PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Tim Wonders (ranked 8558 p4p, 0 weight class) and Khabib Zhirkov (ranked 5855 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Wonders
vs
Zhirkov

177 cm
21
170 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

180 cm
18
177 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight 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, Tim Wonders!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Khabib Zhirkov!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Konstantin Menshow and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Zhirkov throws a head kick that misses.
Zhirkov fails with an attempt to clinch.

Wonders closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Wonders tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A frustrated look appears on Zhirkov's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Zhirkov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Zhirkov tries for a takedown but Wonders sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Wonders shoots in and drives through. Zhirkov sprawls well.
Zhirkov lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Zhirkov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Wonders manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Zhirkov on his heels. He'll look to pass Zhirkov's guard now, I'm sure.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Zhirkov looks winded!
Wonders passes Zhirkov's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Wonders lands a nice short elbow.

Wonders is trying to work for a kimura but Zhirkov is defending well.
Wonders is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Nice strikes from Wonders there.
Zhirkov has a hand on Wonders's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Wonders takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Wonders with shots to the head and body - Zhirkov looks very uncomfortable down there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wonders looking to control and managing it successfully.
Wonders lands a heavy elbow.
Wonders controlling from the full mount.
Wonders 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.

Wonders with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Wonders looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wonders looking to control and managing it successfully.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Wonders lands a heavy elbow.
Wonders cracks Zhirkov with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Zhirkov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Wonders. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Wonders controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wonders looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Wonders controlling from the full mount.
Wonders takes Zhirkov's back.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Zhirkov tries to escape but Wonders has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tim Wonders dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Wonders fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Zhirkov moves in looking to clinch but Wonders pushes him off.
Zhirkov throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Wonders's waist but Wonders gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Zhirkov off to one side.
Wonders shoots in looking for a takedown but Zhirkov manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Wonders's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Zhirkov is looking to slow Wonders down with leg kicks.
Zhirkov throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Wonders.
Zhirkov stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Zhirkov wants it to stay on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tim Wonders. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Wonders throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Zhirkov dives in and grabs Wonders's left leg, looking for a takedown. Wonders pushes down on Zhirkov's head and hops out.
Zhirkov misses with a hook. Wonders ducked under it nicely.

Wonders throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Zhirkov tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Wonders is in Zhirkov's guard.
Zhirkov is breathing heavily.
Wonders controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zhirkov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Tim Wonders overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Wonders stands and steps away. Zhirkov gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Wonders closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Wonders lands in his opponent's guard.
Zhirkov being controlled here, momentarily.

Wonders decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Zhirkov, up you get!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zhirkov pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Wonders closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Zhirkov did well to prevent Wonders getting side control.
Wonders trying to control the pace.
Wonders moves into full mount! Zhirkov won't be happy about that!
Wonders controlling his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zhirkov tries to buck Wonders off but he can't manage it.
Wonders lands a nice shot to the head.
Wonders with the ground and pound from mount.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Wonders cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Wonders with a couple of short strikes.
Wonders has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Zhirkov's face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wonders raining down shots from the mount!
Wonders controlling the position easily from mount.
Zhirkov takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Wonders controlling the position easily from mount.
Wonders working away from the top, dropping strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tim Wonders dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Wonders clinches up against the cage.

Zhirkov pulls guard successfully.
Wonders works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Wonders lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Wonders sitting and controlling from the half guard.

Wonders is working for a submission of some sort.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Wonders working Zhirkov over with strikes.
Zhirkov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zhirkov taking some punishment here, with Wonders in his half guard.

Wonders decides to stand up.
Wonders fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Zhirkov avoids it really well and circles away.
Zhirkov stuffs the takedown attempt from Wonders. Wonders gets slowly back to his feet.
Zhirkov lands a nice shot to the body.
An inside leg kick lands from Zhirkov.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zhirkov throws a sloppy head kick and Wonders moves out of range easily.

Wonders shoots in and bounces Zhirkov off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Wonders is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Wonders pushes down on Zhirkov's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Wonders works his foot free and advances to mount.
Wonders sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wonders lands a big shot there that rocks Zhirkov but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Zhirkov is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Wonders with the ground and pound from mount.
Wonders tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

Wonders is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Zhirkov has managed to escape the submission attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wonders landing shots from mount.
Wonders with good strikes from the mount here!
Wonders tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Zhirkov is trying to reverse the position but instead Wonders has taken his back - oops!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Zhirkov is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.
Wonders throwing strikes from the back - he gets a warning from the referee for striking the back of the head but all these shots are hurting Zhirkov!

And that's the end of the fight!
Tim Wonders showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Wonders, 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tim Wonders!