PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Stephen Steve (ranked 1862 p4p, 2533 weight class) and Ivan Dochenko (ranked 252 p4p, 339 weight class). I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Ivan Dochenko was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Steve
vs
Dochenko

180 cm
27
177
10 - 9 - 0

182 cm
29
176
4 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Dangerous knees
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Champion Apparel

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Stephen Steve!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Ivan Dochenko!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Tarja Halkonen and Matti Vanhoillinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dochenko punishes Steve's body with a nice straight punch.
Dochenko lands with a cross.
Dochenko misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Dochenko throws a hook to the side of Steve's head but Steve sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

Dochenko fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Steve to the ground. Dochenko is now in Steve's guard.
Dochenko stays in close to Steve's body and controls the position.
Dochenko preventing the sweep.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Dochenko working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Steve looking to control.
Steve wants to control the position but Dochenko says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.
Dochenko looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Steve manages to get to full guard.
Steve looking to hit a scissor sweep but Dochenko is one step ahead there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dochenko distracts Steve with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Dochenko stays in close to Steve's body and controls the position.
Steve pulls Dochenko in close to prevent any damage.
Steve is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Steve is trying to control the action in half guard but Dochenko is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Dochenko is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dochenko has his hands clasped together around Steve's back. He's all about the action.
Dochenko makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Dochenko.
Dochenko is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
Dochenko manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Steve manages to get himself to full guard.

Dochenko works over Steve with some ground and pound from guard.
Dochenko preventing the sweep.
Dochenko is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Dochenko won't allow Steve to sweep him here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dochenko landing some decent shots from guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dochenko wants to control from the top but Steve keeps moving.
Dochenko working some strikes from top position.
Dochenko not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Steve trying to control the position.
Dochenko cracks Steve with a solid left hand.
Dochenko is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
It looks like Dochenko might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
Dochenko is fighting to break Steve's control of his arms but Steve is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

Steve is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Dochenko is aware though and is defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Dochenko looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Steve working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Dochenko.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Dochenko looks to land a left hand but Steve moved out of range nicely.
Nice uppercut lands for Dochenko. That snapped Steve's head back.
Steve steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Dochenko.
Steve is looking to counter with a body kick.
Dochenko punishes Steve's body with a nice straight punch.
Steve gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Dochenko lands with a straight right. Steve didn't see that one coming.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Dochenko connects with a body shot.
Steve has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Dochenko finds it's way round the side to connect with Steve's head.
Dochenko misses with a straight right.
Dochenko goes for a double leg but Steve avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Steve continues to drive forward.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Dochenko dominated that round.
That's time! Steve's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Dochenko fails with the takedown
and Steve counters with a nice kick to the body.
Steve connects with a leg kick.
A nice leg kick from Steve, right into the meat of the thigh.
Good exchange - Dochenko coming out on top.
Steve scoring well with a low kick there.
Steve takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Dochenko scores with a hook.
Steve takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Dochenko connects with a body shot.
Dochenko misses with a wild body shot.
Steve thinks about countering with a body kick.
Ivan Dochenko seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Crunch! Steve slams his shin into Dochenko's torso.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Steve just misses with a punch to the body.
Dochenko throws out a loose jab but Steve uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Good exchange - Dochenko coming out on top.
Dochenko throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Steve thinks about countering with a head kick.
Dochenko scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Dochenko moves to clinch but Steve breaks away
and Steve counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Dochenko fails to land with a series of punches.
A slow jab from Dochenko misses its intended target.
Steve takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Dochenko rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Steve counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Dochenko throws a body punch but Steve moves out of range.
Steve jinks towards his opponent looking like he wants to counter with a mid kick but doesn't commit.
Steve pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Nice uppercut lands for Dochenko. That snapped Steve's head back.
Steve misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Dochenko looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Dochenko is keen to just control but Steve is a slippery customer.
Ground and pound from Dochenko.
Dochenko wants to take a breather but Steve is having none of it.
Dochenko not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Dochenko working over Steve with some ground and pound. Steve looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Steve trying to control from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Steve is trying to get back to full guard.
Steve trying to control but Dochenko postures up.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Dochenko connects with a nice short shot to Steve's temple.
Dochenko has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Steve taking some punishment here, with Dochenko in his half guard.
Dochenko seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Dochenko has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Steve is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Steve avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Dochenko.
Dochenko seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Steve trying to control here.
Dochenko perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Steve is trying to get back to full guard.
Steve has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Dochenko is working away from the top position though.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters, thinking about a standup.
Steve regains full guard. Nicely done.

Steve looking for a guillotine here but Dochenko defends easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Dochenko is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Steve working a defensive guard but Dochenko manages to pass into side control anyway.
Dochenko cracks Steve with a big right hand but Steve just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Dochenko lands a decent elbow from side control.
Dochenko is looking to take a break and control but Steve is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Dochenko throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Dochenko scoring with punches from side control.
Dochenko is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Dochenko in side control lands a decent elbow.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ivan Dochenko showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Dochenko scores with a jab. Steve acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Dochenko darts in looking for a takedown but Steve gets double underhooks and turns Dochenko into the cage.
Dochenko scores with a nice right hand.
Steve thows a leg kick but Dochenko checks it
letting Dochenko counter with a right hand.
Steve stalks Dochenko and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Dochenko's face. Dochenko staggers backwards, shaken.
Steve takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Steve takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Dochenko throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Steve tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Dochenko paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Dochenko throws a lazy uppercut
and Steve counters with a right hand to the body.
Dochenko doesn't manage to clinch there - Steve circles away.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Dochenko is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Steve.
Good shot there by Dochenko.
Dochenko is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dochenko throws a body shot but no joy.

Dochenko drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Dochenko with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Dochenko cracks Steve with a solid left hand.
Steve is trying to keep Dochenko in close.
Steve is pulling down on Dochenko's head to control his posture.
Dochenko trying to control the position from guard on top but Steve is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Steve is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Dochenko defends well.
Steve keeping moving, preventing Dochenko from controlling successfully.
Steve knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Dochenko on the ground.
Dochenko with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dochenko is looking to work some ground and pound but Steve has wrist control.
Ivan Dochenko has got the better of the ground game so far.
Steve looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Dochenko sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Steve pushes Dochenko off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

Steve gets caught flat footed, as Dochenko shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Dochenko trying to control but Steve is working from the bottom.
Steve is adopting a defensive guard.
Steve being controlled here, momentarily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stephen Steve has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dochenko postures up in Steve's guard and throws a big left but Steve blocks it.
Steve wants to hit a sweep here but Dochenko passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Steve there!
Dochenko can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Steve is looking to escape.
Dochenko landing shots from mount.
Steve can't escape the position.
Dochenko breaks from Steve's wrist control and lands an elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
BOOM! Dochenko connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Steve tries to hold on but Dochenko pushes him away.
Steve is trying to escape the mount.
Dochenko fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Dochenko looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Steve is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
BOOM! Dochenko connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Steve tries to hold on but Dochenko pushes him away.
Dochenko dominating with strikes here.
Steve is in a horrible position here. Dochenko smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
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!
Dochenko lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Steve hang on?
Dochenko tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Dochenko lands a couple of good shots and Steve has given up his back, trying to escape the position!

And that's the end of the fight!
Ivan Dochenko comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Dochenko has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ivan Dochenko!
After winning the bout, Ivan Dochenko thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.