PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Vladimir Valkov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Blake Phillips (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Phillips is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Welcome Home by Coheed & Cambria. Vladimir Valkov has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Valkov
vs
Phillips

175 cm
22
161 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

178 cm
22
158 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ruthless Results 141+ Energy SALE $28

5th Round
Hell's Kitchen Lab Corp

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Vladimir Valkov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Blake Phillips!
The judges for this bout are Steve Montenegro, Dean Styles and John Kavanagh.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Phillips fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Phillips tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
A punch combination from Valkov misses.
Blake Phillips seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Valkov throws a combination. Phillips tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

Valkov moves into the clinch.
Valkov lands a body shot.
Phillips fails to pull guard.
Valkov lands with a short shot to the head.
Valkov throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Phillips goes for a takedown in the clinch but Valkov prevents it.
Vladimir Valkov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Blake Phillips.
Valkov lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

Phillips jumps guard and drags Valkov to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

Phillips has his foot on Valkov's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Valkov works his way back into a safe position though.
Valkov working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Phillips's head.

Phillips is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Valkov looking to pass the guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valkov lands a couple of digs.
Phillips keeping moving, preventing Valkov from controlling successfully.
Valkov wants to pass the guard but Phillips is keeping the position.
Valkov trying to control but Phillips is working from the bottom.
Phillips preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Phillips looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Phillips looks gassed!
Phillips has momentary wrist control but Valkov slips an elbow through the middle.
Valkov looking to pass the guard.
Valkov is working Phillips over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Valkov cracks Phillips with a solid left hand.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Valkov's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Valkov won't allow Phillips to sweep him here.
Valkov thows a big elbow that misses.
Valkov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Phillips works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Valkov is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Phillips working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Valkov has passed into half guard!
Valkov working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Phillips trying to control here.
Valkov takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Valkov working over Phillips with some ground and pound. Phillips looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Valkov is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Valkov working over Phillips with some ground and pound. Phillips looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Valkov is looking to take a break and control but Phillips is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Valkov trying to control the pace.
Valkov throwing shots but Phillips is blocking nicely.
Valkov working over Phillips with some ground and pound. Phillips looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Valkov thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Phillips's head.
Valkov wants to take a breather but Phillips is having none of it.
Valkov knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Phillips on the ground.

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.
Valkov lands with a punch from half guard.
Phillips blocking the ground and pound attempt from Valkov.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Valkov clinches up with Phillips and pushes him back against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Valkov.
A short right from Valkov.
Valkov lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Valkov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Phillips has him pressed against the cage.
Valkov scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Valkov lands a nice shot to the body.
Valkov lands a hook to the side of the head.
Valkov lands with a right to the head.
Valkov is working Phillips over against the cage.
Valkov lands a shot to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Valkov lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Phillips backwards.
Valkov has had enough of the clinch but Phillips keeps him there for the moment.
Valkov tries to break free but Phillips pushes him back against the cage.
Still in the clinch, Valkov scores with a nice short uppercut.
Valkov lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Good body shot from Valkov.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vladimir Valkov dominated that round.
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.

Valkov lands a jab-cross combination.
Phillips doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Nice sprawl there from Valkov as Phillips shoots in.
Phillips fails with a takedown attempt.
Phillips takes one on the button.
Valkov moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Valkov fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Valkov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Valkov scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Phillips is breathing heavily.
Valkov throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valkov misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Valkov misses with a two punch combination.
Valkov looks to land a combination. Phillips sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Phillips avoids a punch combination nicely.
Valkov misses with a wild combination.
Valkov throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Phillips dives in and grabs Valkov's left leg, looking for a takedown. Valkov pushes down on Phillips's head and hops out.
Vladimir Valkov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Blake Phillips.
Valkov throws a right hand that Phillips ducks under and follows up with a left that Phillips also avoids with ease.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
A short right from Valkov.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A short body shot lands from Valkov as the two fighters clinch.
Valkov is trying to break the clinch but Phillips has him pressed against the cage.
A shot in the inside from Valkov.
Valkov lands with a short shot to the head.
Phillips tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Valkov just stands there and leans against the cage.
Valkov scores with a nice hook to the head.
Phillips tries to pull guard but Valkov holds him up against the cage and eventually Phillips drops back down to his feet.
Valkov will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Phillips up against the cage.
Valkov pushes Phillips back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Phillips keeps control of Valkov as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Valkov lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Valkov lands a shot to the body.
A short uppercut from Valkov.
Valkov lands a hook that snaps the head of Phillips backwards.
Valkov lands with a light punch inside.
Still in the clinch, Valkov scores with a nice short uppercut.
Valkov works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Valkov is looking to break free of the clinch but Phillips has double underhooks.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Valkov.
Phillips changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Valkov fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Valkov looks to land a combination but Phillips avoids it well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Valkov rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Phillips moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Valkov lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Valkov moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Valkov scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Valkov misses with a two punch combination.
Valkov lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Valkov.
Valkov lands a jab-cross combination.
Valkov lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Phillips circles away quickly and effectively.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Valkov lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.

Valkov drives through and clinches with Phillips against the cage.
Valkov working hard to break the clinch.
Valkov lands a shoulder strike.
Valkov lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Valkov lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Valkov pushes Phillips back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Valkov is trying to break the clinch but Phillips has him pressed against the cage.
Valkov lands a nice uppercut.
Valkov lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Valkov wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Phillips has him pressed against the cage.
Valkov gets through Phillips's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Valkov creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Nice body punch from Valkov.
Phillips has Valkov pressed against the cage, preventing Valkov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Valkov makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Valkov manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Valkov lands a hook to the side of the head.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Valkov throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Valkov.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vladimir Valkov dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Valkov moves into the clinch.
Valkov lands with a short shot to the head.

Phillips manages to pull guard.
Valkov postures up and lands a big shot to Phillips's brow.
Valkov looking to sit in guard and control but Phillips gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Phillips is looking to work some ground and pound but Valkov has wrist control.
Phillips tries to free his leg and advance position but Valkov is retaining full guard.
Valkov managing to control the position.
Phillips works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Phillips takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Phillips wants to take a breather but Valkov is having none of it.
Valkov controlling the position for now.
Phillips throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Valkov tries to get to full guard but Phillips has control of the leg.
Valkov is doing well to control the position and prevent Phillips from advancing to side control.

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.
Valkov makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Valkov.
Valkov pulls Phillips in close to prevent any damage.
Phillips stopping the sweep attempt from Valkov.
Valkov pulls Phillips in close to his closed guard and prevents Phillips from doing any damage or advancing position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Valkov lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Phillips!
Blake Phillips has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Valkov looking to control and managing it successfully.
Valkov putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Valkov trying to control but Phillips is having none of it.
Valkov postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Phillips looks a forlorn figure.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A nice elbow there by Valkov.
Vladimir Valkov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Valkov lands a big elbow.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vladimir Valkov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Valkov has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Steve Montenegro scores the fight 30:26
Judge Dean Styles scores the fight 30:26
Judge John Kavanagh scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vladimir Valkov!