PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Heribert Bosch (ranked 59 p4p, 9 weight class) and Pavel Savkov (ranked 74 p4p, 12 weight class). Bosch's entrance music is Oktoberfest. A fine choice. Heribert Bosch has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Bosch
vs
Savkov

182 cm
26
175 lbs
15 - 4 - 1

175 cm
25
180 lbs
16 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Aspire Nutrition
Reaper Combatwear

Revenge Clothing
Aspire Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 4 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Heribert Bosch!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Pavel Savkov!
The judges for this bout are James Glass, Steven Brown and James Ackerman.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice uppercut there from Bosch.
Bosch throws a shot from downtown. Savkov moves away and avoids it.
Bosch throws a push kick but Savkov slaps the foot to one side.
Bosch looks for the body kick but Savkov saw that one coming.
Bosch slips under a jab.
Savkov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Bosch slips under a jab.
Bosch scores with a nice head shot.

Savkov shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Bosch is trying to control but can't.
Bosch gets back to full guard.
Savkov with a flurry of punches that miss.
Bosch being controlled here, momentarily.
Savkov wants to control from the top but Bosch keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Savkov is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Savkov postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Savkov stands up over Bosch, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Savkov working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Bosch looking to hit a scissor sweep but Savkov is one step ahead there.
Savkov loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Savkov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Bosch avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Bosch can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Savkov controls the pace.
Bosch preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Savkov postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Savkov throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Savkov throws an elbow that misses. Bosch uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Savkov's guard. Nice move by Bosch!

Bosch is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Savkov throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Bosch escapes and throws Savkov's legs to the side, diving into side control!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Savkov tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Bosch tries to stand but Savkov is controlling his head.
Savkov wants to control but Bosch postures up.
Savkov tries to buck Bosch off but Bosch is having none of it.
Savkov keeps trying to improve his position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Savkov wants to control but Bosch postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Bosch controls the position.
Savkov is trying to control Bosch's posture but Bosch avoids it.
Savkov tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Bosch wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Bosch controlling the position from side mount.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Savkov can't do much from the bottom here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
A lull in the action here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Savkov thuds his right hand into Bosch's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Pavel Savkov will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Savkov throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Bosch counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Bosch throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Savkov swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Bosch lands with a hook. Savkov tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Savkov misses with a straight right.
Savkov shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Bosch as he jumps to the side.
Savkov throws a shot from downtown. Bosch moves away and avoids it.
Bosch throws a leg kick but Savkov sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Bosch dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Bosch misses with a straight left.
Savkov tries to move into range but Bosch moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Savkov throws out a loose jab but Bosch uses good head movement to avoid it.
No luck for Savkov with that takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bosch throws a nice inside leg kick.
Bosch misses with a body kick.
A jab from Bosch misses.
Savkov connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bosch lands with a nice body kick.
Bosch bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Bosch throws a front kick that sends Savkov stumbling back into the cage.
Bosch sizes up Savkov with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Pavel Savkov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Savkov goes for a double leg but Bosch avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Bosch continues to drive forward.
Heribert Bosch has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pavel Savkov.
Bosch swings for the body but Savkov moves out of range.
Savkov scores with a sloppy right hand. Bosch should have avoided that one.
Savkov has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Bosch.
Bosch looks to land a right hand but Savkov moved out of range.

Savkov darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Savkov throwing shots but Bosch is blocking nicely.
Bosch wants to control but Savkov is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Bosch is trying to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Savkov is looking to advance position but Bosch won't allow it.

Savkov is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Bosch defends it well.
Bosch wants to get back to full guard.
Bosch slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Bosch looking for a sweep. Not yet Bosch, not yet.
Savkov loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Savkov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Savkov in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Bosch is on top in guard.

Savkov has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Savkov 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.
Savkov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

Bosch got a little sloppy there for a moment and Savkov has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Bosch has managed to get both his arms back between Savkov's legs - danger averted.

Savkov working for a triangle but Bosch defends it easily.
Bosch content to stall in guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bosch advances to half guard.
Savkov has a hand on Bosch's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Bosch takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Savkov is working to get back to half guard.
Bosch sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Savkov is wriggling around trying to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Heribert Bosch dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

A telegraphed takedown attempt from Savkov is defended easily by Bosch.
Bosch is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Jab, jab by Bosch - just one landing.
Bosch uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Savkov.
Bosch lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Savkov tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Bosch defends well and Savkov ends up having to push Bosch into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Bosch appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
A telegraphed right hand from Bosch misses the target.
Savkov throws out a counter right but Bosch avoids it with no problem.
Bosch punishes Savkov's body with a nice straight punch.
Bosch connects with a body shot that sends Savkov's belly button to the back.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Bosch.
Nice takedown defense from Bosch. No joy for Savkov on that attempt.
Heribert Bosch has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pavel Savkov.
Savkov takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Bosch misses with a kick to the body.
Savkov lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

It looks like Heribert Bosch has been cut.
Bosch is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Savkov can do to turn this around?
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Savkov works the jab nicely.
Bosch is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bosch lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Bosch lands a body shot.
Savkov slips under a jab from Bosch.
Savkov tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Bosch throws the kick towards the body but Savkov avoids it.
Savkov bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Bosch's head.
Savkov might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Bosch takes one to the chin there.
Bosch bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Savkov's head.
Nice takedown defense from Bosch. No joy for Savkov on that attempt.
Bosch tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Savkov was well out of range. Poor timing from Bosch.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Savkov! But no joy.
Savkov throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Bosch ducks under a wild hook from Savkov.
Savkov takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Savkov takes one to the chin there.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Savkov.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bosch lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
That kick from Bosch tenderised Savkov's leg. Savkov is trying to keep his angry face on.
A solid leg kick lands there for Bosch.
Bosch goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Bosch throws a hook but Savkov avoids it easily.
Savkov lands a jab-cross combination.
Bosch thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Savkov if he has to take too many more of those.
Bosch cracks Savkov with an open hand slap.
Savkov walks into a left hand.
Heribert Bosch is winning the standup battle so far.
Savkov throws a lazy right hand but Bosch sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Bosch swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Bosch.
Savkov tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Bosch defends well and Savkov ends up having to push Bosch into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Bosch avoids a punch combination nicely.
Bosch avoids the body shot from Savkov.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Savkov missing with a left hand there. Bosch was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Bosch was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Savkov throws a poor cross that misses
and Bosch counters with a straight right hand.
Bosch looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Bosch looks to land a body kick but Savkov moved away.
The fighters circling - Bosch throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Bosch throws a jab when Savkov was well out of range.

Savkov has Bosch up against the cage in a clinch.
Bosch working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Bosch misses with a punch to the body.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Savkov.
Bosch lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Savkov.
Savkov can't break the clinch.
Bosch gets underhooks to prevent Savkov's takedown attempt.
Savkov tries to work over Bosch's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Savkov has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Bosch after a bit of a struggle.
Savkov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Bosch lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Bosch working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

Bosch breaks the clinch.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Savkov.
Savkov ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bosch misses with a wild body shot.
Bosch slips under a jab.
Bosch is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Savkov.
Savkov has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Bosch.
Savkov moves out of range as Bosch strikes.

Savkov drives through with a takedown into guard.
Bosch is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Savkov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Bosch works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Savkov trying to control but Bosch is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Heribert Bosch clearly takes that round.
The cut man is working on Heribert Bosch's cut.
That's time! Bosch's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Savkov looks to land a right hand but Bosch moved out of range.
Savkov stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Bosch moves out of range of the strikes.
Savkov scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Bosch misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Savkov.
Bosch looks to score with a jab to the body but Savkov is just out of range.
Bosch misses with an uppercut
and Savkov connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Savkov shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Bosch as he jumps to the side.
Bosch misses with a hook
and Savkov counters with a nice uppercut.
Savkov looks to land a right hand but Bosch moved out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bosch looks to throw the jab but Savkov is out of range.
Savkov fails with the takedown.
Savkov misses with a shot to the body
and Bosch counters with a nice uppercut.
Savkov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Heribert Bosch has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pavel Savkov.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Savkov.
Savkov looks for a takedown but Bosch sprawls well.
Savkov is absolutely dripping with sweat - he looks exhausted.
Savkov misses with a straight right.
Savkov takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Bosch scores with a leg kick.
Bosch lands a nice shot to the body.
Bosch just misses with a punch to the body.
It seemed like Savkov was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Bosch throws a shot to the body.
A slapping body kick lands there for Bosch.
Bosch lands a nice hook to Savkov's body. Savkov takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Savkov throws a right hand that misses
and Bosch counters with a straight right hand.
Bosch scores with a crisp jab that stopped Savkov in his tracks.
A left lands for Bosch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bosch takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Savkov takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Bosch keeps the fight on the outside.
Heribert Bosch is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Bosch lands a right hook to the body.
A head kick misses from Bosch.
Bosch misses with a wild body shot.

Savkov manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Bosch on his heels. He'll look to pass Bosch's guard now, I'm sure.
Savkov stopping the sweep attempt from Bosch.
Savkov looking to pass the guard.
Bosch keeping moving, preventing Savkov from controlling successfully.
Savkov pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Bosch is keeping the position for now.
Pavel Savkov has got the better of the ground game so far.
Savkov stopping the sweep attempt from Bosch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bosch preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Pavel Savkov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Savkov postures up in Bosch's guard and throws a big left but Bosch blocks it.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Bosch utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Bosch 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.
Savkov trying to control but Bosch is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Bosch.
Savkov displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Bosch throws out the jab.
Bosch misses the shot to the body.

Savkov shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Bosch manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Bosch keeping moving, preventing Savkov from controlling successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Savkov postures up in Bosch's guard and throws a big left but Bosch blocks it.
Savkov postures up and lands a big shot to Bosch's brow.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Savkov accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Savkov with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Bosch wants to sweep here but Savkov controlling him for the moment.
Bosch working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Savkov.
Savkov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Bosch's head.
Savkov throwing strikes from guard but Bosch blocks nicely.

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 Heribert Bosch.
I think Bosch has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge James Glass scores the fight 39:37
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight 40:36
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 38:38

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Heribert Bosch!
Heribert Bosch retains his welterweight title!
An out of breath and clearly excited Heribert Bosch thanked Reaper Combatwear for their help and support (and free stuff they sent him).