PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Big Boss (ranked 3967 p4p, 4004 weight class) and Leonel Sherman (ranked 0 p4p, 388 weight class). Leonel Sherman has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Boss
vs
Sherman

170 cm
25
155
2 - 0 - 0

178 cm
23
160
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
KO power

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Big Boss!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Leonel Sherman!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Sergei Dronov and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sherman connects with a body shot.
Sherman fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Boss lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Sherman throws a series of punches but Boss avoids them all with ease.
Boss throws a counter high kick but Sherman was just alert enough to avoid it.
Sherman misses with a leg kick
and Boss counters with a slapping leg kick.
Sherman wants to land a leg kick but Boss is out of range.
Leonel Sherman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Boss fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Sherman.
Boss slips under a jab from Sherman.
Boss wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
A leg kick checked by Sherman.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Sherman closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Boss's guard.

Boss is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Sherman is aware though and is defending well.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sherman sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Sherman trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sherman landing with the ground and pound.
Sherman scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Sherman preventing the sweep.
Sherman seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Sherman makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Sherman lands a couple of elbows.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Sherman is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Sherman working some strikes from top position.
Sherman lands a couple of digs.
Sherman looking to pass the guard.
Sherman with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sherman has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Boss is proving hard to escape from.
Sherman controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sherman lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Sherman showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Sherman looks to land a combination but Boss avoids it well.
Boss throws a sloppy head kick and Sherman moves out of range easily.
Boss is breathing heavily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Sherman misses with a jab, cross combination.

Sherman drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Boss prevents Sherman from improving position.

Sherman decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Sherman lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sherman displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Sherman throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Big Boss is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sherman scores with a hook.

Boss is rocked!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Leonel Sherman dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Sherman checks a low kick from Boss.
A lazy body kick from Boss

and Sherman counters with a nice double leg into side control. Boss won't be happy with that.

Sherman wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Boss, who protects the arm well.
Boss is letting Sherman control him for a moment.
Sherman landing strikes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sherman scores with punches from side control.

Sherman looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Leonel Sherman has got the better of the ground game so far.
Sherman working the ground and pound.

Sherman decides to stand up, so the ref orders Boss to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Boss takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Leonel Sherman seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A leg kick checked by Boss.

Sherman decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Sherman seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sherman perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Sherman lands with a punch from half guard.
Sherman performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Sherman lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Sherman looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Boss with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sherman scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Sherman looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Sherman really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Boss. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sherman slows the pace down in half guard.

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.
Sherman wants to pass to mount but Boss is defending the position.

Boss is defending against the submission attempts here by Sherman.

Sherman is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Boss defends it well.
Sherman has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Still in half guard, Sherman seems content to control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Leonel Sherman showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Sherman misses with a body kick.
Sherman's corner calls for a 1-2. Sherman obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Sherman throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Thud! ouch! good body kick from Boss - that will leave a mark!
Sherman misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Boss fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Sherman checks it well.
Nice straight punches there by Sherman. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Sherman.
Big Boss has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sherman tries to bum rush Boss with a series of wild strikes but Boss uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
As Sherman tries to get set, Boss tries to push him back and clinch up but Sherman manages to avoid the attempt.

Sherman shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Sherman showed some decent athleticism there.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Sherman is looking for a kimura here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sherman lands strikes from half guard.
Sherman trying to control the pace.
Sherman is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Boss has hold of Sherman's hands but Sherman slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Sherman is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Boss doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Sherman.
Sherman seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Sherman scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Sherman slips a nice elbow through Boss's hands, connecting with Boss's forehead.
Sherman controlling the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
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. Sherman connects with a nice short shot to Boss's temple.
Sherman drops an elbow to the side of Boss's head.
Sherman is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Sherman looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Sherman scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Boss has hold of Sherman's hands but Sherman slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Oh Boss is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Sherman working Boss over with strikes.
Sherman lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sherman is pressing down on Boss's thigh, looking to free his foot. Boss is holding on for now.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Sherman slips a nice elbow through Boss's hands, connecting with Boss's forehead.
Sherman perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Sherman scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Sherman passes the guard and advances to mount!
Sherman cracks Boss with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

Sherman is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Boss to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Boss shrugs it off.
Leonel Sherman is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Boss seems to have got his legs back now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sherman content just to control the position here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Leonel Sherman comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Sherman 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 Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight for Leonel Sherman!
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight for Leonel Sherman!
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight for Leonel Sherman!

Leonel Sherman wins by unanimous decision!