PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Stas Kuznetsov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Aaron Ely (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Aaron Ely has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Stas Kuznetsov's chin.

Kuznetsov
vs
Ely

174 cm
18
146 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

172 cm
18
140 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight 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, Stas Kuznetsov!
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, Aaron Ely!
The judges for this bout are Vladimir Khabensky, Fedor Mirinova and Konstantin Menshow.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ely scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ely looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Kuznetsov is looking for a sweep.
You can see the frustration on Kuznetsov's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Kuznetsov is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.

Kuznetsov makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Kuznetsov throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Ely.

Ely has taken the fight to the clinch.

Kuznetsov jumps guard and drags Ely to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Kuznetsov tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Kuznetsov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Kuznetsov wants to stand but Ely is controlling the position.
Kuznetsov trying to control the position here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuznetsov is looking to stand up but Ely isn't so interested in that idea.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Stas Kuznetsov has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Kuznetsov shoots and misses

and Ely counters with a nice double leg into side control. Kuznetsov won't be happy with that.
Ely trying to control the action but Kuznetsov is working from the bottom.
Kuznetsov manages to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ely is working for a kimura but Kuznetsov is defending it quite comfortably.
Kuznetsov regains full guard. Nicely done.
Kuznetsov is pulling down on Ely's head to control his posture.
Ely won't allow Kuznetsov to sweep him here.
Ely wants to get up but he can't break Kuznetsov's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuznetsov is trying to keep Ely in close.

Kuznetsov has his foot on Ely's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Ely works his way back into a safe position though.
Ely wants to control from the top but Kuznetsov keeps moving.
Kuznetsov is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Kuznetsov manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Ely manages to get himself to full guard.
Ely tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's four 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.
Kuznetsov wants to get up but he can't break Ely's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Ely throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Ely seems keen to control Kuznetsov's posture.
Kuznetsov preventing the sweep.
Ely is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kuznetsov trying to control the position from guard on top but Ely is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Kuznetsov is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Ely's half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Stas Kuznetsov will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Kuznetsov misses with a wild combination.

Ely gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Ely wants to break the clinch but can't.
Ely tries to pull guard but Kuznetsov holds him up against the cage and eventually Ely drops back down to his feet.
Kuznetsov jumps guard but Ely stands there with Kuznetsov around his waist. Kuznetsov gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Kuznetsov breaks from the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kuznetsov scores with a hook.
Kuznetsov misses with a two punch combination.
Ely displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Kuznetsov.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Kuznetsov's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Kuznetsov duly obliges.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuznetsov lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Kuznetsov shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Stas Kuznetsov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Kuznetsov shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Ely is trying to stand back up but Kuznetsov is controlling him
Kuznetsov not doing much here.
Ely tries to get to full guard but Kuznetsov has control of the leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ely has hold of Kuznetsov's hands but Kuznetsov slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Ely scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Kuznetsov manages to mount him!
Kuznetsov takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Kuznetsov takes Ely's back, avoiding a couple of desperation strikes from the bottom.
Ely is really stuck here.

Kuznetsov has the rear naked choke here! This is very bad for Ely! Can he survive? No! He's out! Kuznetsov gets to his feet and celebrates with his cornermen. He looks absolutely delighted. In the post fight interviews he takes time to thank his parents and everyone who has believed in him from the start. How sweet.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:04 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Stas Kuznetsov!