PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Lester Hall (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andrei Kruzov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lester Hall has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hall
vs
Kruzov

168 cm
24
140 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

170 cm
24
140 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Hates pizza

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Lester Hall!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Andrei Kruzov!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Trevor Gratis and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hall circles away from the clinch attempt.
Kruzov feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Hall's calf.
Kruzov tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hall paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kruzov defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Hall.

Hall shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Hall not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Hall drops an elbow to the side of Kruzov's head.
Kruzov is looking to escape.
Hall keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Kruzov is trying to control but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hall trying to control the pace.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Andrei Kruzov.
Hall changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Kruzov tries to avoid it but Hall manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Kruzov to the ground. Kruzov escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Kruzov forces Hall back against the cage and clinches.

Kruzov breaks from the clinch.
Kruzov fails in his attempt to clinch.
Kruzov lands a nice looking kick to the body. Hall takes a step back to recover.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kruzov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Kruzov throws a sloppy head kick and Hall moves out of range easily.

Kruzov gets caught napping as Hall dives in and scores a takedown. Kruzov manages to retain guard.
Kruzov not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Hall stays in close to Kruzov's body and controls the position.
Hall with a flurry of punches that miss.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Hall with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hall showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Andrei Kruzov was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Kruzov swats away the attempt to clinch by Hall.
Hall throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Kruzov swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Hall ducks under a wild hook from Kruzov.
Hall avoids the head kick by Kruzov.
A head kick misses from Hall.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kruzov tries to close the distance and clinch but Hall swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Hall closes this distance looking for a takedown but Kruzov circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lester Hall. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kruzov wants to clinch.

Hall shoots in and bounces Kruzov off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Hall with a flurry of punches that miss.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kruzov keeping full guard, as Hall tries to pass.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lester Hall dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Kruzov wants to clinch.
Hall slips under a jab from Kruzov.
Kruzov is looking to clinch.
Kruzov is looking to clinch but Hall is avoiding it.

Hall looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Hall prevents Kruzov from standing back up.
Hall thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hall looks to land a strike but Kruzov avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Hall is stalling in the full guard.
Hall advances position into side control!
Kruzov parries the strikes from Hall easily there. Hall is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Kruzov to escape.
Kruzov is being controlled here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hall seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Kruzov for as long as he can get away with.
Kruzov avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Hall.
Hall controls the position.
Hall tries to advance to mount but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Kruzov is trying to escape the position but Hall is controlling the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Lester Hall.
Hall shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Kruzov sprawls well. Kruzov wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Hall gets slowly back to his feet.

Hall scores with a takedown into Kruzov's guard.
Kruzov is looking to stand up but Hall isn't so interested in that idea.
Hall controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kruzov trying to control the position.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Hall is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

We're going to have a standup here because Lester Hall wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Kruzov stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Kruzov wants it to stay on the feet.

Hall throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Kruzov was covering up waiting for the punch and Hall finishes the takedown easily into guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hall landing some decent shots from guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lester Hall dominated that second round.
That's time! Hall's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Hall throws a body kick that misses.
A telegraphed right hand from Hall misses the target.
Kruzov tries a head kick but it misses.
Kruzov throws a sloppy head kick and Hall moves out of range easily.
Hall takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Hall pulls out of a head kick attempt.
A jab from Kruzov misses.
Hall shoots in looking for a takedown but Kruzov manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Hall's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Kruzov tries to clinch there but Hall circles away.
Kruzov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Hall.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kruzov tries to clinch but Hall is having none of it.
Kruzov tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Hall manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Kruzov.

Hall drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Hall sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Hall is pushing down on Kruzov's leg trying to pass to half guard. Kruzov is fighting to maintain full guard but Hall has managed to sneak the leg through.
Kruzov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Kruzov trying to control but Hall postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kruzov won't allow Hall to pass to mount.
Hall has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Hall content to control rather than advance.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Kruzov looks like he's trying to stand up.

Andrei Kruzov has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Hall feints and as Kruzov raises his hands in defense, Hall changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hall scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Hall controls from within his opponent's guard.
Hall working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hall in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Hall showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Lester Hall.
Hall swats away the attempt to clinch by Kruzov.

Kruzov gets caught napping as Hall dives in and scores a takedown. Kruzov manages to retain guard.
Hall stays in close to Kruzov's body and controls the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lester Hall showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hall, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Alec Ball scores the fight 30:27
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lester Hall!