PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Lartem Obov (ranked 4216 p4p, 344 weight class) and Karl Flix (ranked 6281 p4p, 434 weight class). Lartem Obov has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Obov
vs
Flix

168 cm
25
145 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

175 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

Evil Empire Nutrition - 151Q $100

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Lartem Obov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Karl Flix!
The judges for this bout are Darius Henderson, Topper Green and Ben Watson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Flix breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Obov throws a sloppy head kick and Flix moves out of range easily.
Flix tries to clinch there but Obov circles away.
Obov lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Flix fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Obov misses with a head kick.
Obov lands with a thumping leg kick.
Obov keeps Flix at a distance using the push kick.
Flix pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Obov pivots, looking for a leg kick but Flix is out of range and Obov settles back down.
Obov moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Flix shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Obov sprawls well. Obov wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Flix gets slowly back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Flix tries to clinch but Obov is having none of it.
A little feinted left hand from Obov on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Flix with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Obov to score with a decent uppercut.
Obov closes the distance and clinches up with Flix, looking for a takedown. Obov pushes Flix against the ropes but Flix circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Flix fails with an attempt to clinch.

Flix gets a clinch.

Obov pulls Flix into guard.
Flix landing some decent shots from guard.
Flix sitting in guard here, content to control.
Flix wants to pass the guard but Obov is keeping the position.
Flix looking to sit in guard and control but Obov gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Obov chips away with some ground and pound.
Flix is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Flix really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Obov. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Obov trying to control but Flix is working from the bottom.
Obov trying to stand up but can't free himself from Flix's guard.

Obov drops back looking for a leg! Flix is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Flix manages to kick Obov off! Obov jumps back into Flix's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Flix has his foot on Obov's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Obov works his way back into a safe position though.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Flix can't keep his opponent in guard - Obov advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Obov connects with a nice short shot to Flix's temple.
Flix is trying to control but can't.
Obov slips a nice elbow through Flix's hands, connecting with Flix's forehead.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Flix is looking to improve his position.
Flix is looking to control Obov's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Flix avoid being mounted?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Obov is looking to take a break and control but Flix is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Obov is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Flix is looking to control Obov's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Flix avoid being mounted?
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Flix is trying to get back to full guard.
Flix is trying to stand.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lartem Obov dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Obov throws a low kick but Flix moves out of range easily.
Flix fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Obov tries to counter by moving into the clinch but Flix manages to circle out of the way.
Obov tried to score with a low kick but Flix checks it.
Obov misses with an attempted mid kick.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Obov.
Flix with the counter takedown but Obov avoids it easily.
Obov throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Flix.
Obov is looking to chop away at Flix's legs.
Flix tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Obov paws at him with a jab and circles away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Obov tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Flix fails with an attempt to clinch.
Obov throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Lartem Obov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Obov shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Flix's guard.

Flix has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Obov is pushing him up against the ropes, looking to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Flix struggles to land a body shot inside as Obov controls his hands.
Obov swings wildly with an uppercut but Flix uses good head movement to avoid it.
Obov effectively controlling the action here.

Flix breaks from the clinch.
Obov throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Sloppy strikes from Flix. Those never looked like landing.
Flix tries to close the distance and clinch but Obov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Flix tries for a takedown but Obov sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Flix gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Obov counters with a nice low kick that buckles Flix's knee momentarily.
Lartem Obov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Karl Flix.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Flix stuffs the takedown attempt from Obov. Obov gets slowly back to his feet.
As Obov backs off Flix throws a huge counter combo but Obov manages to avoid it all.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Flix.
Flix tries to clinch up.
Flix has a takedown stuffed.
Obov misses with a shot to the body
and Flix counters with a leg kick.
Flix goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Flix changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Obov tries to avoid it but Flix manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Obov to the ground. Obov escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Flix throws a series of punches but Obov moves out of range.
Flix keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Obov sets himself, and Flix steps forward looking for the clinch! Obov avoids it this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Obov stuffs the takedown.
Lartem Obov is winning the standup battle so far.
Flix is breathing heavily.
Obov will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Obov fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Flix has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Flix misses with a head kick.
Obov tries to counter with a takedown but Flix is quick to defend against it.
Flix fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Flix shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Obov pinned against the ropes. Obov gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Flix uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Obov.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Flix throws a head kick but Obov moves out of range.
Obov cracks Flix with a right hand to the side of the head.
Flix shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Obov defends it nicely.
As Flix looks to move away, Obov throws a big counter combo but Flix just gets out of the way.
Obov stuffs the takedown attempt from Flix. Flix gets slowly back to his feet.
Obov shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Flix wants to counter with a clinch but Obov pushes him away.
Obov defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Flix.
A counter left hand to the body from Obov misses its target.
Obov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Flix can do to turn this around?

Obov shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Flix manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Obov content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lartem Obov 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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Flix lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
A good leg kick by Flix.
Obov throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Obov paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.

Obov clinches up against the ropes.
Obov is trying to push Flix away but Flix has him pressed against the ropes, so he's going nowhere.

Flix breaks the clinch.
Flix is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Obov takes a swing at Flix's ribcage but misses.
Flix avoids the head kick by Obov.
Flix throws a head kick that misses
and Obov counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Flix tries to clinch but Obov is having none of it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A low kick from Obov misses
and Flix finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Flix tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in to close the distance. Obov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Obov with a lazy takedown attempt
and Flix counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Obov throws a quick inside leg kick.
Obov is looking to wear down Flix with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Flix shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Obov sprawls well. Obov wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Flix gets slowly back to his feet.
Obov throws a body kick that misses.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Flix.
Flix fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Obov manages to avoid it.
Obov throws a head kick but Flix moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Flix shoots in but no luck this time.
Lartem Obov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Karl Flix.
Flix closes this distance looking for a takedown but Obov circles away.
Flix shoots in for a takedown but Obov shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Flix with a lazy takedown attempt
and Obov counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Flix thinking.

Obov shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Flix manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Obov makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Obov forces his way into half guard.
Obov is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Flix!
Lartem Obov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Obov trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Obov tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Flix keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Obov lands a nice shot to the head.
Obov controlling from the full mount.
Flix working to try and regain half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Obov controlling from mount.
Lartem Obov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Flix is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Obov scoring with strikes but Flix is staying in there.
Flix is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Obov controlling his opponent.
Karl Flix has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

And that's the end of the fight!
Lartem Obov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Obov has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Darius Henderson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Topper Green scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Watson scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lartem Obov!
Lartem Obov seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.