PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight kickboxing rules bout between Melankomas Caria (ranked 22622 p4p, 22642 weight class) and Kyle Kovingten (ranked 638 p4p, 626 weight class). Caria comes to the ring accompanied by Roy Jones Jr - I Smoke, I Drink feat. Mr. Magic & Youngbloodz). Kovingten comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Tool - Schism kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Caria
vs
Kovingten

186 cm
39
167
44 - 21 - 3

181 cm
32
164
32 - 18 - 2

World class boxer
Insanely flexible

World class MT
Good gas tank

Bondi MMA

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 44 - 21 - 3, fighting out of Montreal, Melankomas Caria!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 32 - 18 - 2, fighting out of Sydney, Kyle Kovingten!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Viktor Lagutenko and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Caria keeps the fight on the outside.
Kovingten throws an off balance right hand
and Caria counters with a nice body kick.
Caria fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

Kovingten gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Kovingten is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Caria is defending well for now.
Kovingten throws an elbow but it misses.
Caria misses with a hook from the clinch.
Kovingten lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Caria misses with a body punch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Kovingten.
Caria scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Caria takes an elbow to the temple.
A nice right hand lands inside from Caria.
A hook to the body from Caria.
Caria throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Kovingten blocks it with crossed arms.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kovingten managing to block the knees to the body from Caria.
Caria misses with a hook to the ribs.
A short right from Kovingten.
Kovingten pushes off an throws an elbow but Caria leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the ropes.
Kovingten tries to throw a body punch but Caria avoids it by throwing Kovingten back against the ropes.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Caria obliges.
Caria dodges an elbow strike from Kovingten.
Caria tries to throw a body punch but Kovingten avoids it by throwing Caria back against the ropes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovingten lands a damaging elbow.
Kovingten fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Caria avoids the elbow strike from Kovingten, against the ropes.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Caria.
Caria can't find room to land a body shot as Kovingten controls the action.
Caria doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Caria scores with a shot to the side of Kovingten's head.
Caria tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Kovingten lands a body shot in the clinch.
Caria holding his opponent close, against the ropes.
Caria throws a punch but it's blocked by Kovingten.
Caria doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Kovingten lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Caria backwards.
Kovingten throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Caria tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Kovingten avoids it.
Kovingten scores with a shoulder strike.
Caria prevents a body shot from Kovingten.
I was talking to Caria's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Kovingten is working Caria over against the ropes.
Caria cracks Kovingten with a nice body shot.
Caria on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Kovingten lands a left hand that snaps the head of Caria backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kovingten misses with a punch to the body.
Kovingten creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
A short left from Caria.
Caria doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Caria working aggressively here.
Caria misses with the head strike.
Nice body punch from Caria.
Caria goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Caria tries to work over Kovingten's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Caria avoids a wild elbow strike from Kovingten.
Caria using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Kovingten has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Kovingten tries to work over Caria's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Caria tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Kovingten's elbow.
Caria misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Caria misses with the head strike.
Caria misses with a hook to the ribs.
Caria is leaning against Kovingten and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kovingten blocks a body shot from Caria.
Kovingten makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Kovingten lands a nice uppercut.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Caria.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Melankomas Caria will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Kovingten doesn't manage to clinch there - Caria circles away.
Caria is looking to counter punch.
Some bone on bone action there as Kovingten checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Caria misses with an uppercut. Kovingten saw that one coming.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Kovingten fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Caria on the side of the head.
Caria is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Kovingten fakes the leg kick and cracks Caria in the body.
Kovingten checks the leg kick nicely there.
Caria fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Kovingten.
Kovingten throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Kovingten.
Caria throws a big shot that misses.
Caria lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Caria takes a swing at Kovingten's ribcage but misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kovingten throws a looping overhand right but Caria ducks down to avoid it.
Kovingten walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Kovingten throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Caria counters with a nice uppercut.
A nice leg kick from Caria, right into the meat of the thigh.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Caria walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Kovingten checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
A telegraphed right hand from Kovingten misses the target.
Caria was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Caria wants to clinch up but Kovingten keeps it at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Decent striking displayed by Caria there.
A swing and a miss from Kovingten.
Kovingten throws the left hand but Caria avoids the punch easily.
Caria avoids the body shot from Kovingten.
Caria fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Kovingten.
Kovingten moves out of range as Caria throws a body kick.
Caria doesn't manage to clinch there - Kovingten circles away.
Caria scoring well with a low kick there.
Caria ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Caria swings for the body but Kovingten moves out of range.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Kovingten lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Caria has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Caria and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Caria will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Kovingten throws the left hand but Caria avoids the punch easily.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Caria digs a good body shot into Kovingten's ribs.
Caria uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Kovingten.
Caria takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Caria lands an overhand right.
Kovingten throws a head kick but Caria moves out of range.
Caria throws a body shot but no joy.
Kovingten misses with a low kick.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kovingten throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Caria pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Kovingten gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Caria.

Kovingten tries to keep at a distance but Caria has taken the fight into the clinch.
Kovingten tries to work over Caria's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Kovingten throws an elbow but it misses.
Caria prevents a body shot from Kovingten.
Caria lands a knee to the head.
Caria effectively controlling the action here.
Kovingten blocks a body shot from Caria.
Caria blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Caria lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Kovingten or not.
A short body shot lands from Caria as the two fighters clinch.
Kovingten misses with the head strike.
Caria blocks a body shot from Kovingten.
A short left from Caria.
A short right from Kovingten on the inside.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Caria misses with a hook to the ribs.
Caria swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Kovingten misses with a short punch on the inside.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Melankomas Caria dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Caria looks to score with a jab to the body but Kovingten is just out of range.
Caria waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kovingten.
A swing and a miss from Kovingten.
Caria misses with a leg kick.
Kovingten throws the kick towards the body but Caria avoids it.
It looked like Caria wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Caria pivots, looking for a leg kick but Kovingten is out of range and Caria settles back down.
Kovingten checks a low kick from Caria.
Kovingten ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Caria cracks Kovingten with a good jab.
Kovingten tries to land a front kick but Caria steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Caria checks a low kick from Kovingten.
Caria throws a head kick that misses.
Caria avoids a kick to the body.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Caria lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Kovingten has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Kovingten and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kovingten misses with an uppercut. Caria saw that one coming.
Caria bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Kovingten's head backwards.
Caria ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kovingten moves away.
Kovingten let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Kovingten takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Caria throws a right hand that misses
and Kovingten counters with a thumping low kick.
A low kick lands for Kovingten.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Caria uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Kovingten.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Caria fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kovingten manages to avoid it.
Kovingten throws a body punch but Caria moves out of range.
Caria works Kovingten's body with a nice hook.
Kovingten thumps Caria with a low kick.
Caria wants to land a leg kick but Kovingten is out of range.
Kovingten connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Caria throws a jab when Kovingten was well out of range.
Caria throws a lazy right hand but Kovingten sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Kovingten fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Caria.
Caria misses with a straight left.
Caria throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Caria with a jab.
Kovingten throws a low kick but Caria avoids it.

Caria gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Caria goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A head punch on the inside from Caria fails to land.
Kovingten lands an uppercut.
Kovingten pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the ropes.
Kovingten gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Kovingten.
Caria scores with a nice hook to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Caria tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Kovingten blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Caria misses with a knee to the head.
Kovingten prevents a body shot from Caria.
Kovingten works on Caria's body with a couple of short punches.
Kovingten lands a damaging elbow.
Kovingten softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
Caria misses with a punch on the inside.
Kovingten is leaning against Caria and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kovingten throws an elbow that misses.
Caria misses with a short punch on the inside.
A left hand lands to the body for Kovingten.
Kovingten tries to land knees in the clinch but Caria avoids the damage to the body.
Kovingten working some nice short punches in the clinch.
A short right from Kovingten.
Kovingten comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Kovingten lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Kovingten presses Caria against the ropes and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Kovingten lands an elbow just above Caria 's eye.
Kovingten throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Caria blocks the elbow strike.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kyle Kovingten really dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Kovingten throws the left hand but Caria avoids the punch easily.
Caria blocks a low kick nicely.
Kovingten throws a low kick but Caria moves out of range easily.
Kovingten chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Caria can pounce on him.
Kovingten throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Kovingten thows a left - swing and a miss!
Kovingten misses with a kick to the body.
Caria lands a right hook to the body.
Caria lands a lovely overhand right.
Caria takes a shot to the body in his stride.
A jab from Caria misses.
Kovingten steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
Caria takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Caria moves out of range of the strikes.
Kovingten pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Caria is looking to counter punch.
Kovingten just misses with a punch to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Kovingten moves into the clinch successfully.
Caria misses with a knee to the head.
Kovingten tries to work over Caria's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Kovingten prevents a body shot from Caria.
Kovingten creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Caria's defenses.
Kovingten misses with a shot to the kidneys.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovingten misses with a hook from the clinch.
Caria tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Kovingten's elbow.
Caria works on Kovingten's body with a couple of short punches.
Caria is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Caria trying to land knees to the body.
Kovingten lands an elbow just above Caria 's eye.
Caria tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
With the fighters up against the ropes, Kovingten throws an elbow but misses.
Caria tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A short uppercut from Kovingten.
Caria misses with a hook to the ribs.
Caria looking to throw knees to the head but Kovingten is blocking nicely.
Kovingten lands an elbow that stopped Caria in his tracks for a moment.
Kovingten pushes Caria back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Caria is leaning against Kovingten and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Kovingten just misses with a elbow thrown towards Caria's brow.
Kovingten lands with a light punch inside.
Caria doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Caria lands with a short shot to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A short right from Kovingten on the inside.
Caria's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
A short left from Caria.
Nice elbow from Kovingten.
Caria trying to land knees to the body.
Kovingten scores with a nice hook to the head.
Kovingten lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Caria throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Kovingten blocks it with crossed arms.
Kovingten landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Kovingten lands a left hand.
A right hand to the body from Caria.
Kyle Kovingten seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Kovingten misses with a punch to the body.
Kovingten lands an elbow inside that Caria shrugs off.
Caria is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Kovingten is defending well for now.
Caria blocks an elbow strike.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Kovingten.
Caria blocks a body shot from Kovingten.
Caria swings wildly with an uppercut but Kovingten uses good head movement to avoid it.
Caria prevents a body shot from Kovingten.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Kyle Kovingten dominated that fourth round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Caria connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Kovingten looks to land a body kick but Caria moved away.
Caria tries to clinch up.
Kovingten swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Kovingten throws a push kick but Caria slaps the foot to one side.
Kovingten connects with a jab.
The fighters circling - Caria throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Kovingten slips under a jab.
Kovingten throws a wild body kick that Caria sees coming a mile off.
Caria moves in looking to clinch but Kovingten pushes him off.
Kovingten misses with a looping left.
Kovingten goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Kovingten moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Kovingten takes one to the chin there.
Kovingten does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A good leg kick by Caria.
A jab from Caria finds it's way through Kovingten's defenses.
Caria lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Kovingten takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Caria uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Caria wants to clinch up but Kovingten keeps it at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A leg kick checked by Caria.
A slapping body kick lands there for Kovingten.
Kovingten looks to score with a jab to the body but Caria is just out of range.
Kovingten throws a jab but it's blocked by Caria.
A bone on bone clash there as Caria blocks the leg kick.
Caria looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Kovingten tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Caria fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Kovingten is out of range.
Caria misses the jab.
Nice body kick from Kovingten.
Kovingten moves away from the strike by Caria.
Kovingten lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Kovingten throws a looping overhand right but Caria ducks down to avoid it.
Kovingten misses with a kick to the body.
Melankomas Caria is winning the standup battle so far.
Kovingten throws a half hearted mid kick.
Caria swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Caria throws a body shot but no joy.
Kovingten explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Kovingten lands with a good body shot.
Caria misses with an uppercut. Kovingten saw that one coming.
It seemed like Kovingten was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The fighters circle momentarily. Kovingten darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
A chopping leg kick lands by Kovingten.
Kovingten takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.

Kovingten drives through and clinches with Caria against the ropes.
Caria struggles to land a body shot inside as Kovingten controls his hands.
Caria prevents a body shot from Kovingten.
Caria prevents a body shot from Kovingten.
Caria misses with a hook to the ribs.
Kovingten landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - a gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
Caria scores with a shot to the side of Kovingten's head.
Kovingten lands a right hand that snaps the head of Caria backwards.
Kovingten throws an elbow but it misses.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Caria obliges.
Kovingten misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Caria.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Caria throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Kovingten lands a right hand.
Caria swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Kovingten tries to land knees in the clinch but Caria avoids the damage to the body.
Caria tries a body shot but Kovingten blocks it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kyle Kovingten comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Kovingten 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 Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 47:49
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 47:49
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 46:49

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kyle Kovingten!
After the fight, Kyle Kovingten was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.