PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Danila Bagrov (ranked 874 p4p, 896 weight class) and Abdo Farah (ranked 108 p4p, 110 weight class). Bagrov comes to the cage accompanied by Империя зла. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Bagrov
vs
Farah

186 cm
26
199
8 - 6 - 0

185 cm
32
191
18 - 11 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Granite chin

Shadow Realm Apparel
30th Century Beer Store

30th Century Beer Store

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 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Danila Bagrov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Abdo Farah!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Yuuki Gou and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bagrov moves out of range of the leg kick from Farah.

Bagrov shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Farah has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Bagrov is on him like a limpet, forcing Farah back against the cage.
Farah working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Farah is leaning against Bagrov and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Bagrov scores with a hook to the body.
Farah can't find room to land a body shot as Bagrov controls the action.
Bagrov working aggressively here.
Farah throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bagrov lands with a light punch inside.
Bagrov goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Bagrov.
Farah blocks a body shot from Bagrov.
Bagrov looking for a takedown.
Bagrov is working for takedown but Farah is calmly controlling the position for now.
Farah misses with a punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bagrov throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Farahs head.
I was talking to Bagrov's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Farah misses with a body punch.
Bagrov goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Farah swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Farah swings wildly with an uppercut but Bagrov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bagrov blocks a body shot from Farah.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Farah prevents a body shot from Bagrov.
Farah prevents a body shot from Bagrov.
Farah tries to throw a body punch but Bagrov avoids it by throwing Farah back against the cage.
Farah fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Bagrov fails to land.

Bagrov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Farah misses with a hook.
Bagrov misses with a left hand
and Farah counters with a nice uppercut.

Bagrov shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Farah trying to control here.
Bagrov is keen to just control but Farah is a slippery customer.
Farah blocking the ground and pound attempt from Bagrov.
Bagrov not landing any meaningful shots this time.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Bagrov working the head and body with strikes.
Bagrov slips a nice elbow through Farah's hands, connecting with Farah's forehead.
Bagrov lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Farah has hold of Bagrov's hands but Bagrov slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Farah blocking the ground and pound attempt from Bagrov.
Farah really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Bagrov. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Bagrov throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bagrov not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Bagrov prevents Farah from improving his position.
Bagrov trying to mount his opponent but Farah defends it.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Bagrov scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Bagrov is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Farah wants to control but Bagrov is keeping busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Farah taking some punishment here, with Bagrov in his half guard.
Farah is in trouble now - Bagrov has advanced to mount!
Farah takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

It looks like Abdo Farah has been cut.
Farah tries to lock up and control but Bagrov gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Farah is trying to escape the mount.
Bagrov tries to control but Farah wriggling away.
Farah is trying to stand.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Danila Bagrov dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Abdo Farah's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Farah throws a right hand that misses
and Bagrov counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Nice body punch from Bagrov.
Bagrov avoids a kick to the body.
Farah stuffs the takedown attempt from Bagrov. Bagrov gets slowly back to his feet.
Farah throws out a powerful jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Farah misses with a low kick.
Bagrov is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Farah throws a jab but it's blocked by Bagrov.
As Farah tries to get set, Bagrov tries to push him back and clinch up but Farah manages to avoid the attempt.
Farah misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Bagrov.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Farah avoids the body shot from Bagrov.
Farah throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Bagrov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Farah.
Farah misses with a jab, cross combination.
An attempted straight right counter from Bagrov misses the target.
Farah swings for the body but Bagrov moves out of range.
Bagrov attempts a counter takedown but Farah avoids it well and moves away.
Abdo Farah is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Farah with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Bagrov to score with a decent uppercut.
Farah misses with the combination.

Bagrov closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Farah tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Bagrov wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Bagrov creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Bagrov is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Farah will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Bagrov in side control, throwing shots but Farah defends.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Farah is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Bagrov is controlling him well.
Bagrov has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Bagrov wants to control but Farah is keeping him busy.
Bagrov fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Farah is being controlled here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bagrov connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Farah some visible discomfort.
Bagrov cracks Farah with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Farah is looking for a sweep.
Bagrov sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Farah is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.
Farah tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Bagrov working the ground and pound.
Bagrov trying to control the position but Farah is working away.
Bagrov misses with the ground and pound.
Danila Bagrov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bagrov misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Bagrov scoring with punches and elbows.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bagrov throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Bagrov lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Bagrov cracks Farah with a big right hand but Farah just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Farah taking punishment in the form of punches.
Bagrov remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Bagrov scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Farah to see if he's OK.
Farah is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Bagrov tries to advance to mount but Farah denies him.
Bagrov lands a nice forearm strike.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Danila Bagrov dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Abdo Farah's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Bagrov works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Danila Bagrov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Farah tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Bagrov attempts a counter takedown but Farah avoids it well and moves away.
Farah throws a body punch but Bagrov moves out of range.
Bagrov swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Bagrov changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Farah tries to avoid it but Bagrov manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Farah to the ground. Farah escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Bagrov blocks a head kick by Farah.
A jab from Bagrov does it's job there.
Bagrov displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Farah throws out the jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Farah throws a hook but Bagrov blocks it.
Farah with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Farah throws a looping overhand right but Bagrov ducks down to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Farah throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Bagrov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Farah can do to turn this around?
Farah throws a body punch but Bagrov moves out of range.
Farah thuds a left hand into Bagrov's body.
A low kick lands for Farah.
Bagrov throws a body shot but no joy.
Farah thows a leg kick but Bagrov checks it
and Bagrov counters with a stiff right hand.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Farah!

It looks like Danila Bagrov has been cut.
Farah circles away from the clinch attempt.

Bagrov clinches up against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Farah prevents the takedown attempt.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Bagrov.
Farah can't find room to land a body shot as Bagrov controls the action.
A short right from Bagrov.
Farah misses with a punch to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A right hand to the body from Bagrov.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Bagrov.
Bagrov lands a body shot in the clinch.
Abdo Farah has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bagrov misses with a hook to the ribs.
Bagrov scores with a nice hook to the head.
Bagrov misses with a hook to the ribs.
Farah stalling in the clinch but Bagrov improves position.
Farah working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Farah has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Bagrov seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Farah can turn it around.
Bagrov blocks an uppercut.
Bagrov throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Farahs head.
Farah has had enough of the clinch but Bagrov keeps him there for the moment.
Farah doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Still in the clinch, Bagrov scores with a nice short uppercut.
Farah takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bagrov can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Danila Bagrov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bagrov has Farah pressed against the cage, preventing Farah from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Farah.
Bagrov tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Farah.
Bagrov lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Farah.
Bagrov struggles to land a body shot inside as Farah controls his hands.
Bagrov works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Bagrov misses with a hook to the ribs.
Bagrov lands a body shot.
Bagrov works on Farah's body with a couple of short punches.
A nice left hand lands by Bagrov.

That has opened up Abdo Farah's cut even more.
Nice body punch from Bagrov - that landed with a thud.
Bagrov lands with a right to the head.
Bagrov scores with a hook to the body.
Bagrov lands a right hand that snaps the head of Farah backwards.
Bagrov lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Bagrov lands a nice shot to the body.
Danila Bagrov has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Bagrov throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Farahs head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bagrov lands a body shot in the clinch.
Bagrov lands a nice shot to the body.
Good body shot from Bagrov.
Bagrov throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Farahs head.
Farah prevents a body shot from Bagrov.
Bagrov struggles to land a body shot inside as Farah controls his hands.
Bagrov blocking some punches.
Bagrov blocking some punches.
Bagrov lands a shot to the body.
Bagrov tries to throw a body punch but Farah avoids it by throwing Bagrov back against the cage.
Bagrov lands with a short punch from the clinch.
A nice left hand lands by Bagrov.
Bagrov blocking some punches.
Farah fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A body shot lands from Bagrov.
A short right from Bagrov on the inside.
Bagrov can't find room to land a body shot as Farah controls the action.
A nice left hand lands by Bagrov.
Farah tries to throw a body punch but Bagrov avoids it by throwing Farah back against the cage.
Bagrov lands a left hand.

And that's the end of the fight!
Danila Bagrov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Bagrov, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Danila Bagrov!
A very excited looking Danila Bagrov made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.