PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Marcel Cooper (ranked 6161 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aleksandr Volkov (ranked 25794 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Cooper
vs
Volkov

153 cm
18
161 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
18
157 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Marcel Cooper!
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, Aleksandr Volkov!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Vladimir Khabensky and Konstantin Menshow.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Volkov closes the distance and clinches.

Volkov manages to pull guard.
Cooper throws a big right hand that misses.
Cooper could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Cooper stands and steps away. Volkov gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Volkov slaps away a takedown attempt from Cooper, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Volkov takes the fight into the clinch.
Volkov is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Volkov taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Cooper has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Volkov uses from the top position.
Volkov stops Cooper from standing up.
Cooper striking off his back but it's not causing Volkov any problems.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cooper tries to strike from the bottom.
Volkov throws an elbow that misses. Cooper uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Volkov's guard. Nice move by Cooper!

Cooper stops Volkov from standing up.
Cooper wants to control from the top but Volkov keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cooper postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Volkov looking to control but Cooper passes into half guard.
Cooper thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Cooper 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.
Cooper thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Cooper controlling the action here.

Cooper gets to his feet - back to striking we go!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Volkov stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

Volkov shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Volkov was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Volkov controls the position from side control.
Cooper really is built like a bowling ball. I wonder if he'd roll if you pushed him down a hill...
Cooper pushes Volkov away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Volkov gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Volkov wants to take a breather but Cooper manages to regain guard - a lesson learnt for Volkov.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cooper scrambles and gets back to his feet.

Cooper gets caught napping as Volkov dives in and scores a takedown. Cooper manages to retain guard.

Cooper is scooting his butt against the cage and has managed to get back to his feet. Volkov presses him back against the cage, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.
Cooper scores a nice knee to the body.
Volkov avoiding damage as Cooper throws knees to the body.

Volkov gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Cooper has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Volkov off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cooper with a poor takedown
and Volkov counters with a nice body shot.
Cooper fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Marcel Cooper. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cooper shoots in looking for a takedown but Volkov manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Cooper's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Volkov replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Cooper blocks it well.
Cooper is breathing heavily.

Volkov looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

Cooper has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Volkov is on him like a limpet, forcing Cooper back against the cage.

Volkov pulls Cooper into guard.
Volkov wants to hit a switch here but Cooper passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Volkov there!
Cooper trying to control but Volkov is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcel Cooper dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Volkov clinches.

Cooper jumps guard and drags Volkov to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Cooper working for a triangle but Volkov defends it easily.
Volkov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Cooper wriggles free and stands up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Cooper gets caught napping as Volkov dives in and scores a takedown. Cooper manages to retain guard.

Cooper pushes Volkov off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Aleksandr Volkov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cooper has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Cooper there as he acknowledges the shot.
Nice takedown defense from Volkov. No joy for Cooper on that attempt.
Volkov scoring well with a low kick there.
Volkov moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

Volkov closes the distance and clinches.
Volkov stalling the fight.
Volkov is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Volkov continues to stall. The referee tells him to work or he's going to break them up.

Volkov breaks from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Volkov clinches with his opponent.

Volkov gets a trip takedown into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cooper tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Volkov is looking to stall here but Cooper recovers full guard.
Volkov is breathing heavily.
Cooper manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Volkov manages to get himself to full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Volkov pulls Cooper in close to his closed guard and prevents Cooper from doing any damage or advancing position.
Cooper wants to control from the top but Volkov keeps moving.
Cooper content to stall in guard here.
Cooper seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Volkov for as long as he can get away with.

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.

Cooper decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Volkov clinches with his opponent.

Volkov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Volkov takes the fight into the clinch.

Volkov breaks the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Aleksandr Volkov will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

A nice leg kick lands there from Volkov.

Cooper gets caught napping as Volkov dives in and scores a takedown. Cooper manages to retain guard.

Cooper has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Volkov has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.

Volkov has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Cooper uses from the top position.
Volkov preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Marcel Cooper overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Cooper throwing strikes but missing.

Cooper decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Volkov gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Volkov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Volkov breaks the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Volkov closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Volkov lands in his opponent's guard.

Cooper wriggles free and stands up.

Volkov clinches up with Cooper and pushes him back against the cage.

Cooper manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Cooper keeping moving, preventing Volkov from controlling successfully.
Volkov postures up.
Cooper pulls Volkov in to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cooper trying to strike off his back.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Cooper manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
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!

Volkov pulls Cooper into guard.
Cooper working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Cooper scoring with punches to the head and body.

Cooper drops back, looking for a kneebar! Volkov looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Volkov looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Volkov!

Cooper is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Volkov's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
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. Volkov connects with a nice short shot to Cooper's temple.

Cooper manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Volkov throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Cooper shoots in and drives through. Volkov sprawls well.

Volkov rushes Cooper and presses him up against the cage.
Volkov pressing his opponent against the cage.

Volkov pulls guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cooper stays in close to Volkov's body and controls the position.
Cooper throwing strikes from guard but Volkov blocks nicely.
Volkov controls Cooper momentarily but Cooper frees himself.
Cooper is stalling in the full guard.
Cooper slips nicely into half guard, despite the strikes coming from Volkov.

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 Marcel Cooper.
I think Cooper 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 29:29
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 29:28
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Marcel Cooper!