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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ruslan Karelin (ranked 443 p4p, 603 weight class) and Yardbird Knox (ranked 13 p4p, 21 weight class). Knox is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Now's The Time | Charlie Parker. Yardbird Knox will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.
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| 190 cm
27
278
9 - 4 - 0 |
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207 cm
26
285
12 - 5 - 0 |
Great wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin |
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Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Ruslan Karelin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Yardbird Knox!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Yukihiro Shimada and Yuuki Gou.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Knox dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Karelin ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Knox moves away.
Karelin steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Knox.
Knox throws a hook but Karelin blocks it.
Knox is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Karelin.
Karelin swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Karelin slips a jab from Knox.
Karelin is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Karelin ducks right into an uppercut from Knox.
Knox throws a hook but Karelin blocks it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Karelin takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
A combination from Karelin does no damage.
Karelin takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin tries to clinch but fails miserably
letting Knox counter with a right hand.
Knox digs a good body shot into Karelin's ribs.
Karelin throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Karelin looks to throw the jab but Knox is out of range.
Karelin misses with a left hand
and Knox counters with a nice body shot.
Karelin moves out of range as Knox strikes.
Karelin rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Knox counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Karelin displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Knox throws out the jab.
Karelin misses with a hook
and Karelin takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Nice straight punches there by Karelin. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Karelin.
It looks like Yardbird Knox has been cut.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karelin keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Knox.
Knox swings for the body but Karelin moves out of range.
Karelin swings widly with a right hand
and Knox counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Knox is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A jab from Knox does it's job there.
Nice shot by Karelin.
Karelin misses with a left hand
and Knox counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Karelin moves forwards but Knox connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Knox throws a shot from downtown. Karelin moves away and avoids it.
Karelin looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Karelin rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
letting Knox counter with a right hand.
Knox thuds his right hand into Karelin's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Karelin throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Karelin misses with a jab to the body
and Knox counters with a stiff right hand.
A swing and a miss from Knox.
It looked like Karelin wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Knox looks to score with a jab to the body but Karelin is just out of range.
Knox is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Karelin had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into mush.
Karelin moves out of range of the strikes.
A punch lands to the side of Karelin 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Knox has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Karelin takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Karelin moves forwards but Knox connects with a nice, crisp jab.
A punch lands to the side of Karelin 's head but he takes it in his stride.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Knox misses with a straight left.
Knox throws a body shot but no joy.
Karelin misses with a hook
enabling Knox to counter with a crisp jab.
Karelin scores with the left hand. Knox knows he should have avoided that one.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Karelin lands with a nice body punch.
Good exchange - Karelin coming out on top.
Karelin ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Knox moves away.
Donk. Karelin catches Knox right on the button with a cross.
Karelin throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Yardbird Knox dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Yardbird Knox's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.
Karelin swings for the body but Knox moves out of range.
Knox avoids the body shot from Karelin.
Karelin throws the left hand but Knox avoids the punch easily.
Knox moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Karelin might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
Karelin goes for a double leg but Knox avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Knox continues to drive forward.
Knox wants to get back to striking at distance but Karelin won't allow it.
Karelin throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Knox blocks it with crossed arms.
Knox wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Karelin utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knox is looking to break free of the clinch but Karelin has double underhooks.
Knox on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Knox is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Karelin gets through Knox's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Knox has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Karelin with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Karelin tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Knox avoids it.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin unloads a knee to the mid-section. Knox lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Karelin lands with a right to the head.
Knox stalling in the clinch.
Karelin tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A short right from Knox.
Karelin keeps control of Knox as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Knox has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Karelin seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Knox can turn it around.
Karelin misses with a knee strike.
Karelin lands a body punch.
Karelin lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Knox lands a nice shot to the body.
Knox breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Karelin misses with a body shot
and Knox counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Knox slips a jab from Karelin.
Karelin misses with an uppercut. Knox saw that one coming.
It seemed like Knox was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Karelin forces Knox back against the cage and clinches.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Karelin is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Knox is defending well for now.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Knox tries to break the clinch but Karelin is controlling the position.
Knox wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Karelin has him pressed against the cage.
Karelin working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Karelin looking to throw knees to the head but Knox is blocking nicely.
Karelin is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Knox is breathing heavily.
Karelin missing with knees to the body.
Knox is trying to force a seperation but Karelin has the dominant position.
Knox swings wildly with an uppercut but Karelin uses good head movement to avoid it.
Knox wants to break free but Karelin has control.
Karelin gets through Knox's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Karelin misses with a knee to the head.
Knox avoiding damage as Karelin throws knees to the body.
Karelin tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Knox is looking to break free of the clinch but Karelin has double underhooks.
A nice left hand lands by Karelin.
Karelin has picked Knox up - he's going for a ride! Karelin dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karelin wants to lay and pray for a moment but Knox keeps working.
Karelin lands strikes from half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Karelin missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Knox is defending against the submission attempts here by Karelin.
Karelin throwing shots but Knox is blocking nicely.
Knox trying to control here.
Karelin tries to pass the half guard into mount. Knox knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Karelin content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Karelin trying to control from half guard but Knox is working away.
Karelin is really struggling to control Knox but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Karelin working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Karelin not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Karelin is taking a breather. Knox says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Knox is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Ruslan Karelin dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Yardbird Knox'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.
Knox steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Karelin.
Karelin throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Karelin blocks a jab.
Knox connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Knox 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.
Karelin slips under a jab.
Karelin was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Knox loads up on a big right hand but Karelin slips the punch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knox lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Karelin backs up against the cage.
Karelin misses the shot to the body.
Knox dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Yardbird Knox is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Karelin shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Karelin misses the shot to the body.
It seemed like Knox was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Karelin is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Knox slips a jab from Karelin.
Knox throws a hook but Karelin blocks it.
Karelin throwing a counter right hand but Knox manages to avoid it.
Karelin fails with the takedown
and Knox counters with a stiff right hand.
Knox slips under a jab from Karelin.
Knox stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Knox misses with a straight left.
A looping hook to the body misses from Karelin. Knox does a little dance to reset his feet.
It seemed like Knox was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Knox takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Karelin tries to clinch but Knox moves out of range.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Knox! But no joy.
Knox cracks Karelin with an open hand slap.
Knox swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Karelin swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Karelin misses with an uppercut.
Karelin avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A counter left hand to the body from Karelin misses its target.
Knox lands a nice hook to Karelin's body. Karelin takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karelin tests Knox's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Karelin misses the shot to the body.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Knox! But no joy.
Karelin displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Knox throws out the jab.
Knox looks to score with a jab to the body but Karelin is just out of range.
Karelin uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Knox.
Karelin is looking to counter punch.
Karelin throws the left hand but Knox avoids the punch easily.
Knox thuds a left hand into Karelin's body.
Karelin wants to clinch up but Knox keeps it at a distance.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Knox connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Karelin looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Karelin takes one on the button.
Karelin swings for the body but Knox moves out of range.
Karelin throws a body shot but no joy.
Knox throws out a counter right but Karelin avoids it with no problem.
Knox throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Karelin slips under a jab from Knox.
Karelin throws an off balance right hand
and Knox cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Karelin with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Karelin throws an off balance right hand
and Knox cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Yardbird Knox really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Yardbird Knox's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.
Knox slips under a jab from Karelin.
Karelin is looking to clinch but Knox is avoiding it.
Knox throws out a counter right but Karelin avoids it with no problem.
Knox uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Karelin.
Knox looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Karelin keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Knox.
Jab from Knox.
Karelin throws an ugly left hook that misses
letting Knox counter with a right hand.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knox on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Knox fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
A slow jab from Knox misses its intended target.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Knox thows a left - swing and a miss!
Knox scores with a nice right hand.
Karelin scores with a body shot.
Knox slips a straight right by Karelin.
Knox is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Karelin with a body shot.
Yardbird Knox seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Knox bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Knox needs to keep his hands up - Karelin had a free shot at his head there.
Karelin swings widly with a right hand
letting Knox counter with a right hand.
Karelin misses with a takedown
and Knox counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Knox swings away with a body shot that misses
and Knox takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Knox loads up on a big right hand but Karelin slips the punch.
It looked like Karelin was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Knox.
A big right from Knox misses.
A swing and a miss from Knox.
Knox throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A counter left hand to the body from Karelin misses its target.
Karelin swings away with a body shot that misses
and Knox counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
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!
Knox keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Knox avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
It seemed like Knox was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karelin ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
It looked like Karelin was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Knox.
Knox throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Knox misses with a looping right.
Karelin lands a glancing blow to the side of Knox's head.
Knox misses with a lunging right hand
letting Karelin counter with a right hand.
Knox uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Karelin.
Knox fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Karelin on the side of the head.
Karelin misses with an uppercut
and Knox counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin misses with a shot to the body
and Knox counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Knox works over Karelin's head and body with a nice combination.
Karelin tries to clinch up but Knox circles away and keeps his distance.
Karelin gets a takedown into half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Karelin missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Knox on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Karelin trying to control from half guard but Knox is working away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Yardbird Knox dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Yardbird Knox'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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.
Karelin gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Karelin closes this distance looking for a takedown but Knox circles away.
Knox swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Knox misses with a left hand
and Karelin counters with a nice body shot.
A jab from Knox does it's job there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knox throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Knox scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Karelin throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Knox misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Karelin.
It looked like Karelin was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Knox.
Knox tests Karelin's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Karelin misses with a right hand
and Knox counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Karelin avoids the body shot from Knox.
A quick step to the side and Karelin tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Karelin dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Karelin swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Nice defenses there by Knox.
Knox is looking for the big counter here.
Karelin tries to clinch
letting Knox counter with a right hand.
Ruslan Karelin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
That's two minutes gone in the round.
A punch combination from Knox misses.
A little feinted left hand from Karelin on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Karelin tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Knox defends well and Karelin ends up having to push Knox into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Knox breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A looping hook to the body misses from Karelin. Knox does a little dance to reset his feet.
Knox shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Karelin eats them both and turns towards Knox to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Knox scores with a shot to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The fighters circling - Knox throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Karelin changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Knox waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Karelin.
A quick step to the side and Karelin tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Karelin misses with a straight left.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knox throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Knox works Karelin's body with a nice hook.
Knox avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Knox throws a body punch but Karelin moves out of range.
Karelin was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Knox throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Karelin.
A counter left hand to the body from Karelin misses its target.
Karelin misses with a looping left.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Knox! But no joy.
Knox's jab looks to have found its range, popping Karelin under the eye.
Knox lands a lovely overhand right.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karelin tries to clinch but Knox moves away
and Knox cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Some wild striking there from Knox.
A little feinted left hand from Karelin on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Yardbird Knox is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Knox circles away from the clinch attempt.
Knox throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Karelin swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Knox ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Knox looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Karelin tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Knox was well out of range. Poor timing from Karelin.
Karelin throws a body shot but no joy.
Knox looks to score with a jab to the body but Karelin is just out of range.
And that's the end of the fight!
Yardbird Knox comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Knox 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 46:49
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 46:49
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 46:49
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Yardbird Knox!
Yardbird Knox seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
51% |
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