PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Antonio Kovalov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tj Beckerman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Beckerman has chosen Era - Enae Volare Mezzo as his entrance music. 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.

Kovalov
vs
Beckerman

170 cm
29
196 lbs
11 - 5 - 1

182 cm
26
203 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

Balco Boys - Hilo

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 5 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Antonio Kovalov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Tj Beckerman!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Matti Vanhoillinen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Kovalov checks a leg kick.
Kovalov stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Kovalov lands a jab to Beckerman's midsection.
Beckerman tries a head kick but it misses.
Kovalov leaves Beckerman with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Kovalov on the wrong end of a nice jab.

Beckerman forces Kovalov back against the cage and clinches.
Beckerman is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Kovalov is keeping busy.

Beckerman pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A nice inside leg kick there by Kovalov. That's going to slow Beckerman down.

Kovalov is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Beckerman's half guard.
Kovalov with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kovalov looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Beckerman 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.
Still in half guard, Kovalov seems content to control.
Kovalov has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Kovalov seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Beckerman does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Kovalov controlling the pace.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Antonio Kovalov.
Kovalov throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Beckerman goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.

It looks like Antonio Kovalov has been cut.
Beckerman feints a jab promting Kovalov to slip. Beckerman then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Kovalov slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Beckerman throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Kovalov's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Beckerman doesn't manage to clinch there - Kovalov circles away.
Beckerman on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

Kovalov bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Beckerman seems a little lost for a moment, as Kovalov dominates the positioning.
Kovalov working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Kovalov wants to control but Beckerman is keeping him busy.
Kovalov creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Beckerman tries to improve position but can't.
You can see the frustration on Beckerman's face as Kovalov controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Beckerman on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Kovalov taking a breather here.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Antonio Kovalov just wasn't active enough.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Kovalov checks a leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Beckerman throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Beckerman tries a low kick but Kovalov avoids it.
Kovalov lands a jab to the head.
Kovalov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Beckerman throws a head kick that misses
letting Kovalov counter with a right hand.
Beckerman throws a lazy head kick
and Kovalov counters with a left to the body.
Beckerman throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Beckerman looks gassed!
A punch combination from Beckerman misses.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Beckerman misses with the body kick
and Kovalov counters with a lovely straight right hand!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Kovalov looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Kovalov chips away with some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antonio Kovalov dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Antonio Kovalov's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Kovalov lands a two punch combo.
No joy there for Kovalov, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A bone on bone clash there as Kovalov blocks the leg kick.
Kovalov connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Beckerman's hands.
Beckerman misses with a takedown attempt - Kovalov sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Kovalov avoids the head kick by Beckerman.
Kovalov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Beckerman thows a leg kick but Kovalov checks it
enabling Kovalov to counter with a crisp jab.

Kovalov shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Beckerman manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Kovalov looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Antonio Kovalov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovalov trying to control but Beckerman is working from the bottom.
Kovalov preventing the sweep.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Antonio Kovalov.
Beckerman rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Kovalov moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Kovalov bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Antonio Kovalov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
The fight stays on the outside here - Beckerman looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Beckerman lands with a slapping head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kovalov gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Beckerman to score an easy takedown into full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Beckerman is breathing heavily.
Beckerman content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Kovalov 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.
Beckerman must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Kovalov has a closed guard, preventing Beckerman from standing up.
Kovalov wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Beckerman throws a strike but Kovalov rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Kovalov showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kovalov seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Beckerman for as long as he can get away with.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

Antonio Kovalov has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
An inside leg kick lands from Beckerman.
Kovalov scores with a nice body kick.
Beckerman throws a right hand that Kovalov ducks under and follows up with a left that Kovalov also avoids with ease.
Kovalov lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Tj Beckerman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
No luck for Beckerman with that takedown attempt.
Beckerman throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Kovalov makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Kovalov checks a low kick from Beckerman.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kovalov swats away the attempt to clinch by Beckerman.
Beckerman showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Kovalov.
Kovalov lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Beckerman pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Beckerman throws a low kick but it's checked well by Kovalov.
Beckerman throws a lazy head kick
letting Kovalov counter with a right hand.

Kovalov manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Beckerman on his heels. He'll look to pass Beckerman's guard now, I'm sure.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Kovalov showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Beckerman wants to sweep but no luck.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antonio Kovalov dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Antonio Kovalov's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Kovalov swats away the attempt to clinch by Beckerman.
Beckerman lands with a kick to the ribs.
Beckerman pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Beckerman tries to clinch up.
Tj Beckerman seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Beckerman shoots in for a takedown but Kovalov shows good takedown defense.
Beckerman misses with a kick to the body
and Kovalov counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Beckerman misses with a two punch combination.
Beckerman moves forwards but Kovalov connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Kovalov moves out of range as Beckerman throws a body kick.
Kovalov moves out of range of the leg kick from Beckerman.
Beckerman takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Kovalov scores a takedown into full mount!
Kovalov scoring with strikes but Beckerman is staying in there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kovalov putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Kovalov pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Kovalov takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Kovalov trying to control but Beckerman is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Beckerman takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

Kovalov is working for a guillotine from mount but Beckerman frees his head quite easily.
Beckerman is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Kovalov unloading with bombs!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kovalov lands a heavy elbow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kovalov controlling from the full mount.
Kovalov lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Kovalov sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Tj Beckerman has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Beckerman is desperately trying to improve his position but Kovalov has a good base and remains in mount.

Kovalov is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Beckerman is surviving well by controlling Kovalov's body position as best he can.
Kovalov controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kovalov looking to control but Beckerman is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Kovalov lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kovalov tries to control but Beckerman wriggling away.
Beckerman flailing away with punches but nothing is landing.

And that's the end of the fight!
Antonio Kovalov showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Kovalov, 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 30:27
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Antonio Kovalov!