PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alexei Thorgard (ranked 4361 p4p, 4320 weight class) and Yulian Duric (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Thorgard
vs
Duric

195 cm
18
280
0 - 0 - 0

195 cm
18
270
0 - 0 - 0

Dangerous GnP
Counter fighter
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Alexei Thorgard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Yulian Duric!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Matti Vanhoillinen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
An inside leg kick lands from Duric.
Thorgard takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Duric scores with a kick to the body.
Duric connects with a leg kick.
Duric lands with a slapping head kick.
A nice leg kick lands there from Duric.
Duric fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Thorgard.
Duric paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Duric works Thorgard's body with a nice hook.
Duric lands a leg kick that knocks Thorgard off balance momentarily.
Duric should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Duric bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Duric goes for a high kick. It partially lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Duric throws a head kick that misses

so Thorgard counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Thorgard is stalling in the full guard.
Thorgard is in close to Duric's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Thorgard controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Thorgard has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thorgard seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Duric for as long as he can get away with.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Thorgard.
Duric is trying to keep Thorgard in close.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Duric is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Duric jabs Thorgard to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Thorgard ducks under a wild hook from Duric.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Duric's corner calls for a 1-2. Duric obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Thorgard walks into a jab.
A solid leg kick lands there for Duric.
Duric looks to throw a body kick

and Thorgard counters with a takedown into side control.
Duric tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Thorgard wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Thorgard controls the position from side control.
Thorgard grinds an elbow into Duric's temple.
A lull in the action here.
Thorgard knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Duric on the ground.
Duric tries to buck Thorgard off but Thorgard is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duric is being controlled here.
Duric is trying to improve his position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Thorgard scores with a couple of short elbows.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Duric trying to remain calm as Thorgard controls from the top position.
Duric takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Thorgard taking a breather here.
Thorgard working the ground and pound.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Yulian Duric 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.

A head kick by Duric misses

and Thorgard counters with a nice double leg into side control. Duric won't be happy with that.
Thorgard in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Thorgard working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Duric tries to improve position but can't.
Thorgard taking a breather here.
Thorgard continues to stall.
Thorgard creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thorgard just content to control the position.
Thorgard landing a few strikes.
Thorgard landing a few strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Thorgard connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Duric some visible discomfort.

Duric is rocked!
Thorgard moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Thorgard connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Duric some visible discomfort.
Duric struggling a bit here.
Thorgard content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thorgard creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Duric trying to remain calm as Thorgard controls from the top position.
Thorgard's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Duric tries to bench press Thorgard off him but Thorgard keeps the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thorgard creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Alexei Thorgard overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Check out the look on Thorgard's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Thorgard creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Thorgard just content to control the position.
Duric is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Thorgard controls the position from side control.
Thorgard landing strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Duric seems a little lost for a moment, as Thorgard dominates the positioning.
Duric manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Thorgard in particular looking to stall.
Duric tries to roll over but Thorgard keeps him under control.
Well, if Thorgard is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Alexei Thorgard dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Duric throws a leg kick

and Thorgard decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Duric's guard.
Duric wants to stand and escape but Thorgard is having none of it.
Thorgard showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Further stalling from Thorgard.
Thorgard landing with the ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thorgard looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Duric is trying to keep Thorgard in close.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thorgard controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Duric throws a lazy head kick

and Thorgard decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Duric's guard.
Thorgard is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Thorgard is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Thorgard is pushing down on Duric's leg trying to pass to half guard. Duric is fighting to maintain full guard but Thorgard has managed to sneak the leg through.
Thorgard is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
If it seems like I'm not saying a lot, it's just because Thorgard is stinking the place up with his stalling.
Thorgard prevents Duric from improving his position.
Thorgard is controlling the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thorgard continues to hold on tight.
Thorgard is nestled in close to Duric, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Thorgard is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Thorgard looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Duric with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Thorgard content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Thorgard lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Thorgard scoring with strikes to the body and head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexei Thorgard showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Thorgard has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexei Thorgard!