PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Abraham Volkov (ranked 3474 p4p, 3730 weight class) and Marax El (ranked 380 p4p, 400 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Volkov
vs
El

195 cm
26
265
2 - 3 - 0

201 cm
24
272
2 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Abraham Volkov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Marax El!
The judges for this bout are Alyssa Summers, Dean Styles and David Schapiro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Volkov closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into El's guard.
Volkov loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Volkov trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Volkov postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
El utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Volkov lands a couple of digs.
Volkov controlling from the top position.
Volkov preventing the sweep.
El utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Volkov is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
El lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

El slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
El throws a big elbow that misses.
El content to stall in guard here.
El won't allow Volkov to sweep him here.
Volkov will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
El trying to control but Volkov is working from the bottom.
Volkov on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Volkov tries to get out of the position.
Volkov has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.

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.
El trying to control but Volkov is working from the bottom.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Volkov shoots in for a takedown but El shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Volkov has been working on his balance at Gym of Rock, so perhaps that has help him stuff some of the takedown attempts by El.
Volkov staying out of range there.
Marax El is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
El scores with a punch to the head.

It looks like Abraham Volkov has been cut.
Volkov closes this distance looking for a takedown but El circles away.
El throws a shot from downtown. Volkov moves away and avoids it.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Volkov.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Abraham Volkov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Volkov shoots for a takedown but El saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
El looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Volkov slips a straight right by El.
Abraham Volkov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
El looks to land a combination but Volkov avoids it well.
El blocks a jab.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from El! But no joy.
Volkov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from El.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice sprawl there from El as Volkov shoots in.
Volkov doesn't succeed with the takedown
and El counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Volkov blocks a jab.
Volkov changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. El tries to avoid it but Volkov manages to keep hold of a leg and drag El to the ground. El escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
El throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
El fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Volkov manages to avoid it.
Volkov shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with El but El pushes him off and we're back to square one.
El cracks Volkov with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
El throws a series of strikes that have Volkov backpedaling.

Abraham Volkov's cut is getting worse.
Good shot there by El.
El misses with a jab, cross combination.
This has been an exciting period of action!
El throws a hook to the side of Volkov's head but Volkov sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Volkov shoots in but El avoids the takedown attempt easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Volkov shoots and misses
and El counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A telegraphed right hand from El misses the target.
Volkov is trying hard to land a takedown here. El sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Volkov closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. El manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
We've been informed that El has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Volkov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as El works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
El working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Volkov.
El preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Volkov is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
El trying to keep a closed guard but Volkov is proving a slippery customer.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Marax El dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Abraham Volkov's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

El throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Volkov uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from El.

Volkov shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Volkov showed some decent athleticism there.
Volkov controlling the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Volkov is trying to control. El wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
El wants to improve his position but Volkov is controlling well.
Volkov with the ground and pound but El uses the opportunity to regain guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Volkov sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Abraham Volkov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Volkov seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down El for as long as he can get away with.
Volkov's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
El has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
El trying to keep a closed guard but Volkov is proving a slippery customer.
Volkov throwing strikes from guard but El blocks nicely.
El controlling the position.

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

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.
El misses with a two punch combination.

El gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Volkov to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Volkov with a nice head shot there.
Volkov working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Volkov with a flurry of punches that miss.
El lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Volkov is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and El defends well.
El missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
El trying to control the position from guard on top but Volkov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Volkov controlling the position.
Volkov wants to sweep but no luck.
Volkov has control of El's left arm, preventing El from doing any damage.
El postures up in Volkov's guard and throws a big left but Volkov blocks it.
Volkov keeping moving, preventing El from controlling successfully.
El with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
El trying to control but Volkov is working from the bottom.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Volkov is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
El stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and El wants it to stay on the feet.
El swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
El 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.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by El.
El misses with the combination.
Horrible takedown attempt by Volkov or perhaps it was just good defense by El, which made it look bad.
A little jabbing left from El on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.

Volkov closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Volkov lands in his opponent's guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now El is on top in guard.

And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Marax El showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Abraham Volkov'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. This is the final round!

Volkov walks into a left hand.
El misses with a wild combination.

Volkov looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for El!
Volkov takes a little break here. El wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
El tries to get back to half guard but can't.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
El trying to remain calm as Volkov controls from the top position.
El wants to control but Volkov postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
El is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Volkov asserts his dominance and retains side control.
El is trying to improve his position.
Volkov is looking to take a break and control but El is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The strikes coming from Volkov are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
El is not content to let Volkov control the position.
Volkov controlling from side mount.

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.
El keeps Volkov under control for a moment.
Volkov misses with the ground and pound.
Volkov trying to control the action but El is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
El lands a nice looking body shot.
El swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Volkov throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around El's waist but El gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Volkov off to one side.
El lands the left hand.
A punch combination from El misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Volkov shoots for a takedown but El saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Volkov decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
El wants to get back to full guard.
Volkov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Volkov is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
El trying to control but Volkov postures up.
El avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Volkov.
El tries to get to full guard but Volkov has control of the leg.
Volkov slips a nice elbow through El's hands, connecting with El's forehead.
El is looking for a sweep. Volkov is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Volkov thows a huge punch but El dodges it nicely.
Volkov not doing much here.
Volkov winds up and cracks El with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
El is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
El trying to control here.
Abraham Volkov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Volkov controlling the action here.
Marax El is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Volkov missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Marax El.
I've got El winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Alyssa Summers scores the fight 27:30
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 27:30
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marax El!