PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rafal Dabrowski (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Leonid Rublev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rafal Dabrowski looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Dabrowski
vs
Rublev

198 cm
18
277 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

225 cm
26
300 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Big heart

Decent wrestler
Good kicks
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Rafal Dabrowski!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Leonid Rublev!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Ivan Kurochkin and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rublev lands a high kick!

It looks like Rafal Dabrowski has been cut.
Rublev fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Rublev rushes Dabrowski and pushes him back against the ropes in a clinch.

Rublev has picked Dabrowski up - he's going for a ride! Rublev dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Dabrowski is breathing heavily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rublev sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Rublev trying to control the action but Dabrowski is working from the bottom.
Rublev content to control rather than advance.
Dabrowski could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Rublev seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Dabrowski does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Leonid Rublev has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Dabrowski tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Rublev counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Dabrowski's guard now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rublev stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Dabrowski swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Rublev wants to control from the top but Dabrowski keeps moving.
Rublev really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Dabrowski. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Rublev is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Dabrowski keeping full guard, as Rublev tries to pass.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Rublev distracts Dabrowski with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Rublev controlling from the top position.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Leonid Rublev wasn't active enough on the ground.
Rublev closes the distance and clinches up with Dabrowski, looking for a takedown. Rublev pushes Dabrowski against the ropes but Dabrowski circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

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.
Rublev scores with a head kick.

Rublev shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Rublev showed some decent athleticism there.
Still in half guard, Rublev seems content to control.
Dabrowski is refusing to be controlled, as Rublev sits in half guard.
Rublev stalling.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rublev is keen to just control but Dabrowski is a slippery customer.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

Leonid Rublev has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Rublev fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Rafal Dabrowski has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Leonid Rublev.
Rublev throws a head kick that looked like it stung.

Rublev shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Rublev content to control rather than advance.
Rublev is trying to control the action in half guard but Dabrowski is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rublev controlling the pace.
Dabrowski is staying active underneath Rublev, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Dabrowski is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Rublev scores with a couple of nice shots.
Dabrowski on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Dabrowski is looking to improve his position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rublev wants to free his trapped foot but Dabrowski is holding on for dear life with his legs.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leonid Rublev dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Rafal Dabrowski's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Rublev scores a takedown into full mount!

Dabrowski defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Rublev.
Rublev takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Rublev trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Dabrowski working to try and regain half guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rublev stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.

Rublev gets a takedown into half guard.
Dabrowski trying to control here.
Rublev wants to stand up but Dabrowski is controlling the position.
Dabrowski trying to control from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rublev is taking a breather. Dabrowski says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Dabrowski tries to get to full guard but Rublev has control of the leg.
Dabrowski might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Rublev is keen to just control but Dabrowski is a slippery customer.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Leonid Rublev hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Rublev shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Rublev controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Dabrowski working for a triangle but Rublev defends it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rublev wants to control from the top but Dabrowski keeps moving.
Rublev might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Dabrowski kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Rublev controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

Leonid Rublev has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Rublev has managed to clinch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Rublev.
Rublev has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Rublev breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Rafal Dabrowski is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Rublev scores with a head kick.
Dabrowski sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Dabrowski takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

Rublev scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Dabrowski wants to control but Rublev postures up.

Rublev stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Rublev looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Dabrowski!
Dabrowski is squirming around, avoiding Rublev's attempts to control the action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Leonid Rublev showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Rafal Dabrowski's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Dabrowski darts in trying to clinch

and Rublev decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Dabrowski's guard.
Rublev is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Rublev works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Rublev tries to stand but can't do so whilst Dabrowski controls his leg.
Dabrowski is not content to let Rublev control the position.
Rublev content to control rather than advance.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Dabrowski is trying to control but can't.
Rublev is trying to control. Dabrowski wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Dabrowski trying to control but Rublev postures up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Rafal Dabrowski.
Rublev will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Rublev fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Dabrowski moves to clinch but Rublev breaks away
and Rublev makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.

That's two 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.
Dabrowski shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Rublev counters by clinching up.

Rublev pulls Dabrowski into guard.
Dabrowski postures up.
Rublev trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Dabrowski is looking to stand up but Rublev won't let him.
Rublev trying to control the position.
Dabrowski trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rublev is trying to hold Dabrowski in close to prevent damage but Dabrowski has managed to pass into half guard.

Dabrowski stands up out of the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rublev closes the distance and clinches up with Dabrowski, looking for a takedown. Rublev pushes Dabrowski against the ropes but Dabrowski circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Rafal Dabrowski has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Leonid Rublev.

Dabrowski shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Rublev is trying to defend but Dabrowski finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

Dabrowski is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Rublev moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Dabrowski slips nicely into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dabrowski tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Rublev is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Dabrowski wants to control but Rublev is keeping him busy.
Dabrowski throwing shots but Rublev is blocking nicely.
Rublev looks like he's trying to stand up.
Rublev is looking for a sweep. Dabrowski is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Leonid Rublev.
Well Rublev has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 25:30
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 25:30
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Leonid Rublev!