PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Pedro Franco (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ruslan Belediyev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Franco
vs
Belediyev

180 cm
26
145 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

170 cm
26
140 lbs
0 - 5 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Intelligent

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Pedro Franco!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ruslan Belediyev!
The judges for this bout are Ben Zyskovitsi, Johanna Lukiainen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Franco avoids the head kick by Belediyev.

Belediyev closes the distance and clinches.
Belediyev stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Franco throws an elbow but it's blocked.
A short left from Franco.
Belediyev dodges an elbow strike from Franco.
Belediyev is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Franco to keep the fight standing.
Belediyev blocks the elbow strike.
Franco lands a nice elbow.
Franco throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Franco lands a nice uppercut.
Belediyev tries to land knees in the clinch but Franco avoids the damage to the body.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Franco gets through Belediyev's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Franco softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Belediyev manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Franco gets to his feet. Belediyev looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Franco gets tackled into the cage by Belediyev. Belediyev maintains the clinch.
Franco misses with some punches.
Belediyev tries to land a knee to the head but Franco blocks with his arms.
Belediyev is trying to push Franco away but Franco has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Belediyev trying to land knees to the body.

Franco has the Thai clinch. He lands a big knee to the head and Belediyev goes down! Franco dives on top of him - Belediyev manages to get guard.

Belediyev is rocked!

Franco gets to his feet. Belediyev looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Belediyev is still on wobbly legs! Can Franco finish him?

Belediyev tries to keep at a distance but Franco has taken the fight into the clinch.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Belediyev has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Belediyev tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Franco smiles and moves away.

Franco closes the distance and pushes Belediyev back into the cage.
Franco creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Belediyev seems to have recovered his senses.
Belediyev stalling in the clinch but Franco improves position.
Franco stalls.
Franco throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Belediyev drops down looking for an ankle pick but Franco pulls his leg out and moves away.
Pedro Franco has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ruslan Belediyev.
Franco avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Franco tries to counter with a takedown but Belediyev is quick to defend against it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Belediyev tries a head kick but it misses.
Franco slaps away a takedown attempt from Belediyev, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Franco gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Franco has Belediyev pushed against the cage.
Franco throws an elbow but it misses.
Belediyev is trying to pull guard but Franco has him pressed against the cage.
Franco lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Franco really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Franco lands a nice knee to the body.
Belediyev looks winded!
Franco lands an elbow just above Belediyev 's eye.
Franco lands an elbow inside that Belediyev shrugs off.
Belediyev tries to pull guard but Franco holds him up against the cage and eventually Belediyev drops back down to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Franco misses with an elbow strike.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Franco just misses with a elbow thrown towards Belediyev's brow.
Belediyev is trying to break the clinch but Franco is controlling him.
Franco connects with a knee to the head.
Belediyev dodges an elbow strike from Franco.
Belediyev is trying to pull guard but Franco turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Belediyev working hard to break the clinch.
Franco lands an elbow just above Belediyev 's eye.
Franco misses with an elbow strike.
Franco pressing his opponent against the cage.
Belediyev takes an elbow to the forehead.
Franco creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Belediyev's defenses.
Franco with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Franco gets underhooks to prevent Belediyev's takedown attempt.
Belediyev is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Franco is keeping busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Belediyev gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.

Franco manages to wriggle out and sneak his way back up to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched up against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Belediyev jumps guard and drags Franco to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Franco stays in close to Belediyev's body and controls the position.

Franco stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Belediyev shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Franco as he avoids it easily.
A big right from Belediyev misses.
Franco attempts a counter takedown but Belediyev avoids it well and moves away.

Franco gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pedro Franco dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Franco gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Franco is pushing Belediyev up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Franco lands a left hand that snaps the head of Belediyev backwards.

Belediyev pulls guard effortlessly.
Franco stays in close to Belediyev's body and controls the position.
Franco is working Belediyev over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Franco chips away with some ground and pound.

Franco stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Franco moves into range and clinches up with Belediyev.
Belediyev stalling in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franco lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Belediyev.
Franco pushes off an throws an elbow but Belediyev leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
A short left from Franco.
Franco has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Franco gets through Belediyev's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Franco lands a left hand.
Franco misses with a punch on the inside.

Belediyev escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Franco is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Belediyev can do to turn this around?
Belediyev looks to land a left hand but Franco moved out of range nicely.
Belediyev finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Belediyev moves to clinch but Franco breaks away

and Franco counters with a nice double leg into side control. Belediyev won't be happy with that.
Franco working the head with strikes.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Belediyev tries to buck Franco off but Franco is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The ground and pound from Franco seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Franco has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.

Franco stands up and beckons Belediyev to his feet.
Pedro Franco is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Belediyev motions for Franco to come forward. Belediyev throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.

Franco clinches up with Belediyev and pushes him back against the cage.
Franco cracks Belediyev with a nice body shot.
Franco throws an elbow that misses.
Franco lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Belediyev.
Belediyev is breathing heavily.
Franco scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Franco throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Belediyev blocks it with crossed arms.

Belediyev escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Franco has closed the distance and engaged Belediyev in a clinch.
Belediyev wants a takedown but no success here.
Franco throws an elbow that misses.
Franco tries to land a knee to the head but Belediyev blocks with his arms.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Belediyev manages to break the clinch.

Belediyev closes the distance and pushes Franco back into the cage.
Franco tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Franco throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Belediyev has had enough of the clinch but Franco keeps him there for the moment.
Franco lands with a short shot to the head.
Franco putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Belediyev in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Franco misses with an elbow over the top.
Franco lands a shoulder strike.
Belediyev jumps guard but Franco stands there with Belediyev around his waist. Belediyev gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Belediyev dodges an elbow strike from Franco.
Belediyev has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Franco after a bit of a struggle.
Pedro Franco has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ruslan Belediyev.
Franco landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Franco lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Franco'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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Franco lands a nice knee to the body.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
With the fighters up against the cage, Franco throws an elbow but misses.
Franco gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Franco tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Belediyev stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Franco lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Belediyev jumps guard but Franco stands there with Belediyev around his waist. Belediyev gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Franco landing knees to the head.
Franco stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Franco looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Pedro Franco has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Belediyev is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Franco to keep the fight standing.
Belediyev wants a takedown but no success here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pedro Franco dominated that second 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. And we move into the final round!

Belediyev shoots in but no luck this time.
Franco attempts a counter takedown but Belediyev avoids it well and moves away.
Belediyev has a takedown stuffed.
Pedro Franco is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Franco stuffs the takedown attempt from Belediyev. Belediyev gets slowly back to his feet.
Pedro Franco has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ruslan Belediyev.

Franco clinches with his opponent.
Franco using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Franco pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Belediyev takes an elbow to the temple.
Belediyev takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Franco just misses with a elbow thrown towards Belediyev's brow.
Belediyev blocks an elbow strike from Franco.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Franco just misses with a elbow thrown towards Belediyev's brow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Franco throws an elbow that misses.
Belediyev is trying to force a seperation but Franco has the dominant position.
Belediyev trying to control the position but instead, Franco has worked for underhooks and has pushed Belediyev into the cage.
Belediyev tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Franco lands a nice elbow.
Still in the clinch, Franco scores with a nice short uppercut.
Franco unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Franco scores with a shot to the side of Belediyev's head.
Franco looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Belediyev takes an elbow to the temple.
Franco will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Belediyev up against the cage.
Franco lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Franco lands an elbow inside.
Belediyev blocks an elbow strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Franco effectively controlling the action here.
Franco throws an elbow but it's blocked.

Belediyev pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Franco avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Franco gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Belediyev blocks the elbow strike.
Franco lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Franco gets through Belediyev's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Franco has Belediyev pressed against the cage. He pushes Belediyev back and as he springs towards him off the cage, Franco throws a beautiful elbow that sends Belediyev crashing to the floor! Franco piles on the pressure with more strikes! Belediyev is flailing away but he's not defending himself and the referee steps in to stop the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:49 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Pedro Franco!
Pedro Franco managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, King of Clothes, into his post fight interview.