PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Marat Karimov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dickey Rubinksky (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Marat Karimov has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Karimov
vs
Rubinksky

158 cm
25
135 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

165 cm
25
143 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Granite chin

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Very confident

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 St Petersburg, Marat Karimov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Dickey Rubinksky!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rubinksky feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Rubinksky stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Karimov swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Karimov lands a decent punch to the body there.
Rubinksky advances to half guard.
Karimov has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rubinksky is working away from the top position though.
Karimov is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Rubinksky seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.

Rubinksky is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Karimov has managed to free his arm - good work.

Rubinksky is working for a kimura but Karimov is defending it quite comfortably.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rubinksky passes to full mount!
Karimov can't escape the position.
Karimov looks out of his depth in this position - he's holding on tight.

Rubinksky is working for a guillotine from mount but Karimov frees his head quite easily.
Rubinksky misses with a head shot.
Karimov takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Karimov is looking to improve his position but Rubinksky isn't that keen on the idea.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rubinksky throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

Rubinksky working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Rubinksky controlling the position easily from mount.
Rubinksky trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Karimov tries to hold on but Rubinksky postures up.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karimov is in all sorts of trouble here.
Rubinksky trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Rubinksky throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Rubinksky trying to control but Karimov is having none of it.
Rubinksky throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Rubinksky tries to control but Karimov wriggling away.
Rubinksky has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Rubinksky controlling from mount.
Karimov keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rubinksky wants to control the pace but Karimov is squirming around nicely.
Rubinksky tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

Dickey Rubinksky has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Rubinksky gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Karimov to score an easy takedown into full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rubinksky is trying to keep Karimov in close.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dickey Rubinksky dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Karimov gets a takedown into half guard.
Rubinksky manages to get to full guard.
Karimov postures up in Rubinksky's guard and throws a big left but Rubinksky blocks it.
Rubinksky looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Karimov trying to control but Rubinksky is working from the bottom.
Rubinksky pulls Karimov in close to prevent any damage.
Karimov trying to control the position from guard on top but Rubinksky is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karimov won't allow Rubinksky to sweep him here.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Karimov shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Karimov showed some decent athleticism there.
Karimov is looking to advance position but Rubinksky won't allow it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rubinksky slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Karimov trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rubinksky has control of Karimov's left arm, preventing Karimov from doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rubinksky tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Rubinksky trying to control the position here.
Karimov works over Rubinksky with some ground and pound from guard.
Rubinksky has Karimov pulled in close to control his posture.
Rubinksky keeping full guard, as Karimov tries to pass.
Rubinksky controls Karimov momentarily but Karimov frees himself.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Karimov trying to control but Rubinksky is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Dickey Rubinksky.
Karimov misses with a takedown attempt - Rubinksky sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Karimov leaves Rubinksky with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Rubinksky dives in and grabs Karimov's left leg, looking for a takedown. Karimov pushes down on Rubinksky's head and hops out.
Karimov has a takedown stuffed.
Rubinksky misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Marat Karimov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Dickey Rubinksky.
Rubinksky is breathing heavily.
Rubinksky tries for a takedown but Karimov circles away easily

and Karimov counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Rubinksky wants to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karimov wants to control but Rubinksky is keeping him busy.
Rubinksky has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Karimov is working away from the top position though.
Karimov trying to control the action but Rubinksky is working from the bottom.

Karimov is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rubinksky has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Karimov is working away from the top position though.
The fighters are battling for position here. Rubinksky manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rubinksky keeping full guard, as Karimov tries to pass.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marat Karimov dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Rubinksky fails with the takedown

and Karimov counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Rubinksky is controlling Karimov's trapped leg to prevent Karimov from advancing to side control.

Karimov is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Rubinksky holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.
The fighters are battling for position here. Rubinksky manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Rubinksky has his hands on Karimov's head, controlling the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rubinksky takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Karimov pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Rubinksky is keeping the position for now.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Karimov trying to control but Rubinksky is working from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rubinksky is trying to control the position from the bottom.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Dickey Rubinksky wasn't active enough on the ground.
Rubinksky leaves Karimov with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Karimov fails with the takedown

and Rubinksky counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Karimov!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Rubinksky goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Karimov turns into him and now he's in Rubinksky's guard.
Karimov trying to control the position from guard on top but Rubinksky is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rubinksky is trying to control the position but Karimov postures up.
Karimov looking to sit in guard and control but Rubinksky gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Karimov keeping moving, preventing Rubinksky from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karimov lands a good elbow from the bottom.
Karimov keeping moving, preventing Rubinksky from controlling successfully.
Karimov is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Rubinksky moves into full guard.
Karimov looking to pass the guard.
Karimov is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Karimov postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karimov trying to control the position from guard on top but Rubinksky is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Karimov is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Rubinksky is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Rubinksky looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Karimov wants to control from the top but Rubinksky keeps moving.

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

Rubinksky manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Karimov on his heels. He'll look to pass Karimov's guard now, I'm sure.

Rubinksky drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Karimov dives on top into guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rubinksky wants to sweep here but Karimov controlling him for the moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Dickey Rubinksky.
Well Rubinksky has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dickey Rubinksky!