PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ilya Kushnirov (ranked 1087 p4p, 1367 weight class) and Chris Coryatt (ranked 152 p4p, 193 weight class). Coryatt is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Slim Thug - Welcome 2 Houston. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Kushnirov
vs
Coryatt

175 cm
30
195
18 - 15 - 0

180 cm
31
185
17 - 14 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Heavy handed

Furnace Performance 🔥

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 15 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ilya Kushnirov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Chris Coryatt!
The judges for this bout are Paulo Santos, Luis Engracia and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kushnirov throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Coryatt pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Coryatt gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Kushnirov.
Crunch! Coryatt slams his shin into Kushnirov's torso.
Coryatt on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Kushnirov throws a lazy uppercut
and Coryatt cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Kushnirov throws a leg kick
enabling Coryatt to counter with a crisp jab.
Coryatt lands a glancing blow to the side of Kushnirov's head.
A shot to the body from Kushnirov misses
and Coryatt counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Kushnirov bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Coryatt takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Kushnirov misses with a head kick.
Coryatt tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Coryatt throws a head kick but Kushnirov moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kushnirov misses with an attempted mid kick.
Coryatt scores with a jab to the jaw.
Kushnirov darts in looking for a takedown but Coryatt gets double underhooks and turns Kushnirov into the cage.
Coryatt's coach down at Kalashnikov ELITE MMA Gym was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Coryatt's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
A head punch on the inside from Coryatt fails to land.
Kushnirov is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Coryatt is defending well.

Kushnirov's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kushnirov scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Coryatt connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Coryatt fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Coryatt gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Coryatt lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Kushnirov tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Coryatt swivels and escapes.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ilya Kushnirov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Coryatt misses with a hook.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kushnirov connects with an inside leg kick.
Kushnirov has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Coryatt.
Kushnirov takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Kushnirov will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
A little jabbing left from Coryatt on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Chris Coryatt is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Kushnirov looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Kushnirov shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Coryatt defends it nicely.
Kushnirov fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Coryatt looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Coryatt throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Coryatt throws a jab when Kushnirov was well out of range.
Coryatt works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kushnirov throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Coryatt looks to land a left hand but Kushnirov moved out of range nicely.
Kushnirov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Coryatt as he avoids it easily.
Kushnirov's corner calls for a 1-2. Kushnirov obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Coryatt uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Kushnirov has time to react.
Coryatt with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
A swing and a miss from Coryatt.
Kushnirov ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Coryatt moves away.
Ilya Kushnirov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kushnirov throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Coryatt's head.
Coryatt lands a nice leg kick that just misses Kushnirov's sensitive parts.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Kushnirov.
A lazy body kick from Coryatt
and Kushnirov counters with a stiff right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kushnirov uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Coryatt.
Coryatt's corner calls for a 1-2. Coryatt obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Coryatt is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Kushnirov had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into mush.
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!
Kushnirov misses with a takedown
and Coryatt counters with a low kick, right behind Kushnirov 's knee.
Coryatt slips under a jab.
Kushnirov shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Coryatt defends it nicely.
Kushnirov shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Coryatt as he avoids it easily.
Kushnirov throws a leg kick but Coryatt sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Kushnirov throws a right and a left that Coryatt avoids nicely.
Coryatt appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Coryatt paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Coryatt thows a leg kick but Kushnirov checks it
and Kushnirov counters with a nice uppercut.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Kushnirov shoots in looking for a takedown but Coryatt manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Kushnirov's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Coryatt looks like he wanted to counter with a high kick but didn't throw it.
Coryatt misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kushnirov.
Coryatt scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Coryatt throws a hook but Kushnirov blocks it.
Coryatt uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Kushnirov.
Kushnirov bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Coryatt connects with a crisp jab.
Kushnirov closes this distance looking for a takedown but Coryatt circles away.
Coryatt has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Kushnirov misses with a lunging right hand
and Coryatt counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Coryatt missing with a left hand there. Kushnirov was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Coryatt missing with a left hand there. Kushnirov was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Kushnirov half committed to a counter leg kick.
Kushnirov slips a straight right by Coryatt.
Kushnirov misses with a double jab
and Coryatt counters with a nice uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Coryatt rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Kushnirov moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Coryatt looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Kushnirov tries to move into range but Coryatt moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Kushnirov cracks Coryatt with an open hand slap.
Coryatt misses with a straight left.
Coryatt misses with a hook
and Kushnirov connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Coryatt thows a left - swing and a miss!
Coryatt lands a nice looking body shot.
Kushnirov keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Coryatt.
Chris Coryatt seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Coryatt slips a straight right by Kushnirov.
Kushnirov fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ilya Kushnirov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kushnirov fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Coryatt avoids it really well and circles away.
Kushnirov throws a right and a left that Coryatt avoids nicely.
Kushnirov on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kushnirov with the inside leg kick.
Kushnirov connects with the punch.
Coryatt bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Kushnirov's head.
Kushnirov misses with a straight left.
Kushnirov keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Coryatt.
Kushnirov shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Coryatt sprawls well. Coryatt wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Kushnirov gets slowly back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Coryatt lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Kushnirov fails with the takedown
and Coryatt counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Coryatt turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Coryatt throws a leg kick that misses.
As Coryatt backs away, Kushnirov returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
That kick from Kushnirov tenderised Coryatt's leg. Coryatt is trying to keep his angry face on.
Kushnirov lands with a thumping leg kick.
Coryatt sizes up Kushnirov with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Kushnirov goes for a double leg but Coryatt avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Coryatt continues to drive forward.
Coryatt lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Kushnirov misses with a hook to the ribs.
Kushnirov blocks the elbow strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Coryatt's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kushnirov throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Coryatt misses with a looping right.
Coryatt leaves Kushnirov with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Coryatt throws a shot from downtown. Kushnirov moves away and avoids it.
Kushnirov scores with a shot to the body.
Kushnirov misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Kushnirov swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Coryatt feints and then cracks Kushnirov's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Kushnirov down.
Coryatt misses with a series of wild punches.
Coryatt takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Chris Coryatt showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Coryatt displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Kushnirov.

Coryatt lands a big head kick that sends Kushnirov tumbling to the mat! Coryatt takes a step backwards and waves Kushnirov back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Kushnirov is rocked!
Coryatt will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Oh Kushnirov is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Kushnirov scores with a jab to the jaw.
Kushnirov shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Coryatt counters with a huge left! Kushnirov is in big trouble! He's backing up but Coryatt isn't giving him chance to recover. Under a barage of punches the ref has to step in to save Kushnirov from any more damage. A dominating finish by Coryatt!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:35 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Chris Coryatt!
An out of breath Chris Coryatt thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.