PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between ivan bartrov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Szymon Nowak (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

bartrov
vs
Nowak

185 cm
25
210 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
25
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Inexperienced

Good takedowns
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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, ivan bartrov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Szymon Nowak !
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Dmitry Maklakov and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nowak misses with a head kick.
bartrov lands a slapping body shot.

bartrov fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Nowak sprawls well initially but bartrov persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

bartrov is looking for a kimura here.

bartrov is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Nowak sees it coming and defends easily.
Nowak tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Nowak is looking for a sweep. bartrov is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Nowak blocking the ground and pound attempt from bartrov.
bartrov wants to stand but Nowak has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

bartrov is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Nowak sees it coming and defends easily.
Nowak is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
bartrov trying to mount his opponent but Nowak defends it.
Nowak keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Nowak manages to get to full guard.
bartrov wants to control from the top but Nowak keeps moving.
Nowak should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.

bartrov is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Nowak is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Nowak has escaped and now he's on top!
bartrov is breathing heavily.
Nowak tries to free his leg and advance position but bartrov is retaining full guard.

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.
Nowak works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Nowak is controlling the pace.
Nowak is looking to advance position but bartrov won't allow it.
Nowak not doing much here.

bartrov looking for submissions off his back.
Nowak stalling.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nowak trying to mount his opponent but bartrov defends it.
Nowak controlling the action here.
I looks like Nowak might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Szymon Nowak wasn't active enough on the ground.
Nowak shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and bartrov counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Nowak has his hands clasped together around bartrov's back. He's all about the action.

bartrov is looking for a kimura but Nowak is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for bartrov to get the leverage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nowak gets back to full guard.
Nowak manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. bartrov manages to get himself to full guard.
Nowak sitting in guard here, content to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Nowak slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nowak happy to just control the position for now.
bartrov is looking for a sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

ivan bartrov dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

bartrov tries to clinch but Nowak moves out of range.
Nowak throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around bartrov's waist but bartrov gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Nowak off to one side.
bartrov tries for a takedown but Nowak circles away easily

and Nowak counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

bartrov actively working from the bottom here.
Nowak passes to side control.
A lull in the action here as Nowak stalls from top position.
Let's hope that Nowak has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Nowak working the ground and pound but bartrov is defending the strikes.
You can see the frustration on bartrov's face as Nowak controls the position.
bartrov can't do much from the bottom here.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nowak is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. bartrov knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Nowak controlling the position.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Szymon Nowak hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Nowak tries to clinch up but bartrov circles away and keeps his distance.
bartrov fails with the takedown

so Nowak counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nowak is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

bartrov has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Nowak can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Nowak forces his way into half guard.
Nowak stalling.
Nowak looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
bartrov wants to get back to full guard.

Nowak stands up from half guard.

Nowak darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Nowak not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Nowak trying to control the pace.
bartrov is in trouble now - Nowak has advanced to mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nowak in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Nowak tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Nowak thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
bartrov is working to get back to half guard.
Nowak controlling from mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
bartrov keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Szymon Nowak showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

bartrov checks the leg kick nicely there.
bartrov cracks Nowak with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

bartrov tries to sprawl but Nowak drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Nowak is pressing down on bartrov's thigh, looking to free his foot. bartrov is holding on for now.
Szymon Nowak has got the better of the ground game so far.
Nowak controlling the action here.

bartrov looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
bartrov blocking the ground and pound attempt from Nowak .
Nowak not doing much here.
Nowak trying to pass the guard but bartrov defending well.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nowak passes to full mount!
Nowak misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Nowak scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish bartrov?
bartrov is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Nowak breaks from bartrov's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Nowak controlling the pace for now.
Nowak throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Nowak prevents bartrov from getting the reversal.
Nowak controlling the position easily from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
bartrov is wriggling around trying to escape.
Nowak controlling his opponent.
Nowak thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Poor strikes thrown by Nowak there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Nowak controlling from the full mount.
Nowak lands a nice shot to the head.
Nowak throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
bartrov tries to lock up and control but Nowak gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nowak sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

bartrov has left one of his arms exposed and Nowak doesn't need a second invitation. He's isolated it and locked on a tight armbar. bartrov screams and taps out, obviously in a lot of pain. Hopefully there isn't permanent damage to that arm.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:24 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Szymon Nowak !