PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Andrey Nazarov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and BeeJay Penn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). BeeJay Penn has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Nazarov
vs
Penn

185 cm
22
185 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

184 cm
24
183 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

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 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Andrey Nazarov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, BeeJay Penn!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nazarov lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Penn fails with an attempt to clinch.
Penn tries to clinch up.
Penn is looking to clinch but Nazarov is avoiding it.
Penn lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Penn tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Penn moves in looking to clinch but Nazarov pushes him off.
Nazarov swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Andrey Nazarov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Penn slips a jab from Nazarov.
Nazarov cracks Penn with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Penn tries to clinch up but Nazarov circles away and keeps his distance.
Nazarov will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nazarov closes the distance and clinches up with Penn, looking for a takedown. Nazarov pushes Penn against the cage but Penn circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Penn is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Nazarov throws the left hand but Penn avoids the punch easily.
Nazarov throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Penn takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Nazarov fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Penn looks to score with a jab to the body but Nazarov is just out of range.
Nazarov throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Penn tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Nazarov paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Nazarov dives in and grabs Penn's left leg, looking for a takedown. Penn pushes down on Nazarov's head and hops out.
Penn uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Nazarov.
Nazarov misses with the combination.
Nazarov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Penn.
Nazarov misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Penn counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Nazarov misses with a double jab
and Nazarov takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Penn takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
No joy there for Penn, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Nazarov swats away the attempt to clinch by Penn.

Penn closes the distance and pushes Nazarov back into the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Nazarov's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Penn breaks from the clinch.
Nazarov dodges the punch combination from Penn.

Nazarov shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Penn is trying to defend but Nazarov finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nazarov is thwarting Penn's attempts to control the position.
Penn is looking for a sweep. Nazarov is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Nazarov is looking to take a break and control but Penn is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Penn wants to improve his position but Nazarov is controlling well.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nazarov not doing much here.
Penn gets back to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andrey Nazarov dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Penn tries to clinch up.
Nazarov bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Penn's head backwards.
Penn fails with an attempt to clinch.
Penn fails in his attempt to clinch.
Penn slips a jab from Nazarov.
Nazarov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Penn ducks under a wild hook from Nazarov.
Nazarov keeps the fight on the outside.
Penn slips a jab from Nazarov.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nazarov lands a really nice looking cross but Penn seems unphased.
Nazarov lands with a nice body punch.
Nazarov lands with a cross.
Nazarov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Nazarov throws the left hand but Penn avoids the punch easily.

Nazarov drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Nazarov stopping the sweep attempt from Penn.
Nazarov controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Penn is trying to control the position from the bottom.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Nazarov accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Penn keeping moving, preventing Nazarov from controlling successfully.
Penn is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Nazarov is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Nazarov misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Penn.
Penn is looking to clinch but Nazarov is avoiding it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Penn fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Nazarov falls off balance throwing a combination
and Penn counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Nazarov thinking.
Nazarov lands a nice looking body shot.
Penn steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Nazarov.
Nazarov misses with a looping left.
Nazarov keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Nazarov misses the body punch
and Penn counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Penn tries to clinch up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Penn scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Nazarov doesn't seem bothered though.
Penn fails with an attempt to clinch.
Nazarov misses with a jab to the body
letting Penn counter with a right hand.
Penn scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Nazarov, as that shot connected.
Penn swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
BeeJay Penn is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Nazarov lands a jab.
Penn tries to close the distance and clinch but Nazarov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andrey Nazarov dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Penn avoids the body shot from Nazarov.
Nazarov throws out a loose jab but Penn uses good head movement to avoid it.
Penn moves away from the strike by Nazarov.
Penn tries to clinch but Nazarov is having none of it.
Penn tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Nazarov paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Nazarov with a lazy takedown attempt
and Penn counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Nazarov throws an overhand right that lands on Penn's shoulder, as Penn tries to avoid the shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice body punch from Nazarov.
Nazarov throws a shot from downtown. Penn moves away and avoids it.
Penn misses with a double jab
and Nazarov makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Penn moves in looking to clinch but Nazarov pushes him off.
Nazarov swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Penn counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Nazarov works Penn's body with a nice hook.
Andrey Nazarov is winning the standup battle so far.
Penn ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Nazarov moves away.
Penn darts in trying to clinch

and Nazarov counters with a nice double leg into side control. Penn won't be happy with that.
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 two minutes gone in the round.
Nazarov working the ground and pound.
Penn taking a bit of punishment here - Nazarov scoring with strikes.
Nazarov wants to control but Penn is keeping him busy.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Nazarov in side control lands a decent elbow.
Penn is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Penn is looking to improve his position.
Nazarov not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Penn is looking for a sweep. Nazarov is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Penn trying to control here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Penn has hold of Nazarov's hands but Nazarov slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Penn has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Nazarov is working away from the top position though.
Penn might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Nazarov kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Penn is trying to stand.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Penn takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Nazarov misses the body punch
and Penn connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Penn just misses with a punch to the body.
Penn steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Nazarov.

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.
Penn throws out a loose jab but Nazarov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nazarov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Penn.
Nazarov is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Penn.
BeeJay Penn has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Penn scores with a crisp jab that stopped Nazarov in his tracks.
The fighters circling - Nazarov throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Nazarov closes the distance and clinches up with Penn, looking for a takedown. Nazarov pushes Penn against the cage but Penn circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Penn moves away from the strike by Nazarov.
Andrey Nazarov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Nazarov throws a sloppy body shot
and Penn counters with a right hand to the body.
Nazarov stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.

And that's the end of the fight!
Andrey Nazarov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Nazarov, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Andrey Nazarov!