PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Anatoly Gorbachenko (ranked 1403 p4p, 224 weight class) and Nikos Giannopoulos (ranked 633 p4p, 102 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Gorbachenko
vs
Giannopoulos

186 cm
23
221 lbs
14 - 7 - 0

184 cm
24
207 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 7 - 0, fighting out of New York, Anatoly Gorbachenko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nikos Giannopoulos!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Wesley Smith and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gorbachenko listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Gorbachenko lands a nice shot to the body.
Gorbachenko looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Giannopoulos looks to score with a jab to the body but Gorbachenko is just out of range.
Gorbachenko thows a left - swing and a miss!
Gorbachenko throws a body punch but Giannopoulos moves out of range.
Giannopoulos misses with a takedown attempt
and Gorbachenko counters with a nice body shot.
Giannopoulos has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Gorbachenko throws out a leg kick but Giannopoulos moves out of range and Gorbachenko only half commits.
Giannopoulos lands with a hook. Gorbachenko tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Gorbachenko connects with a body shot.
Giannopoulos throws a leg kick

and Gorbachenko counters by moving into the clinch.
Giannopoulos is trying to break free.
Gorbachenko blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Gorbachenko tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Giannopoulos doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Nice body punch from Gorbachenko - that landed with a thud.
A right hand to the body from Gorbachenko.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Gorbachenko.
Giannopoulos blocks a body shot from Gorbachenko.
Good body shot from Giannopoulos.
A right hand to the body from Giannopoulos.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Giannopoulos breaks from the clinch.
Gorbachenko throws a leg kick but Giannopoulos moved away.
Giannopoulos flicks out a counter leg kick but Gorbachenko steps away.
Gorbachenko throws out a powerful jab.
Giannopoulos throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Giannopoulos is defended easily by Gorbachenko.
Giannopoulos keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
A little jabbing left from Giannopoulos on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Gorbachenko throws out a powerful jab.
Gorbachenko digs a good hook to Giannopoulos's body.
Gorbachenko scores with a crisp jab that stopped Giannopoulos in his tracks.
Gorbachenko misses with a shot to the body
and Giannopoulos counters with a nice uppercut.
Gorbachenko moves out of range of the body kick.
Anatoly Gorbachenko seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gorbachenko throws a lazy uppercut
enabling Giannopoulos to counter with a crisp jab.
Gorbachenko fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Giannopoulos manages to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gorbachenko lands a jab.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Giannopoulos looks to land a body kick but Gorbachenko moved away.
Giannopoulos takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
A jab from Gorbachenko misses.
Gorbachenko throws a lazy uppercut
and Giannopoulos counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Giannopoulos looks to land a body kick but Gorbachenko moved away.
Gorbachenko swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Giannopoulos avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Gorbachenko digs a good hook to Giannopoulos's body.
Gorbachenko misses the shot to the body.
Giannopoulos changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Gorbachenko is looking to wear down Giannopoulos with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Gorbachenko scores with a shot to the body.
Gorbachenko misses with a looping right.
Gorbachenko looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Gorbachenko tries to land a front kick but Giannopoulos steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Giannopoulos only half commits to the counter leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gorbachenko throws a big shot that misses.
Gorbachenko throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Gorbachenko looks to score with a jab to the body but Giannopoulos is just out of range.
Giannopoulos keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Gorbachenko.
Giannopoulos avoids the body shot from Gorbachenko.
A little jabbing left from Giannopoulos on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
A swing and a miss from Gorbachenko.
The fight stays on the outside here - Gorbachenko looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Giannopoulos is trying to counter with his kicks.
Nice sprawl there from Gorbachenko as Giannopoulos shoots in.
Anatoly Gorbachenko has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nikos Giannopoulos.
Gorbachenko misses with an uppercut
and Giannopoulos counters with a leg kick.
Giannopoulos misses with a body kick.
Giannopoulos circles away from the clinch attempt.
Gorbachenko takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Gorbachenko moves out of range of the body kick from Giannopoulos.
Giannopoulos wants to land a leg kick but Gorbachenko is out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Gorbachenko.
Giannopoulos looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.

Gorbachenko moves into the clinch.
Gorbachenko digs a right hand underneath Giannopoulos's ribcage. Giannopoulos let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Gorbachenko lands a nice shot to the body.
A short right from Gorbachenko on the inside.
Giannopoulos lands a body shot in the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gorbachenko misses with a punch on the inside.
Gorbachenko prevents a takedown attempt there.
Gorbachenko lands with a left to the head.
A head punch on the inside from Giannopoulos fails to land.
Giannopoulos throws a head punch that misses.
Gorbachenko tries a body shot but Giannopoulos blocks it.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Giannopoulos creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Gorbachenko blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Gorbachenko tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Gorbachenko swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Gorbachenko has a couple of punches blocked by Giannopoulos.
Giannopoulos has a couple of punches blocked by Gorbachenko.
Gorbachenko fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anatoly Gorbachenko dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Giannopoulos fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Gorbachenko connects with a body shot that sends Giannopoulos's belly button to the back.
Giannopoulos uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Gorbachenko.
Gorbachenko throws a shot to the body.
Gorbachenko jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Gorbachenko throws a hook but Giannopoulos blocks it.
Gorbachenko swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Giannopoulos counters with a solid body kick.
Gorbachenko dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Giannopoulos moves out of range as Gorbachenko strikes.
Gorbachenko tries to land a leg kick but Giannopoulos saw it coming and moves away.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gorbachenko feints and then cracks Giannopoulos's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Giannopoulos down.
Gorbachenko fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Giannopoulos tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
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!
Giannopoulos bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Giannopoulos throws an overhand right that lands on Gorbachenko's shoulder, as Gorbachenko tries to avoid the shot.
Giannopoulos keeps the fight on the outside.
Gorbachenko lands a nice shot that snaps Giannopoulos's head back.
Gorbachenko is looking to clinch but Giannopoulos is avoiding it.
Gorbachenko on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Gorbachenko swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Gorbachenko slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Giannopoulos ducks right into an uppercut from Gorbachenko.
Gorbachenko misses with a lunging right hand
and Giannopoulos makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Gorbachenko really felt that one!
Giannopoulos misses with an uppercut.
Gorbachenko misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Giannopoulos.
Nice body punch from Gorbachenko.
Gorbachenko throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Gorbachenko digs a good body shot into Giannopoulos's ribs.
Nikos Giannopoulos has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Giannopoulos misses with an uppercut. Gorbachenko saw that one coming.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Good leg kick by Giannopoulos there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Gorbachenko misses the shot to the body.
Giannopoulos displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Gorbachenko throws out the jab.
Gorbachenko throws a jab but it's blocked by Giannopoulos.
Giannopoulos throws a jab but it's blocked by Gorbachenko.
Gorbachenko throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Anatoly Gorbachenko is winning the standup battle so far.
Giannopoulos fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Gorbachenko checks it well.
Gorbachenko uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Giannopoulos.

Gorbachenko clinches up against the cage.
Giannopoulos lands a left hand that snaps the head of Gorbachenko backwards.
Gorbachenko lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Gorbachenko misses with a hook to the ribs.
Giannopoulos misses with the head strike.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Gorbachenko creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Anatoly Gorbachenko has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Gorbachenko doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gorbachenko works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Gorbachenko working aggressively here.
Still in the clinch, Giannopoulos scores with a nice short uppercut.
Giannopoulos misses with a short punch on the inside.
Giannopoulos scores with a shoulder strike.
Gorbachenko tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Gorbachenko tries to work over Giannopoulos's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Giannopoulos lands a left hand.
Gorbachenko blocks an uppercut.
Gorbachenko lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Giannopoulos or not.
Giannopoulos is breathing heavily.
Giannopoulos misses with a short punch on the inside.
Gorbachenko lands a shoulder strike.
A short right from Gorbachenko.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Gorbachenko.
Gorbachenko doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Giannopoulos working aggressively here.
Gorbachenko gets through Giannopoulos's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Gorbachenko prevents Giannopoulos from breaking the clinch.
Giannopoulos scores with a shoulder strike.
Gorbachenko blocking some punches.
Gorbachenko blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gorbachenko can't find room to land a body shot as Giannopoulos controls the action.
Giannopoulos lands a hook that snaps the head of Gorbachenko backwards.
Gorbachenko lands a nice uppercut.
Gorbachenko throws a head punch that misses.
Good body shot from Giannopoulos.
Gorbachenko can't find room to land a body shot as Giannopoulos controls the action.
Gorbachenko lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Gorbachenko misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Gorbachenko can't find room to land a body shot as Giannopoulos controls the action.
Gorbachenko blocks a body shot from Giannopoulos.
Gorbachenko misses with a short punch on the inside.
Giannopoulos scores with a shot to the side of Gorbachenko's head.
Gorbachenko swings wildly with an uppercut but Giannopoulos uses good head movement to avoid it.
Gorbachenko misses with a punch on the inside.
Giannopoulos misses with some punches.
Giannopoulos misses with the head strike.
Gorbachenko digs a right hand underneath Giannopoulos's ribcage. Giannopoulos let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Gorbachenko lands a nice uppercut.
A short right from Gorbachenko on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anatoly Gorbachenko dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Jab, jab by Gorbachenko - just one landing.
Gorbachenko takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Gorbachenko misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Giannopoulos.
Giannopoulos looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Gorbachenko just misses with a punch to the body.
Gorbachenko comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Giannopoulos explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Giannopoulos keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Giannopoulos appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Giannopoulos misses with an uppercut.
Gorbachenko connects with a crisp jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Giannopoulos blocks a jab.
Gorbachenko misses the shot to the body.
Gorbachenko digs a good body shot into Giannopoulos's ribs.
Gorbachenko tries to clinch but Giannopoulos moves out of range.
Gorbachenko tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gorbachenko slips under a jab.
Gorbachenko doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Giannopoulos moves away from the strike by Gorbachenko.
Giannopoulos looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Gorbachenko uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Giannopoulos has time to react.
Gorbachenko jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Gorbachenko getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Giannopoulos misses with a right hand
and Gorbachenko makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Gorbachenko takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Gorbachenko misses the shot to the body.
Gorbachenko throws a jab when Giannopoulos was well out of range.
Gorbachenko is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Nice takedown defense from Gorbachenko. No joy for Giannopoulos on that attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Gorbachenko closes the distance and pushes Giannopoulos back into the cage.
Gorbachenko working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Giannopoulos misses with a hook from the clinch.
A short body shot lands from Giannopoulos as the two fighters clinch.
Gorbachenko misses with a body punch.
Gorbachenko pushes Giannopoulos back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Gorbachenko misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Giannopoulos blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Giannopoulos throws a head punch that misses.
Gorbachenko tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Giannopoulos's elbow.
Giannopoulos lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Gorbachenko or not.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Gorbachenko can't find room to land a body shot as Giannopoulos controls the action.
Gorbachenko misses with the head strike.
Gorbachenko misses with a short punch on the inside.
Gorbachenko tries to work over Giannopoulos's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A short right from Giannopoulos.
Gorbachenko's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Giannopoulos has a couple of punches blocked by Gorbachenko.
A hook to the body from Giannopoulos.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Giannopoulos gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Gorbachenko pushes Giannopoulos off but Giannopoulos dives into side control.
The ground and pound from Giannopoulos seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Giannopoulos is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Gorbachenko will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Gorbachenko is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Anatoly Gorbachenko is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Gorbachenko defending against the ground and pound.
Gorbachenko prevents Giannopoulos from moving into mount.
Giannopoulos working away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gorbachenko is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Giannopoulos postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Giannopoulos has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
The strikes coming from Giannopoulos are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Giannopoulos throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Gorbachenko prevents Giannopoulos from moving into mount.
Giannopoulos tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Gorbachenko looks to move to half guard but instead Giannopoulos has passed into mount! Damn!
Gorbachenko tries to buck Giannopoulos off but Giannopoulos takes his back!

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 Anatoly Gorbachenko.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Gorbachenko, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anatoly Gorbachenko!
Anatoly Gorbachenko thanked the fans post fight for their support.