PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Nikolai Kovalenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Damo Bodhidharma (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Kovalenko
vs
Bodhidharma

205 cm
25
260 lbs
22 - 9 - 0

180 cm
23
265 lbs
8 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Russian Top Team Nutrition

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 22 - 9 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nikolai Kovalenko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Damo Bodhidharma!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Ivan Kurochkin and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kovalenko tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Bodhidharma was well out of range. Poor timing from Kovalenko.
Bodhidharma throws the kick towards the body but Kovalenko avoids it.
Bodhidharma scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
A clash of legs there as Kovalenko blocks the low kick.
Bodhidharma looks to land a combination but Kovalenko avoids it well.
Bodhidharma connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Bodhidharma plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A clash of legs there as Kovalenko blocks the low kick.
Bodhidharma throws a lazy right hand but Kovalenko sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Bodhidharma misses with a low kick.
Bodhidharma explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Kovalenko tries a low kick but Bodhidharma avoids it.
Bodhidharma misses with a head kick.
Kovalenko avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Bodhidharma thows a leg kick but Kovalenko checks it
and Kovalenko counters with a nice uppercut.
Bodhidharma gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Kovalenko cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bodhidharma throws out a leg kick but Kovalenko moves out of range and Bodhidharma only half commits.
Bodhidharma blocks a jab.
Bodhidharma scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Bodhidharma misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Good leg kick by Bodhidharma there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Kovalenko blocks a low kick nicely.
Bodhidharma throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Bodhidharma looks to land a combination but Kovalenko avoids it well.
Kovalenko looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Bodhidharma looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Kovalenko's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Bodhidharma connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Kovalenko scrambles back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Kovalenko tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Bodhidharma lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Kovalenko circles away quickly and effectively.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kovalenko throws a right and a left that Bodhidharma avoids nicely.
Kovalenko checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Bodhidharma avoids a punch combination nicely.
A punch combination from Bodhidharma misses.
Bodhidharma lands with a thumping leg kick.
Bodhidharma goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Bodhidharma pivots, looking for a leg kick but Kovalenko is out of range and Bodhidharma settles back down.
Kovalenko lands with an uppercut that bounces Bodhidharma off the cage and back into range.
Bodhidharma throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Kovalenko tries to bum rush Bodhidharma with a series of wild strikes but Bodhidharma uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Bodhidharma gets off balance looking for a body kick
and Kovalenko counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Bodhidharma finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bodhidharma throws a looping overhand right but Kovalenko ducks down to avoid it.
Bodhidharma bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Bodhidharma pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Bodhidharma throws a left and a right that both miss
and Kovalenko counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Bodhidharma throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Bodhidharma on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Jab from Kovalenko.
Kovalenko lands with an uppercut that bounces Bodhidharma off the cage and back into range.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bodhidharma moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Kovalenko is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Kovalenko blocks a head kick by Bodhidharma.
Kovalenko connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Kovalenko stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Bodhidharma throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kovalenko lands with a straight right. Bodhidharma didn't see that one coming.
A big right from Kovalenko misses.
A head kick misses from Bodhidharma.
Kovalenko pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A jab from Kovalenko does it's job there.
The fighters circle momentarily. Kovalenko darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Bodhidharma takes a swing at Kovalenko's ribcage but misses.
Kovalenko misses with an uppercut. Bodhidharma saw that one coming.
Kovalenko throws a series of punches but Bodhidharma moves out of range.
Bodhidharma falls off balance throwing a combination
and Kovalenko 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!
Kovalenko scores with the left hand. Bodhidharma knows he should have avoided that one.
A decent looking cross lands there for Bodhidharma.
Damo Bodhidharma seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bodhidharma throws a sloppy head kick
enabling Kovalenko to counter with a crisp jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Damo Bodhidharma will probably get the nod.
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.

Bodhidharma misses with a double jab
and Kovalenko counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Bodhidharma feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Kovalenko's calf.
Bodhidharma misses with a wild body shot.
Bodhidharma dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Bodhidharma buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Damo Bodhidharma seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Bodhidharma misses with a combination
and Kovalenko counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Bodhidharma gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Bodhidharma looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Bodhidharma throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Kovalenko.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Good shot there by Kovalenko.
Bodhidharma throws a one two combo.
Bodhidharma throws a sloppy body shot
and Kovalenko counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bodhidharma takes a swing at Kovalenko's ribcage but misses.
Bodhidharma misses with a kick to the body
letting Kovalenko counter with a right hand.
Bodhidharma misses with a head kick.
Bodhidharma throws a right and a left that Kovalenko avoids nicely.
Kovalenko showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Bodhidharma.
Bodhidharma is breathing heavily.
Bodhidharma throws a leg kick that is checked
and Kovalenko counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Bodhidharma is rocked!
Kovalenko lands hard precision jab right on the jaw that stiffens Bodhidharma up and sends him tumbling to the mat! The ref grabs Kovalenko from behind before he can pounce. Some folks in the crowd didn't like that stoppage, but I saw Bodhidharma's eyes roll way back in his head, he was done.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:37 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Nikolai Kovalenko!
Nikolai Kovalenko managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, Russian Top Team Nutrition, into his post fight interview.