PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Cj Ivanov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Ushenin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ushenin has chosen The Godfather 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.

Ivanov
vs
Ushenin

190 cm
21
260 lbs
9 - 8 - 0

173 cm
21
265 lbs
6 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Good knees
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 8 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Cj Ivanov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alex Ushenin!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Dmitry Maklakov and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Ushenin closes the distance and clinches.
A short right from Ushenin on the inside.
Ushenin misses with some punches.
Ushenin lands a right hand.
Ushenin scores with a hook to the body.
Ushenin tries to throw a body punch but Ivanov avoids it by throwing Ushenin back against the cage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Ushenin gets through Ivanov's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Ushenin lands a shoulder strike.
Ushenin scores with a shoulder strike.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Ushenin.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ivanov.
Ivanov is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ushenin to keep the fight standing.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Ushenin makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ushenin working aggressively here.
Ushenin lands with a short shot to the head.
Ushenin lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Ivanov backwards.
Ushenin swings wildly with an uppercut but Ivanov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ushenin stops a takedown attempt from Ivanov.
Ushenin swings wildly with an uppercut but Ivanov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ushenin misses with some punches.
Ushenin tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ivanov's elbow.
Ushenin controlling the action here for a moment.
Ushenin lands a nice knee to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ushenin.
Ushenin leaning his opponent against the cage.
Ushenin throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Ivanovs head.
Ushenin working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Ushenin tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Nice body punch from Ushenin - that landed with a thud.
A short right from Ushenin.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Ushenin lands with a light punch inside.
Ivanov drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Ushenin gets the underhooks and prevents it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Cj Ivanov. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ushenin effectively controlling the action here.
Ushenin cracks Ivanov with a nice body shot.
Ushenin stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Ushenin misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ushenin misses with a punch on the inside.
Ivanov blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ushenin misses with a hook to the ribs.
Ushenin lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ushenin lands with a left to the head.
Ushenin tries to throw a body punch but Ivanov avoids it by throwing Ushenin back against the cage.
Ushenin working aggressively here.
Ivanov is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Ushenin gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Ivanov is trying to pull guard but Ushenin turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Ushenin struggles to land a body shot inside as Ivanov controls his hands.
Ushenin gets underhooks to prevent Ivanov's takedown attempt.
Ushenin lands a left hand that snaps the head of Ivanov backwards.
Ivanov blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ushenin will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Ivanov up against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alex Ushenin dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Ushenin darts in and clinches Ivanov up against the cage.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Ushenin.
Ushenin lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A head punch on the inside from Ushenin fails to land.
Ushenin lands a body punch.
Ivanov blocks a body shot from Ushenin.
Ushenin misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ushenin swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ushenin lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Ivanov is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ushenin to keep the fight standing.
Ushenin effectively controlling the action here.
Ivanov is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Ushenin to keep the fight standing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ushenin lands with a left to the head.
Ushenin lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Ushenin misses with a punch to the body.
Ushenin working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Ushenin misses with a punch on the inside.
Ivanov avoiding damage as Ushenin throws knees to the body.
Nice body punch from Ushenin.
Ushenin has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ivanov has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Ushenin avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Cj Ivanov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ivanov goes for a takedown in the clinch but Ushenin prevents it.
Ushenin is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
A short right from Ushenin on the inside.
Ushenin lands a body shot in the clinch.
Alex Ushenin seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Ushenin lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Ivanov backwards.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ushenin stalling.
Ushenin scores a nice knee to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov avoids a wild elbow strike from Ushenin.
Ivanov blocks a body shot from Ushenin.
Ushenin has Ivanov pressed against the cage.
Ivanov wants a takedown but no success here.
Ushenin can't find room to land a body shot as Ivanov controls the action.
Ivanov wants to take the fight to the mat but Ushenin manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Ushenin swings wildly with an uppercut but Ivanov uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ushenin tries to land a knee to the head but Ivanov blocks with his arms.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ivanov.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Still in the clinch, Ushenin scores with a nice short uppercut.

Ivanov gets control of Ushenin's arms and successfully pulls guard. Ivanov will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Ushenin would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

Ivanov looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Ushenin passes into side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ivanov manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Ivanov is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Ushenin still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Ushenin has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
Ivanov is looking for a sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alex Ushenin 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. This is the final round!

Ushenin gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Ushenin lands with a light punch inside.
A head punch on the inside from Ushenin fails to land.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Ushenin obliges.
Ushenin stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Ushenin lands a right hand that snaps the head of Ivanov backwards.
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!
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Ushenin.
Ushenin lands a hook that snaps the head of Ivanov backwards.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Ushenin.
Ivanov changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Ushenin fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Ushenin gets a clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice body punch from Ushenin - that landed with a thud.
Ushenin has Ivanov pressed against the cage.
Ushenin working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Ushenin lands a nice shot to the body.
Ushenin lands a nice uppercut.
Ushenin misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Ivanov blocks an uppercut.
Ushenin digs a right hand underneath Ivanov's ribcage. Ivanov let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Ushenin goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Ushenin misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Ushenin lands with a left to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ushenin lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Ushenin lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Ivanov backwards.
Ushenin working aggressively here.
Ushenin misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ushenin taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Ushenin misses with a punch on the inside.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Ivanov is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Ushenin lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov blocking some punches.
Ivanov tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Ushenin just stands there and leans against the cage.
Ushenin avoiding damage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Alex Ushenin.

Ivanov instigates a clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ushenin tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ivanov's elbow.
Ushenin has a couple of punches blocked by Ivanov.
Ivanov is trying to pull guard but Ushenin has him pressed against the cage.
Cj Ivanov has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Cj Ivanov. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ushenin lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Ivanov tries to pull guard but Ushenin forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Ivanov can't find room to land a body shot as Ushenin controls the action.
A short right from Ushenin on the inside.
Ushenin tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A short right from Ushenin on the inside.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Ushenin.

Ivanov is rocked!
Ivanov has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Ushenin after a bit of a struggle.
Oh Ivanov is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ushenin creates some distance for himselfand unleashes a massive uppercut that sends Ivanov's eyes rolling into the back of his head! Ivanov drops to his knees and Ushenin pours it on with more strikes until the referee steps in to end the bout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Alex Ushenin!
A relieved looking Alex Ushenin thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.