PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight kickboxing rules bout between Fortune Thibodeaux (ranked 6299 p4p, 6379 weight class) and Alexei Saganov (ranked 599 p4p, 607 weight class). Fortune Thibodeaux could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Alexei Saganov's chin.

Thibodeaux
vs
Saganov

210 cm
25
274
3 - 1 - 0

212 cm
25
269
3 - 1 - 0

Great elbows
Good chin

Excellent boxer
Prefers standup

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 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Fortune Thibodeaux!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Alexei Saganov!
The judges for this bout are Bart Greer, Michael Johnstone and David Hoff.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Saganov has closed the distance and engaged Thibodeaux in a clinch.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow but it misses.
Thibodeaux creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Saganov's defenses.

It looks like Alexei Saganov has been cut.
Saganov lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Thibodeaux lands a damaging elbow.
Thibodeaux lands an elbow inside that Saganov shrugs off.
Saganov with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Thibodeaux avoiding damage as Saganov throws knees to the body.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow but it misses.
Saganov with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Saganov scores with a shot to the side of Thibodeaux's head.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike.
Saganov tries a knee to the head but Thibodeaux blocks it.
Saganov blocks a body shot from Thibodeaux.
Saganov tries to land a knee to the head but Thibodeaux blocks with his arms.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Saganov tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Thibodeaux definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.
Saganov dodges an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Saganov scores with an uppercut up the middle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saganov tries to land a knee to the head but Thibodeaux blocks with his arms.
Saganov with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Saganov tries to stall but Thibodeaux uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Saganov avoids the elbow strike from Thibodeaux, against the ropes.
Saganov lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Thibodeaux or not.
Thibodeaux gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Saganov lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the ropes.
Thibodeaux is breathing heavily.
Saganov misses with a knee to the head.
Saganov stalling in the clinch but Thibodeaux improves position.
Saganov is trying to maintain a safe position but Thibodeaux gets an underhook and turns Saganov into the ropes.
Saganov with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow that misses.
Thibodeaux comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Saganov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Thibodeaux blocks it with crossed arms.
Saganov tries a knee to the head but Thibodeaux blocks it.
Saganov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Thibodeaux blocks it with crossed arms.
Thibodeaux throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Thibodeaux gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Thibodeaux just misses with a elbow thrown towards Saganov's brow.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow but it misses.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Saganov tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Thibodeaux avoids it.
With the fighters up against the ropes, Thibodeaux throws an elbow but misses.
Saganov looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
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!
Thibodeaux throws an elbow but it misses.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Saganov.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow that misses.
Saganov lands an uppercut.
Thibodeaux throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Saganov scores with a shot to the side of Thibodeaux's head.
Saganov lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Saganov is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Thibodeaux is keeping busy.
Saganov putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Thibodeaux in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Saganov avoids a wild elbow strike from Thibodeaux.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saganov working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike.
Saganov misses with a knee strike.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Thibodeaux just misses with a elbow thrown towards Saganov's brow.
Thibodeaux lands a damaging elbow.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow that misses.
Saganov avoids the elbow strike from Thibodeaux, against the ropes.
Saganov struggles to land a body shot inside as Thibodeaux controls his hands.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Saganov is trying to maintain a safe position but Thibodeaux gets an underhook and turns Saganov into the ropes.
Thibodeaux misses with an elbow strike.
Saganov can't find room to land a body shot as Thibodeaux controls the action.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Saganov swings wildly with an uppercut but Thibodeaux uses good head movement to avoid it.
Saganov leaning against his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thibodeaux pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Thibodeaux misses with an elbow strike.
Saganov has a couple of punches blocked by Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Thibodeaux comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Saganov tries to land a knee to the head but Thibodeaux blocks with his arms.
Thibodeaux managing to block the knees to the body from Saganov.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Thibodeaux just misses with a elbow thrown towards Saganov's brow.
Saganov misses with a knee to the head.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow that misses.
Saganov avoids a wild elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Saganov avoids a wild elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux lands an elbow inside.
Saganov tries a knee to the head but Thibodeaux blocks it.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Alexei Saganov will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Alexei Saganov's cut.
That's time! Thibodeaux's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Saganov wants to slow Thibodeaux down by chopping away at his legs.
Thibodeaux was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Thibodeaux lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Saganov lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

Saganov gets tackled into the ropes by Thibodeaux. Thibodeaux maintains the clinch.
Thibodeaux pushes off an throws an elbow but Saganov leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Thibodeaux pushes off an throws an elbow but Saganov leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Saganov blocks the elbow strike.
Saganov struggles to land a body shot inside as Thibodeaux controls his hands.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Thibodeaux just misses with a elbow thrown towards Saganov's brow.
Thibodeaux lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Saganov is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Thibodeaux is keeping busy.
Saganov looking to stall.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thibodeaux lands a nice elbow.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Saganov has a couple of punches blocked by Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Fortune Thibodeaux has scored more points in the clinch so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
With the fighters up against the ropes, Thibodeaux throws an elbow but misses.
Thibodeaux pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.
Saganov avoids a wild elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Thibodeaux misses with an elbow strike.
Saganov unloads a knee to the mid-section. Thibodeaux lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Saganov lands with a left to the head.
Thibodeaux prevents a body shot from Saganov.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Saganov as Thibodeaux tries to tie him up.
Saganov looking to throw knees to the head but Thibodeaux is blocking nicely.
Saganov misses with a knee strike.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Thibodeaux just misses with a elbow thrown towards Saganov's brow.
Thibodeaux comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Saganov tries a body shot but Thibodeaux blocks it.
Saganov tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saganov misses with a knee to the head.
Saganov taking a breather.
Thibodeaux looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Saganov dodges an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Saganov trying to stall but Thibodeaux improves his position.
Saganov tries to land a knee to the head but Thibodeaux blocks with his arms.
Thibodeaux blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
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!
Saganov is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Thibodeaux is keeping busy.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow that misses.
Thibodeaux throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Thibodeaux throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Saganov tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Saganov scores with a knee to the head.
Saganov swings wildly with an uppercut but Thibodeaux uses good head movement to avoid it.
Thibodeaux pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow that misses.
Thibodeaux pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.
Saganov misses with a punch to the body.
Saganov is looking to control Thibodeaux's arms but Thibodeaux gets an underhook and turns him. Now Saganov has his back to the ropes.
Thibodeaux lands an elbow inside.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike.
Thibodeaux creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Saganov's defenses.
Thibodeaux creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Saganov tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Thibodeaux avoids it.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Saganov misses with the head strike.
Saganov throws a punch but it's blocked by Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux stalling against the ropes.
Thibodeaux misses with an elbow strike.
Saganov misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
With the fighters up against the ropes, Thibodeaux throws an elbow but misses.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Thibodeaux just misses with a elbow thrown towards Saganov's brow.
Saganov avoids a wild elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Saganov's defenses.

That has opened up Alexei Saganov's cut even more.
Thibodeaux pushes off an throws an elbow but Saganov leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Saganov tries a knee to the head but Thibodeaux blocks it.
Saganov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Thibodeaux pushes off an throws an elbow but Saganov leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
A short uppercut from Saganov.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Thibodeaux lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Saganov looking to throw knees to the head but Thibodeaux is blocking nicely.
Thibodeaux managing to block the knees to the body from Saganov.
Saganov avoids a wild elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Saganov blocks the elbow strike.
Saganov with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow but it misses.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Fortune Thibodeaux dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Alexei Saganov's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Saganov takes a kick to the side of the head.
Thibodeaux walks forward, straight into a front kick from Saganov.

Saganov takes the fight into the clinch.
Thibodeaux pushes off an throws an elbow but Saganov leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Saganov is trying to maintain a safe position but Thibodeaux gets an underhook and turns Saganov into the ropes.
Saganov tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Saganov avoids the elbow strike from Thibodeaux, against the ropes.
Saganov misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Thibodeaux blocks a body shot from Saganov.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Thibodeaux just misses with a elbow thrown towards Saganov's brow.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Saganov looking to throw knees to the head but Thibodeaux is blocking nicely.
Saganov avoids the elbow strike from Thibodeaux, against the ropes.
Saganov with a knee to the head.
Saganov misses with a knee to the head.
Thibodeaux looks to throw an elbow but misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saganov blocks the elbow strike.
Saganov avoids the elbow strike from Thibodeaux, against the ropes.
Thibodeaux misses with an elbow strike.
With the fighters up against the ropes, Thibodeaux throws an elbow but misses.
Saganov makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Saganov tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Thibodeaux misses with an elbow strike.
Saganov misses with a body punch.
Saganov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Thibodeaux blocks it with crossed arms.
Thibodeaux gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Saganov with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Saganov dodges an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
A right hand to the body from Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Thibodeaux creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Thibodeaux comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
With the fighters up against the ropes, Thibodeaux throws an elbow but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thibodeaux pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.
Saganov dodges an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Saganov is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Saganov using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Knees in the clinch landing for Saganov.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Saganov tries a body shot but Thibodeaux blocks it.
Saganov tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Thibodeaux misses with an elbow strike.
Saganov takes an elbow to the forehead.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike.
Saganov lands a nice shot to the body.
Saganov scores a nice knee to the body.
A body shot lands from Saganov.
Saganov lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Thibodeaux backwards.
Saganov with an attempt at a knee that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saganov with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Saganov dodges an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Saganov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Thibodeaux blocks it with crossed arms.
Saganov is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Thibodeaux is defending well for now.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Saganov swings wildly with an uppercut but Thibodeaux uses good head movement to avoid it.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow that misses.
Thibodeaux misses with an elbow strike.
Saganov with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Saganov using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Saganov misses with a hook to the ribs.
Saganov avoids the elbow strike from Thibodeaux, against the ropes.
Saganov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Thibodeaux blocks it with crossed arms.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Thibodeaux.
Saganov blocks an elbow strike from Thibodeaux.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saganov lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Saganov blocks the elbow strike.
Saganov is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Saganov with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

It looks like Fortune Thibodeaux has been cut.
Saganov tries to land knees in the clinch but Thibodeaux avoids the damage to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Saganov with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Saganov is trying to stall.
Thibodeaux gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Saganov misses with a hook to the ribs.
Thibodeaux throws an elbow but it misses.
Saganov struggles to land a body shot inside as Thibodeaux controls his hands.
Thibodeaux throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Saganov avoids a wild elbow strike from Thibodeaux.
Saganov tries to land a knee to the head but Thibodeaux blocks with his arms.
Saganov missing with knees to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexei Saganov comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Saganov 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 Bart Greer scores the fight 29:28
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 28:29
Judge David Hoff scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Alexei Saganov!