PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Levan Kvirkvelia (ranked 2427 p4p, 274 weight class) and Darren Burns (ranked 2809 p4p, 310 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Kvirkvelia
vs
Burns

173 cm
28
175 lbs
14 - 12 - 1

185 cm
26
180 lbs
12 - 14 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Good gas tank

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 14 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Levan Kvirkvelia!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Darren Burns!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Gregory Folan and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A big left from Kvirkvelia misses.
Burns has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Kvirkvelia is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Burns lands with a slapping head kick.
Burns swinging wildly here.
Burns throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Burns scores with a shot to the body.
A punch combination from Burns misses.
Kvirkvelia scores with a jab to the body.
Kvirkvelia bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Burns misses with an uppercut.
Kvirkvelia slips under a jab.
Burns jabbing away but nothing is landing.

Kvirkvelia rushes Burns and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Kvirkvelia pulls Burns into guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kvirkvelia seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kvirkvelia continues to stall.
Kvirkvelia wants to hit a switch here but Burns passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Kvirkvelia there!
Kvirkvelia is wriggling around trying to escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Burns wants to stand but Kvirkvelia is holding on to him, trying to stop him posturing up.
Kvirkvelia slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Kvirkvelia tries to roll over but Burns keeps him under control.
Kvirkvelia moves into full guard.
Kvirkvelia pulls Burns in close to his closed guard and prevents Burns from doing any damage or advancing position.

Burns stands up from Kvirkvelia's guard - Burns perhaps looking for a knockout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice takedown defense from Burns. No joy for Kvirkvelia on that attempt.
Burns looks for the body kick but Kvirkvelia saw that one coming.
Burns ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kvirkvelia moves away.

Kvirkvelia gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Burns wants to break the clinch but can't.
Kvirkvelia jumps guard but Burns stands there with Kvirkvelia around his waist. Kvirkvelia gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Burns blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Kvirkvelia escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Kvirkvelia moves in looking to clinch but Burns pushes him off.
Burns misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kvirkvelia.
Burns misses with a head kick.
Kvirkvelia connects with a body shot that sends Burns's belly button to the back.
Kvirkvelia will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Burns looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Levan Kvirkvelia. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kvirkvelia fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burns lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Kvirkvelia throws a right hand that Burns ducks under and follows up with a left that Burns also avoids with ease.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Kvirkvelia checks a leg kick.
Kvirkvelia keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

Kvirkvelia clinches up against the cage.
A nice right hand lands inside from Kvirkvelia.

Burns manages to break the clinch.

Burns gets caught flat footed, as Kvirkvelia shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Burns pushes Kvirkvelia off and scrambles back to his feet.

Kvirkvelia has taken the fight to the clinch.
Kvirkvelia fails to pull guard.
Burns has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Kvirkvelia breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Darren Burns will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Kvirkvelia instigates a clinch.
Kvirkvelia's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Burns wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Kvirkvelia struggles to land a body shot inside as Burns controls his hands.
Kvirkvelia cracks Burns with a nice body shot.
Kvirkvelia is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Kvirkvelia stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kvirkvelia is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Kvirkvelia lands with a left to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burns prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Levan Kvirkvelia. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kvirkvelia is stalling here.
Kvirkvelia swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Kvirkvelia is trying to trip Burns. He has hold of a leg but Burns is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Kvirkvelia persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
We've been hearing good reports from Kvirkvelia's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Kvirkvelia trying to control the position from guard on top but Burns is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kvirkvelia won't allow Burns to get back to his feet.
Kvirkvelia's corner is telling him to maintain position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kvirkvelia postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Burns wants to get back to his feet but Kvirkvelia is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Burns kicks Kvirkvelia off and gets to his feet.
Burns scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Kvirkvelia keeps control of Burns as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Kvirkvelia lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Kvirkvelia is looking for a takedown.

Kvirkvelia jumps guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kvirkvelia wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burns preventing the sweep.
Kvirkvelia trying to keep a closed guard but Burns is proving a slippery customer.
Burns trying to stand up but can't free himself from Kvirkvelia's guard.
Kvirkvelia seems keen to control Burns's posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Burns fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Kvirkvelia.
Kvirkvelia moves out of range of the strikes.
Kvirkvelia avoids a punch combination nicely.
Burns throws a right and a left that both miss.
Burns throws a low kick but Kvirkvelia moves out of range easily.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Kvirkvelia moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Burns looks to land a combination but Kvirkvelia avoids it well.
Burns throws a sloppy head kick and Kvirkvelia moves out of range easily.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kvirkvelia. Burns does a little dance to reset his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Levan Kvirkvelia will probably get the nod.
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. This is the final round!

Kvirkvelia ducks right into an uppercut from Burns.
Kvirkvelia wants to clinch up but Burns keeps it at a distance.
Darren Burns seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Burns throws a hook to the side of Kvirkvelia's head but Kvirkvelia sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Darren Burns is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Burns works over Kvirkvelia's head and body with a nice combination.

Kvirkvelia shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Burns is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Kvirkvelia dives into side control.

Kvirkvelia taking a breather here.

Kvirkvelia goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Burns rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Kvirkvelia's guard! Nice work there by Burns!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kvirkvelia wants to sweep but no luck.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burns is fighting to break Kvirkvelia's control of his arms but Kvirkvelia is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Burns would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Kvirkvelia manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Burns manages to get himself to full guard.

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kvirkvelia would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Kvirkvelia trying to control the position from guard on top but Burns is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kvirkvelia tries to free his leg and advance position but Burns is retaining full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Burns scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Burns misses with a jab, cross combination.
Kvirkvelia changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Burns tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Kvirkvelia throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Burns only half commits to the counter leg kick.
Burns lands a head shot.

Kvirkvelia shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Burns napping and manages to drive through into side control!

Kvirkvelia goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Burns has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Kvirkvelia but great work by Burns.
Kvirkvelia is looking for a sweep.
Kvirkvelia is working hard here to advance position.
Kvirkvelia sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kvirkvelia moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Kvirkvelia seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Kvirkvelia wants to sweep but no luck.
Kvirkvelia looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Kvirkvelia looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Kvirkvelia holds on and takes a little breather.
Kvirkvelia looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Kvirkvelia seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Burns circles away from the clinch attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
Darren Burns comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Burns has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Steve Smith scores the fight 28:29
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Darren Burns!