PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Phol Murhaa (ranked 226 p4p, 33 weight class) and Sergey Sklemin (ranked 205 p4p, 28 weight class). Phol Murhaa has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Murhaa
vs
Sklemin

182 cm
33
188 lbs
30 - 11 - 3

187 cm
28
200 lbs
19 - 12 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Mockstar Energy Drinks 160Q
Aspire Clothing

Riner Clothing
Aspire Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 30 - 11 - 3, fighting out of St Petersburg, Phol Murhaa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 12 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sergey Sklemin!
The judges for this bout are Paul Tew, Sam Margolis and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice uppercut there from Sklemin.
Murhaa throws a series of punches but Sklemin avoids them all with ease.
Sklemin has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Murhaa finds it's way round the side to connect with Sklemin's head.
Murhaa tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Sklemin was well out of range. Poor timing from Murhaa.
Sklemin appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Nice defenses there by Sklemin.
Sklemin connects with a good right hand that stumbles Murhaa. Murhaa circles away out of range and recomposes himself.

Sklemin moves into the clinch successfully.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Murhaa.
Murhaa misses with a hook from the clinch.
Murhaa definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Sklemin misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Murhaa is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Sklemin is keeping busy.
Murhaa has Sklemin pushed against the cage.
Sklemin throws a head punch that misses.
Murhaa scores with a shot to the side of Sklemin's head.
Sklemin throws a knee to the head but misses.
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!
Sklemin misses with a short punch on the inside.
Sklemin lands a right hand.
Murhaa tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Sklemin's elbow.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murhaa throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Sklemins head.
Murhaa makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Murhaa misses with some punches.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sklemin.
Still in the clinch, Murhaa scores with a nice short uppercut.
Sklemin misses with a knee strike.
Sklemin gets through Murhaa's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Murhaa takes a shot to the head.
Murhaa throws a head punch that misses.
Murhaa blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Murhaa working aggressively here.
Murhaa misses with the head strike.
Sklemin throws an elbow that misses.
Murhaa misses with a punch on the inside.
Sklemin blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sklemin using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Murhaa has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Sklemin comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Murhaa pushes Sklemin back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Sklemin using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Murhaa has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Murhaa blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sklemin blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sklemin is trying to stall.
Murhaa blocks an uppercut.
Murhaa working aggressively here.
Murhaa misses with a short punch on the inside.
Murhaa takes an elbow to the forehead.
Murhaa misses with a punch on the inside.
Murhaa lands with a right to the head.
Sklemin stalling in the clinch.
Murhaa lands with a short head shot on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sklemin.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Murhaa.
Sklemin tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Murhaa misses with some punches.
Murhaa misses with some punches.
Murhaa misses with a short punch on the inside.
Murhaa throws a head punch that misses.
Sklemin lands a right hand.
Murhaa lands with a right to the head.
Murhaa tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Sklemin's elbow.
Sklemin has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Murhaa seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Sklemin can turn it around.
Murhaa swings wildly with an uppercut but Sklemin uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murhaa misses with the head strike.
Sklemin pushes off an throws an elbow but Murhaa leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
A right hook to the body lands for Murhaa.
Murhaa has a couple of punches blocked by Sklemin.
Sklemin with a knee to the head.
Murhaa works on Sklemin's body with a couple of short punches.
Murhaa working aggressively here.
Murhaa has a couple of punches blocked by Sklemin.
Sklemin blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Sklemin fails to land.
Murhaa misses with a punch on the inside.
A short uppercut from Murhaa.
Murhaa misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sklemin misses with an elbow over the top.
Sklemin lands a left hand that snaps the head of Murhaa backwards.
Sklemin throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Sklemin lands with a left to the head.
Sklemin lands a left hand that snaps the head of Murhaa backwards.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Murhaa.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murhaa swings wildly with an uppercut but Sklemin uses good head movement to avoid it.
Murhaa throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Sklemins head.
Murhaa working aggressively here.
Sklemin blocking some punches.
Murhaa tries to throw a body punch but Sklemin avoids it by throwing Murhaa back against the cage.
Murhaa tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Sklemin's elbow.
Sklemin blocks an uppercut.
Murhaa fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Sklemin makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Sklemin lands a right hand that snaps the head of Murhaa backwards.
Murhaa wants to stall.
Sklemin blocks an uppercut.
Sklemin misses with a knee strike.
Sklemin blocking some punches.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Murhaa lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Murhaa blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Murhaa throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Sklemins head.
A head punch on the inside from Murhaa fails to land.
Sklemin lands with a right to the head.
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 Phol Murhaa will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Sklemin missing with a left hand there. Murhaa was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Murhaa throws a lazy head kick
and Sklemin counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Sklemin connects with a nice looking jab.
Sklemin throws a big shot that misses.
Sklemin throws a jab but it's blocked by Murhaa.
It looked like Murhaa was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Murhaa keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Sklemin.
Sklemin lands a nice hook to Murhaa's body. Murhaa takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Sklemin shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Murhaa eats them both and turns towards Sklemin to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Sergey Sklemin seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Murhaa throws a low kick but Sklemin avoids it.
Sklemin throws a poor cross that misses
and Murhaa counters with a nice uppercut.
Murhaa on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Murhaa looks to land a right hand but Sklemin moved out of range.
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!
Murhaa takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Sklemin works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sklemin throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Sklemin throws the left hand but Murhaa avoids the punch easily.
Murhaa looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.
Murhaa misses with an uppercut.
An inside leg kick lands from Murhaa.
Sklemin fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Murhaa manages to avoid it.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Sklemin checks a leg kick.
Sklemin throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Murhaa on the side of the head.
Murhaa ducks under a wild hook from Sklemin.
Murhaa lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
A decent looking cross lands there for Sklemin.
Sklemin swings for the body but Murhaa moves out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Murhaa. Sklemin does a little dance to reset his feet.
Murhaa scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Sklemin connects with a crisp jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murhaa scores with a nice right hand.

Sklemin is rocked!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sklemin wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Sklemin is still on wobbly legs! Can Murhaa finish him?
Murhaa bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Sklemin seems to have recovered his senses.
Murhaa throws a solid leg kick but Sklemin takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Murhaa.
Sklemin rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Murhaa moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Sklemin displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Sklemin misses the shot to the body.
The fighters circling - Sklemin throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Murhaa throwing a counter right hand but Sklemin manages to avoid it.
Murhaa throws a hook but Sklemin avoids it easily.
Murhaa misses with a looping left.
Sklemin connects with a single shot there.
Murhaa moves out of range of the strikes.
Murhaa uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Sklemin has time to react.
A jab from Sklemin misses.
An attempted straight right counter from Murhaa misses the target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sklemin 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.
Donk. Sklemin catches Murhaa right on the button with a cross.
Sklemin throws a looping overhand right but Murhaa ducks down to avoid it.

Murhaa lands a big uppercut and Sklemin crumbles to the floor! The ref thinks about stopping the fight but Sklemin looks OK. Murhaa waves Sklemin back to his feet!
Sklemin lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sklemin lands a jab to the nose.
Murhaa misses with a head kick.
A big left from Sklemin misses.
As Sklemin backs away, Murhaa returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Murhaa blocks a jab.

Sklemin moves into the clinch successfully.
A short right from Murhaa.
Murhaa working aggressively here.
Murhaa throws a head punch that misses.
Murhaa swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A short right from Murhaa on the inside.
Murhaa can't find room to land a body shot as Sklemin controls the action.
Sklemin tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Murhaa avoids it.
Murhaa swings wildly with an uppercut but Sklemin uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sklemin working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Sklemin lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Sklemin lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
A right hand to the body from Murhaa.
Murhaa misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sklemin's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Murhaa blocks an elbow strike.
Sklemin creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Murhaa's defenses.
Sklemin lands a hook that snaps the head of Murhaa backwards.
Sklemin trying to land knees to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Murhaa throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Murhaa misses with a hook from the clinch.
Murhaa working aggressively here.
Murhaa has Sklemin pressed against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sergey Sklemin showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

A big right from Murhaa misses.
Sklemin moves into range and connects with a jab.
Sklemin throws a shot from downtown. Murhaa moves away and avoids it.
Murhaa was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Sklemin uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Sklemin lands a jab to the head.
Sklemin 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.
Murhaa is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Sklemin.
Sergey Sklemin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sklemin lands with a right hand.
Sklemin rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Murhaa counters with a left to the body.
Sklemin throws a jab when Murhaa was well out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Murhaa needs to keep his hands up - Sklemin had a free shot at his head there.
Murhaa throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Sklemin sees it coming and avoids it easily.
It seemed like Sklemin was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Sklemin lands a glancing blow to the side of Murhaa's head.
Sklemin moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Murhaa scores with a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murhaa sizes up Sklemin with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Murhaa throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Murhaa just misses with a punch to the body.
Murhaa misses with a lunging right hand
and Sklemin counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Sklemin throws an overhand right that lands on Murhaa's shoulder, as Murhaa tries to avoid the shot.
Sklemin wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Murhaa throws an ugly left hook that misses
enabling Sklemin to counter with a crisp jab.
Sklemin misses with a wild body shot.
A little feinted left hand from Murhaa on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Sklemin.
Sklemin looks to land a right hand but Murhaa moved out of range.
Murhaa throws a jab but it's blocked by Sklemin.
A slow jab from Sklemin misses its intended target.
Murhaa takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sklemin misses with a left hand
and Murhaa counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
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!
Sklemin throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Murhaa sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Sklemin throws a jab when Murhaa was well out of range.

Murhaa lands a big uppercut and Sklemin crumbles to the floor! The ref thinks about stopping the fight but Sklemin looks OK. Murhaa waves Sklemin back to his feet!
Murhaa throws a body shot but no joy.
Sklemin paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
A telegraphed right hand from Sklemin misses the target.
Murhaa looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Sklemin ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Murhaa moves away.
Murhaa throws a leg kick but Sklemin moved away.
Murhaa wants to slow Sklemin down by chopping away at his legs.
Murhaa walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Jab, jab by Murhaa - just one landing.
and Murhaa counters with a massive uppercut that badly hurts Sklemin! He's just covering up as Murhaa starts to tee off till the referee steps in and stops the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Phol Murhaa!
Phol Murhaa seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.