PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Aliosa Saltykov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and pretzle twist (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Saltykov kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is I'ts a fight. pretzle twist struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 172.2lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Aliosa Saltykov could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to pretzle twist's chin.

Saltykov
vs
twist

185 cm
20
185 lbs
4 - 6 - 0

193 cm
22
185 lbs
4 - 7 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 6 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Aliosa Saltykov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 7 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, pretzle twist!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Dmitry Maklakov and Konstantin Menshow.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Saltykov closes the distance and clinches up with twist, looking for a takedown. Saltykov pushes twist against the cage but twist circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
twist keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Saltykov fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Aliosa Saltykov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Saltykov throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around twist's waist but twist gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Saltykov off to one side.

twist scores a takedown into full mount!
twist wants to control the pace but Saltykov is squirming around nicely.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

twist working for a submission but Saltykov is keeping him at bay.

twist is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Saltykov can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.

twist jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Saltykov is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Saltykov and twist has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saltykov sneaks back into half guard.
Saltykov is trying to maintain the position but twist is very close to passing his half guard.
Saltykov is pressing down on twist's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

twist is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
twist looks gassed!
twist trying to control but Saltykov is working from the bottom.

Saltykov has his foot on twist's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. twist works his way back into a safe position though.

twist drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and twist jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
twist trying to control but Saltykov is working from the bottom.

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.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Saltykov is trying to keep twist in close.
twist wants to pass the guard but Saltykov is keeping the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from twist.
Saltykov with a poor takedown

and twist counters with a shoot takedown. Saltykov fights it but they end up in guard.
twist trying to control the position from guard on top but Saltykov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Saltykov is looking for a triangle but twist pushes his legs off easily.

twist avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

twist got a little sloppy there for a moment and Saltykov has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, twist has managed to get both his arms back between Saltykov's legs - danger averted.
twist must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
twist pushing down on Saltykov's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

twist wants to work for an arm triangle but Saltykov is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Saltykov has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. twist is working away from the top position though.

twist is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Saltykov regains full guard. Nicely done.

Saltykov is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

Saltykov working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. twist doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. twist manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
twist's corner is telling him to maintain position.

Saltykov looking for a guillotine here but twist defends easily.

twist drops back looking for a leg! Saltykov is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Saltykov manages to kick twist off! twist jumps back into Saltykov's guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Saltykov is on top in guard.
Saltykov is in close to twist's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Saltykov loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but pretzle twist will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Saltykov gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows twist to score an easy takedown into full guard.

Saltykov has his foot on twist's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. twist works his way back into a safe position though.
twist stopping the sweep attempt from Saltykov.

twist has gone for a leg lock! Saltykov slips out almost immediately though and dives into twist's guard.
Saltykov is looking to stand up but twist won't let him.

twist looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Saltykov postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

twist has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Saltykov can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Saltykov is in close to twist's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saltykov postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Saltykov chips away with some ground and pound.
Saltykov keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of twist's head.
Saltykov 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.
Saltykov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. twist swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
twist looking to hit a scissor sweep but Saltykov is one step ahead there.
twist is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Saltykov pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. twist is keeping the position for now.
Saltykov landing some decent shots from guard.
twist tries to land a sweep but no joy.

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.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Saltykov doesn't succeed with the takedown

and twist counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Saltykov's guard now.
Saltykov lands a decent punch to the body there.

twist drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Saltykov manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now twist has Saltykov in his guard.
twist wants to sweep here but Saltykov controlling him for the moment.

twist is looking for a triangle but Saltykov pushes his legs off easily.
pretzle twist has got the better of the ground game so far.
Saltykov cracks twist with a solid left hand.
twist looking to control.
Saltykov working some strikes from top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saltykov passes into half guard.
twist is trying to maintain the position but Saltykov is very close to passing his half guard.

twist is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Saltykov pulls his head out easily.
Saltykov is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Saltykov lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
twist trying to control here.
Saltykov looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks twist with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Saltykov landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Saltykov 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
twist trying to hold on to Saltykov's head to control him but Saltykov postures up.

Saltykov is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so twist is just riding it out for now. Saltykov eventually gives up the hold.
twist is not content to let Saltykov control the position.
twist is pressing down on Saltykov's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Saltykov stopping the sweep attempt from twist.
twist throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Saltykov landing some decent shots from guard.

twist looking for a guillotine here but Saltykov defends easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Aliosa Saltykov will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Saltykov shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches twist napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Saltykov connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused twist some visible discomfort.
Saltykov landing strikes.
Saltykov in side control lands a decent elbow.
Saltykov is chipping away with strikes.

Saltykov thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
twist struggling a bit here.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
twist is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
twist is trying to get back to full guard.
Saltykov is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

twist is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Saltykov pulls his head out easily.
twist is trying to get back to full guard.
twist misses with some strikes from the bottom.

twist is defending against the submission attempts here by Saltykov.
twist regains full guard. Nicely done.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

twist has his foot on Saltykov's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Saltykov works his way back into a safe position though.

twist has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Saltykov is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for twist.
twist is trying to get back to half guard.
twist wants to control but Saltykov postures up.
twist is trying to improve his position.
Saltykov lands a decent elbow from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saltykov lands a few punches from side control.
twist tries to buck Saltykov off but Saltykov is having none of it.
twist looks to move to half guard but instead Saltykov has passed into mount! Damn!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Saltykov cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Saltykov avoids the attempt from twist to control.
Saltykov can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as twist is looking to escape.

Saltykov looking for a guillotine from mount but twist is having none of it.
twist is looking to improve his position but Saltykov isn't that keen on the idea.
twist taking shots to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
BOOM! Saltykov connects with a massive shot to the dome!
twist is wriggling around trying to escape.

Saltykov looking to isolate an arm here. twist doesn't see it coming and as Saltykov extends the arm, he's forced to tap out! Nice submission by Saltykov!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:32 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Aliosa Saltykov!