PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Pavel Morozov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Antonio Rivera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Morozov
vs
Rivera

190 cm
28
290 lbs
13 - 9 - 0

188 cm
22
235 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 9 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Pavel Morozov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Antonio Rivera!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Valeri Chadov and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Morozov throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Pavel Morozov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Morozov throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Morozov throws a right hand that Rivera ducks under and follows up with a left that Rivera also avoids with ease.
Rivera shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Morozov sprawls well. Morozov wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Rivera gets slowly back to his feet.
Rivera steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Morozov.
Morozov ducks under a wild hook from Rivera.
Morozov fails to land with a series of punches.
Rivera blocks a head kick by Morozov.

Rivera looking to score a takedown here. Morozov is defending well but Rivera drives through and ends up in Morozov's guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Rivera in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Rivera wants to stand but Morozov is controlling his posture from full guard.
Morozov keeping moving, preventing Rivera from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rivera drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Rivera jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Rivera trying to control the position from guard on top but Morozov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rivera in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Rivera preventing the sweep.
Morozov has a closed guard, preventing Rivera from standing up.
Morozov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rivera.
Rivera trying to stand up but can't free himself from Morozov's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morozov 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.
Morozov keeping moving, preventing Rivera from controlling successfully.
Rivera is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Rivera wants to stand but Morozov has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

Rivera is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Rivera trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morozov looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rivera is one step ahead there.
Morozov keeping moving, preventing Rivera from controlling successfully.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Morozov looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Rivera stands up over Morozov, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Rivera trying to control the position from guard on top but Morozov is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rivera is looking to work some ground and pound but Morozov has wrist control.
Rivera trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivera sitting in guard here, content to control.
Rivera stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Morozov swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rivera wants to control from the top but Morozov keeps moving.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Antonio Rivera.
Rivera moves out of range as Morozov throws a body kick.
Rivera misses with a wild combination.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rivera slips under a jab.
Morozov misses with a wild body shot.
Morozov pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Antonio Rivera dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Morozov misses with a shot to the body
and Rivera connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Morozov doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Rivera closes the distance and clinches up with Morozov, looking for a takedown. Rivera pushes Morozov against the cage but Morozov circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Morozov displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Rivera.
Rivera dives in and grabs Morozov's left leg, looking for a takedown. Morozov pushes down on Rivera's head and hops out.
Pavel Morozov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Antonio Rivera.
Morozov uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Rivera has time to react.
Rivera displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Morozov throws out the jab.
Morozov throws a series of punches but Rivera moves out of range.

Morozov lands a big uppercut and Rivera crumbles to the floor! The ref thinks about stopping the fight but Rivera looks OK. Morozov waves Rivera back to his feet!

Rivera is rocked!

It looks like Antonio Rivera has been cut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rivera fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Morozov avoids it really well and circles away.
Rivera is still on wobbly legs! Can Morozov finish him?
Rivera walks right into a perfectly timed right hook and goes down hard! He's out cold! The ref cradles Rivera limp body while Morozov jumps on to the cage and waves to the roaring crowd. Wow that was just a brutal knockout!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:49 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Pavel Morozov!
After winning the bout, Pavel Morozov thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.