Rykov looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Holder stands up over Rykov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Holder engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Holder seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Rykov for as long as he can get away with.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

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.
Holder continues to stall.
Rykov will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Holder engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
More hug and hope from Holder.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rykov tries to close the distance and clinch up but Holder swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Holder avoids a punch combination nicely.
Rykov looks winded!
A head kick misses from Rykov.
Holder attempts a counter takedown but Rykov avoids it well and moves away.

Holder drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holder takes a little break here. Rykov wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Holder landing a few strikes.
Holder really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Rykov taking punishment in the form of punches.
Holder is working Rykov over with some ground and pound from side control.
Holder working the ground and pound.
Holder cracks Rykov with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Rykov tries to bench press Holder off him but Holder keeps the position.
Rykov takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Holder controlling the position from side mount.
Holder working the head with strikes.
Rykov is trying to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holder controls the position from side control.
Rykov tries to bench press Holder off him but Holder keeps the position.
Holder scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Rykov to see if he's OK.
Holder working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Rykov is letting Holder control him for a moment.
Holder wants to control but Rykov is keeping him busy.
Holder landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Holder cracks Rykov with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Holder is putting a hurting on Rykov here, landing some big shots from side control.
Holder lands a nice forearm strike.
Holder scoring with punches from side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Rykov swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Holder counters with a lovely straight right hand!
A looping hook to the body misses from Holder. Rykov does a little dance to reset his feet.
Holder cracks a nice hook into Rykov's ribs.
Holder shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Rykov sprawls well. Rykov wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Holder gets slowly back to his feet.

Rykov feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Holder manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
Rykov is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Rykov lands a takedown into guard.

Holder has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Rykov is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.

Holder decides to pull guard.
Holder 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.
Holder pulls Rykov in close to prevent any damage.
Holder keeping moving, preventing Rykov from controlling successfully.
Francisco Holder overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Holder keeping full guard, as Rykov tries to pass.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rykov is fighting to break Holder's control of his arms but Holder is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Holder is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Rykov is controlling him.
Rykov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Rykov trying to control the position from guard on top but Holder is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Holder wants to sweep but no luck.

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

Holder gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.

Holder is scooting his butt against the cage and has managed to get back to his feet. Rykov presses him back against the cage, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holder is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rykov can do to turn this around?

Holder pulls guard.

Holder pushes Rykov off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

Rykov closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Holder wants to get back to his feet but Rykov drags him back down.
Rykov trying to control the position but Holder is working away.
Holder holds on to Rykov's head and controls the position momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rykov tries to stand but Holder controls the position and pulls Rykov into his guard.

Holder is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Rykov defends well.
Holder pulls Rykov in to control the position.
Rykov won't allow Holder to get back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Holder looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Francisco Holder dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Rykov tries to keep at a distance but Holder has taken the fight into the clinch.

Holder jumps guard.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Holder manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.

Rykov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Aleksey Rykov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Holder gets caught napping as Rykov dives in and scores a takedown. Holder manages to retain guard.

Holder is working an open guard so Rykov takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Rykov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Rykov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Holder enables Rykov to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Holder manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

Holder kicks Rykov off and gets to his feet.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Holder closes the distance and clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Holder breaks the clinch.
Holder misses with a takedown attempt - Rykov sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Rykov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Rykov throws a nice looking combination but Holder bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Rykov looking to score a takedown here. Holder is defending well but Rykov drives through and ends up in Holder's guard.
Holder is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Rykov content to stall in guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rykov wants to control from the top but Holder keeps moving.
Holder will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Holder bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Rykov's guard.

Holder slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rykov has momentary wrist control but Holder slips an elbow through the middle.
Holder postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Holder loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Holder makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Holder postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Holder lands a couple of elbows.
Rykov trying to control the position here.
Holder is in close to Rykov's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Holder working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holder postures up and lands a big shot to Rykov's brow.
Holder won't allow Rykov to get back to his feet.
Holder stays in close to Rykov's body and controls the position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Holder fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Rykov, pushing him back against the cage.

Holder breaks from the clinch.

Rykov throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Holder was covering up waiting for the punch and Rykov finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Holder is looking to stand up but Rykov isn't so interested in that idea.

And that's the end of the fight!
Francisco Holder showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Holder, 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Francisco Holder!
The defeated Aleksey Rykov had this to say: 'Go on dick Bitch!!!'.