PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Marcellus Clay (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alexander Gruzdev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Clay
vs
Gruzdev

191 cm
23
265 lbs
11 - 1 - 0

190 cm
23
250 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Granite chin

Urban Fighter

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Marcellus Clay!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alexander Gruzdev!
The judges for this bout are Chris Dean, Skip Squint and Donatello Bradman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Jab, jab by Gruzdev - just one landing.
Clay ducks under a wild hook from Gruzdev.
Clay misses with a right hand
and Clay takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Clay bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Clay digs a good body shot into Gruzdev's ribs.
A shot to the liver by Clay. Beautiful body shot.
Gruzdev lands a glancing blow to the side of Clay's head.
Clay lands with a shot to the body.
Gruzdev takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Gruzdev rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Clay makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Jab, jab by Clay - just one landing.
Clay looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Clay swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Gruzdev's coach down at St Petersburg MMA Gym was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Gruzdev's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Clay throws a body punch but Gruzdev moves out of range.
Clay lands a two punch combo.

It looks like Alexander Gruzdev has been cut.
Gruzdev slips a jab and a cross from Clay.
Gruzdev throws a hook but Clay avoids it easily.
Gruzdev swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Clay's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Gruzdev connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Clay scrambles back to his feet.
Gruzdev doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Gruzdev tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Clay punishes Gruzdev's body with a nice straight punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clay cracks Gruzdev with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Clay takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.

Clay rushes Gruzdev and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Clay tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Gruzdev is trying to force a seperation but Clay has the dominant position.
Clay lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Gruzdev lands a left hand.
Clay misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Clay struggles to land a body shot inside as Gruzdev controls his hands.
Gruzdev blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Clay keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Gruzdev's efforts to push away.
A short left from Clay.
Gruzdev wants to break free but Clay has control.
Clay misses with the head strike.
A right handed body shot lands from Clay.
Gruzdev tries to break free but Clay pushes him back against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Clay prevents Gruzdev from breaking the clinch.
Clay fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Clay tries to work over Gruzdev's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Clay lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Gruzdev.
Gruzdev looks winded!
Clay scores with an uppercut up the middle.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Clay gets through Gruzdev's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Clay throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Gruzdevs head.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Clay.
A nice left hand lands by Clay.
Gruzdev blocking some punches.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Clay.
Clay can't find room to land a body shot as Gruzdev controls the action.
Clay stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Clay misses with a short punch on the inside.
Clay misses with a hook from the clinch.
Clay lands a body punch.
A right hand to the body from Clay.
Clay fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clay digs a right hand underneath Gruzdev's ribcage. Gruzdev let out a lung full of air as it connected.
A head punch on the inside from Clay fails to land.
Clay gets through Gruzdev's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Nice body punch from Clay.
Clay lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Clay cracks Gruzdev with a nice body shot.
Clay scores with a shoulder strike.
A nice left hand lands by Clay.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Clay.
Clay lands a left hand that snaps the head of Gruzdev backwards.
Clay lands an uppercut.
Clay gets through Gruzdev's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Clay working aggressively here.
Clay lands a nice uppercut.
Clay lands with a light punch inside.
Clay has a couple of punches blocked by Gruzdev.
Gruzdev blocking some punches.
Clay throws a punch but it's blocked by Gruzdev.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Clay throws a head punch that misses.

Gruzdev breaks the clinch.
Clay uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Gruzdev has time to react.
Clay looks to score with a jab to the body but Gruzdev is just out of range.

Clay drops Gruzdev with a hook right on the temple. He thinks about going to the ground but Gruzdev looks back up at him and smiles so Clay waves him back to his feet - he obviously thinks he can knock him out after that shot landed.

Gruzdev is rocked!
Clay throws an uppercut from hell that sends Gruzdev clean off his feet! He's out cold! Clay stands back and admires his work as he thinks about that KO of the night award that is surely being wrapped up for him back stage.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:23 of round 1, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Marcellus Clay!
A very excited looking Marcellus Clay made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.