PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Godefroy Courtial (ranked 1681 p4p, 1814 weight class) and Edmund Shklyarskiy (ranked 84 p4p, 87 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Courtial
vs
Shklyarskiy

169 cm
21
142
9 - 1 - 1

172 cm
27
135
13 - 12 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Vegan Gains

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 9 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Godefroy Courtial!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Edmund Shklyarskiy!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Shirou Masuda and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Shklyarskiy throws a hook but Courtial avoids it easily.
A shot to the body from Shklyarskiy misses
and Shklyarskiy takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Courtial missing with a left hand there. Shklyarskiy was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Courtial scores with a shot to the body.
Shklyarskiy swings for the body but Courtial moves out of range.
Courtial connects with a good right hand that stumbles Shklyarskiy. Shklyarskiy circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Courtial scores with a nice right hand.
Shklyarskiy misses with an uppercut. Courtial saw that one coming.
Shklyarskiy throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Shklyarskiy throws a body punch but Courtial moves out of range.
Courtial throws a shot to the body.
Courtial lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Shklyarskiy at a distance.
Nice uppercut lands for Courtial. That snapped Shklyarskiy's head back.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A shot to the body from Shklyarskiy misses
and Courtial counters with a thumping low kick.
Shklyarskiy swings for the body but Courtial moves out of range.
Shklyarskiy walks forward, straight into a front kick from Courtial.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Courtial throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Shklyarskiy is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Courtial with a nice calf kick.
Courtial scores with a nice head shot.
Shklyarskiy throws a hook to the side of Courtial's head but Courtial sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Shklyarskiy takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Shklyarskiy jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Shklyarskiy throws a shot from downtown. Courtial moves away and avoids it.
Courtial goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Courtial takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Shklyarskiy blocks a head kick by Courtial.
Shklyarskiy looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Courtial looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shklyarskiy avoids the body shot from Courtial.
Courtial looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shklyarskiy throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Courtial dodges the punch combination from Shklyarskiy.
Courtial connects with a solid leg kick.
Courtial throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Courtial goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Shklyarskiy throws a series of punches but Courtial avoids them all with ease.
Edmund Shklyarskiy seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Courtial swinging wildly here.
Shklyarskiy throws a shot from downtown. Courtial moves away and avoids it.
Shklyarskiy throws a jab when Courtial was well out of range.
Shklyarskiy misses the shot to the body.
It looks like Courtial has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
Nice jab there from Shklyarskiy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Courtial throws a jab when Shklyarskiy was well out of range.
Courtial showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Shklyarskiy.
Shklyarskiy shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Courtial eats them both and turns towards Shklyarskiy to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Courtial shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Shklyarskiy eats them both and turns towards Courtial to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Courtial swings for the body but Shklyarskiy moves out of range.
Shklyarskiy is looking for the big counter here.
Courtial avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
It looked like Courtial wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Courtial tries to bum rush Shklyarskiy with a series of wild strikes but Shklyarskiy uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Shklyarskiy misses with a straight left.
Courtial lands a jab to Shklyarskiy's midsection.
Shklyarskiy misses with a left hand
and Courtial counters with a straight right hand.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Courtial throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
It seemed like Shklyarskiy was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Shklyarskiy misses the body punch
and Courtial connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Courtial on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Courtial throws a nice head kick!
Shklyarskiy slips a straight right by Courtial.
Courtial throws a sloppy body shot
and Shklyarskiy counters with a stiff right hand.
Shklyarskiy throws a series of punches but Courtial avoids them all with ease.
Shklyarskiy walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Shklyarskiy takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Courtial gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Courtial throws a push kick but Shklyarskiy slaps the foot to one side.
Shklyarskiy misses with a lunging right hand
and Courtial counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Shklyarskiy thinking.
Shklyarskiy misses with a right hand
and Courtial counters with a nice body kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nice defenses there by Courtial.
Shklyarskiy throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Shklyarskiy swings for the body but Courtial moves out of range.
Courtial looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Godefroy Courtial dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Shklyarskiy walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Courtial connects with a leg kick.
A good leg kick by Courtial.
Shklyarskiy takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Courtial misses with a two punch combination.
Courtial uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Shklyarskiy.
Shklyarskiy moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

It looks like Godefroy Courtial has been cut.
Courtial takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Shklyarskiy walks forward, straight into a front kick from Courtial.
Danga de danga de dang - Shklyarskiy scores with a four punch combination!
Courtial is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Shklyarskiy can do to turn this around?
Courtial lands a nice hook to Shklyarskiy's body. Shklyarskiy takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Courtial misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Shklyarskiy.
Courtial moves away from the strike by Shklyarskiy.
A lazy left from Courtial finds it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shklyarskiy fails to land with a series of punches.
Courtial was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Courtial tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Some wild striking there from Shklyarskiy.
Courtial keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Shklyarskiy.
Courtial lands a body shot.
Courtial uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Shklyarskiy.
Shklyarskiy takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.

Courtial gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Courtial swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Shklyarskiy is trying to break free.
Courtial swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Shklyarskiy escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Shklyarskiy lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Courtial moves into range and connects with a jab.
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!
A jab from Shklyarskiy does it's job there.
Courtial bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Shklyarskiy misses with a hook.
Shklyarskiy throws a hook but Courtial avoids it easily.
Shklyarskiy swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Courtial counters with a nice uppercut.
Shklyarskiy just misses with a punch to the body.
An attempted straight right counter from Courtial misses the target.
Shklyarskiy misses with an uppercut. Courtial saw that one coming.
Courtial misses with a body shot.
Courtial drops his hands momentarily and Shklyarskiy takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Shklyarskiy takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Courtial misses with a head kick.
Shklyarskiy cracks Courtial with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Courtial goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shklyarskiy throws a hook to the side of Courtial's head but Courtial sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Courtial misses with a two punch combination.
Shklyarskiy is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Courtial with a body shot.
Courtial pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Shklyarskiy lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Courtial backs up against the cage.
Shklyarskiy lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Courtial catches Shklyarskiy with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
A nice combination there by Shklyarskiy.
Shklyarskiy lands a body shot.
Courtial connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Shklyarskiy displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Shklyarskiy throws a shot from downtown. Courtial moves away and avoids it.
Shklyarskiy throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Courtial counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Shklyarskiy dodges the punch combination from Courtial.
Shklyarskiy let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Courtial slips a jab from Shklyarskiy.
Courtial keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Courtial connects with a single shot there.
Shklyarskiy's corner calls for a 1-2. Shklyarskiy obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Shklyarskiy tries to bum rush Courtial with a series of wild strikes but Courtial uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Courtial swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Courtial misses with a jab to the body
and Shklyarskiy counters with a nice uppercut.
Shklyarskiy throws a series of punches but Courtial moves out of range.
Courtial scores with a jab to the jaw.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Shklyarskiy throws an off balance right hand
and Courtial counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Courtial just misses with a punch to the body.
Shklyarskiy throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Shklyarskiy swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Edmund Shklyarskiy will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Godefroy Courtial's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Shklyarskiy throws a lazy right hand but Courtial sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Shklyarskiy digs a good hook to Courtial's body.
Shklyarskiy throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Courtial sees it coming and avoids it easily.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Courtial stuns Shklyarskiy with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Courtial cracks Shklyarskiy with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Shklyarskiy has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Courtial thuds a left hand into Shklyarskiy's body.
Shklyarskiy misses with a hook.
Courtial lands with a nice body punch.
Shklyarskiy looks to land a right hand but Courtial moved out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shklyarskiy misses with a left hand
and Courtial counters with a thumping low kick.
Shklyarskiy tries to move into range but Courtial moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Courtial looks to land a right hand but Shklyarskiy moved out of range.
It seemed like Shklyarskiy was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Courtial pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Shklyarskiy throws the left hand but Courtial avoids the punch easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Courtial throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Shklyarskiy looks to score with a jab to the body but Courtial is just out of range.
Courtial throws a quick counter head kick but Shklyarskiy was just out of range.
Courtial slips under a jab from Shklyarskiy.
It looked like Courtial was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
Godefroy Courtial is winning the standup battle so far.
A looping hook to the body misses from Shklyarskiy. Courtial does a little dance to reset his feet.
Courtial throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Shklyarskiy throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Courtial counters with a nice uppercut.
Shklyarskiy's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Courtial, as that shot connected.
A head kick from Courtial lands but Shklyarskiy takes it in his stride.

Shklyarskiy is rocked!
Courtial with a nice calf kick.
Shklyarskiy is still on wobbly legs! Can Courtial finish him?
Courtial stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Courtial fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Some wild striking there from Shklyarskiy.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Courtial lands a monster head kick that reverborates around the arena! The crowd goes wild as Shklyarskiy crumples to the floor! Courtial milks the crowd's applause and if that isn't knockout of the night, I will be very surprised!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:55 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Head Kick). Godefroy Courtial!