PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Phil St. Georges (ranked 1520 p4p, 3453 weight class) and Rafa Peziev (ranked 127 p4p, 222 weight class). Rafa Peziev will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

St. Georges
vs
Peziev

167 cm
31
145
9 - 2 - 0

161 cm
25
147
6 - 5 - 0

BJJ Red Belt
Basic striking
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
Counter fighter
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Phil St. Georges!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Rafa Peziev!
The judges for this bout are Albert Achterberg, Nard Betker and Saam Ante.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Peziev feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Peziev wants to control from the top but St. Georges keeps moving.

St. Georges has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Peziev can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Peziev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Peziev won't allow St. Georges to sweep him here.
St. Georges is trying to control the position from the bottom.

St. Georges is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

St. Georges escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Peziev gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
St. Georges wants to sweep but no luck.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St. Georges is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Peziev trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Peziev postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
St. Georges avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
St. Georges trying to keep a closed guard but Peziev is proving a slippery customer.

St. Georges has his foot on Peziev's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Peziev works his way back into a safe position though.
Peziev scoring with punches to the head and body.
Peziev scoring with punches to the head and body.
Peziev wants to control from the top but St. Georges keeps moving.

St. Georges has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Peziev can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

St. Georges is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Peziev working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

St. Georges escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Peziev gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Peziev trying to control the position from guard on top but St. Georges is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Peziev connects with a couple of short punches.
Peziev must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Peziev pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. St. Georges is keeping the position for now.

St. Georges looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Peziev throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Peziev looking to pass the guard.

St. Georges working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Peziev doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Peziev manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Peziev is working St. Georges over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
St. Georges is trying to control the position but Peziev postures up.
Peziev in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
St. Georges trying to control the position here.
Peziev trying to control the position from guard on top but St. Georges is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Peziev pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. St. Georges is keeping the position for now.

St. Georges has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Peziev can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
St. Georges is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

St. Georges is working for a kimura but Peziev is defending it quite comfortably.

St. Georges is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Peziev doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time St. Georges.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St. Georges is pressing down on Peziev's thigh, looking to free his foot. Peziev is holding on for now.
Peziev is trying to maintain the position but St. Georges is very close to passing his half guard.
Peziev tries to roll over but St. Georges keeps him under control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
St. Georges trying to control the action but Peziev is working from the bottom.

St. Georges is looking for a kimura but Peziev is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for St. Georges to get the leverage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Peziev moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Peziev had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. St. Georges defends it easily.

Peziev is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Rafa Peziev will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

St. Georges shoots in for a takedown but Peziev shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Peziev shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Peziev was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
St. Georges is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.

St. Georges looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Peziev tries to pass the half guard into mount. St. Georges knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
St. Georges moves into full guard.
Peziev trying to control but St. Georges is working from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Peziev scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Peziev pushing down on St. Georges's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Peziev missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Peziev seems like he's working for an arm triangle here. He's freed his trapped foot and he's rotating nicely. St. Georges is in big trouble! He's tapping out! This one is aaaaaaaaaaaall over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:58 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Arm Triangle). Rafa Peziev!
After the fight, Rafa Peziev was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.