PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ryan Craig (ranked 4616 p4p, 3827 weight class) and Shamsudin Mamedsharipov (ranked 454 p4p, 415 weight class). Mamedsharipov has chosen katyusha as his entrance music. 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.

Craig
vs
Mamedsharipov

193 cm
24
214
1 - 1 - 0

190 cm
19
206
1 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ryan Craig!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Shamsudin Mamedsharipov!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Timothy Bukovac and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Craig closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Mamedsharipov working hard to break the clinch.
Craig content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Craig keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Mamedsharipov's efforts to push away.
Craig stalling against the cage.
Craig prevents Mamedsharipov from breaking the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mamedsharipov is trying to break the clinch but Craig is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Craig content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Craig dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Come on Craig - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Mamedsharipov wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Mamedsharipov tries to circle away but Craig has him pinned against the cage.

That's two 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.
Mamedsharipov can't break the clinch.
Stalling in the clinch from Craig.
Mamedsharipov can't break the clinch.
Craig stalls.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ryan Craig.

Craig closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Mamedsharipov to the mat! Mamedsharipov manages to get full guard.
Mamedsharipov looking to hit a scissor sweep but Craig is one step ahead there.
Craig is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mamedsharipov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Craig has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Craig throws a big right hand that misses.
Mamedsharipov bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Craig's guard.

Craig is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Mamedsharipov is controlling him.

Craig uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Craig throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Mamedsharipov's waist but Mamedsharipov gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Craig off to one side.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice sprawl there from Mamedsharipov as Craig shoots in.
Craig shoots in but Mamedsharipov avoids the takedown attempt easily.
We've been informed that Mamedsharipov has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ryan Craig. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Craig gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Mamedsharipov is trying to push Craig away but Craig has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Mamedsharipov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Craig has him pressed against the cage.
Craig works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Craig changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Mamedsharipov fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Craig looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Mamedsharipov misses with a double jab.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ryan Craig dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Mamedsharipov throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Craig rushes Mamedsharipov and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Craig prevents Mamedsharipov from breaking the clinch.
Craig dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Stalling in the clinch from Craig.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Craig stalling.
Craig gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.
Craig leaning his opponent against the cage.
Craig seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
Craig pressing his opponent against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ryan Craig.
Mamedsharipov tries to clinch up but Craig circles away and keeps his distance.
Craig is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Mamedsharipov tries to bum rush Craig with a series of wild strikes but Craig uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Craig dodges the punch combination from Mamedsharipov.

Craig moves into the clinch.
Mamedsharipov has had enough of the clinch but Craig keeps him there for the moment.
Stalling in the clinch from Craig.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mamedsharipov tries to break free but Craig pushes him back against the cage.
Mamedsharipov is trying to break free.
Mamedsharipov has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Mamedsharipov wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Craig effectively controlling the action here.
Mamedsharipov wants to get back to striking at distance but Craig won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Craig leaning his opponent against the cage.
Craig taking a breather.
Craig stalling against the cage.
Craig is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Mamedsharipov can do to turn this around?
Craig avoiding damage.

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.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Ryan Craig.
Craig shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Mamedsharipov as he avoids it easily.
Ryan Craig seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Mamedsharipov clinches up with Craig and pushes him back against the cage.
Mamedsharipov is looking to break free of the clinch but Craig has double underhooks.

Craig breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Mamedsharipov shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.

It looks like Shamsudin Mamedsharipov has been cut.
Mamedsharipov throws out a leg kick but Craig moves out of range and Mamedsharipov only half commits.
Craig appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Craig shoots in for a takedown but Mamedsharipov shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Shamsudin Mamedsharipov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mamedsharipov stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ryan Craig. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A left and a right from Mamedsharipov both land. Nice combination.
Craig walks into a stiff left hand from Mamedsharipov.
Craig closes this distance looking for a takedown but Mamedsharipov circles away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Shamsudin Mamedsharipov showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Shamsudin Mamedsharipov's cut.
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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Craig drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Craig controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Mamedsharipov is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Craig sitting in guard here, content to control.
Craig stopping the sweep attempt from Mamedsharipov.
Mamedsharipov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mamedsharipov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Craig.
Mamedsharipov is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Craig wants to get back to his feet.

Craig has one foot on Mamedsharipov's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.

Craig shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Craig trying to control the pace.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Craig winds up and cracks Mamedsharipov with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Craig in particular looking to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Craig is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Craig not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ground and pound from Craig.
Craig performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Craig slips a nice elbow through Mamedsharipov's hands, connecting with Mamedsharipov's forehead.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Craig is thwarting Mamedsharipov's attempts to control the position.
Craig keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Mamedsharipov is trying to maintain the position but Craig is very close to passing his half guard.
Mamedsharipov avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Craig.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Mamedsharipov tries to sprawl but Craig drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Craig takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

And that's the end of the fight!
Ryan Craig showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Craig 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:28
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 29:28
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ryan Craig!
Shamsudin Mamedsharipov spoke after the fight, saying 'this fight not go as planned,ill be back better than ever,id like to thank fans for support and the promoter for giving me this chance'.