PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Sean Sweeney (ranked 23173 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nikita Smirnov (ranked 4261 p4p, 222 weight class). Sean Sweeney has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Sweeney
vs
Smirnov

218 cm
22
140 lbs
4 - 0 - 0

190 cm
23
142 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Sean Sweeney!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nikita Smirnov!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, Chris Downing and Daniel Franklin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Smirnov stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Smirnov wants it to stay on the feet.
A countering left hand to the body from Smirnov misses.

Smirnov closes the distance and clinches.
Sweeney really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Smirnov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Smirnov is trying to stall.
Smirnov unloads a knee to the mid-section. Sweeney lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Sweeney can't break the clinch.
Smirnov is trying to push Sweeney away but Sweeney has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Sweeney fails to pull guard.
Smirnov stalling in the clinch but Sweeney improves position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smirnov can't break the clinch.
Sweeney is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Smirnov to keep the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sean Sweeney. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sweeney tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Sweeney is leaning against Smirnov and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smirnov is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Sweeney is keeping busy.
Sweeney is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Sweeney wants to break free but Smirnov has control.
Sweeney tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Smirnov just stands there and leans against the cage.

Sweeney ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Sweeney no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Smirnov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Smirnov tries to stand but Sweeney is controlling from the bottom.
Sweeney seems keen to control Smirnov's posture.
Smirnov won't allow Sweeney to sweep him here.
Sweeney has control of Smirnov's left arm, preventing Smirnov from doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Smirnov postures up.

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

Smirnov clinches up against the cage.
Sweeney jumps guard but Smirnov turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Smirnov is looking to break free of the clinch but Sweeney has double underhooks.

Sweeney gets control of Smirnov's arms and successfully pulls guard. Sweeney will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Smirnov is looking to stand up but Sweeney won't let him.
Sweeney is pulling down on Smirnov's head to control his posture.
Smirnov trying to stand up but can't free himself from Sweeney's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sweeney is trying to control the position but Smirnov postures up.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Sweeney looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Smirnov gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Sweeney is trying to pull guard but Smirnov turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Sweeney jumps guard but Smirnov turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

Sweeney pulls Smirnov into guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sweeney pulls Smirnov in to control the position.
Smirnov wanted to stand there but Sweeney had control of the position.
Sweeney is pulling down on Smirnov's head to control his posture.
Sweeney has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Smirnov preventing the sweep.
Sweeney seems keen to control Smirnov's posture.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Smirnov trying to stand up but can't free himself from Sweeney's guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Smirnov moves into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nikita Smirnov dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Smirnov has Sweeney up against the cage in a clinch.
Smirnov has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Sweeney leaning against his opponent.
Smirnov leaning against his opponent.
Smirnov wants to break the clinch but can't.
Sweeney tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Smirnov smiles and moves away.
Smirnov shoots in and drives through. Sweeney sprawls well.
Sweeney was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Sean Sweeney is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sweeney shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Smirnov as he jumps to the side.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Smirnov drives through with a takedown into Sweeney's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

Sweeney wriggles free and stands up.
Smirnov fails to land the takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A shot to the liver by Sweeney. Beautiful body shot.
Smirnov keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sean Sweeney. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Smirnov fails with a takedown attempt.
Smirnov dives in for a single leg takedown but Sweeney sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Sweeney fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Smirnov clinches with his opponent.

Smirnov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Sweeney is trying hard to land a takedown here. Smirnov sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Smirnov shoots in looking for a takedown but Sweeney manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Smirnov's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.

Sweeney fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Smirnov, pushing him back against the cage.

Smirnov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Smirnov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Sweeney as he avoids it easily.
Smirnov is breathing heavily.
Sweeney fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Smirnov closes the distance and clinches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sweeney tries to pull guard but Smirnov holds him up against the cage and eventually Sweeney drops back down to his feet.
Smirnov has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Sweeney seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Smirnov can turn it around.

Smirnov manages to break the clinch.

Sweeney gets a double leg takedown into Smirnov's guard.

Smirnov wriggles free and stands up.

Smirnov gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Sweeney gets control of Smirnov's arms and successfully pulls guard. Sweeney will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Smirnov wanted to stand there but Sweeney had control of the position.
Sweeney is trying to keep Smirnov in close.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smirnov tries to stand but Sweeney is controlling from the bottom.
Smirnov won't allow Sweeney to sweep him here.
Sweeney trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Sweeney will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Smirnov trying to stand up but can't free himself from Sweeney's guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Smirnov stands and steps away. Sweeney gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Smirnov throws a head kick that misses.
Smirnov shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Sweeney defends it nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Nikita Smirnov will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Smirnov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Sweeney as he avoids it easily.

Sweeney darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Sweeney working Smirnov over with strikes.
Sweeney looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Smirnov scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Sweeney manages to mount him!
Sweeney scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Sean Sweeney overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sweeney working Smirnov over with strikes here.
Smirnov is trying to stand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sweeney putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Smirnov wants to get back to his feet.
Smirnov is in a horrible position here. Sweeney smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sweeney is landing with some decent strikes but Smirnov is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Sweeney cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Sweeney working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Sweeney landing strikes, looking to finish!
Sweeney scoring with strikes but Smirnov is staying in there.
Smirnov is bucking up trying to escape but Sweeney cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sweeney is in the full mount, landing strikes.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sweeney landing shots from mount.
Sweeney pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

Sweeney jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Smirnov is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Smirnov and Sweeney has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Smirnov is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Sweeney asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Sweeney in side control lands a decent elbow.
Smirnov is not in a great position here, taking some shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smirnov tries to escape but Sweeney is in control.
Smirnov takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Smirnov is trying to buck Sweeney off.
Sweeney cracks Smirnov with a big right hand but Smirnov just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Smirnov taking a bit of punishment here - Sweeney scoring with strikes.

Sweeney is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Smirnov is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Sweeney lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sweeney working the body and head with strikes.
Sweeney lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Smirnov down.
Sweeney misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Sweeney creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Smirnov sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Sweeney in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Sweeney 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.
Smirnov is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Sweeney is controlling him well.
Smirnov takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Smirnov bucks up and tries to throw Sweeney off but instead Sweeney has got his back!

And that's the end of the fight!
Sean Sweeney showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Smirnov 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 28:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 28:28
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 28:28

The fight is ruled a draw!