PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Janis Petke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Josef Schwager (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Petke
vs
Schwager

192 cm
26
217 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

189 cm
20
220 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Janis Petke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Josef Schwager!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Petke closes the distance and clinches.

Petke breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Petke slips a jab and a cross from Schwager.
Schwager throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Schwager misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Schwager fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Schwager swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Schwager throws a jab but it's blocked by Petke.
Petke's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Petke duly obliges.

It looks like Josef Schwager has been cut.
Petke is trying hard to land a takedown here. Schwager sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Josef Schwager seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Petke avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Some wild striking there from Schwager.
Schwager pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Petke back to the cage. Schwager follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Petke fails with a takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Schwager lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Schwager fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Schwager falls off balance throwing a combination
and Petke counters with a straight right hand.
Petke misses with a wild combination.
Schwager misses with a combination

and Petke counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Petke lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

Petke jumps guard and drags Schwager to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Schwager wanted to stand there but Petke had control of the position.
Schwager is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Petke is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Schwager is looking to stand up but Petke won't let him.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Petke is on top in guard.
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!
Schwager is looking to stand up but Petke isn't so interested in that idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Petke pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Schwager is keeping the position for now.
Petke wants to control from the top but Schwager keeps moving.
Petke looking to pass the guard.
Petke trying to control the position from guard on top but Schwager is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Janis Petke wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Petke blocks a jab.
Schwager misses with a jab, cross combination.
Schwager misses the shot to the body.
Petke shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Schwager but Schwager pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Janis Petke. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Schwager stalks Petke and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Petke's face. Petke staggers backwards, shaken.

It looks like Janis Petke has been cut.
Josef Schwager is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Petke throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Schwager slaps away a takedown attempt from Petke, before circling back to the center of the mat.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Petke keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Schwager.
Schwager tries to bum rush Petke with a series of wild strikes but Petke uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Josef Schwager will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
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.

Schwager works the jab nicely.
Janis Petke is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A punch combination from Petke misses.
Petke misses with a body kick.

Petke takes the fight into the clinch.

Petke breaks the clinch.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Petke throws a body kick that misses.
Schwager fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Petke attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Schwager thows a body shot but no joy.
Schwager misses with a double jab

and Petke counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Schwager is looking to escape.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Petke looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Schwager tries to kick Petke off but Petke keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Petke landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.

Schwager kicks Petke off and gets back to his feet.
A big left from Schwager misses.
Schwager scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

Petke gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Petke lands a right hand.

Petke decides to pull guard.

Petke throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Schwager would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Schwager postures up.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Petke working for a triangle but Schwager defends it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Petke is working an open guard so Schwager takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Schwager jabs Petke to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Schwager misses with a double jab

and Petke counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Schwager is looking to stand up but Petke isn't so interested in that idea.
Petke not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Petke gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Schwager lands with a good body shot.
Petke looks to land a combination but Schwager avoids it well.

Petke drives through and clinches with Schwager against the cage.
Schwager wants to break free but Petke has control.

Petke escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Schwager scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sloppy strikes from Schwager. Those never looked like landing.
Petke tries a head kick but it misses.
Schwager wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Janis Petke dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Petke misses with an attempted mid kick.

Petke feints and as Schwager raises his hands in defense, Petke changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Schwager is looking to stand up but Petke isn't so interested in that idea.
Petke trying to control but Schwager is working from the bottom.
Schwager is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Petke slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Petke is looking to take a break and control but Schwager is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Petke creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Schwager sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Petke content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Schwager managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Petke.
Petke prevents Schwager from escaping the position.

Petke tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Petke has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Schwager bucks up and tries to throw Petke off but instead Petke has got his back!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Petke working for a choke but Schwager is defending well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Schwager trying to get back to his feet but Petke is in full control for now.
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Petke's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Schwager controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad position.

Schwager defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Schwager is trying to stand back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Petke tries to get the hooks in deep but Schwager pushed the leg off.
Schwager is being controlled on the ground here - he must escape this position otherwise surely the end is near.

Petke working for the choke.
Schwager covering up well under a barage of strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Janis Petke showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Petke has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 29:28
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:28
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Janis Petke!
An out of breath Janis Petke thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.