PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Semen Dolgov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Ellesworth (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Dolgov
vs
Ellesworth

193 cm
28
203 lbs
4 - 6 - 0

185 cm
27
215 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

Dangerous GnP
Solid boxing
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

Pit Bull Development

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 4 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Semen Dolgov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, James Ellesworth!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, Dean Styles and Steve Montenegro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ellesworth plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Dolgov moves out of range of the body kick from Ellesworth.
Ellesworth on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Dolgov. Dolgov obviously looking to wear him down.
Ellesworth lands with a thumping leg kick.
Dolgov shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Ellesworth sprawls well. Ellesworth wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Dolgov gets slowly back to his feet.
Dolgov moves in looking to clinch but Ellesworth pushes him off.
Ellesworth misses with a straight right.
Dolgov is looking to counter the offense by Ellesworth and move into the clinch.
Dolgov definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

Dolgov moves into range and clinches up with Ellesworth.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dolgov is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ellesworth to keep the fight standing.

Dolgov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Ellesworth checks the leg kick.
Dolgov avoids the head kick by Ellesworth.
Dolgov shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Ellesworth as he jumps to the side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Semen Dolgov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ellesworth fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Dolgov manages to avoid it.
A slapping leg kick lands for Ellesworth.
Ellesworth with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

Dolgov shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Ellesworth manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Dolgov working some strikes from top position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ellesworth can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Dolgov controls the pace.
Dolgov lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Dolgov throwing strikes but missing.
Ellesworth is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dolgov trying to control but Ellesworth is working from the bottom.
Dolgov is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Dolgov lands a couple of elbows.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Ellesworth can do anything to dispel that myth.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Dolgov's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Dolgov trying to control the position from guard on top but Ellesworth is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Dolgov wants to pass the guard but Ellesworth is keeping the position.
Dolgov not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ellesworth looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Ellesworth keeping moving, preventing Dolgov from controlling successfully.
Dolgov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Dolgov content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Dolgov chips away with some ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dolgov stops Ellesworth from standing up.
Dolgov is in close to Ellesworth's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Dolgov is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Dolgov 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dolgov trying to control the position from guard on top but Ellesworth is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Dolgov throwing strikes from guard but Ellesworth blocks nicely.
Dolgov lands a couple of elbows.
Dolgov working some strikes from top position.
Dolgov wants to control from the top but Ellesworth keeps moving.
Dolgov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Ellesworth's head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Dolgov content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Dolgov trying to control but Ellesworth is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Semen Dolgov dominated that round.
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.

Dolgov tries to close the distance and clinch but Ellesworth swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Dolgov tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Ellesworth throws an overhand right that lands on Dolgov's shoulder, as Dolgov tries to avoid the shot.
A little feinted left hand from Dolgov on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

Dolgov looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Ellesworth!
Ellesworth seems a little lost for a moment, as Dolgov dominates the positioning.

Dolgov is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Ellesworth is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Dolgov is looking to take a break and control but Ellesworth is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Dolgov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Ellesworth can do to turn this around?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ellesworth trying to remain calm as Dolgov controls from the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dolgov working the head and body with strikes.

Dolgov tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Dolgov has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Dolgov looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Dolgov scoring with punches from side control.
Dolgov creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Dolgov prevents Ellesworth from escaping the position.
Dolgov landing a few strikes.
Dolgov working the body and head with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here as Dolgov stalls from top position.
Dolgov cracks Ellesworth with a big right hand but Ellesworth just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Ellesworth avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Dolgov.
Ellesworth wants to get back to his feet.
Ellesworth really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Dolgov. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
You can see the frustration on Ellesworth's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Dolgov thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
You can see the frustration on Ellesworth's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dolgov trying to control the action but Ellesworth is working from the bottom.
Dolgov scoring with punches and elbows.

Dolgov is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Ellesworth has escaped the position, nice work there.
Ellesworth is trying to buck Dolgov off.
Ellesworth takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ellesworth wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Dolgov gets to mount! Ellesworth was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Ellesworth is trying desperately to improve position.
Ellesworth really wants to buck Dolgov off and get back to his feet.
Dolgov can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Ellesworth is looking to escape.
Ellesworth is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Ellesworth tries to lock up and control but Dolgov gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Semen Dolgov dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Ellesworth dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Dolgov. That did some damage!
Dolgov connects with a right hand. Ellesworth shakes it off.
Dolgov misses with a right hand
and Ellesworth counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Dolgov tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Ellesworth was well out of range. Poor timing from Dolgov.
Ellesworth feints a counter leg kick.
Dolgov throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Ellesworth connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Ellesworth gets caught napping as Dolgov dives in and scores a takedown. Ellesworth manages to retain guard.

Dolgov thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Dolgov loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dolgov landing with the ground and pound.
Dolgov wants to control from the top but Ellesworth keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Dolgov postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Ellesworth is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Dolgov, into his guard.

Dolgov is trying to control the position but Ellesworth postures up.
Dolgov wants to sweep but no luck.
Ellesworth controlling from the top position.
Dolgov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Dolgov pulls Ellesworth in close to his closed guard and prevents Ellesworth from doing any damage or advancing position.
James Ellesworth has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Semen Dolgov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Dolgov tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Dolgov looking for a guillotine here but Ellesworth defends easily.
Ellesworth being controlled here momentarily.
Semen Dolgov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ellesworth content to stall in guard here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ellesworth trying to control the position from guard on top but Dolgov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Dolgov looking for a sweep. Not yet Dolgov, not yet.
Ellesworth stands and throws Dolgov's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Dolgov is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Dolgov manages to work his way to half guard, despite Ellesworth's best efforts.
Dolgov gets back to full guard.

Ellesworth drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Dolgov manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Ellesworth has Dolgov in his guard.

Dolgov looking to pass the guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Dolgov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

And that's the end of the fight!
Semen Dolgov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Dolgov, 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 Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 30:27

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