PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Forest Tran (ranked 6655 p4p, 0 weight class) and Victor Stroev (ranked 25792 p4p, 0 weight class). Victor Stroev is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Tran
vs
Stroev

189 cm
18
161 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

175 cm
20
157 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Tends to cut

Pit Bull Development

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight 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, Forest Tran!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Victor Stroev!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Konstantin Menshow and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stroev fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Stroev throws a solid leg kick but Tran takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Stroev.
Tran really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Stroev moves into the clinch.

Stroev breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Tran tries for a takedown but Stroev sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.

Stroev instigates a clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stroev jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Tran walks away with a smile on his face. Stroev gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Stroev is defended easily by Tran.
Tran drops down looking for a counter takedown but Stroev sprawls and moves away.
Forest Tran has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Victor Stroev.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tran changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Stroev tries to avoid it but Tran manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Stroev to the ground. Stroev escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Tran keeps the fight on the outside.
The fight stays on the outside here - Tran looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Tran tries for a takedown but Stroev sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Tran tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Stroev paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Tran moves into the clinch successfully.
Tran is pressed up against the cage. Stroev has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Tran down to the mat. Tran avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
A punch combination from Stroev misses.
Tran appears to be looking for a counter takedown.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stroev fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Stroev tries to clinch but Tran moves out of range.
Tran misses with a wild combination.

Stroev closes the distance and clinches.

Stroev manages to pull guard.
Stroev looking to control but Tran passes into half guard.
Stroev looks winded!
Tran not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tran drops an elbow to the side of Stroev's head.
Stroev really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Tran. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Tran working over Stroev with some ground and pound. Stroev looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Tran missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tran prevents Stroev from improving his position.
Tran sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Stroev defending well though.
Tran thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Stroev's head.
Tran throwing shots but Stroev is blocking nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tran sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Stroev defending well though.
Tran trying to control the action but Stroev is working from the bottom.
Tran not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Stroev is staying active underneath Tran, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Stroev looks like he's trying to stand up.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Sloppy strikes from Tran. Those never looked like landing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Tran tries to clinch up but Stroev circles away and keeps his distance.
Stroev shoots for a double leg takedown but Tran sprawls well. He's pushed Stroev's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Forest Tran will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

A decent looking body kick lands there for Stroev.
Victor Stroev seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tran tries to clinch up.
Despite the aggression on Stroev's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Stroev shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Stroev throws the kick towards the body but Tran avoids it.
Tran wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Stroev dives in for a single leg takedown but Tran sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Stroev fails to land the takedown.
Tran was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Forest Tran has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Victor Stroev.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Tran wants to clinch up but Stroev keeps it at a distance.
Stroev moves in looking to clinch but Tran pushes him off.
Stroev is breathing heavily.
A left and a right from Tran both land. Nice combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tran moves in looking to clinch but Stroev pushes him off.
Tran slaps away a takedown attempt from Stroev, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Tran tries to counter with a takedown but Stroev is quick to defend against it.
Tran tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Stroev swivels and escapes.
Stroev throws a counter combo.
Tran throws a right and a left that both miss.
Stroev goes for a double leg but Tran avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Tran continues to drive forward.
Tran feinted with a counter takedown.
Stroev shoots in looking for a takedown but Tran manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Stroev's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
As Stroev tries to get set, Tran tries to push him back and clinch up but Stroev manages to avoid the attempt.
Tran tries to bum rush Stroev with a series of wild strikes but Stroev uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Tran is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Stroev's half guard.
Stroev avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Tran.
Stroev is looking to improve his position.
Tran is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Tran thows a huge punch but Stroev dodges it nicely.
Stroev trying to control here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stroev on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tran is trying to control. Stroev wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Tran thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Stroev's head.
Tran is nestled in close to Stroev, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Tran throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Tran lands with a punch from half guard.
Tran is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Stroev can do to turn this around?
Tran looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Stroev with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Stroev trying to control from the bottom.
Tran 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tran is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Stroev is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Stroev moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Tran throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Stroev works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Tran keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Tran feinted with a counter takedown.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Forest Tran dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Tran rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Stroev moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Tran backing away here, and Stroev unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Tran is trying hard to land a takedown here. Stroev sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Nice takedown defense from Tran. No joy for Stroev on that attempt.
Stroev shoots in but no luck this time.
Stroev pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Stroev keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stroev doesn't manage to clinch there - Tran circles away.
Stroev takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A punch combination from Stroev misses.
Tran feinted with a counter takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tran misses with a takedown attempt - Stroev sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Forest Tran. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Stroev moves in looking to clinch but Tran pushes him off.
Tran is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Stroev.
Stroev darts in looking for a takedown but Tran gets double underhooks and turns Stroev into the cage.
Tran moves in looking to clinch but Stroev pushes him off.
Good standup being displayed there by Tran as he connects with a hook.
Stroev tries to close the distance and clinch but Tran swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Stroev stuffs the takedown attempt from Tran. Tran gets slowly back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stroev stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Stroev wants it to stay on the feet.
The fight stays on the outside here - Stroev looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Tran throws a combination that misses
and Stroev counters with a two punch combo.
Tran misses with a takedown
and Stroev counters with a straight right hand.
Tran shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Stroev as he jumps to the side.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Stroev gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Tran is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Stroev gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
With the fighters up against the cage, Stroev throws an elbow but misses.
Stroev is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Tran pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Tran looking for a takedown.
Tran drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Stroev gets the underhooks and prevents it.

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.

Stroev breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Stroev fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Tran attempts a counter takedown but Stroev avoids it well and moves away.
Victor Stroev has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Tran shoots in looking for a takedown. Stroev tries to sprawl out of it but Tran keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Stroev manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

And that's the end of the fight!
Victor Stroev comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Tran 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 29:28
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Forest Tran!