PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kazuya Mishima (ranked 1788 p4p, 2282 weight class) and Alexander Kuznetsov (ranked 270 p4p, 326 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Mishima might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Techno Syndrome Mortal Kombat. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Mishima
vs
Kuznetsov

180 cm
28
190
6 - 2 - 0

180 cm
21
195
4 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent MT
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Kazuya Mishima!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alexander Kuznetsov!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, Alyssa Summers and Reed Andrews.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Mishima is defended easily by Kuznetsov.
Nice body punch from Kuznetsov.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Mishima misses with the head strike.
Mishima misses with a hook from the clinch.
Kuznetsov blocks a body shot from Mishima.
Mishima just leaning against Kuznetsov, taking a breather.
Kuznetsov displaying some good clinch control by pressing Mishima up against the cage.
Mishima stalling in the clinch but Kuznetsov improves position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mishima wants to stall.
Kuznetsov is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Mishima using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Kuznetsov has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Kuznetsov connects with a knee to the head.

It looks like Kazuya Mishima has been cut.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kuznetsov escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Kuznetsov instigates a clinch.
Mishima takes an elbow to the temple.
Mishima looking to stall.
Mishima goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Mishima works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Kuznetsov tries to land knees in the clinch but Mishima avoids the damage to the body.
Kuznetsov throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Kuznetsov blocking some punches.
Mishima avoiding damage as Kuznetsov throws knees to the body.
Kuznetsov taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Mishima drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kazuya Mishima. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mishima misses with a short punch on the inside.
We've been hearing reports that Mishima has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Mishima misses with the head strike.
A nice left hand lands by Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Mishima.
Mishima is trying to maintain a safe position but Kuznetsov gets an underhook and turns Mishima into the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kuznetsov throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Kuznetsov lands a left hand that snaps the head of Mishima backwards.
A knee to the head by Kuznetsov.
This has been an exciting period of action!
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Kuznetsov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Mishima has a couple of punches blocked by Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Mishima is defending well for now.
Kuznetsov lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Mishima wants to take the fight to the mat but Kuznetsov manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Kuznetsov gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Mishima misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Kuznetsov.
Mishima pushes Kuznetsov back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Kuznetsov using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Mishima has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Kuznetsov lands a body punch in the clinch.
Mishima is breathing heavily.
A knee to the head by Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Mishima avoids it.
Kuznetsov missing with knees to the body.
Kuznetsov with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Kuznetsov lands a knee to the body.
Mishima misses with some punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuznetsov lands a left hand.
Kuznetsov lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Kuznetsov stops a takedown attempt from Mishima.
Kuznetsov is struggling to control the position.
Mishima is trying to stall.
Mishima pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Kuznetsov lands on the inside with an uppercut.

Kuznetsov manages to break the clinch.
Kuznetsov lands a nice looking body shot.
Mishima takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

Mishima clinches with his opponent.
Mishima takes a knee to the side of the body.
Kuznetsov lands an elbow inside.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mishima has Kuznetsov pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Kuznetsov manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
A short left from Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov throws a knee to the head but misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kuznetsov is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Kuznetsov using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Mishima has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Kuznetsov.
Mishima tries to land a knee to the head but Kuznetsov blocks with his arms.
Kuznetsov tries a knee to the head but Mishima blocks it.
Kuznetsov lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Mishima taking a breather.
Kuznetsov effectively controlling the action here.

Kuznetsov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Kuznetsov scores with a crisp jab that stopped Mishima in his tracks.
Mishima jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Good exchange - Kuznetsov coming out on top.
Kuznetsov feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Mishimas jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
The fighters circle momentarily. Kuznetsov darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.

Mishima is rocked!
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A jab from Kuznetsov finds it's way through Mishima's defenses.
Oh Mishima is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Kuznetsov drops a shoulder and throws an uppercut that cracks Mishima right on the button. Mishima goes down! Kuznetsov follows him to the mat and finishes the job with more strikes! Kuznetsov gets the win via TKO!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:58 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Alexander Kuznetsov!
After winning the bout, Alexander Kuznetsov thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.