PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sergey Shipilov (ranked 1120 p4p, 953 weight class) and Patrick River (ranked 157 p4p, 133 weight class). River is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Pantera - Walk. Patrick River is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Shipilov
vs
River

195 cm
23
195
7 - 2 - 1

188 cm
23
186
4 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
Excellent MT
Good gas tank

Aspire Clothing
Conviction

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 7 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Sergey Shipilov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Patrick River!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, Richard Clark and James Glass.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

River feints and as Shipilov raises his hands in defense, River changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.

Shipilov is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Shipilov blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
River lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
River misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Shipilov blocks an uppercut.
River dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.

Shipilov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Shipilov works River's body with a nice hook.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Shipilov gets cracked with a nice right hand there by River.
Shipilov misses with a head kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from River. Shipilov does a little dance to reset his feet.
River checks a low kick from Shipilov.
Sergey Shipilov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
River thuds a left hand into Shipilov's body.
River looks to land a right hand but Shipilov moved out of range.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that River has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Shipilov swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by River.
Shipilov swats away the attempt to clinch by River.
Shipilov pulls out of a head kick attempt.
River misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Shipilov.

That's one minute gone in the round.
River fails with a takedown attempt.
River slips under a jab.
River tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nice defenses there by River.
Sergey Shipilov is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nice uppercut lands for Shipilov. That snapped River's head back.
Shipilov getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Shipilov.
Shipilov pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Shipilov avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Shipilov looks to score with a jab to the body but River is just out of range.
River swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
River misses with a jab to the body
and Shipilov counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
River lands a jab to the head.
Shipilov is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Shipilov connects with a jab.

River drives through and clinches with Shipilov against the cage.
River throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
River throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Shipilovs head.
River tries a body shot but Shipilov blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shipilov gets through River's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.

It looks like Patrick River has been cut.
Shipilov tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
River lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Shipilov.

Shipilov breaks from the clinch.
River misses with a hook.
Shipilov ducks under a wild hook from River.
Shipilov swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
River scores with a nice head shot.
River walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Shipilov checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Shipilov is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Shipilov drops his hands momentarily and River takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
River pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Shipilov looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
River throws a poor cross that misses
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Shipilov throws a body shot but no joy.
Shipilov swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Shipilov dodges the punch combination from River.
Shipilov fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
River throws a body shot but no joy.
Shipilov throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shipilov feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Rivers jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
River misses with a wild combination.
River avoids the head kick by Shipilov.
A cross from Shipilov lands.
River throws a head kick but Shipilov moves out of range.
Shipilov scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Shipilov scores with a crisp jab that stopped River in his tracks.
Shipilov thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on River if he has to take too many more of those.
Shipilov digs a good hook to River's body.
Shipilov avoids the body shot from River.
Shipilov scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Shipilov looking to land some kicks to the body here.
River takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Shipilov throws a nice outside leg kick.
River misses with a low kick.
Shipilov fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
River fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
River cracks a nice hook into Shipilov's ribs.
Shipilov missing with a left hand there. River was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
River throws a leg kick but Shipilov moved away.
Shipilov throws an uppercut from half a mile away. River sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Shipilov's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Shipilov duly obliges.
River tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Shipilov lands a lovely overhand right.

River throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Shipilov was covering up waiting for the punch and River finishes the takedown easily into guard.

Shipilov is looking for a triangle but River pushes his legs off easily.
Shipilov is pulling down on River's head to control his posture.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Shipilov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as River accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Shipilov has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but River can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Shipilov trying to control the position here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sergey Shipilov dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Patrick River's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Shipilov moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Sergey Shipilov is winning the standup battle so far.
River uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Shipilov.
River throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
River throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Shipilov with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
River ducks under a wild hook from Shipilov.
Shipilov swings widly with a right hand
and River counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Nice body punch from River.
River checks the leg kick.
Shipilov has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from River.
A nice inside leg kick there by Shipilov. That's going to slow River down.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shipilov misses with a looping right.
River slips a straight right by Shipilov.
Shipilov motions for River to come forward. Shipilov throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
River throws a left and a right that both miss
and Shipilov counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Shipilov moves forwards but River connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Shipilov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that River can do to turn this around?

That's one minute gone in the round.
River tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Shipilov defends well and River ends up having to push Shipilov into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
River is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.

River closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Shipilov.
River misses with a hook to the ribs.

Shipilov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Shipilov misses with a body shot.
River misses with an uppercut. Shipilov saw that one coming.
Shipilov throws a leg kick but River checks it.
Shipilov defending well as River loads up on a big left hand.
Shipilov motions for River to come forward. Shipilov throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
River checks a leg kick.
A clash of legs there as Shipilov blocks the low kick.
River throws a push kick but Shipilov slaps the foot to one side.
River throws a leg kick but Shipilov checks it.
Shipilov cracks a nice hook into River's ribs.
River moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Shipilov connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Shipilov lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Shipilov lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Shipilov.
Shipilov chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Shipilov stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Shipilov misses with a two punch combination.
River scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Shipilov takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
River throws a body shot but no joy.
Shipilov feints and then cracks River's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow River down.
A jab from River misses.
A clash of legs there as Shipilov blocks the low kick.
River throws a body punch but Shipilov moves out of range.
Shipilov looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.
River tries a head kick but it misses.
Shipilov throws a sloppy body shot
and River counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Shipilov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
River just misses with a punch to the body.
Shipilov pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces River back to the cage. Shipilov follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
River looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Shipilov works River's body with a nice hook.
River throws a push kick but Shipilov slaps the foot to one side.
River's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
A slapping leg kick lands for River.
Nice shot lands for Shipilov.
Shipilov connects with a body shot.
Shipilov bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
The crowd cheers as Shipilov lands an impressive looking overhand right. River doesn't seem phased though.
River throws a hook but Shipilov avoids it easily.
River with a hook.
Shipilov keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Shipilov feints and then cracks River's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow River down.
River 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.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
River scores with a punch to the head.
A lazy left from Shipilov finds it's target.
River fails to land the takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
River misses with a looping right.
Shipilov bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps River's head backwards.
Shipilov lands with a thumping leg kick.
River is looking to score with low kicks.
A left lands for Shipilov.
River listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
River is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Shipilov.
A quick step to the side and Shipilov tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Shipilov slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
A nice inside leg kick there by Shipilov. That's going to slow River down.
River walks into a jab.
Shipilov throws a body shot but no joy.
River throws out a counter right but Shipilov avoids it with no problem.
River checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
River moves away from the strike by Shipilov.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
River takes a body punch but keeps moving.
River throws a body punch but Shipilov moves out of range.
Shipilov showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from River.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sergey Shipilov dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Patrick River's cut.
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!

Shipilov throws an ugly left hook that misses
and River counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Shipilov misses with a hook
and Shipilov takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Shipilov tries to work over River's front leg with a kick but River checks it.
Shipilov blocks a jab.
Shipilov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A clash of legs there as River blocks the low kick.
Shipilov jabs at River's body.
River swings and misses with a hook to the body.
River throws a head kick that misses
and Shipilov counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
River throws out a loose jab but Shipilov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Shipilov rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but River moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Shipilov misses with a leg kick
and River cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Shipilov lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but River circles away quickly and effectively.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Shipilov fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Shipilov takes a swing at River's ribcage but misses.
River lands a nice looking body shot.
Shipilov turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shipilov takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Shipilov ducks under a wild hook from River.
River misses with a double jab.
River throws a jab when Shipilov was well out of range.
Shipilov blocks a head kick by River.
Shipilov keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from River.
River cracks Shipilov with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Nice uppercut lands for Shipilov. That snapped River's head back.
Shipilov throws a lazy right hand but River sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
River 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.
A looping hook to the body misses from River. Shipilov does a little dance to reset his feet.
River jabbing away but nothing is landing.
River lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
River takes a body punch but keeps moving.
River on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Shipilov. Shipilov obviously looking to wear him down.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
River gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Shipilov scores with a jab. River acknowledges it with a nod of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
River misses with a body shot.
Shipilov throws a leg kick which misses River's front leg but catches the back leg as River tries to avoid it.
Shipilov misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Shipilov moves away from the strike by River.
A left and a right from River both land. Nice combination.
River tries to clinch but Shipilov is having none of it.
River throws a push kick but Shipilov slaps the foot to one side.
River throws a leg kick but Shipilov checks it.
Shipilov swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and River counters with a nice body shot.
River pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
River just misses with a punch to the body.
Shipilov fires out a quick counter leg kick but River just manages to avoid it.
River has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
River misses with the combination.
River takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Shipilov fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
That kick from Shipilov tenderised River's leg. River is trying to keep his angry face on.
Patrick River has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shipilov looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

River moves into range and clinches up with Shipilov.
Shipilov is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Shipilov misses with a shot to the kidneys.
River scores with a hook to the body.
River lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Shipilov blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
River wants a takedown.

Shipilov breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Shipilov avoids a kick to the body.
River on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Shipilov scores with a head kick.
River throws a hook but Shipilov blocks it.
River throws a poor cross that misses
and Shipilov counters with an inside leg kick.
A decent looking cross lands there for River.
Shipilov scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Shipilov throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shipilov comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
River waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Shipilov.
Shipilov circles away from the clinch attempt
and Shipilov counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Shipilov punishes River's body with a nice straight punch.
Shipilov throws a body kick that misses.
Shipilov blocks a low kick nicely.
Shipilov throwing a counter right hand but River manages to avoid it.
River scores with a hook to the body. Shipilov takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
River throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
River throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Shipilov scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
River is looking to chop away at Shipilov's legs.
Shipilov half committed to a counter leg kick.
Shipilov buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
River tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Sergey Shipilov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Nice body kick from Shipilov.

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 Sergey Shipilov.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Shipilov, 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 30:27
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 30:27
Judge James Glass scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sergey Shipilov!
Sergey Shipilov was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.