PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight kickboxing rules bout between Dimitrios Vasilii Ivanov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Herbst (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Herbst has chosen How can I become a Bawlaa as his entrance music. Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Vasilii Ivanov
vs
Herbst

187 cm
23
221 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

185 cm
25
220 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

World class MT
Cardio machine

Great elbows
Powerful

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Dimitrios Vasilii Ivanov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, James Herbst!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Tatsuya Matsuyama and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ivanov avoids a punch combination nicely.
Sloppy strikes from Ivanov. Those never looked like landing.
Ivanov misses with a jab, cross combination.
Ivanov looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Ivanov swinging wildly here.
Herbst avoids the head kick by Ivanov.
Herbst pulls out of a head kick attempt.
A leg kick checked by Ivanov.
Ivanov misses with a two punch combination.
Herbst tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Herbst attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Herbst is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Ivanov.
Ivanov misses with a hook. Herbst ducked under it nicely.

Ivanov has closed the distance and engaged Herbst in a clinch.

Herbst breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Ivanov throws a series of punches but Herbst avoids them all with ease.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A nice inside leg kick there by Herbst. That's going to slow Ivanov down.
Ivanov blocks a head kick by Herbst.
Ivanov throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Ivanov listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
A head kick misses from Herbst.
Ivanov lands with an overhand left.
Ivanov digs a good body shot into Herbst's ribs.
Ivanov lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Herbst tries to close the distance and clinch up but Ivanov swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Herbst fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Ivanov manages to avoid it.
Some wild striking there from Ivanov.
Ivanov thuds his shin into the meat of Herbst's side.
Ivanov throws a right and a left that both miss.
Ivanov lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Herbst circles away quickly and effectively.
Ivanov tries to bum rush Herbst with a series of wild strikes but Herbst uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov swinging wildly here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A thudding body kick lands there by Ivanov!
Ivanov misses with a wild body shot.
Ivanov throws a left and a right that both miss
and Herbst counters with a big head kick but Ivanov shrugs it off.
Ivanov avoids the head kick by Herbst.
Herbst misses with a few strikes there.
A punch combination from Ivanov misses.
Ivanov throws a right and a left that Herbst avoids nicely.
The fighters circling - Ivanov throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Ivanov looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Herbst thuds a left hand into Ivanov's body.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Herbst looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
No joy there for Ivanov, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Ivanov throws a leg kick but Herbst moved away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dimitrios Vasilii Ivanov dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Herbst displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Ivanov throws out the jab.
A punch combination from Ivanov misses.
Herbst steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Ivanov.
Ivanov looks to land a combination but Herbst avoids it well.
Ivanov throws a half hearted mid kick.
Herbst takes a swing at Ivanov's ribcage but misses.
Herbst defending well as Ivanov loads up on a big left hand.
Dimitrios Vasilii Ivanov seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ivanov misses with a combination
and Herbst counters with a nice body shot.
Ivanov throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Herbst.
Ivanov connects with a high kick.
Herbst throws a nice outside leg kick.
Ivanov moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Ivanov throws a nice looking combination but Herbst bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Ivanov moves out of range of the body kick.
Ivanov throws a combination. Herbst tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Herbst misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Herbst throws a head kick that misses.
Ivanov connects with a right hand. Herbst shakes it off.
An inside leg kick from Herbst misses.
Herbst misses with a body shot.
Ivanov misses with a series of wild punches.
Herbst fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Ivanov manages to avoid it.
Dimitrios Vasilii Ivanov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Herbst throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

Herbst has managed to clinch.
Herbst managing to block the knees to the body from Ivanov.
Herbst is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Herbst pushes off an throws an elbow but Ivanov leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Herbst lands a nice uppercut.
Herbst letting Ivanov take a breather here.
Ivanov on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Ivanov lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Ivanov lands a knee to the head.
Herbst stalling against the cage.
Herbst lands with a light punch inside.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ivanov landing knees to the head.
Herbst is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Ivanov is defending well for now.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Ivanov tries to land knees in the clinch but Herbst avoids the damage to the body.
Ivanov creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Herbst's defenses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Ivanov dodges an elbow strike from Herbst.
Ivanov lands an elbow inside that Herbst shrugs off.
Ivanov blocks the elbow strike.
Herbst blocks an elbow strike from Ivanov.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Dimitrios Vasilii Ivanov will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Ivanov scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Ivanov swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Herbst counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Herbst uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Ivanov.
Nice body kick from Ivanov.
Herbst takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Dimitrios Vasilii Ivanov is winning the standup battle so far.
A looping hook to the body misses from Ivanov. Herbst does a little dance to reset his feet.
Ivanov uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Herbst.
Herbst explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
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!
Ivanov uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Herbst.
Herbst scores with a head kick. Ivanov tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Herbst is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Ivanov rather than just go for the knockout.
Herbst throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
A telegraphed right hand from Herbst misses the target.
Ivanov scores with a crisp jab that stopped Herbst in his tracks.
Ivanov misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Ivanov throws a right and a left that Herbst avoids nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ivanov uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Herbst.

Ivanov has managed to clinch.
Herbst is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
With the fighters up against the cage, Ivanov throws an elbow but misses.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Ivanov just misses with a elbow thrown towards Herbst's brow.
Ivanov avoids the elbow strike from Herbst, against the cage.
Herbst misses with an elbow strike.
Ivanov misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Herbst.
Herbst throws a knee to the head but misses.
Ivanov lands an elbow inside that Herbst shrugs off.
Herbst pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Herbst misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ivanov.
Herbst throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Ivanov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Herbst blocks it with crossed arms.
The referee is keeping an eye on Ivanov - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.

Herbst manages to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ivanov rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Herbst moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Ivanov throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Ivanov has managed to clinch.
Herbst tries to work over Ivanov's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Herbst blocks the elbow strike.
Ivanov lands a knee to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Herbst is looking to control Ivanov's arms but Ivanov gets an underhook and turns him. Now Herbst has his back to the cage.
Ivanov throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Herbst blocks it with crossed arms.
Herbst lands a nice elbow.
Ivanov throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Herbst tries to break the clinch but Ivanov is controlling the position.
Ivanov tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Herbst misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Ivanov.
Ivanov avoids the elbow strike from Herbst, against the cage.
James Herbst has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dimitrios Vasilii Ivanov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Herbst tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Ivanov avoids it.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to James Herbst.
Well Ivanov has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Shigeki Sano scores the fight 29:28
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dimitrios Vasilii Ivanov!