PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Josh Kriel (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Frankie Edgar (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Kriel
vs
Edgar

170 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

168 cm
25
165 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Big heart

Good wrestler
Brawler
Experienced

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Josh Kriel!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Frankie Edgar!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Vladimir Khabensky and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Edgar is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Kriel's half guard.
Kriel looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Edgar looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Edgar really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kriel. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Ground and pound from Edgar.
Edgar lands with a punch from half guard.
Edgar working the head and body with strikes.
Edgar working the head and body with strikes.
Edgar lands with a punch from half guard.
Edgar looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kriel has hold of Edgar's hands but Edgar slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Nice strikes from Edgar there.
Edgar lands strikes from half guard.
Edgar looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Kriel with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Edgar is nestled in close to Kriel, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Edgar 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.
Nice strikes from Edgar there.
Edgar takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Edgar is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Edgar working over Kriel with some ground and pound. Kriel looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Edgar scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Edgar seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Edgar drops an elbow to the side of Kriel's head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kriel on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Edgar working over Kriel with some ground and pound. Kriel looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Edgar working Kriel over with strikes.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Edgar lands a nice short elbow.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Edgar lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Edgar looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Edgar takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Edgar looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Kriel taking some punishment here, with Edgar in his half guard.
Edgar working over Kriel with some ground and pound. Kriel looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Edgar working Kriel over with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kriel has hold of Edgar's hands but Edgar slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Edgar slips a nice elbow through Kriel's hands, connecting with Kriel's forehead.
Edgar slips a nice elbow through Kriel's hands, connecting with Kriel's forehead.
Edgar lands strikes from half guard.
Ground and pound from Edgar.
Edgar slips a nice elbow through Kriel's hands, connecting with Kriel's forehead.
Kriel has hold of Edgar's hands but Edgar slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Nice strikes from Edgar there.
Edgar looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Edgar 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.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Edgar connects with a nice short shot to Kriel's temple.
Kriel on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Kriel taking some punishment here, with Edgar in his half guard.
Edgar takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Edgar lands a nice short elbow.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Edgar 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.
Edgar working over Kriel with some ground and pound. Kriel looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Edgar is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Edgar lands strikes from half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Edgar lands a nice short elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Edgar looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Kriel!
Edgar cracks Kriel with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Edgar with good strikes from the mount here!
A nice elbow there by Edgar.
Edgar dominating with strikes here.
Edgar with shots to the head and body - Kriel looks very uncomfortable down there.
Edgar with shots to the head and body - Kriel looks very uncomfortable down there.
Edgar is landing with some decent strikes but Kriel is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Edgar prevents Kriel from getting the reversal.
Edgar working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Edgar raining down hammerfists from mount.
Edgar is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Kriel can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Edgar lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Edgar working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Edgar putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Edgar has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Edgar working away from the top, dropping strikes.

Kriel is rocked!
Edgar scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Edgar lands with some strikes.
Frankie Edgar has got the better of the ground game so far.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Edgar is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Edgar with the ground and pound from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Edgar with shots to the head and body - Kriel looks very uncomfortable down there.
Edgar has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Kriel's face.
Oh Kriel is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Kriel is in a horrible position here. Edgar smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Kriel is bucking up trying to escape but Edgar cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Kriel seems to have got his legs back now.
Kriel is bucking up trying to escape but Edgar cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Edgar fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
A nice elbow there by Edgar.
Edgar lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Edgar putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Edgar connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Edgar looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Edgar lands a big elbow.
Edgar working the ground and pound effectively.
Edgar landing shots from mount.
Edgar landing strikes from the mount and Kriel is in trouble!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Edgar cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Edgar lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Edgar with a couple of short strikes.
Edgar postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Kriel looks a forlorn figure.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Edgar lands a heavy elbow.
Kriel taking shots to the head.
Edgar with shots to the head and body - Kriel looks very uncomfortable down there.
Edgar has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Kriel's face.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Edgar scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Kriel?
Edgar has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Kriel's face.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Frankie Edgar showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Kriel tries to sprawl but Edgar drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Nice strikes from Edgar there.
Kriel has hold of Edgar's hands but Edgar slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Kriel has hold of Edgar's hands but Edgar slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Kriel is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Edgar scores with a couple of nice shots.
Edgar lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Edgar connects with a nice short shot to Kriel's temple.
Kriel on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Nice strikes from Edgar there.
Edgar lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Edgar scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Edgar winds up and cracks Kriel with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Edgar working the head and body with strikes.
Edgar drops an elbow to the side of Kriel's head.
Kriel on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Edgar lands with a punch from half guard.
Edgar looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Kriel with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Edgar 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.
Ground and pound from Edgar.
Kriel taking some punishment here, with Edgar in his half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Edgar lands with a punch from half guard.
Edgar lands strikes from half guard.
Edgar lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Edgar lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Edgar throwing shots but Kriel is blocking nicely.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Edgar lands a nice short elbow.
Edgar is nestled in close to Kriel, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Edgar connects with a nice short shot to Kriel's temple.

Kriel looking for submissions off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Edgar.
Kriel is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Edgar scores with a couple of nice shots.
Kriel on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Edgar drops an elbow to the side of Kriel's head.
Edgar landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Edgar connects with a nice short shot to Kriel's temple.
Edgar winds up and cracks Kriel with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice strikes from Edgar there.
Edgar is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Edgar lands strikes from half guard.
Edgar working the head and body with strikes.
Edgar working Kriel over with strikes.
Kriel has hold of Edgar's hands but Edgar slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Edgar slips a nice elbow through Kriel's hands, connecting with Kriel's forehead.
Edgar seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Josh Kriel has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Frankie Edgar is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Nice strikes from Edgar there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Frankie Edgar comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Edgar 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 Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 24:30
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 24:30
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 24:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Frankie Edgar!