PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Shinya Aoki (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vadim Varlaam (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Aoki might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Kilo. Varlaam is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Russian Vear!. Vadim Varlaam has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Shinya Aoki's chin.

Aoki
vs
Varlaam

170 cm
24
140 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

165 cm
22
148 lbs
1 - 2 - 1

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ White Belt
World class MT
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Shinya Aoki!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Vadim Varlaam!
The judges for this bout are Leandro Rodrigues, Luis Engracia and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Varlaam wants to land a leg kick but Aoki is out of range.
Aoki takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.

Varlaam gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Aoki to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Aoki stays in close to Varlaam's body and controls the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aoki postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Shinya Aoki just wasn't active enough.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Aoki.
Varlaam tries to clinch but Aoki is having none of it.
Varlaam throws a leg kick but Aoki moved away.
Varlaam takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

Aoki darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Aoki not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aoki takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Varlaam is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Aoki scores with a couple of nice shots.
Aoki thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Varlaam's head.
Aoki not doing much here.
This has been an exciting period of action!
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Shinya Aoki has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Varlaam fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Aoki.
Aoki blocks a leg kick.
Aoki is trying hard to land a takedown here. Varlaam sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Varlaam throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Varlaam connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Aoki shoots in looking for a takedown. Varlaam tries to sprawl out of it but Aoki keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Varlaam manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shinya Aoki. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Aoki shoots in but Varlaam avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Aoki misses with a series of wild punches.
Varlaam tries to clinch up but Aoki circles away and keeps his distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Varlaam throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Varlaam uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Aoki.

Aoki gets a takedown into half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Aoki in particular looking to stall.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shinya Aoki dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Varlaam moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Aoki fails with a takedown attempt.
Aoki looks for a takedown but Varlaam sprawls well.
Aoki misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shinya Aoki. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A nice inside leg kick there by Varlaam. That's going to slow Aoki down.
Aoki stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Varlaam.
A solid leg kick lands there for Varlaam.
Aoki moves out of range as Varlaam throws a body kick.
Varlaam throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Aoki chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Varlaam can pounce on him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Varlaam scores with a leg kick.
Varlaam throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Varlaam misses with a kick to the body.
Varlaam pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Varlaam walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Aoki checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
An inside leg kick lands from Varlaam.
Shinya Aoki seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Aoki throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Aoki throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Varlaam's waist but Varlaam gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Aoki off to one side.
Vadim Varlaam is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Aoki shoots in looking for a takedown but Varlaam manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Aoki's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Aoki cracks a nice hook into Varlaam's ribs.

Aoki closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Varlaam quickly recovers to half guard.
Varlaam really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Aoki. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Aoki tries to pass the half guard into mount. Varlaam knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Aoki not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aoki keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Aoki thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Shinya Aoki.

Aoki scores a takedown into full mount!
Aoki cracks Varlaam with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aoki unloading with bombs!
Aoki looking to control and managing it successfully.
Aoki has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Varlaam's face.
Aoki fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Aoki controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Aoki there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Aoki content just to control the position here.
Varlaam is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shinya Aoki dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Varlaam gets caught napping as Aoki dives in and scores a takedown. Varlaam manages to retain guard.
Aoki is pushing down on Varlaam's leg trying to pass to half guard. Varlaam is fighting to maintain full guard but Aoki has managed to sneak the leg through.
Aoki missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Aoki throwing shots but Varlaam is blocking nicely.
Aoki throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Well, if Aoki is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Aoki 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Shinya Aoki just wasn't active enough.

Aoki scores a takedown into full mount!
Aoki landing strikes from the mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aoki tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Varlaam is in a horrible position here. Aoki smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Aoki postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Varlaam looks a forlorn figure.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Aoki landing shots from mount.

Varlaam is rocked!
Varlaam wants to control but Aoki is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aoki controlling the position easily from mount.
Varlaam takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Aoki working Varlaam over with strikes here.
Aoki lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Varlaam is still in real trouble! Can Aoki finish him?
Aoki working Varlaam over with strikes here.
Aoki controlling from the full mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Aoki 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.
Aoki working Varlaam over with strikes here.

Aoki is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Varlaam is surviving well by controlling Aoki's body position as best he can.
Vadim Varlaam has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Oooooh, big shot lands for Aoki! Varlaam is hurt baaadly! Aoki is firing away with more strikes - Varlaam is covering up... the ref is warning him to do something. He's just covering up though still and the ref has to step in to end the fight! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Shinya Aoki!